Friendly Games is a company which specialises in online gaming. The company currently has several online entertainment systems and they are always looking to expand into new areas of internet based entertainment.
Friendly Games identified a new internet game they would like developed. The game would enable users to challenge each other over the internet playing 3 card brag. The game would allow new players to quickly create an account and then join tables via the game lobby. The system is required to fully implement the functionality/rules of 3 card brag.
The initial system is to enable players to bet using only 'FUN' money. The objective is to present the game to the potential investors for future investment/funding.
Simple Answers were required to implement the system from the scratch. The first step was to create the graphics (look and feel) for the 4 card brag game. The Simple Answers graphics artists created several sketches which were discussed with the customer at a conceptual level. Once the theme was agreed a series of screenshots were rendered (this required 3D models of the players & game table to be creared). This information was presented to the customer for their acceptance and they were very pleased with the graphics.
One of the primary objectives for this project was that the game is internet based which enabled players' to challenge each other over the internet. This required a client / server system to be implemented. The client application would reside on each players workstation, whereas the server would reside on the Simple Answers servers. The server would store all game logic (therefore preventing users from hacking the rules) - and the client would act as a dumb terminal which would react to command/events sent to it by the server. This client/server system required a bespoke network protocol to be designed to facilitate communications between players and the server.
The system was designed to be flexible therefore enabling players to create their own game tables. The player could set the minimum bet, maximum bet, and timer speed for the table. This table would be advertised in the game lobby (clearly stating the rules) and would allow other players to join if they accepted these rules.
It was a required that each table should allow up to 6 players to join at any time. Each player could elect to either watch or participate in the games. Each player at the table also had the ability to talk to each other using the online chat tool.
The project was implemented on time and provided all the features that the customer requested meeting their exact requirements.
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