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Thread: Gaim with game support

  1. #1
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    Gaim with game support

    This morning I ended up using a windows box infact I ended up using messenger now what strikes me is that Gaim offers no game support.
    Now I know mercury offers game support but mercury doesn't have any many users as Gaim.

    I see it beinmg quite important to offer games in a messenger client.
    All the games need to be is simple java based games they don't have to be fancy all they need to do is provide another form of interaction.

    My cousin who lives in the states shes plays yahoo pool with her friends for example such interaction is great for kids and adults too.

    I think a fork off of gaim providing game support would be something people want and who knows it might well be adopted by Gaim in the future.

    These are the games to provide:

    connect 4
    chess
    pool
    black jack
    poker
    battle ships
    Risk
    trivial pursuit (could get questions from a database online or could get downloaded to the system in a encrypted format.)

    Now games should be able to be added on so addon games can be provided.
    Java has good network support and is cross platform so that is what the games should be written in.
    Xml should be used to contain the version build and the author of the game.
    Maybe have a repos
    Let me know what you think of the idea and suggest for some games.
    Quote Originally Posted by jeremy View Post
    I think that ms's future will be a drunken and down-on-his-luck Steve Balmer on a beach somewhere in South America or the far east, trying to convince bored american tourists that he used to be important.

  2. #2
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    Re: Gaim with game support

    Java you say? The only programing language I know... <.< I guess I could consider that as a project. But I never had enough money to complete my schooling in Java.

  3. #3
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    Re: Gaim with game support

    The purpose of a chat program is to hold conversations over the net through text, images, voice or video. A chat program doesn't have anything to do with games.

    The main problems with building games into the chat program would be that:
    1. People who want to talk don't want the games.
    2. People who want to play games will often want to play other games then the ones that happen to be built into the chat program.

    So keep the games entirely separated from the chat program please. Instead, add an option to invite everyone in the conversation to any game that you have installed and that the chat program can control with command line arguments.

    When you press the invite to game button and choose a game it could work like this... The chat program would run the game you invited your friends to with a command line option to start a match that the others can join ("gamename --server" or something). Then it would send the invitation to the others. If they have the game installed and accept then their chat programs run the game with a command line option to join your match ("gamename --joinip=your.ip.add.ress" perhaps).

  4. #4
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    Re: Gaim with game support

    Well what I was thinking was having a plug in module for the games.
    So basicaly the user right clicks on a user in their member list and that basicaly pop ups a dialog box with the games installed.

    The user then clicks play game or invite other users to join the game.
    Then the other user has to accept the game basicaly.
    If the user clicks join game and hasn't got that certain game installed it will print the url in which to download the game.

    So basicaly what is being created is a plug in system to allow games over a network.

    Now the hardest part will be working it into gaim.
    The great thing about this is that it will all be modules allowing users to create their own java based games.

    Messenger clients should allow the user to do interact that is the thing and even a game is interacting.
    Many parents will agree with me that interaction between other kids is a important thing kids should be able to play games with other kids if they wish too.
    GPL software is about giving and taking with a project like this we'll be taking Gaim and adding features into it that allow other features.
    The user will have a choice to which games he/she wishes to install/remove.
    This project should allow freedom to the user thats the most important part.
    So a good api for the games is important.


    The main problems with building games into the chat program would be that:
    1. People who want to talk don't want the games.
    Its all based on plugins so the user doesn't have to load them.

    2. People who want to play games will often want to play other games then the ones that happen to be built into the chat program.
    The games will not be built into the program itself but built as modules to be loaded giving freedom.
    Last edited by Virogenesis; February 10th, 2006 at 12:11 AM.
    Quote Originally Posted by jeremy View Post
    I think that ms's future will be a drunken and down-on-his-luck Steve Balmer on a beach somewhere in South America or the far east, trying to convince bored american tourists that he used to be important.

  5. #5
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    Re: Gaim with game support

    Quote Originally Posted by Virogenesis
    2. People who want to play games will often want to play other games then the ones that happen to be built into the chat program.
    The games will not be built into the program itself but built as modules to be loaded giving freedom.
    Ok in that case people who want to play games will often want to play other games then the ones that are built as plugin modules for the chat program.

    What if I want to play for example wesnoth, crack attack or unreal tournament with some friends I happen to be chatting with? If you pass command line options to separate programs then it will work with any game even if the game was not built to be started from a chat conversation. At least as long as the games supports command line options and the chat program has a list of the correct command lines for various games.

  6. #6
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    Re: Gaim with game support

    Quote Originally Posted by Kvark
    What if I want to play for example wesnoth, crack attack or unreal tournament with some friends I happen to be chatting with? If you pass command line options to separate programs then it will work with any game even if the game was not built to be started from a chat conversation. At least as long as the games supports command line options and the chat program has a list of the correct command lines for various games.
    I believe a plug in exists for gaim that allows you to pass command line stuff already the idea is to bridge a gap in the market like what gaim-vv done.
    Basicaly the concept is too help out parents, parents have kids that have friends on windows, now kids chat using msn, aim and yahoo.
    Now a parent could well install mercury which supports games but then the other user has to have mercury now by having gaim with windows support the kid can go to his mate....
    Use this it allows you to connect to yahoo, aim and msn at the same time, has webcam support and its got a ton more games.

    Kid a) Lets play pool
    kid b) I can't I'm using linux
    kid a) damn that sucks
    kid b) you could install gaim-games
    kid a) whats that
    kid b) well its gaim with game support its has alot more games
    kid a) whats gaim?
    kid b) gaim allows you to connect to msn, yahoo and aim
    kid a) sounds good does it support webcams and chatting?
    kid b) ofcourse its great its so much better than messenger
    kid a) where can i download it?
    kid b) url.....
    kid a) its free and looks great
    kid b) it is, go check out the games
    kid a) wow its got so many
    kid b) best of all tom can play aswell
    kid a) tom says he can't he says his mac won't allow for that
    kid b) nah made for mac aswell
    kid a) i can't believe this...
    kid b) invites kid a to play pool they both play pool
    kid a) tells his friends
    kid a's friends now play with gaim-games

    Now its a win win for freesoftware it allows for a more standard world giving the user far more choices.

    Imagine a world where a kid cannot play games with his mates o yeah that exists and its annoying not everyone using a standard.
    I'm sure parents must face this problem where joe can't play with bob because hes on windows.
    I bet the parent must find it so hard aswell I'm no parent but I do see this as a problem and I see this as a solution to a problem that exists.

    Edubutu could even use a program like this teaching kids through chat.
    Gaim-vv started off as a fork but now its being used in Gaim 2.
    Quote Originally Posted by jeremy View Post
    I think that ms's future will be a drunken and down-on-his-luck Steve Balmer on a beach somewhere in South America or the far east, trying to convince bored american tourists that he used to be important.

  7. #7
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    Re: Gaim with game support

    my solution: just don't use windows....

    .... and don't play games, either....

    gaim doesn't need games. it will just bloat up the damn program. I don't want a bloated gaim, and who gives a crap about games?

  8. #8
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    Re: Gaim with game support

    Quote Originally Posted by majikstreet
    my solution: just don't use windows....
    Quote Originally Posted by majikstreet
    gaim doesn't need games. it will just bloat up the damn program. I don't want a bloated gaim, and who gives a crap about games?
    Did I call it gaim-game or gaim... .
    Opensource is about sharing code and using it to what is required
    Just because you might like a feature doesn't mean everyone agrees with you.
    FACT!!! You are a single entity not everyone will agree with you

    Read my posts more carefully in future I do understand you're a young user you aren't aware of some of the problems a parent faces when their child uses linux and tries to work with a windows user.
    I ain't a parent myself either but I'm a mature enough human to understand that locking down something is bad.

    The whole idea of Opensource is to use existing code to modify it to get it to do what you need it to do or to create software for what users need it to do.
    Now to take the most popular and most mature GPL chat program and to add features that people want will take away the closed software side of things.

    You think its right for people to tell little johny he can't play with susan next door because shes black?
    OFCOURSE NOT!!!!
    So why should it be right for Microsoft to tell Little johny that he can't play with susan because susan is using Linux.
    Now Susan is the only black girl in her community now shes in a world full of hate shes going to feel lonely compared to all the other white kids.
    Think of how little susan feels.

    Quote Originally Posted by majikstreet
    don't play games
    Please explain to little johny that hes not allowed to.....
    That a good thing to teach a kid?

    Code:
    "Ubuntu" is an ancient African word, meaning "humanity to others". Ubuntu also means "I am what I am because of who we all are". The Ubuntu Linux distribution brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world.
    Remember that!!
    Quote Originally Posted by jeremy View Post
    I think that ms's future will be a drunken and down-on-his-luck Steve Balmer on a beach somewhere in South America or the far east, trying to convince bored american tourists that he used to be important.

  9. #9
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    Re: Gaim with game support

    AOL instant messenger has this ... it is bloated malware.

  10. #10
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    Re: Gaim with game support

    Quote Originally Posted by Virogenesis
    I believe a plug in exists for gaim that allows you to pass command line stuff already
    But passing command line stuff would not do the trick. What I am talking about is a menu that is labelled invite to game and where one user clicks on a game to start it and the users' friends clicks an accept button to join. All the complicated stuff with IP-addresses and commands would be handled behind the scenes by the chat program.

    Since it would just be some buttons and a list of the proper commands for various games it would be easy to add this functionality not only to gaim but to kopete, xchat and other open source chat programs.


    But your idea about games sounds good too, except that it should not be dependant on gaim. How about making it a collection of stand alone games that are suitable for children and social interaction. That are ported to different platforms and can be started either by the user or by another program.

    Then the game collection would work not only with gaim but on it's own or together with any chat program that you add a simple games menu and a list of proper commands to start various games to.

    You could still be bundle it with gaim and distribute the two together of course.

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