Re: Simple multiplayer game programming advice wanted

Hi,

I'm developing a newer version of NetMorph, which will be available soon.
It will be much easier to use than previous ones.

So, please stay tuned.

Sun, 05 Jun 2005 09:44:49 +0200
karl <karl.ramberg <at> chello.se> wrote:
> I don't know how relevant it is but there is a project called NetMorph
> http://swikis.ddo.jp/NetMorph
> 
> Karl
> 
> 
> Howard Stearns wrote:
> 
> > I love it! Specifically, I like:
> >
> > * Learning by playing games.
> > * Learning by building applications.
> > ==> Learning concept X by using X to build a game the depends on X,  
> > which in turns works with the player's knowledge of X.
> >
> > I don't want to dissuade you from letting X = "TCP client/server  
> > concepts". However, I'd like to expose you to the idea that TCP  
> > client/server may not be the best available abstraction for building  
> > multiplayer network games. It might be similar to X = transistors, or 
> > x  = assembly-language.  Useful to specialists operating at some 
> > level,  and maybe even for grades 5-9. But maybe not.
> >
> > Croquet is built (in Squeak) on the ideas that:
> > * A new model of program execution (called TeaTime) may be far more  
> > useful for collaborative distributed system (e.g., multiplayer 
> > network  games) than TCP API's + conventional OOP.
> > * Direct manipulation of objects in the environment (e.g., in 3D), as  
> > they are being used, may be far more useful for collaborative  
> > distributed systems than IDE/source + runtime.
> > ==> We would like students to be able to create their own, say, 
> > physics  simulation within a collaborative multiplayer classroom, 
> > rather than  simply individually running some simulation created by 
> > the teacher (or  worse, by a professional programmer).
> >
> > We are certainly not there yet. But I invite you to check out what we  
> > have so far, and join in.
> >
> > http://croquetproject.org
> >
> > Howard Stearns
> > Croquet Lead Developer, DoIT Academic Technology, University of  
> > Wisconsin-Madison
> >
> >
> > On Jul 5, 2005, at 1:15 AM, Dave Briccetti wrote:
> >
> >> I teach a summer class for grades 5-9 called "Multiplayer Network 
> >> Game  Programming."
> >>
> >> The idea is to teach simple TCP client/server concepts and 
> >> ultimately  end up with a very simple client/server game such as 
> >> tanks that they  can drive around and shoot at each other. I've 
> >> taught this for several  years in Java, and this year I'd like to try 
> >> doing something in  Squeak. I'd like to learn how to create something 
> >> like this:
> >>
> >> Client windows show the player's avatar (a simple graphic) and that 
> >> of  the other players.
> >> An icon suddenly appears on all the client windows. The first player  
> >> to move his avatar (via the joystick morph, perhaps) over to the 
> >> icon  gets the icon. The icon represents a question that the player 
> >> has to  answer ("What is a router?," for example). The question 
> >> appears and  the player types or selects an answer. If the player 
> >> gets the right  answer he earns points. If not, he drops the icon and 
> >> somebody else  can get it. Scores for all players should show all the 
> >> time (perhaps  under the avatar). When one player reaches some number 
> >> of points, the  game stops.
> >>
> >> Does this seem like a reasonable project to do in Squeak? Is there  
> >> something to do remote procedure calls or otherwise communicate  
> >> between the clients and the server?
> >>
> >> Some notes from my classes:
> >> http://davebsoft.com/cfk/index.html
> >> http://dbschools.com/dbschools/servlet/main/action/SelectInfo? 
> >> selann566=A
> >>
> >> Thanks for any ideas.
> >>
> >> Dave Briccetti
> >> Lafayette, California (SF Bay Area)
> >>
> >>

---
[:masashi | ^umezawa]