Getting started with the screen saver

The idea here is simple. I have provided a quick rough sketch in Figure 1. This is the screen saver concept that I'll walk through in this article. The goal is to generate a moving object (ball) that is trapped within four boundary walls corresponding to north, south, east, and west. The ball will bounce around endlessly as it's reflected off each of these walls.

Figure 1. Initial sketch of the screen saver

All of the movement and collision detection will be done with ActionScript code, giving the appearance of a more dynamically generated screen saver. Yes, instead of using a static timeline-based approach to the animation as in Part 2, I'll utilize code here. Specifically, I'll use Flash 4–style ActionScript, as found in Flash Lite 1.1. Once the screen saver design is completed and the code is added, you'll then test and deploy it.

Picking the Nokia 6125 as the target device

Now that you have an idea of what you'll be creating, it's time to pick the target device(s) for deployment. As in Part 2, you'll be using the Nokia 6125. This is a Series 40 3rd Edition handset that supports screen savers on both its primary and secondary screens (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. Nokia 6125 (a Series 40 3rd Edition device) with a Flash Lite screen saver running on its Mini Display

If you don't have the 6125, you are not completely out of luck. You may freely substitute another compatible Series 40 3rd Edition Nokia device in its place, or use the Series 40 SDK emulator. The only requirement is that whatever you work with must support the Flash Lite 1.1 screen saver content type. Consult the Nokia Series 40 Handsets page in the Mobile and Devices Developer Center for the latest information on Series 40 devices that support Flash Lite.

If you decide to use a different device, just be aware that you may need to make the necessary modifications to the screen saver screen size to match those of the chosen target device. Because this may vary, consult your device documentation to verify this information. In this case, the Nokia 6125 has the dimensions of 128 x 160 pixels for its primary screen or "Main Display " and 96 x 65 pixels for its secondary, or "Mini Display," screen (see Figure 2).

Setting up the Flash environment for the target device

Now that you know what you're creating and have selected the target device, it's time to get started creating the screen saver using Flash Lite.

The steps for setting up the Stage are almost exactly the same as those found in Part 2, where you created a Flash Lite wallpaper for Nokia 6125. You can follow the steps found there, with a couple minor differences:

• In Step 2 of the "Configuring the device settings" section in Part 2, select the Screen Saver content type from the pop-up menu instead of Wallpaper. (Refer to Figure 6(D) in Part 2.)

  Note: If "Screen Saver" mode is not selectable, just use the "Standalone" type.

• In Step 1 of the "Adjusting the frame rate, background color, and screen size" section in Part 2, change the background color to black (#000000). (Refer to Figure 7(B) in Part 2.)

Other than that, everything else should remain the same, assuming your target device is the Nokia 6125 (or comparable Series 40) handset.

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