Flash Meets PS2
February 26, 2001
Orange Design Helps Introduce Macromedia Flash Technology to the LucasArts’ Star Wars Starfighter(TM) for PlayStation2 Console.
SAN FRANCISCO, FEBRUARY 21, 2001 - Orange Design, Inc., in partnership with LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC, Secret Level Tools, and Macromedia, announce the first ever Flash Application for the PlayStation2.
Console game development has traditionally been a laborious endeavor requiring creative forces beyond imagination. With hopes of reducing development time, LucasArts took an innovative step forward and approached Orange Design to create a Flash-based user interface (UI) for Star Wars Starfighter that would parallel the vision behind the game itself. This move allowed game developers to concentrate on the game play while Orange focused on bringing the UI to life.
Making it all possible was Secret Level Tools, who ported the Flash player and developed a games API for the PlayStation2. This afforded Orange the ability to create a beautiful user interface, demonstrating how Flash technology can play a significant role in the console game market.
“It was only natural to use 2D Flash elements in the 3D PlayStation2 environment. This breakthrough opens Flash technology up to a whole new market. The benefits are going to be amazing for both console game developers and top-talent Flash studios,” said Fred Sharples, Orange President and founder.
Secret Level Tools is currently working on the next version of the Flash player that really takes advantage of the PlayStation2 hardware. In the future, we will see Flash taking an even greater role in the game development process, such as being used for heads-up displays and other real-time overlays.