AS3: Programmer’s Dream, Designer’s Nightmare

Posted January 23rd, 2009 by Albert Banks

Here at Myjive we have made the jump from using Actionscript 2.0 to 3.0 in our Flash based productions. What we’ve found is not surprising. This leap is great for programmers, but can be scary for designers.

AS3 is a huge evolution from an inconsistent codebase to a solid object-oriented programming language. It greatly improves the Flash Player runtime and makes coding more traditional for developers.

A byproduct of this evolution is that animations, transitions and tweens are now code based, rather than timeline based. For designers and animators this is a big shift in how they are used to creating Flash assets. Now instead of adding minor code or adjusting a timeline to create a rollover effect, multiple listeners must be setup to control the interaction.

The result is the need for greater communication between coders and designers. They have to be on the same page when creating assets and implementing interaction. Our team has learned to embrace this change, leveraging the improvements in AS3 to create solid, visually stunning Flash widgets, applications and websites.

What is your experience with AS3?