Flash can do at least 2 things better than HTML: 1) create interactive experiences, and 2) create moving pictures (tweens, animations, video).
That's great. Now let me point out that Flash's two great powers are more than not antagonists, and their clash distorts and cripples many a swf.
The example of 1st-person shooters is misleading here, because […]

Here's an example of an appropriate use of animation:
Let's say you're designing a list of items (an item including a picture, a price and whatnot), and users can delete from or add to the vertical list.
Obviously, the list starts at the top. But let's say the user deletes the top element…what should happen? Should all […]

Most transitions should be handled in Flash without animation, because most transitions are driven by perusals and not commitments, and for perusals, animation is laborious.
Let's say I'm mousing over a menu; why not have text or images come up immediately, on rollover? If your design is logical (where does the material come up?) and your […]

I was watching the season finale of 24 and it noticed the titles use linear motion…words come in a steady velocity, hit their mark, and with a resounding thump, stop dead in their tracks. It's exactly what homo-sapien physics would predict: an object comes to a sudden stop, and its energy is released as sound.

Recently I was plotting bitmaps in 3D space, trying out various kinds of motion: linear, curved, inertial…and it got me thinking about how motion was integrated into interfaces.
Take the simplest, most common example: the sliding-out motion of a drop-down or fly-out menu…
Even though I now turn this effect off when I can (it's too slooooow), […]