Tis the season of new years resolutions and I have a few for Hexcell Games.
Facebook: I have been thinking for quite a while about integration with Facebook. I do not plan to turn the games themselves into a Facebook app. An app that allowed you to follow your games, alert you of waiting games and publishing to your friends your achievements is the plan. Some work has been done on this already, but only so far as proving to myself the various technologies can talk to each other. The next step is to come up with a more concrete plan for the app.
iPhone: I got an iPod Touch for Christmas. Aside from entertaining me on my daily train commute it gives me an environment to test any app I want to develop. Blue Max is already usable in the iOS browser but it is far from optimised for the platform. The idea at the moment is for a mobile version of the site that acts as a Web App most likely using jQTouch. jQTouch is still in beta at the moment, but as the official mobile plugin for jQuery it should be around and supported for the long term.
Two new games: There are two new games in the works. While they will both use the hex system already developed for Blue Max they should feel quite different from Blue Max and each other.
The first new game has a steampunk setting. It is the more difficult of the two new projects technically but comes with a huge advantage in that I will be working on it with a close friend. Not only does he bring a wealth of gaming experience to the table, he is also a talented 3D artist. The second new game has a sci-fi setting.
Work has started on both of them but the plan is to focus on one of them and take it to completion before returning to the other.
Improve, improve, improve: And as ever I am looking to generally improve all aspects of the site.
Do you have any thoughts on these projects? Which is more important: Facebook or iPhone? Do you have a preferred style of game or suggested improvements? Leave a comment.
I’m generally indifferent to FB or the iPhone. I don’t use my FB account for much and don’t have an iPhone. 🙂 Yes, I know, behind the times and all that. About the only iPhone/Android app tha twould interest me is one that completely encrypts the phone, not just a select area but the entire phone.
I generally like all games and the SteamPunk sounds interesting but mainly because I’ve never played a game in that setting. I started playing with Ogre, GEV, Melee, Wizards and Car Wars. then when up to Panzer Leader, SFB and BattleTech. I play Blue Max and have also games like BackGammon (goldtoken.com). I’ve love to figure out how to get some games like Ogre,Melee or Car Wars online but figure the legal end of things would be horrible even before teh programing. If I remember correctly, Steve Jackson still has copyrights etc on those games. I figure CW would be the easiest as far as programing goes but……..I’m leaning to program. THist semester I’m learning C++ and PHP. 🙂 If should be something like Blue Max.
later,
Ken
Anther couple of old games that I think have ppotential to be web games are Battlewagons (naval warfare. Like Wooden Ships and Ironmen but set in WWI and WWII) or Star Fire. Both of these games were made by ADB or Task Force Games.
I think I have seen Star Fire – in the sense that a friend of mine showed me it in its box. I have read though both Full Thrust and Starmarda in my research for my space game. They have informed my approach – I was looking at a game of small fighters, but now I see it as a game of fleets of capital ships.
Facebook integration is more about bringing a social aspect to the game and marketing. While the game will always be played on the Hexcell Games site it would be nice if when you won a game a message could be posted to your facebook wall along the lines of “Kenneth, flying a Sopwith Camel, just shoot down a Fokker DR.1 in Blue Max. See all the action here.”
iPhone is more because I wanting to learn what can be done with the platform. I am still experimenting and thinking about exactly what I can do and what i would want to do. So if anyone has suggestions…
William Gibson’s The Difference Engine is a good (the only?) steampunk novel.
I liked Star Fire and found it to be a simpler type game. SFB without all the rules. 🙂 I haven’t played Full Thrust or Starmarda but they do sound like fleets and not fighters. SFB has carriers but the complexity of trying to do that is HUGE. Carrier battles gave me a headache when I played a lot yet well trying to manage it in a program. If I think of or find one I’ll let ya know.
Wrote my first C++ and thought it would complie w/o many issues. Was that a mistake. Back to the drawing board on that one. 🙂
Laters,
Ken