Computer Science Department
A Collaborative Card Game Application for the Internet
Danielle Jaegers
Playing cards have been a part of human culture for hundreds of years; online card games for only a handful. The power of card games to connect, challenge, and entertain people has been shown in their lasting popularity and even their tremendous virtual presence through software and web applications. One of the attributes of cards is that the flexibility of the medium allows for thousands of different games to be created and played with a range of players. This web application will allow a group of users at different machines and distances to connect by creating a shared session where they can chat and take control of a deck of cards. While many card applications limit the play to a specific card game, this application will allow the users to parameterize the functionality of the deck and their hands according to their own rules. While there will be some limits in functionality due to the development scope of this project, the application should prove to be more flexible than the typical card application, restoring some of the native creative influence of the ever-flexible deck of cards. This project involves the creation of a website that will allow users to log in to a game session and invite their friends. Once in the session, they will be able to participate in a text-based chat. A set of controls will be available to the players allowing them to choose tools and parameters such as the ability to draw multiple cards at a time or to start with a specified number of cards after the deal. The game itself will be self moderated, though tools will be given to allow the users to ease their game play.