This is the complicated part of the tutorial. Open up your "enemy" movie clip and make three layers named "sprite", "hit", and "score". Insert keyframes into frame two of every layer. In frame one of the score layer, insert this code:
var score:Number = 0;
This initializes a variable score that is a number with a value of 0, and is necessary in Flash 8. In frame two of the same layer, draw a text box in the top of the white part of the stage. In the properties inspector, make the text box have "dynamic text", an instance name of score_txt, and a variable value ('Var:', lower right section) of score. This will make the textbox display the score value. In frame two and layer sprite, drag your sprite movie clip symbol from the library on the right. Position it at (0,0). Chances are you want to make it move. Insert keyframes in all layers at the frame(s) that represent the time you want the symbol to move at the corresponding keyframes drag your sprite symbol to the places you want it to go. I put keyframes at 30 and 60 and at frame 30 moved my guy several hundred pixels to the right. Then you need to insert motion tweens between all the keyframes of your sprite layer. This will make the guy move.
Next, in the "hit" layer, drag the hitarea symbol. Position it on top of your guy and make sure that the hit layer is above the sprite layer. in all the keyframes move the hitarea button to the place that the sprite is at. Then insert motion tweens between all of the keyframes in your hit layer. Now the hit area should move with the sprite. Don't be alarmed if the blue area that represents the hitarea symbol only appears at the keyframes, that is normal.
All you need to do is add a little action script and you're done.
Luke Knepper only had two weeks of Flash experience when this tutorial was written, and figured most of it out through little bits and pieces from internet articles and the built in tutorial. His site, zazeran.com, is an online archive of games and programs and features Flash games.