I am working on a WinPC based game that optionally allows the user to sync the game state with a PocketPC to allow 'on-the-road' play then sync back up for continued desktop play when she/he returns home. I am interested in trying other games that emply this design but heven't found any. Has anyone seen something like this? If you haven't seen anything like this what do you think of the idea? [Edited by - ixsis on June 29, 2005 2:17:47 PM]

Interesting idea but isnt i like having a laptop computer on the go?
unless its something different then i would like to help out with your ideas one way or another.

Bulldog.

I'm not sure what you stand to gain from this. Animal Crossing allowed you to "move" from the GameCube to your GameBoy Advance for some things, and you could enjoy the little mini-game until you returned to the real thing, but it didn't add much.

What aspect of your game would compel players to persist in playing it when they didn't have access to their computer? Would they lose so much by waiting until they got home?

It sounds like a lot of work for a feature that not many players would use.

Iron Chef Carnage,

One of the of the working ideas of my project is that it provides an option for playing in 'real-time' i.e. game time is synced with your local time. Several close associates that I have brain stormed with suggested the PocketPC idea as a means to 'play' at times that the user is away from their PC.

As an example, suppose there are certain tasks that need to be performed during certain hours like feeding a pet. If the user chose to play in this 'real-time' mode, they could take the game with them and feed the pet.

Another scenario would be if the game were a stock market simulator. You could 'buy and sell' in real-time during the day based on actual market news and sync up with the main system (which would pull down actual market data for your 'portfolio') when you get home and you could see the results of your trading day.

Right now the design is very open and still very raw. I posed the question because the basic idea intrigued me. Since I hadn't seen anything along these lines before I thought I'd throw the idea out here.

That makes more sense.

Again, I'm reminded of Animal Crossing, which functioned in "realtime" (although you could cheat by changing the clock on your GameCube). It adds a sense of engagement for most players, but it also will alienate some. You'll get the intersection of people who like your kind of game and people who like Tomagotchis. It can become a burden to be saddled with a game that actually makes demands on your time. The first time that thing asks me to step out of a meeting to feed my virtual puppy and take out my virtual garbage, it's history.

Remember that people who have desktops AND PocketPCs probably have a job that would prevent them from playing a video game every two hours or so.