I tend to get myself in trouble every time I pre-announce a new project, but here goes: Beginning in 2006, we here at Turdhead.com have resolved to produce and release at least one new Flash game per month. In other words, we plan to increase our current stable of games by more than 600 percent by January 2007.

Why?

Mainly it's the allure of fame and fortune that all Flash programmers receive automatically upon the

release of a new work. That, and the incredible popularity we gain among women, children and domestic animals with each new release. Not to mention the amazing… um… delusions of grandeur we experience when we triumphantly announce, "Oh, wait, hang on… try this version…"

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I usually don't post virus alerts, but this one seems to be an emergency. If you're using Windows, you're vulnerable — no matter what. Worse yet, if you can see the image below, you're practically naked (Firefox and Opera may ask you to download

it; IE will just show it… which means you're vulnerable to the TrojanDownloader.Wmfex infection.):
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One of the first things that pops into most people's minds when they hear the word "Flash content" is "animation." It's what made Flash so popular in the first place, and it's still a staple skill among most Flash programmers. Still, it's not something most of us learned in school (though I know many do these days).

I've got a few basic skills myself, but I've decided

it's time for me to get better at it. Which means it's time for me to ask other Flash and animation professionals: How did you learn to animate well?

Did you just study others' works? Practice, practice, practice?
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As filmmakers learned decades ago, the right musical score can turn an otherwise mundane scene into an unforgettable piece of filmmaking. It's true with Flash presentations and games, too, but unfortunately, producing original music is still a daunting task for many.

Sure, there are plenty of "cut-and-paste" audio collections out there, and I'm often amazed at what people can do with them. But there's nothing more disconcerting than hearing the melody you just included in your client's online jewelry promotion also being used to sell hemorrhoid medication on TV!

Unfortunately, soundtrack music today is distributed the same way clip-art has been since the 90s — it's easy and cost-effective, but when used wrong or often, it defeats the purpose. A developer often loses the "hook" he'd been trying to set in the first place: Rather

than creating something as memorable as the three-tone audio signature of NBC ('ennn-BEEE-seee'), he ends up with "Generic Bassoon and Harp #32," a tune he now shares with local radio commercials, a Flash banner ad for tennis shoes and the seat-belt buzzer on his wife's 2004 Hyundai sedan.

Recently, I decided to forego the canned music often associated with Flash development and sought the help of an honest-to-goodness studio musician and producer with talents far beyond my own (Thus, RealMusician). The results are promising so far, and I can hardly wait to show off the finished version of the next Turdhead.com game, tentatively named Cosmic Bounce and scheduled for release next week.
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