We are all familiar with the power of Flex development. Flex developers can create interactive applications in a matter of minutes using Flex, one of the keys to create best RIAs or Rich Internet Applications. This is what makes Flex so powerful and a huge improvement over Flash. One of the core development fields where Flex is being used is custom game development, providing thrilling experiences to the gamers. Even the hardcore gamers swear by the gaming applications developed on the Flex platform.
Flash games have been doing the rounds of the Internet for many years now. In the recent years, Flex has overtaken Flash as the preferred platform of online game development. Some of the popular Flex games include Astro Chaser, Filler, Participate Playground,and Carnival Showdown among others. Apart from this, Flex development is also used for custom game development. No wonder Flex developers are keeping themselves busy these days.
Flex development by concept is split into two parts, the GUI and the Action Script code. The GUI is created in an MXML file. This is nothing but an XML file that contains user interface elements nested in tags very similar to HTML. At times the MXML file can contain Action Script code inside an mx:Script tag, but the main focus of the MXML file is to define the user interface. The top level tag of an MXML file is the mx:Application tag.
For Flex development,you will require Flex SDK (software development kit), Text Editor IDE(integrated development environment) and the Flash debug player. Flex developers use these tools in a very methodical way. Flex SDK will help you combine Flash source code into SWF file format. With the help of text editor, you will be able to edit the code when required. Flash debug player will let you test your work as you progress.
Reasons for Popularity of Flex Development:
- Flex development is cross platform compatible. The games developed can flawlessly be played on different platforms like Mac, Linux, Windows, etc. There are very few competitors to these features of Flex games.
- Flex games are very easy to disperse and distribute. It is as easy as uploading a .swf/Flash file on the Internet. These small interactive games act can spread virally over the Internet and serve as a great marketing tool for businesses.
- Games, which are built using Flex needs no extra plug in installation except Flash Player which in most cases is automatically integrated into the web browsers or can be easily done into the browsers.
- The tools, which are required for Flex development, are available for free download and you don’t have to incur additional expense if you want to use Flex or join the club of Flex developers.
There are a number of offshore development centers which use Flex in custom development of gaming applications. You can easily outsource Flex development to such centers and get competitive pricing.