Obviously, Apple’s decision, and Jobs’ declaration, is not a prescient message from the future, but a company policy intended to protect the profits from their app store. They do not want their sexy device to be able to access all the rich content from the web, they want to be able to charge you for it instead. Even so, when someone like Steve Jobs declares Flash is dead, people take notice. So if the future is no longer Flash, … what is it?

Even before Apple weighed in, I’d noticed the demand for Flash has been on the wane. And even more noticeable has been the wavering interest of my fellow Flash devs. Symptomatic of these times, the Flash Brighton group, the collective home of the finest Flash designers and programmers in Brighton, is in the process of a rebrand, which will very likely include (gasp) dropping the word “Flash” from the group name.

On an individual level, I’ve seen many of Brighton’s finest recently devoting their attention to non-Adobe products. And these are the folks who know. So here are some of the technologies people have been playing with:

Unity – a 3D games engine, also banished from the iPhone via their T&Cs, but capable of some amazing browser based interaction. See http://blurst.com/ for many fine examples. If you want a Unity developer, may I recommend my friend and colleague Iestyn.

OpenFrameworks – a C++ framework, capable of creating multi-platform content. Ideal for interactive art, ambitious installations and audio-reactive work, but also capable of publishing to devices such as the iPad, iPhone and Android. This has been my own favourite toy of late.

Processing – a highly accessible language based on Java. Not so great for the web, but excellent for digital art, video or offline interactive work. For the web there is Processing.js, a JavaScript port, which is probably the best Flash animation alternative currently. I have written an introductory book on the subject of Processing, if you want to get up to speed that might be a good place to start.

HTML5 – this is Jobs’ answer to the lack of Flash on the iPad. Unfortunately, while HTML5 has a huge amount of promise, it is still many years away from Flash’s current power. Even if Adobe were to cease developing Flash/Flex today, by the time HTML5 had caught up the iPad will be a distant memory (because we’ll all have migrated to Android devices long ago).

Objective C – inevitably, many Flash devs don’t like being locked out of the platform-de-jour, so have been awarding their attentions to Objective-C, Apple’s OS language. Again, if you want an iPhone developer, there are people I can recommend.

Flex – while Flash demand is dropping, Flex demand has been on the increase. Flex app are still using the Flash Player, so they’re no more welcome on the iPad than any other breed of Flash, but it still remains the best solution for rich media online.

Personally, I disagree with Apple; there is still a future for the Flash platform. Although Adobe are going to have to pull their socks up to fight back, ignore Apple’s greedy posturing, and focus on all the things that HTML5 can’t do very well. Video for example. Or how about 3D?

The first zenbullets/FutureDeluxe collaboration has just gone live – an ident for the forthcoming SCI-FI-LONDON festival. Created using Processing, QuickTime and After Effects.

My client was reporting the primary school children their app was aimed at were having trouble entering their (given) passwords, the logs showing some needing 20 or 30 tries. The iPhone way of entering passwords, showing the last letter typed, solves the issue of imprecise keying on a touchscreen. But it also serves as an accessible alternative for any user group who may need it.

I was going to post this as a Flash/Flex component, but it is so simple I may as well just post the code, then it is easily translatable into JavaScript, PHP, Processing or whatever is your flavour.

private var _passwordEntered:String = "";   
// this will store the password as it is typed

passwordTI.addEventListener(Event.CHANGE, passwordEntry);
// the TextInput component - make sure "displayAsPassword" is turned OFF

private function passwordEntry(e:Event):void {
 
    // update _passwordEntered with whatever has been typed
    var newText:String = passwordTI.text;
    if (newText.length < _passwordEntered.length) {
        _passwordEntered = _passwordEntered.substr(0, newText.length);
    } else if (newText.length > _passwordEntered.length) {
        var diff:int = newText.length - _passwordEntered.length;
        _passwordEntered += newText.substr(newText.length - diff, diff);
    }
      
    // hide the text in the field, apart from the last char
    passwordTI.text = "";
    for (var x:int = 0; x < _passwordEntered.length-1; x++) {  
        passwordTI.text += "•";
    }
    passwordTI.text += _passwordEntered.charAt(_passwordEntered.length-1);

}

In 2003 BAFTA introduced a host of “Interactive BAFTAs”, a project I worked on was nominated for one in 2004, but they were quietly dropped in 2005 for reasons unknown. There still exist a few hotly contested Interactive awards buried within other events though, such as the Interactive category at the Children’s BAFTAs, which was last year won by my old company Littleloud. Tonight was a second Brighton triumph as Seb’s PlugIn Media posse landed the very same award for their excellent Big And Small site.

PlugIn walked it home really. I’ve never seen such a level of detail in a childrens game, it was a no brainer. If my four year old had been judging it he’d have gone for the same.

I had absolutely no part in this particular scoop but still I am feeling the joy, if only in the reflected glow upon Brighton’s Flash community. Happy days.

1. update the portfolio
2. implement the new site skin, designed by the very talented Charis (of WiredPortfolio) back in January.

Amongst the projects added from the last year are:

• A few new Flex jobs
• Two installations for the V&A in London
• A 3D installation for the Museum of Anthropology
  
• A Flash MP3 mixer
• A huge government eLearning project
• A delightfully silly set of Flash mini games
  

There’s also been a lot of extra-curricular (i.e. non-Flash) work this year, mostly Processing/Generative Art related. I’ve written a little about the “creative coding” book I’m currently writing (to be published in Summer 2010), but for fuller details of my Generative Art, my writing, and other more experimental work, you should visit my (award winning) personal blog here. Which is where, amongst other things, you can see a video of my work projected onto a Brighton church.

It clearly hasn’t effected the work flow anyway (which kinda makes me wonder if maybe I should just get rid of the portfolio entirely), but recently I have had some rather awkward questions from clients asking “so, what kind of work do you usually do”. If you looked at my portfolio, frozen in time in early 2008, you’d think my focus was eLearning. A year earlier it would have been games. But the correct answer is neither of these.

So, for the record, the kind of work I usually take on is probably best summed up as: “the meatier end of Flash”. Which these days usually means Flex, but not always. On anything else – industry sector, technologies, job size – I am usually without prejudice. Although, if you are an arms dealer wanting a Flash game about shooting Iraqis, don’t even waste an email.

Anyway, I’m not trying to hawk my wares here, just trying to preempt the questions. I’m pretty much booked up until xmas right now anyway, mostly due to my Generative Art Book. But that, is another area of work entirely …

I’ve been selected to present one of the Flash On The Beach Elevator Pitches, twenty micro-sessions showcasing “hot new talent”. On first hearing of the idea I thought it would be impossible to fit anything meaningful into so short a time – when I spoke at Flash Brighton earlier in the year it ran to more like three hours. But, as Seb reminded me, this is more of a teaser trailer rather than a full feature, so I’ve now got something in mind (something new and previously unseen) which I hope will do the trick. I don’t think there’ll be time for questions though.

To get an idea of what you might expect, see my recent postings over at zenbullets.com. And if you’re at the conference please come and see me. You will be allowed 3.5 seconds in which to applaud.

var bow = bringMe("burning gold");
var arrows = bringMe("desire");
var shield= bringMe();
var clouds = Clouds.unfold();
var chariot= bringMe("fire");

do {
   mentalFight.cease = false
   sword.sleep = false
} while (! England.pleasantpastures.isJerusalemBuild())

Note this code will only run in green and pleasant lands.

I’ve written a new tutorial: ActionScript and the Twitter API, Simplified

The next version of Flex Builder (V4, code named Gumbo) has been renamed Flash Builder.

Makes sense. Flex is only the framework, Flash is the platform we are building for, whether we are using Flash or Flex. I was starting to feel a little odd referring to myself as one of Brighton’s Flash Developers when I hardly ever open Flash. Technically, seeing how 90% of my work over the last two years has been built using Flex Builder, I am probably better described as a Flex Developer these days. At least I don’t need to worry about such rubbish now.

Flash Builder (aka Flex 4) is expected to have a Beta release in June, with final release expected in the last quarter of 2009.

If you have any questions on the rebrand, there is an FAQ here.

as3.0 is like a strict german mistress. Very harsh but gets good results.
as2.0 is your stoner friend from college.

as1.0 is for script-kiddies, designers and other non-technical people
as2.0 is for girls
as3.0 is for real men

as3.0 is carefully crafted formulaic pop – predictable, slick, reliable, dull
as2.0 is glitchy electronica – some semblance of form, but playful with it
as1.0 is a child bashing saucepans – imprecise, messy, but lots of fun

as3.0 is a Japanese Chef’s knife. Finely crafted but requires care and technique in its use.
as2.0 is a Machete. Great for hacking things, but useless for anything requiring fine detail or control.
as1.0 is a plastic spoon.

With thanks to Owen and Jim.

Previously Adobe’s own stats tended to be taken with at least a soupcon of salt, as they were based on visitors to their own site (who would obviously be more inclined to be Flash users), but in now employing third party market research for these statistics we might take them a little more seriously.

For an alternative view RIAstats offers some visual data too, which also puts FP10 around the three-quarters mark. Interestingly, they also give stats for Silverlight, Microsoft’s much mocked “Flash Killer“, which is now showing an actually rather impressive 25% uptake. I have slightly warmed to Silverlight in recent months, mostly thanks to conversations with Ed at Unwrong. It may yet be one to watch.

Flex has been around a while now and is ramping up in terms of popularity. I had a handful of Flex projects last year, all of which were a positive experience, and I have more lined up for this year. But while Flex has been embraced quite happily by the Coders (mainly because it is the first decent ActionScript IDE) I’m not convinced it has penetrated our symbiotic co-species; the Designers.

For all Adobe’s claims about improving workflow with the use of Flex Builder, which it certainly has for writing code, I’m not sure the way of creating components and skins for Flex (which cannot be done easily without one of Adobe’s other products) is quite as instinctive. The reason I suspect this is because for every Flex project I have worked on we have had real difficulty finding a suitably skilled Designer.

One of the stigmas associated with Flex is that every Flex site you see on the web, looks like a Flex site. So many times you see the default loader, default buttons and even the default grey colour scheme, which suggests to me the Designers are nowhere to be seen on these projects.

So if you are a Flex Designer reading this, or a Flash Designer who isn’t scared off by Flex, please get in touch. Especially if you are in the Brighton or Birmingham area and are affordable. I have projects you can be helping me with right now.

And Adobe, listen up; Flex isn’t going to change the world until we can get the Designers on board. So perhaps you might want to make it a little easier for them to work with it.

I had no involvement in it at all, but my friend and colleague Iestyn Lloyd lead the project, and almost had a breakdown because of it. It was simply not physically possible for one person to work any harder on a Flash project, so the kudos it has received since is very well deserved.

I had a piece of Director work nominated in the short-lived Interactive BAFTAs back in 2004, but it failed on the night, which was very disappointing. This is why, while I am extremely excited for the Littleloud crew, I’m also seeeeeeething with jealousy. Perhaps they’ll let me touch it next time I’m in.

Inspired by the New York group FlashCodersNY, Flash Brighton (or FlashCodersBrighton, as we were originally called) started only two years ago, as a mailing list with a few irregular meetings, mostly kept alive by the enthusiasm of Seb Lee Delisle. But since then it has grown to almost 200 members, with regular weekly meetings attracting a consistent stream of quality speakers, initiating collaborative projects, transatlantic link-ups, big screen spectaculars, a one day conference last year, and never, so far, charging a penny for any of it. But, most importantly, it has formed into a highly cohesive group of Flash professionals who like to work together and share their knowledge.

At the awards ceremony the group was commended on how much we had achieved in a short time and the potential of our relatively young collective. But what really stood out was how our presence had become felt not just in Brighton, but across the web.

Pictured above collecting the award are (from left to right):
Al MacDonald – Viral Games Guru at the mighty Kerb.
Richard Willis – Ace Coder and Copywriter responsible, amongst other things, for the fantastic copy on the Flash Brighton blog.
Jo Summers – Creative Systems Lab alumni and lynch-pin behind the organisation of Flash Brighton’s weekly meetings.
Matt Pearson (me) – looking momentarily distracted by something shiny in the rafters.
Seb Lee Delisle – The brains behind Plug-In Media, PaperVision team member, international conference speaker, and founder/manager of the group.
Owen Bennett – one of Brighton’s finest ActionScript freelancers.
Sarah Bird – of AnimNation fame and DiMAS Freelancer Of The Year nominee.
And, the lady who presented the award – whose name, we’re embarrassed to say, no-one can remember.

As Rich pointed out, as well as the Community award, Flash Brighton’s members were all over the DiMAS like a rash this year, having contributed to works nominated in seven of the twelve categories . And I should add, with hopefully a sufficient amount of modesty, that I’m supremely chuffed to have come away with a second award that night too; winning this year’s Best Blog award for my writing on zenbullets.com. I won’t be giving up the day job quite yet though.

I can’t recommend Processing enough – it’s very easy to pick up and a great way of sketching out ideas, even for non-programmers. And most of all, it puts the FUN back into coding. There’s oodles of source code on abandonedart.org if you are looking for a place to get started so go, splash around a little, you might like it.

So, for those of you who are looking for an ActionScript freelancer, below is my pick of the best of Brighton.

Naturally I’m putting myself at the top of the list, as I need your work just as much as anyone else. But if you have spoken to me and I am busy, or you owe me money, or you’ve taken offence to my haircut or something, try one of the other guys. My colleague Kris has a longer list here, but these are the people I will personally vouch for.

Matt Pearson (zenbullets)
Neil Manuell (revision)
Matt Sayers (soplausible)
Owen Bennett (steamboy)
Rich Willis (rich text format)

If you contact them do let them know you found them via me. Beer is very expensive in this town.

If it is a Flash Designer you are after, rather than an ActionScripter, they are much easier to come by. Your best bet may be to tap people randomly on the shoulder while wandering around Churchill Square. Roughly one in every five will be a Flash Designer.

There are two things I have had on my to-do list for a few years – 1. do a Generative Art project, and 2. do an Open Source project, so this month I have ticked off two boxes at once with my new 100 Abandoned Artworks site.

A year ago I saw Robert Hodgin speak at FOTB07, which introduced me to Processing, an Open Source Java-based programming language. It is always good to teach yourself a new language every few years, just to keep things fresh, and to give you new perspectives on your work. And while ActionScript is still great, as the language has evolved from the hacky AS1 to the strict, ordered, enterprise-focussed AS3, it has lost a lot of its sense of fun and experimentation; the thing that attracted me to the language in the first place.

So, while I can still use AS3 to make my clients happy, Processing can be my playground. Which is the idea behind 100 Abandoned Artworks (http://www.abandonedart.org). I don’t have the time, or the sympathetic business partners, to be able to emulate Hodgin’s sophisticated works, so instead I am intending to do a high-volume, fast turn-around project (the only thing I can do with a wife, child and 20odd clients to keep happy).

Over the next 100 weeks I will produce an experiment a week and throw it out there, in whatever state I have got it to before one of my dependents puts a stop to my playtime. But I will also post the source code, so if anyone wants to take these works and run with them, or adapt them for another medium, they are welcome to.

I’m hoping it’ll produce some good stuff, and you’ll be able to see a upward curve in the quality of the work over the two years. Make sure you subscribe to the feed, because the more subscribers I have, the harder it is for me to bow out and quietly abandon the project.

This is me bidding farewell to my weekends …

Within the cube you create your own isometric spaces and structures, and rotate and zoom around them. Click on the image to launch, and have a play around.

There will, inevitably, be a game built with this thing one day soon, so this will be the level editor. If you come up with anything cool-looking feel free to email the XML to me, or post it below. With any luck, if the credit crunch starts biting and the work dries up, I may find a day free to finish the physics sometime in the next year. Don’t hold your breath though.