Making Your Own Flash Slingshot Target Game: I

If you've ever browsed an ad-supported website, you've probably seen the ads that invite you to punch or shoot anything from a monkey to a spider to George W. Bush.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you've seen them on this site.  But have you ever wondered how they're made? If you do any sort of Flash work, odds are someone's going to ask you to make that sort of ad, so it helps to know how they work.  For our lesson, though, we're actually going to make a game out of it--a game that actually ends, instead of taking you to a popup window exhorting you to buy this or believe that.     This lesson is going to move a bit swiftly; over the next few weeks we'll cover it in three parts, but those parts--especially this lesson--require at least a comfortable working knowledge of Flash basics, including very simple ActionScripting.  The first few steps zip through the scene setup fairly quickly, and use concepts that we've covered in detail in many past lessons.  If you've been following along or have worked in Flash previously, you shouldn't have any problems at all.  If you find yourself getting lost, though, you may want to go back to the main Flash tutorial directory and work through some of the basics first.