Flash Nightmares

Whenever someone asks me to work on a Flash project that someone else started, I try really hard to wake up. It’s never good. I try to kid myself that maybe the code will be organized, maybe there will be comments, maybe I won’t find anything held together with duct tape. Ok, once or twice I’ve been pleasantly surprised, but most of the time, this is what I’d like to tell my predecessors:

• External scripts – not only do you get to use your favourite text editor, but it makes it easy to find all the code. Plus bonuses like version control.
• Comment it. You don’t even know what you did there.
• Object Oriented Design – Trust me, it would make your life so much easier.
• Plan for Change. It’s going to change whether you want it to or not. The difference between reading text in from an xml file or a bitmap graphic of 3D rendered text.
• I don’t blame it all on you. Flash is one big Kludge. But I suppose it’s one that has to be lived with for now.