TowerGames

Networking & Multiplayer
#1

Hi guys,

many years ago I worked full time for a game company doing games in C, and later C++. During that time I watched the big distributors start to get a stranglehold on commercial game development. I got out and had more fun for a while working as a freelance developer/designer and was involved in some very early java web stuff. Then a couple of years ago I had a dream to use java to give game artists better access to the consumers out there. I had a half hour chat with a friend of mine and Tower Games was born.

The idea is simple, Tower Games runs a web site and a whole bunch of infrastructure, game artists develop games according to an API to plug into our web site. The site is pay_for_play and we collect the dollars and pass on a significant royalty to the writers.

We have only 1 game at the moment, a wargame, and 2 other wargames in serious development but unlikely to be ready till next year. We also have a few good 3rd party designs looking for developers who are willing to make a deal with the designers.

The whole site is 100% java - tomcat with servlets and jsp at the back and applets at the front.

Anyway, check out the site www.towergames.com, and post your thoughts about our approach to networked play here.

#2

IMHO, you’re about 5 years behind everyone else? Half of your features that I could make out were already being done by competitors fully 10 years ago. I take it you’ve at least looked at Pogo, popcap, etc - but have you also researched the less mainstream ones that offer substantially the same services with more variety?

I can’t see anything inherently new that you’re doing, and the only differentiator you have right now appears to be a focus on “turn-based wargames” and on “pbm-style interfaces”. So, you could do a good line in converting pbm’s and pbem’s to online games, but for everything else you’ve got massive competition with a lot more money, more style, more games, established user-base, etc.

That’s not to say you’re doing anything badly, but being that far behind the curve suggests you’ll struggle to survive long-term (unless you’re happy focussing on a niche within this concept - e.g. turn-based games - which everyone else is ignoring).

#3

(nb: that’s all a comment on the business plan, not on the games themselves…)

#4

Thanks for sharing. :wink:

Yes I’ve been to more game sites than I care to remember over the past 4 years. Could you give me 2 specifics that you have in mind in the less mainstream group? (not including HexWar which is obvious but have visited)

I’ll refrain from responding any more deeply until I have had a few more opinions posted.

#5

I wasn’t on the net 10 years ago so I don’t know about the plethora of web games sites blah mentions that predate this one, but I have to say I like the concept. In fact its exactly what I had in mind when I posted about implementing online versions of these games.

#6

Cool site! I’m glad to see Lew Pulsipher etc. all still going strong. Send me a private email, I’d like to chat.