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Pyvatar

Create Multiplayer Games for Smartphones

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Pyvatar is an open source game development framework for iOS and Android smartphones. The Pyvatar game editor is written in Python, runs on Windows and Linux, and is based on an open source Python library used for developing cross-platform apps called Kivy. All Pyvatar games are written in Python. All game action takes place in rectangular cells, which may be nested. All animation (in Version 1.0) is limited to game objects moving horizontally or vertically, along a line connecting the center of a cell to one of its borders. All games can be run in single-player and/or 2-player mode (using Bluetooth). Single-player mode allows the user to click on a particular corner of the screen to swap players, for games which also run in 2-player mode. The main goal of Pyvatar is to radically simplify the development of 2-player games which run on smartphones.

User Classes

  1. Guest: play all games in single-player mode
  2. Bronze: must register, can play up to 3 games in 2-player mode
  3. Designer: a limit of two 2-player game clients exists for games created by Designers, who are allowed to add and delete valid end-users
  4. Silver: $10 – can play up to 12 games in 2-player mode, may also be Designers
  5. Gold: $20 – can play an unlimited no. of games in 2-player mode, may also be Designers
  6. Platinum: $50 – can design an unlimited no. of games in 2-player mode

All users (except guests) must first log in in order to download games. Users can use either their Facebook or Google IDs to log in. After a user logs in, her event counts (since previous session) are uploaded, in order to gauge the relative popularity of each game. Every time an event is triggered during game play, the corresponding event count is incremented for the current game.

Autistic Programmers

I hope to hire 2 full-time autistic programmers. I will use a Danish company called Specialisterne, which recruits autistic IT personnel and has an office in Toronto. The 1st autistic programmer works in my condo, and the 2nd autistic programmer does mostly testing and sample game design, working from home. All employee salaries will be paid by a grant I hope to secure from CAMH Foundation. If Pyvatar turns out to be profitable, then I will repay that grant money back to CAMH Foundation, with interest.

Business Plan

  1. Submit grant proposal to CAMH Foundation
  2. Write test game
  3. Learn Kivy
  4. Write detailed design specs of Linux-based game editor
  5. Start working on web site
  6. Hire autistic programmer #1 using Specialisterne
  7. Programmer #1 implements barebones game editor, w/o animation
  8. Programmer #1 finishes game editor, while I port barebones game editor to Windows
  9. Implement game clients for Android and iOS
  10. Finish porting game editor to Windows
  11. Hire autistic programmer #2
  12. Finish web site
  13. Create Indiegogo campaign (target = $7200) with following perks:
    1. $1 – Display donor's name in scrolling list on web site (all perks)
    2. $5 – Silver class membership for one year
    3. $10 – Gold class membership for one year
    4. $25 – Platinum class membership for one year
  14. Go live
  15. Everyone is Platinum for first 6 months
  16. Implement sound
  17. Implement alternative cell graphics:
    1. Hex grid
    2. Overhead view
    3. Side view
    4. Isometric view
    5. Full 3D
  18. Create app store one year after going live:
    • Transaction fees of 20 percent of each purchase (including in-app purchases such as magic swords)
    • Platinum users sell games to Silver users and higher
    • Sellers' PayPal accounts updated monthly
    • Buyers' credit cards charged upon prepayment (minimum amount is $6)

About Me

I am Mike Hahn, the founder of Pyvatar, and my diagnosis is schizophrenia and depression. I have been working on Pyvatar and its predecessors (sporadically) for almost 2 decades. Between July 2012 and December 6, 2013 I took a break from Pyvatar to develop a database of mental health resources, and then abandoned it. I was previously employed at Brooklyn Computer Systems as a Delphi Programmer, and most recently as a Technical Writer, for almost 17 years. However, at the beginning of 2013 my BCS job came to an end. I now use software development to fill my days. For fun I go online and read the news, and most evenings I watch on my laptop yesterday's The National, a CBC TV news show, or 60 Minutes. I'm also a volunteer tutor at Fred Victor on Tuesday afternoons, where I teach math, computers, and literacy.

Although my background is database programming, by the time Pyvatar goes live in late 2014 (or thereabouts) I hope to become an expert Python Programmer. It is my ambition, by implementing Pyvatar, to make a significant contribution to the field of game development frameworks, thereby helping developers everywhere to more easily create games for smartphones.

Contact Info

Mike Hahn
Founder
Pyvatar
2495 Dundas St. West
Ste. 515
Toronto, ON  M6P 1X4
Canada

Phone: 416-533-4417
Email: hahnbytes (AT) gmail (DOT) com

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