I am (and have always been) a fan of simple 2-D arcade games from the
early 80's, such as Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Asteroids, Berzerk, etc.

Frequently on the web you can see "clones" or "remakes" of these games
that people recreated using various software.  They're all over the
place.  (I'm not talking about the dead originals you can play on
Mame; I mean fan-programmed recreations.)

Consider for example the remakes at http://www.neave.com/games/  Just
as an example of what I'm talking about.

This guy has made these recreations of Pac-Man, Asteroids, etc. that
are absolutely mind-blowing in their accuracy and play.

Well, I would like to do this same thing.  I would like to make simple
games just like that.  Either clones like that or my own primitive
creations.  Same resolution, same sounds, etc.  Even MY OWN Pac-Man and Asteroids!

So my question is basically:  what program(s) did he use to code that? 
(He won't tell me; I've emailed him.  Either he's too busy to respond,
or he doesn't know--it's possible he may have gotten the games from somewhere
else:  many sites feature these exact same ones.)

Anyhow, I THINK the games were coded in Macromedia FLASH 5 or Macromedia FLASH
MX, but this is just because they play on the Shockwave player.  But I
don't know.  In fact, I know little about these things so far. 
Perhaps they were coded in Java and only imported to the Shockwave
player?  Something else?  I've no idea!

So what program or programs, basically, would I need to buy and get
good at to get started at this enterprise?

Surfing Amazon, I see they offer two Macromedia products for sale: 
Flash MX and the Suite, which contains MX.  Since this is over USD
1,000, I am hesitant:  perhaps I am about to buy something I don't
need?  I want to be sure the program I purchase and invest my time in
can in fact lead to such results.  (Incidentally, is Flash MX just the
new version of Flash 5?  It's hard to get a straight answer to this.)

Previously I have used a French program, Clickteam's MMF (Multimedia
Fusion) to code simple 2D games, and while it can do this effectively
(and without the need to learn any coding syntax), the
program has many bugs, not a big support base (fans, forums, etc.),
and no books one can buy to teach oneself how to work it.
 
Hence I'm looking for something more solid and more mainstream.  I am not
adverse to learning coding, but would prefer the simplest route, of
course, since I'm uninterested in doing anything else that the program
may offer, such as making slide-shows or animations.

I know such games can eventually be coded in C++, for
example, but I think I'd wind up having to learn a lot more than I
needed just to get to that point.

Sorry to seem so naive with this question, but I have absolutely no
friends who are involved in this stuff, and have no idea where to ask
this question for free.  So there you go.  Flash MX?  Java?  Something else?

Hi gnossie,

Those are indeed Macromedia Flash games.  The page for each game has a
link for downloading the Flash MX source (except Pac-Man, which has
been removed).  This means that if you have the Flash MX program, you
can get one of these files, see how the game is put together, and
change how it works.

There is some information about downloading and using the source code
on the website's Flash source code help page:

http://www.neave.com/games/help/howto.php

You would need Flash MX to develop games like this yourself.  As you
guessed, Flash MX is a newer version than Flash 5. Flash 5 came out in
2000, and Flash MX came out in 2002.  The current version is Flash MX
2004.

Source:  Product history section of Wikipedia's article on Macromedia Flash
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macromedia_Flash#Product_history

You are wise to stay away from C++.  It would not be the best tool for your needs.

I hope this is a satisfactory answer to your question.  If you need
any more information about this, please ask for a clarification.

Regards,

--efn

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Request for Answer Clarification by gnossie-ga on 26 Jan 2005 00:28 PST

Excellent answer.

One more thing:  When I go to the Flash website to try to buy the
product, they ask me if I wanted to "upgrade" to the "Suite" edition,
which, as it contains Dreamweaver, Fireworks, etc. is something that
is more than I need.

As I said, I only want to make these games.  Flash MX 2004, you say,
is my ticket.  But do I need all those other programs in the "Suite"
to make the games (such as to composit animations and sound files), or
can that stuff all be done within Flash itself?

I don't want to post the games on the net:  I just to make some to
keep on my own home computer for my own private amusement.

Thanks again.

---

Clarification of Answer by efn-ga on 26 Jan 2005 19:14 PST

I assume you mean Studio MX 2004.

No, you don't need it.  If you are not constructing a web site, you
don't need Dreamweaver, ColdFusion, or Fireworks.  FreeHand might help
you with fancy graphics, but you don't need fancy graphics for your
application, and Flash MX has its own drawing tools.

Thanks for the rating and comments.

--efn

absolutely spot-on