Games, Web Apps, Business Intelligence

If you have been to www.conquerclub.com, then you have seen what I think is a very interesting concept in wargame design. They have taken the game mechanics of Risk and built a system around them to allow for the use of any type of map (game board) you can imagine. And all of this is accomplished in a persistant browser-based game (PBBG).

This flexibility appeals to my low boredom threshold. I play a game/scenario/map several times and then I need a change. So I have studied their site and reverse-engineered it, in a sense. It is now my goal to develop a similar system of map flexibility while keeping a consistent set of core rules. My design is different in that I want to expand the complexity of the game - instead of following the Risk system of simple numerical superiority, I want to incorporate different unit types, such as infantry, armor, and air units.

For the prototype game, I have "borrowed" a map and unit icons from other websites. Once the game gets to beta testing, I will either try to design my own map and icon set or ask a better qualified person to donate their time to create them.

The game is coded in PHP with the accompanying MySQL database. In its current state, it uses very little Javascript, but I would like to incorporate AJAX at a later time for seamless combat and movement. The map and military unit data are structured in simple text files that correspond with the map image. I have created two classes: one for the map and one for units. The rest of the functionality is in a separate "functions" include file.

I have invested around twenty hours developing the system and have at least 10 more hours until I have a playable system ready for Alpha testing. I will post the link here when it is ready to go. Once the game is live, I will also post code samples and go into the design of the game in more detail. Keep checking back for updates to this promising wargame.

In the meantime, I suggest you go to Conquer Club and try your hand at one of their interesting maps.

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