Flash Preloader

On your computer, your swf game/file will run instantly. But on the internet, there may be a momentary lag while the file loads on the user's computer. So its good to create a Flash Preloader.

For the first 30 minutes I would like you to take a look at well-designed but bandwidth heavy flash sites on: http://www.thefwa.com/

I want everyone to write down at least 3 different sorts of preloaders that you see. What are they like? We will discuss this in class.

Structure
Besides having a preloader, it also bears thinking about the different segments of your game, like dialog panels.



Building your own Preloader
Firstly, when viewing your flash swf, while in the "running swf" mode, go to "View" and select Bandwidth Profiler to see how your file is loading



That will allow you to see the bandwidth. You will notice there is also a very handy "simulate download" function as well.

Please watch Lee Brimelow's great preloader tutorial (15 minutes): http://www.gotoandlearn.com/play.php?id=85

There is also a download link at the top right hand corner where you can download the movie to your computer and download some example files.

It has to be one of the easiest and straightforward ways to make a preloader and I'm going to recommend it instead of reinventing the wheel.