At JDL Studio our main focus is web development, and no discussion of that would be complete without including multimedia and the role it plays on the web. We believe that the web is still a relatively new phenomenon, and the true power of multimedia applications like Flash and Director have so far been under utilized.
In our opinion it's possible to create virtually any complex software and make it available online using Flash and Director as the application development tools. Below are some real-world examples.
Flash CS4/AS3 Video Game
Interactive Multimedia application programmed with Flash CS4 using the new Action Script 3 (AS3) platform. The project was developed for a medical industry focus group exploring optimal designs for new medical clinics. Groups of physicians were instructed to create their ideal clinic by selecting rooms, personel, and equipment from scrolling lists of 3-D images. Once the rooms were selected, equipment and personel were dragged and dropped into these to simulate an optimal medical clinic.
Director MX Video Game
Data driven Jeopardy-like video game played in front of a live audience. A large plasma screen displays the questions, categories, and player icons. It runs on a laptop computer with a visual interface for the game controller who is hidden off stage, and a microprocessor is programmed to receive button signals from the player's podiums. If a player answers a question correctly, a Flash animated game board shows their icon moving along a path towards the finish line.
Video Game Controller Interface
Visual interface for the controller of the video game shown above. Players call out the category and number which the controller then clicks on the grid. Both the questions and answers are visible on this screen, and "Right" or "Wrong" buttons are clicked depending on the player's response. The data base application was written in Director with Lingo code.
Eisterhold Associates Inc.
Flash web site for an exhibit design firm. The site is heavy with content, so care was taken to divide segments into smaller movie clips for quick loading.
http://www.jdlstudio.com/Eisterhold/WEB2
Macromedia Director CD ROM
Year in review CD ROM developed as part of a yearbook package for high school students. There are five categories with panoramic lists of images which can be scrolled through, and each image contains links to more information.
Flash ActionScript Paint Program
Online application which has all of the raw features of programs like Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, and could be developed much further to include any of the functions you might find in those larger desk top applications. All background shapes can be painted, the pallets are movable, and shapes that are drawn can be moved, copied and pasted.
Launch Program in Pop-up Window
Flash ActionScript Animation
This animation is based on a computer science excercise which we wrote with Flash ActionScript to see if Flash was up to the task. This goes all the way down to the core mathematics involved in animating objects at the software level by combining sequences of linear transformations on sets of points that describe simple objects.
Launch Animation in Pop-up Window
Flash AS3 Interface Examples
Examples of how self contained Flash AS3 programmed components (or interface widgets) can easily be embedded into regular html web sites.
