I also wondered whether this would be better as a web-based game or a standalone. It should be *relatively* lightweight, so web-based is possible (especially with decent downloading only necessary bits, etc).
Web-based is cool because:
* It's low-commitment, someone can try it simply by clicking a button and not doing anything else. * You can put it on a site with advertising. * It may be more portable * Someone can play from wherever they are
But I thought standalone was good because:
* Web-based games always seem to turn out a bit fragile. You have to keep a web browser window open, it locks up and you hadn't saved, the user interface is only half under your control, if you download the game and play it you find it locked in a "viewer" window. * You keep having to go back to the webpage rather than having a shortcut on your desktop or menus * Being able to play conveniently off-line fits the retro feel. * If this were ever a successful project, a C based game has more scope for being taken on and expanded into other open-source games.
Maybe java runnable either from the computer or over the web would make sense, but I didn't feel like it.
Also, the most usable engine I settled on was C-based.
It might be possible to port it *back* to the web. Either with a java port of the graphics library, or if you can embed an arbitrary executable as an applet, or whatever.
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Date: 2007-09-16 04:26 pm (UTC)Web-based is cool because:
* It's low-commitment, someone can try it simply by clicking a button and not doing anything else.
* You can put it on a site with advertising.
* It may be more portable
* Someone can play from wherever they are
But I thought standalone was good because:
* Web-based games always seem to turn out a bit fragile. You have to keep a web browser window open, it locks up and you hadn't saved, the user interface is only half under your control, if you download the game and play it you find it locked in a "viewer" window.
* You keep having to go back to the webpage rather than having a shortcut on your desktop or menus
* Being able to play conveniently off-line fits the retro feel.
* If this were ever a successful project, a C based game has more scope for being taken on and expanded into other open-source games.
Maybe java runnable either from the computer or over the web would make sense, but I didn't feel like it.
Also, the most usable engine I settled on was C-based.
It might be possible to port it *back* to the web. Either with a java port of the graphics library, or if you can embed an arbitrary executable as an applet, or whatever.