Flash CS5 Alternative - Does one exist?

I am currently in college talking a game development program. It is a series of classes that will require a lot of software. In class we are provided the software to work with. But most of the time we are required to do work outside of class. That means staying after school in the computer room or downloading the software on my computer.

Currently we are using Flash CS4 , Visual Studio (free), and Photoshop. I know, if I don't want to stay after school, I'll have to specifically download Photoshop because that is what the book teaches. But the Flash book is more about the programming. I'm sure I could get away with an alternative software. I've searched google but didn't find any useful results. I could probably get Flash CS5 and Photoshop together for about $200, but I'm hoping to avoid paying so much. I also know about Adobe's student discount and my school sells the software, but it's more expensive than what I find on other sites.

It seems like I would at least be able to find Flash CS4 (since that's what we use in class) somewhere for cheap.

 

you can get a school discount from sites such as academic Superstore and the like.. there are a few alternatives but they are no where near as good as using the official adobe flash software..but the only decent one i know of and used is Vectorian giotto

 

Well, that's a little disappointing. Vectorian Giotto wouldn't work anyway, it doesn't support Actionscript 3.0 (which we use).

I found Photoshop CS5 and Flash CS5 for $109 each. That's not bad I guess. Certainly better than the $360 I've been thinking I would have to pay.

Thanks for the help.

 

I tried Giotto for a week, and it completely suits my needs. I had one crash, i hope it won't happen again. As a free solution, it completely suprised me.

 

What would Jack Sparrow do?
All kidding aside, your best bet is probably getting an academic discount...especially if you're going to be using it for the next four years or so.