HERTS Paul Larpenteur Lee Murphy CSE 403 – Sp 2003 Hearts Experimental Remote Transportable System

HERTS What is it? HERTS is a multi-player, cell-phone based version of the classic card game Hearts. Each player will be able to see what cards they have by looking at their cell phone’s screen. A new unique multi-player game for cell- phones that is not just a memory or reflex tester.

HERTS Who wants it and why? WHO: Children Teens Adults Everyone!!! WHY: A fun game to play. You can play against other humans instead of computer AI. Play Hearts with your friends when you are apart.

HERTS Architecture Server Client Messaging GUI Messaging Game Logic Modules: Client Contains GUI & User commands, but no real game logic. Server Contains Game Logic and player scores. Messaging Communicates between Client & Server. Handles TCP connections.

HERTS Support & Distribution HERTS requires a server administrator to keep the HERTS server running. If enough people started playing HERTS, additional servers would be needed to handle the load. If an upgrade required changing the midlet code, there must be some way to notify users and provide them the new midlet.

HERTS Risks Display size on current phones limits the complexity of displayable information. Our HERTS game may quickly become obsolete due to rival development teams with more time and resources available. If demand is not high, our time and effort may be wasted.

HERTS Future Expansions AI: Play against 1, 2, or 3 AI’s and your friends. Improved graphics/displays for new cell phones. Additional card games besides Hearts.

HERTS Feasibility No cell phones we observed had any four-player game available, so HERTS is unique and desirable. HERTS is easily modularized into Client, Server, and Messaging components. TCP/IP message interfaces are easy to implement in Java. HERTS is a good first step into multi-user cell phone environments. We recommend proceeding with this project.