PHP Game Maker

[Jackolantern]

I have been bouncing around this idea for a while now, and am considering starting on it. Basically, this would be a PHP browser-based MMO creation engine. It would be built in .NET due to its wonderful StringBuilder type, well-equiped streams and integrated drag'n'drop GUI builder. It will provide a tabbed interface where players could page through screens of options, text boxes and other UI elements to set options for their PHP game. The editor would set up a MySQL database to support the game, and create PHP text files in a standard website hierarchy of folders and subfolders so the user could simply export the master folder to a web server after they "compile" the game (ie choose to create the PHP files). Beyond what the editor would produce for the user, additional edits could be done to the PHP files, of course. But this would be primarily targeted at people who want to create fairly standard Torn City-style PBBGs, and who want to concern themselves more with the creation of the specifics of their game, such as characters, items, enemies, places, etc., rather than with learning HTML and PHP before they can even start on their game.

I am basically posting this here to see if anyone would have any interest in something like this. I understand that a lot of people here are more interested in coding their own game (which is likely why you are here to begin with), but do you think it could find a following of users?

[Sakar]

I believe that something like this could and would get a pretty good following, as I'm sure there are plenty of people that would like to create browser based games without having to learn HTML and PHP first. And since more advanced users could easily edit the PHP files, you might be able to attract quite a few experienced users as well.


Good luck on this project!

[Jackolantern]

Thanks for the vote of confidence! The end game to a project like this would encompass several things:

1. Have a decent-sized user base of both experienced and beginner developers
2. Have an archive of royalty-free content that users can leverage to "fluff out" their game
3. Either have the engine released open source, or allow add-ons to be created by the community to extend its functionality
4. Allow for easy, push-button Facebook integration
5. Include automated jQuery functionality and possibly script.aculo.us effects for combat

Naturally, most of these are going to be further down the line from any kind of initial release. I am between this project, and digging in to XNA to possibly create an XBox 360 game or Silversprite project.

[Callan S.]

Yeah, I think it'd be popular, as far as I understand it? Sort of drop down boxes with options, so you take your torn city game and make it dinosaurs and cavemen, or even dinosaurs and mafia, or whatever the various options grant? And they can get the code generated so they could even go host it somewhere by themselves? Sounds cool - as long as the code is heavily commented Though that's not technically hard to do, which is good

If your hosting games, what'd I'd suggest is to not make every game an issolated community - when you host games, have it that players can go from game to game with the same account, and here's the big difference, with some of the points they have accumulated in other games. Have some sort of universal 'star' points, that they can spend in other games, so they aren't just working from the bottom in a new game. This will help people to be able to try out new games you host.

Anyway, I'd definately come and make one, if it's just a few drop boxes to complete (make it so for a really basic game you can finish the drop boxes in five minutes, or such). And I'm pretty sure everyone else here would too - even Halls! Everyone loves choosing what a game is about - it's the coding part that's the hurdle. If you handle the hurdle, everyone will be doing the fun choosing what the games about part

[Jackolantern]

Thanks for the feedback! As far as whether or not I would be hosting the games, I wouldn't be. I don't have the resources to get any cheaper hosting than anyone else, and would likely just be making this for fun anyway, so it would just generate the raw PHP files in a folder structure, and configure the MySQL database.

[Callan S.]

Ah, cool - never mind the hosted idea thing then

How do you mean configure the MySQL - do you mean create a file they can import that will configure it right?

Anyway, it'd be really neat to try out!

[Jackolantern]

I was originally planning on configuring the db for the game by querying it, but then I realized that it is likely going to only be the user's testing MySQL on their development computer. So maybe it would be a better idea to just produce a stored query with the setup functions.

[SpiritWebb]

Def a neat idea Jack. I look forward in seeing what you do with this.

Is it going to kinda be like Mud Maker?

[Jackolantern]

Def a neat idea Jack. I look forward in seeing what you do with this.

Is it going to kinda be like Mud Maker?

It would be along the same lines, yes, except MudMaker was very closed-doors while it was active. You made your game in a browser, the files were created on the owner's servers, and you paid them for hosting. This would be created from a downloadable desktop GUI application, and would create text PHP files that the user can both edit, and host through anyone they want. The editor itself will likely also be open source, since a potential community could extend the functionality of it far beyond any groundwork I would create (I consider myself only to be an intermediate programmer at this time).

[hallsofvallhalla]

This is a great idea I have wanted to do for some time but could never get the motivation for something this big. I would love to see someone working on this and would give as much support as I could. The main thing that always kept me from going forward myself was the amount of different types of PBBG's out there.

One way to tackle it is make one type, release, then make "packages" or add-ons for all the other types and release them one at a time as you get them done.

Good luck, can't wait to see some progress for sure.