A Flexible Platform for Wireless Local Multiplayer Gaming Using Smartphones as Controllers

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to give an in-depth technological view of a multiplayer video gaming system designed to let players use their smartphones as controllers. The system consists of two interconnected parts: a program on a personal computer that acts as a game console, and a smartphone application that turns phones into game controllers, enabling the user to interact with a game in new and creative ways. Using smartphones as controllers allows each game to use its own, specialized control interface. The system facilitates this by employing remote code execution to send graphical interfaces from the server to the connected phone clients. This in turn creates a basis for a cross-platform system where the mobile parts of the games can be written entirely in a platform independent scripting language. In order to evaluate the functionality and advantages of the multiplayer video game system, four games with different types of user interaction were designed. The use cases of these games provide practical evidence for the usability and applicability of the system.