Shannon V. OKeets
Posts: 22095
Joined: 5/19/2005
From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Status: offline
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I am now under contract to Matrix Games to develop the computerized version of World in Flames. This posting is to introduce myself and give you some insight into what I envision happening in the near future. I consider WiF one of the best board wargames ever written and for its scope (world wide) and time period (WWII) the absolute best. I, personally, have been waiting for the computerized version since 1996.
My background includes: writing over 100,000 lines of code in 5 different computer languages, having over 100 books on military history in my library, owning over 120 board wargames, and having played board wargames for 8-10 hours a week for over 20 years straight. I played WiF head-to-head and in multi-player groups for 6 of those years. In the mid-1980's I created, from scratch, 2 computer wargames for the Atari 800 (32 kb of memory running at 1.2 MHz with a 128 kb disk on which to write the program overlays). The first one, “The Battle of Chickamauga”, won an award from Family Computing as the best wargame of the year (1985). If you want to know more about me you could visit my company’s web site: www.PatternDiscovery.us.
I expect to do a lot of communication to members of this group through the forums. David Heath wants weekly updates on the program’s progress and I will summarize those into a monthly report to this forum, describing what has been accomplished in the past month and what I plan to accomplish in the next month.
For clarity, let me set forth some acronyms I will be using. WiF refers to the board game version of World in Flames in general and encompasses all the additions and modifications unless specifically stated otherwise. CWiF refers to the computerized version of WiF, developed by Chris Marinacci, that went forth into the world as a Beta test version. MWiF refers to the Matrix Games version of computerized WiF for which I am writing code.
MWiF is a large project with many pieces (pun intended). To get it done, it has to be attacked systematically, with focus on individual elements of the game that get defined, coded, tested, and completed. It is unproductive to try to work on everything at once, and even worse to finish something and then go back to it later with new ideas for improvements. My mantra will be define, code, test, complete. To that end I propose to involve you in the first part: definition of what is to be done.
I will start discussion groups on this forum to solicit your input into the design of MWiF. I will read all your postings. Indeed, I have already printed out all the postings to date in all the Matrix Games forums on WiF and have read them, underlining portions that are the author’s key points. I have glanced at the postings on Yahoo and was completely intimidated by the volume (78,000+). If there are good ideas in that mountain of text, I wouldn’t be opposed to you finding them for me and sending me any nuggets of wisdom that might be of use in MWiF. Getting back to the discussion groups, I will start 3 to begin with: (1) Map, (2) Units, and (3) Teams. Each of the discussion groups has an introduction to get it started.
In general, it would do us all a lot of good if each discussion group stayed focused on its topic. Yes, I know there are many other things about MWiF on which you have opinions that you would like to communicate to me and to each other. Write them down off line and save them for when I introduce a discussion group for which they are appropriate. What I want to do here is: pose a question to the group, receive ideas and concerns on the topic, make a final decision about how the topic will be designed, finalize the design for that topic, and then move on to the next topic. For example, after I get input from the group in the next couple of weeks, I expect to finalize the design of the maps and units. Then, any coding that is done related to maps and units can be written without worrying about having to go back and change it later because the design changed. Given reality, there will be exceptions, but I hope to minimize them.
Perhaps this is a good place to give you my motivations. To start with, I am working on the basis of royalties, so I will receive no money until the game has actually been sold to customers (I hope that includes you). Do I want the game completed fast? You bet! Will I compromise quality? Never! I am a programmer, which means the code is either perfect or it is wrong. I view poorly written code as a slur on my professional skill. I find it absolutely intolerable. This puts me in a position of conflicting objectives, but it is one with which I have lived all my professional life: “Do it fast, but do it right”. I want to produce a product that both I and Matrix Games can be proud of.
Actually, I am writing MWIF for you. Software has zero value unless it is used by a customer. But that is the collective you, not the individual you. This is why I am asking for your input at the design stage of this program. I think of it as receiving everyone’s critique before the code is written rather than after the game is published. Along the way the design decisions will be made for everyone, when possible, and for “the greater good” otherwise. In cases of competing designs I will go with what I think is best and try to provide options for both designs when that’s feasible and not too arduous to achieve. If I do this right, you will enjoy MWiF as much as you do WiF. All I can promise is that I will give it my best.
I have a list of a dozen topics that I will be posing to the group over the next month or two. If you have ideas for a topic, let me know by posting to this forum. As for a date when the game will be ready, this project is too young and I am too experienced, to give even a guesstimate. When we are a little farther along and I have a sense of the size of this undertaking, I will give you an informed opinion on the completion date.
“Once more unto the breach, dear friends!”
Steve (Steven Hokanson)
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Steve
Perfection is an elusive goal.
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A New Start Please Welcome Steven Hokanson. - 
Well if were talking resumes...
Nice to see a young person like Shannon getting a chance 
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