Word Strips Android App

So I've been wanting to get an Android App up and running for some time. It's pretty easy to build an app in Flash for the Android, but the tough part is making it playable.

Most of the games I have on FlashByNight don't translate well to the small, touch screen. In particular, I create larger games, usually 800 x 600, whereas I've noticed most other devs create smaller games for whatever reason. The small device screen and lack of controls is quite limiting. For example, I tried creating a version of The Inside Job (www.flashbynight.com/insidejob), but it works out that the orbs are too small too press with precision.

One game however, translates quite well, and that is Word Strips. You can drag and drop the strips with your finger and it's actually easier than playing on the desktop/laptop.

So, you can find Word Strips in the Android Marketplace by searching for 'Word Strips'.

A word of warning: your device needs to be Android 2.2. It will NOT work on 2.1 or earlier. (Unfortunately, this has led to some low ratings/negative comments, even though I specified it on the app page). You will also be prompted to download Adobe Air before you can play the game. (There is a chance that you already have Adobe Air on your system.)

So give it a try and help me out with some good comments if you like it. The high scores for the Android App are the same as the ones for the web version, by the way.

GRE Master

I've finished updating an old quiz: GRE Master, and you can find it at: www.flashbynight.com/GRE

The database has around 5000 words from the 'Barron's' vocab list, so you can use the quiz to prep for your GRE exam or just to learn some bombastic words.

It's also available on roadtogrammar.com/GRE

New Game Release

There's a new game up on FlashByNight.

Wordo is a simple but fun word game where you have to use up all the tiles on the board to make words of 3 - 8 letters long. It sounds easy, but you'll need a good strategy.

Why not play it now and be the first to get your name on the High Score list. The URL is www.flashbynight.com/wordo

Technical Issues

Sorry everyone who's having difficulties with certain games. It's a database issue with my web hosting company. Worst of all, I can't get it fixed until Monday. Some of the games are working but with no high scores and some aren't working at all. Sorry!

In other news, though, I'm working on a word game that should be ready in a week or two.

Play Drench on your Android Browser

I figured that Drench, probably the simplest game on my site, can be played directly in the browser on Android phones (must be Android 2.2). It's a tiny bit slower but still fun. Who needs apps?

So I resized the game and put it here: www.flashbynight.com/m/drench

You'll need to tilt the phone to portrait and then double tap the flash part of the screen and it'll resize perfectly.

It looks like this:

New Game Release: Vi:Roos

It's been a long time since I've released a new game on FlashByNight.com, so anyway, here it is:

www.flashbynight.com/viroos

Vi:Roos is a semi-experimental game where you play a green virus and you need to take over a computer system before the other viruses beat you to it.

In gameplay terms, this means clicking on smaller clumps of squares to take them over. It's surprisingly trickier than it sounds and the enemy AI gets 'smarter' as you level up.

Have fun.

Closing a Flash Android App

I've just finished my first complete build of a Flash Game App for Android and I thought I'd share some code.

It's the little things that'll stump you, like figuring how to quit the app. So many apps make you use the HOME key and then the app continues running in the background. That's really frustrating. Use this line of code to kill your app:

NativeApplication.nativeApplication.exit();

And you'll need this import statement in your document class:

import flash.desktop.NativeApplication;

Another good thing to know is how to access the MENU, HOME and SEARCH keys. To do this, add a keyListener for a keyboard event:

stage.addEventListener(KeyboardEvent.KEY_UP,keyUpListener);

...then:

function keyUpListener(e:KeyboardEvent):void {

if( e.keyCode == Keyboard.MENU ){ }

if( e.keyCode == Keyboard.HOME ){ }

if( e.keyCode == Keyboard.SEARCH ){ }

}

Don't forget to add this to your document class: import flash.ui.Keyboard;

Simples! A few lines to code to help you with your Flash App for Android.

Remember to support Android - Android loves Flash, unlike the iPhone.