There are a number of sites that bring board games to the web such as www.gametableonline.com. I am a programmer by profession and a boardgamer by hobby, so you can imagine that I have oft thought of creating an online boardgame. Unfortunately because my background has been in developing business applications I could stand to learn a few things about creating an online game.
Anyone know where I could download a practical example (any thin-client technology) of an online multiplayer boardgame? Or even a book recommendation?
I don't want to write anything that requires the download and installation of my software. Java or Flash seem like fine possibilities. (Concur?) I don't want to read a bunch of books either. I'm looking for a course of study that will allow me to quickly ramp up on my lacking areas -- 1) coordinating player input over the internet, and 2) manipulating a graphical game board and graphical bits.
I'd especially be excited to discuss this with someone who has actually done this. If you are one such person, would you be willing to discuss this in a chat or via email?
Check out eyeplaygames.com for a nice implementation of a boardgame. It doesn't require any extra software to use and it sure looks purty. I'm not sure how willing Joe will be to discuss it, he's a pretty busy bot.
If you haven't already, try www.brettspielwelt.de (or something like that). It's got dozens of board games. It's gotten better recently, but the interface is still tough to use (now in English! Mostly). It's got good board games ported to the computer. It uses Java and it has an optional client.
I doubt either site will will want to spend a lot of time telling you how to do what they've done, but they might give you some clues about what route to take.