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Flash Reference Guide

Aug 22, 2003

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A successful animation is planned. No movie or animation or Flash game is a happy accident. They have all been planned and executed with detail. In this guide you will learn how to design and storyboard a movie in Flash. You can use the same technique for games as well. This is the planning process. Storyboarding is simply a visual way in which to explain the main elements of the animation without having to build the entire movie. You will find that it significantly reduces the amount of time spent on development and design. If you know what the destination is, you can efficiently plan how to get there.

Storyboard Defined

Every watched the making of a movie? The first step in the production of a movie is to visually write down the action and scenes. This is done in a format called a storyboard. Essentially, a storyboard is a rough visual depiction of the important shots that comprise the final movie. In many ways it looks like a cartoon strip with lots of notes.

The storyboard explains how you believe the visual elements of the movie will be executed. This process has been used in the movie industry for nearly a hundred years. This same tool should be used with your games.

A storyboard itself can be as simple as a blank sheet of paper. What you are looking for in a storyboard is a visual layout of the game. The layout must depict what will happen at any given point of the game. You can achieve this by drawing arrows to depict movement and writing notes with the game.

Figure 1

The Storyboard Process

The storyboard process is the best time to allow new and creative ideas to be voiced. This is the brainstorming session. Storyboarding is best done with at least two people. You will have more ideas this way. It may be a good idea to record the session onto tape as ideas may be lost or forgotten.

Begin the brainstorming process by handing everyone a stack of blank cards. Elect one person to be the minute taker. Make sure the minute taker is good at note taking as you will want to capture every great idea that comes out of this session.
Define the story to your animation. Where does the animation take place? Who is the central character? Why is the character in the story? Encourage everyone to shout out their ideas (pass out copious amounts of high energy drinks—this normally gets everyone excited).
After a couple of minutes of wrangling, have everyone write down their single favorite idea onto the cards. Collect the cards and group them on a wall. The idea of placing all of the cards on the wall is to keep the central story tight in the minds of everyone in the room.
Briefly analyze the grouping of cards. Are there any large groups? If one specific theme stands out, remove the other cards (don't throw them away as they may be good ideas for another animation). On a large sheet of paper or white board write down in large letters the central story. This is the foundation to the game.
Renew the discussion, focusing on the style of movie you would like. Get everyone shouting at each other if that's what it takes to get new ideas out of them. Then have everyone write down the ideas onto more blank cards. Again, collect the cards and place them onto the wall in groups. Hopefully you can come to a consensus.
With the theme and style of the story agreed upon, the next step is to begin the storyboard process. Is the animation going to have multiple plot lines, chapters, scenes? Now is the time to define this. Elect one person to draw out designs on a white board. Elect another to write down any non-visual directions such as tie-in games, where on a server the movie will be hosted, who will deliver the movie.
With all of the roles now appropriately associated, begin sharing all of your ideas. Sketch each idea with a written description. Do not worry about detail at this point. Just get the ideas out.
When the process is finished (it could take 2-4 hours) collect all of the ideas and have the group agree on the ideas that have merit and discard the rest.
Take the finalized sketches and notes of the animation and draw out a more detailed storyboard. With short games this whole process can be completed within half a day, may be even less.
Present the final storyboard to the team. This is now your bible. Stick to it! It will enable the entire team to remain focused and will let everyone know where they are in the process of the game creation.

Creating a Good Story

Every animation must have a story. This adds dramatic tension to the game. The story does not need to be a block buster. It just needs to be a place where the characters live.

The story is a tool. It gives credence to the animation where you characters and interactions live. In Flash you also have the bonus of tying in games to add to your story. The following paragraph is a sample story lead in to a hang man game. It isn’t much, but it is more than you get at the beginning of Pong:

Figure 2

"There are no rules in the Old West. No fair trials. No excuses. Only survival counts. You have been captured by a lawless gang. They have accused you of rustling their cattle. That's a hangin' crime. You plead your innocence, but they laugh back at you. The only way to escape this unjust crime is to guess the gangs secret password. Get it right and you live. Get it wrong and.... well, the snakes will find you....A knotted rope is tied to your neck. You only have one chance. Correctly guess the password and you will live to see another day."

Now when you play this simple game you may really want to win because you are more emotionally attached to the characters in the story.

Plot Generation

The story emotionally places you in the animation. Once there, you define what and where you go. This is the plot. Each scene you move into and the characters you meet are part of the plot.

You can also have plot in games. Games that have plots that are too deep will not be able to live up to their bold plot lines. For instance, movies that have game tie-ins have notoriously missed the mark with the game player. This is because a movie is often 90 minutes in length. During this time the movie explains a preconceived storyline from the beginning to the end with complex characters and scenes. With a game, the player is in control. They determine how long they will play in a specific section of the game and how long before they move on. This changes the plot and story of the game. If your plot is too complex, this will jeopardize the user’s experience as they will want to fulfill the elements of the plot in the game. If the user can not fulfill this they may feel cheated.

In the game world, one rule sticks: keep it simple.

Character

Characters are part of the story for animation. Check out what the guys behind the band Gorillaz are doing with character; they have a whole band based on a characters! You can also have characters in games, but use caution. Over the years, good characters in games have gone onto have lives of their own (virtually, at least). Lara Croft, Mario Bros., and the characters from Final Fantasy have all gone onto to make movies. Some, such as Pokémon, have gone onto have their own TV show, movies, franchise... heck they were bigger than the Beatles for a while.

Figure 3

In your games, you characters must be individual and memorable. Do not confuse this with a complex personality. A memorable game character is often two-dimensional. Give your character a list of consistent moves and sayings. These will be the hallmark of your game.

Summary

In this guide you analyzed the process of storyboarding, plot generation, and characterization. These elements are fundamental to any movie you create. Taking the time to create a well thought out storyboard gives you a clear vision of how the game will be presented. It can save hours or days of frustration.

Plot and character management are elements that support your game. Do not get too wrapped up in the complexities of the plot. Games that have too much plot frequently do not sell as rapidly as games with short, sharp plot lines. The same goes for the characters in your game. Give them a little depth and history but only enough to add elements to the game you are playing.

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