Dot Game

[oil]

Dot Game:
A WebOs version of the old paper & pencil game where you try to create the most boxes, one line at a time, while trying not to let your opponent create a box. It's a 2 player game. You hand the pre back and forth after each turn.

If you enjoy the game, donations are still very much appreciated.


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
Q - How does the AI work?
A - See this post for more information: http://forums.precentral.net/1743776-post51.html


Donations:
Some of you have requested a way to donate. And who am I to object?
You can donate through paypal by clicking this link: Donate.


To Download:
Dot Game is now available for free exclusively from palms app catalog.


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Previous Updates:

Dot Game v1.0.0: [7/5/09] [Initial Release]

Dot Game v1.5.0: [7/7/09]
Lots of new features in this update.

• Added 3 game board sizes: normal, large, and huge. (boards larger then the screen require a side-to-side swipe to see the rest of it.)
• Added a computer player with 3 difficulties: easy, medium, and hard.
• Added a white outline to the last line placed (useful for large games where you can't see where your human opponent or ai went last.)
• Changed the "Game Over" dialog to allow you to return to the main settings page, or to simply reset the board for the next game

The computer ai player is actually pretty good. I only managed to beat it a hand full of times during my play testing. But it can be pretty slow in selecting a good line to place sometimes. So I added an overlay to slightly shade the screen while its thinking. Be sure to look for the line with a white outline to see its last move, it may have give you a square.

Dot Game v1.5.2: [7/13/09]
This update is just a few requested features.

• Made the launcher icon larger.
• Added saving of the game options.
• Added a resize handler to move the game board up a bit when the notification bar is present.
• Added the option to require players to complete boxes. This will stop the "double-cross" strategy and make a game between a novice and an expert more evenly matched.
• Added the ability to reset the game from the app menu.

Dot Game v1.6.0: [7/22/09]
This release is a few fixes and a change to the hard AI.

• Fixed the difficulty with hitting the top lines with notifications on the screen.
• Fixed some bugs that would have cropped up once palm pushed out webOs 1.1 (mostly style concerns.)
• Changed the way the hard AI runs the end game function in an attempt to make it more efficient and playable on the larger boards. In testing it was deciding moves within a minute. (Which is a great improvement.)

Dot Game v1.6.1: [9/12/09]
This release is basically what I've submitted to palm under the version of 0.9.0 (still waiting on a reply, when it goes live, you should remove this copy and download the one from palms catalog.) Not much has changed gameplay-wise. But it does have 2 sexy new themes, crayon and clockwork.

[dchamero]

Thank you!!! I love this game!!!!

[Colonel Kernel]

When ever you can get to it, please do a one player version.

[oil]

Originally Posted by Colonel Kernel

When ever you can get to it, please do a one player version.

Yeah, I plan on adding a computer player to play against in the next version.

[jhoff80]

Love this game as well, thanks for it. I just wish there was a CPU function for playing alone. No big deal, it works great for what it says it does.

Edit: And I now see right above me that eventually there will be one, awesome.

[TMed_ATL]

two 3rd party apps in 24hours and 34 mins. Thanks Oil. Loving Xbox friends too

I use to play this game with my dad when i was young

[knauerhase]

Oil - very nicely done. Both in adding something fun, and in doing it well.

[oil]

I've written up some ai player functions, but I'm going to let it play itself all night in the emulator to make sure it doesn't get stuck in any loops. (I don't want to crash anyones pre.) Then I'll update the attached file with a new version.

It does alright, It's actually beat me a few times in testing. It's not completely random, and tries its hardest not to give you any squares. But in the end game it doesn't look far enough ahead to make informed decisions about which lines will give away the the longest stream of boxes like a human opponent would. Maybe I'll postpone posting it and see if I can make it even smarter...

[a dumb cat]

perhaps release what you have now, and then update the next version with a 'difficulty' setting for those who would like to try out your first attempt at AI? Just a thought, and awesome game btw. Cheers.

[robobeau]

Wow, I haven't played this since I was in grade school... Thanks for the nostalgia.

Can't get the co-workers to play with me, though...................

[morningisbad]

Originally Posted by robobeau

Can't get the co-workers to play with me, though...................

This is my main concern with this app!! maybe ill be able to convince my gf...

[Nismode]

Originally Posted by oil

I've written up some ai player functions, but I'm going to let it play itself all night in the emulator to make sure it doesn't get stuck in any loops. (I don't want to crash anyones pre.) Then I'll update the attached file with a new version.

It does alright, It's actually beat me a few times in testing. It's not completely random, and tries its hardest not to give you any squares. But in the end game it doesn't look far enough ahead to make informed decisions about which lines will give away the the longest stream of boxes like a human opponent would. Maybe I'll postpone posting it and see if I can make it even smarter...

Maybe you can make an option to do separate skill levels/difficulties in the next version...

[Soorma]

This game is so classic! Thanks Oil!

[sacherjj]

Nice app. Like the look of it. Couple of suggestions:

Increase the width of the touch target at the center of the lines. Something psuedo diamond shaped for each line. I think this could be accomplished with three touch targets for each line.

    __[__]__
   *[_______]*
  |-|  [   ]
|-| |-|
| | | |
|-| |-|
   |-|
    *

Kind of renders right...

Have menu option to start new game. Don't see a way to end a current game and start a new without finishing.

Save state (obviously).

[thetawho]

nice app. like it. somtimes misreads my taps... or my taps are off, something like that. hell it is still fun though

[Klownicle]

Omg! This is awsome! Thanks! Can't wait for the AI Version.

[Neva Eva Forget 1984]

Yee hawww! Thanks!

[oil]

Originally Posted by Everyone and their mother

How about different Ai difficulties?

Multiple difficulty settings is definitely something I will do. But really only the hardest setting would be any challenge to anyone paying attention to the game.

Originally Posted by sacherjj

Increase the width of the touch target at the center of the lines.

Yeah, this is something I played around with quite a bit to get the best look and action. I released it as it is because I thought it was "good enough for now." The touch target is in fact larger then the small line image you see (about 24 pixels, when the line graphic itself is only about 10.) But it will of course be refined in future revisions.

Originally Posted by sacherjj

Have menu option to start new game. Don't see a way to end a current game and start a new without finishing.

Use the back gesture to return to the main scene, then click new game.

Originally Posted by sacherjj

Save state.

While I don't think its all that important for the current board size. It really only takes a couple of minutes to complete a game, and leaving it open in a card is fine for any small breaks you take during the game. But I do plan on adding a larger board as an option, and the larger one would certainly need such a feature. So it is indeed on its way.

[Colombian2nv7]

maybe settings to play with other people who has the phone?
like connect 4?

[sacherjj]

Originally Posted by oil

Use the back gesture to return to the main scene, then click new game.

Ah, didn't try that. I would also include the call to the same function from a menu option if users don't think of it, like me.