TileGamer Proposal

Letter to Arvin:

After I finish modifying the rest of the SMS reports for export to .PDF and including report descriptions, and converting SMS to Delphi 6, I would like to cease programming in Delphi for APROM. Also, I would like to do all BCS Production at home. At your end, the Production Assistant opens the command prompt, changes directory to SMSV5, SRS2003, etc., and runs the publish batch file (or publang french for non-English versions of SRS). This batch file, in the case of SMS, calls getbpl and toprod (after the Production Assistant runs the Compile utility on your computer), otherwise it performs the usual compilation process and copies files to WinProd. The final action of all publish batch files is to delete the contents of WinProd\Upload\ and then invoke wzzip to create a zip file of say WinProd\SMSV5\*.*, this zip file being located in WinProd\Upload\. After running the publish batch file, the Production Assistant uploads the lone zip file in WinProd\Upload\ to BCS HQ, in the Transfers/For Mike directory. Then I download it onto my laptop (assuming the Production Assistant published the correct zip file), unzip it to C:\ with the Use folder names option checked, build the InstallShield setup script, zip the result and upload it to BCS HQ and if necessary, BCS ftp (our web site). I can also write manuals and generate help files at home, on my laptop.

Due to the fact that I soon expect development of my games program (latest name: TileGamer) to shift into high gear, I want to cut back my APROM hours (working at home) to 12 hours per week (after I cease programming in Delphi for APROM). Lately I've been working less than that due to depression and sloth. If you approve all of the above, and after my Delphi chores are completed, then I will only come in to the office once every 2 weeks. While implementing TileGamer, I will go to my computer teaching job (and also possibly my volunteer job) one (or maybe two) afternoon(s) a week.

To implement the TileGamer prototype, I must download Project Darkstar (PDS), which is a Java game server, and Hack, which is a multiplayer game that runs on top of PDS. Then I must examine the Hack source code to find out how it works. The TileGamer prototype consists of a board editor, which lets the user lay out 3 or more board grids. At runtime, these grids are initialized randomly with colored tiles (there are 2 to 4 players, each a different color). Each tile is a circle, square, space, or a letter or digit. Each grid can have a different cell size and font. The rules of the game are that a player must move one of her tiles from one grid to another grid. If possible, the destination square must contain another player's tile (a capture), also the tile being moved must follow in the alphabet the tile on the destination square, or be the next digit if the destination square is a digit. A circle can go on top of a square, and vice versa. A space can only go on top of a space. The game ends when there are no more possible capture moves. The winner is the player with the most tiles.

When the implementation of TileGamer 1.0 is completed, users can create multiplayer games, such as board games and games with very simple tile-based animation. Tile-based means that moving objects can only move in 4 directions (up, down, left, and right), and an object is always either contained in a grid square or straddling the boundary between 2 adjacent grid squares. Simple drag-and-drop games can be created by non-programmers, and programmers can add functionality to these games (using a built-in scripting language called Treescript). All games take place in your web browser, so you don't have to download anything to play TileGamer games. When a game is uploaded to the TileGamer server, it is automatically converted into a Java applet, which is accessed whenever someone plays that game. Game developers without access to the Java SDK can test their games using the Treescript compiler/interpreter.

The business model of TileGamer.com is that everyone can play/create games for free. Members pay a subscription fee of $24/year, have access to various forums (other than the default forum), can chat with other members, have buddy lists of other members, can schedule play dates with other members, and can write on members' walls like Facebook. Members also have access to non-game Treescript apps (Treescript is not just for games). A trial membership lasts 30 days, after that you have to pay. After TileGamer.com goes live, everyone gets a free membership for the first 6 months of operation. Game creators get a percentage of membership fees (say 50 percent) in proportion to how active their games are with players who are members. Game activity is measured in mouse clicks and keystrokes. So that's how I intend to make money, along with putting in 12 hours/week for APROM.

MH