Archive:Games Library Ideas

Development article for Awen's Games Library concept (and/or other developers contributing to this with project).

The source of this new concept

Many of these ideas started been discussed in these threads in the XBMC feature suggestions forum:

• http://forum.xbmc.org/tags.php?tag=games+library

Games Library Concept

To allow XBMC users to reference and play Games from their favorite front-end :)
Games may have various forms such as Emulated Roms, Standalone Executables, (XBMC plugins ?)...
The idea is not to compete with über roms integrators, but to offer a rich and detailed interface to play from XBMC.

Goals of the new Games Library

• 1) Tight integration
• 2) Detailed information
• 3) Smart behavior

Implementation ideas

Assembling the core in C++ programming-language. Working on the integration between the underlying operating-system, the XBMC software, and third-party applications concerning games.

But using Python scripts or plugins wherever they could be, such as to handle application settings, game ROMs scanning, and meta data information scraping (offline/local and online/internet, including NFO). Which probably involves some 'Game Script' architecture, to be defined.

Features List

This is what we want to achieve

• Python Integration: scrapers and all
• Dedicated GUIs
• Consistency with the other XBMC Libraries Modes (videos, music, etc.)
• Platform Portability
• Game Information Dialog
• Emphasis on Immersion
  • Soft transition between app contexts
  • Ambient sounds (skin dependant ?)
  • Detailed game description

And this is what needs to be done for :)
Product Backlog

• Better GUI: intermediary solution for settings and various record forms
  • Versatile solution inspired from plugin settings (0.2)
  • Record forms: executables, games, launching infos
  • Game Description über Panel (0.2)
  • Game Category Finalization
• Game Classification
  • Game Categories
  • 'Stand Alone' game support (0.2)
• Better Thumbnail Management
  • Analysis (0.2)
  • Animated thumbnails ?
  • Icons for Categories, and executables
  • Overlay support: rating
• External Execution
  • Analysis
  • Launching params and related options
  • XBMC related code (suspend-like)
• User Info
  • Analysis
  • Last Played
  • Most Played
  • Rating
  • Stats
  • Suggestion (=>dedicated scraping)
• 'Scripts' Support
  • Game scripts architecture
  • 'Support area' definition
    • Application settings support
    • Game info scraping (plugins)
    • Misce. utilities: roms scanning, latest version auto download
  • Python bindings/Script architecture
    • Script categories: application support, roms scanning, scrapers (=>plugins ?)
    • 'Scripts' entry on the 1st Game Menu Page (?)
    • Contextual Plugins on a Game Basis ('Get Info', 'Get Rom' ;))
  • Native C++ History.dat support as plugin testbed (0.2)
• Database
  • Record/SQL implementation
    • User Info
    • Thumbnails
    • Launching cmd line/options
    • Game description/fields
  • Auto rebuilding, at least for roms (is that a good idea ?)
  • Better Record class: ease of use.

Obtaining metadata

project 'scrapers friendly' + use of dedicated community files (like mame's history.dat)