Macromedia Director

Authoring tools such as Macromedia Director have long been used for the development of games. Many current and past commercial games have been developed using these types of programs. Director, which is arguably the leading development tool in this area, has several strong features that make it a possibility for the right type of game project. First, it is cross-platform capable, which is a big factor for certain projects. There are also many Xtras (a term for Director add-in controls) available that increase the productivity of Director applications.

The newest release of Director (version MX 2004 at the time of writing) continues to enhance this already popular program. It includes a complete 3D engine courtesy of Intel’s Internet 3D graphics software, which offers adaptive geometry and rendering. The algorithms of the software rendering engine enable 3D content to scale to the user’s machine. It includes support for DirectX and OpenGL hardware acceleration. Of particular interest to game developers is a third-party Xtra that will enhance the capabilities of the 3D engine with the addition of Havok’s real-time interactive physics.

Director uses a language called Lingo to add custom programming to a project. Because of the popularity it has managed to gain throughout the years, there are many third-party books and training resources for Director, making it a possibility for certain types of projects.