> I have used stacks delivered via the web to various students for more > than a year, and I must admit that each time I'm looking at the > downloading I still feel lucky to how discovered this genial solution > and think you should go for it.
I echo this sentiment strongly. Last year, I ran an online game for about 2-1/2 months which was centered around a "mysterious" piece of software that players had to figure out how to use. The software consisted of Mac/Windows player engines that retrieved game "levels" (stacks) from a central location on the Web and allowed users to play locally. Once a level was completed, the results were sent to an online database, and the address of the next level was downloaded into the user's player. Player registration was also handled via online stacks as well, where users entered their registration information into a stack that sent their data to the database. If you're interested in seeing a demo of the game, links are included below. The coolest thing about online delivery of stacks is the ability to maintain/update. Instead of forcing all users of your software to download a new standalone engine every time you make a change to your content, you store your content in stacks on the Web. To update, simply make changes to your content stack and upload it to the Web; then all users have access the latest and greatest content via their players. Truth be told, there can be some disadvantages to delivering content via custom software, versus a browser. You will undoubtedly have some support issues to contend with (there's always some user out there with a wacky system that refuses to run your app), but IMO, the possibilities for a customized user experience outweigh the support issues you may face. ----- DEMO INFO Plexata was a series of visual puzzles whose solutions required users to do research on the Web, find a key word or phrase, and translate that key into series of digits which were entered into the player to access the next level. In this demo, the codes have been simplified to allow access to 7 levels. NOTE: the solution of each puzzle will be meaningless for anyone who is unfamiliar with the game; this demo is provided purely to demonstrate the gameplay. A demo of the Plexata game is available at the addresses below. Note this was built over a year ago using MC2.3 and as such: 1) you may experience some minor display problems on XP; 2) you may experience sound/performance problems under Classic on OSX (no OSX native version is available). [WIN] http://www.plexata.com/samples/plexata_demo.zip [MAC] http://www.plexata.com/samples/plexata_demo.hqx (OS 9 and earlier only) - Access Codes Level 1 - 101 Level 2 - 102 Level 3 - 103 Level 4 - 201 Level 5 - 202 Level 6 - 203 Level 7 - 301 - Player Operation Launch the app. Wait for the player to situate itself at the bottom of your screen. Click the center to open the data entry panel. Enter a code from the above list and click the play (arrow) button. Once a level has downloaded, click play again to run the level. When you are finished with a level, click the play button to close the level. - Your Are Being Monitored This version of the demo features a hidden surveillance camera which may appear randomly on your desktop to take your picture. Don't worry -- the pictures will not be released to the public. If you run into any problems, feel free to contact me directly offlist. Regards, Scott Rossi Creative Director Tactile Media, Multimedia & Design ----- E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] W: http://www.tactilemedia.com _______________________________________________ use-revolution mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-revolution