Google Earth Hacks announces GEHwar, the first game that uses Google Earth as its playing field. It’s Risk-like, it fosters geography skills, and it boasts some very innovative use of the network link. You can read all about it on their forum, and the instructions are here. In its first iteration, there is room for 25 players. Writes Google Earth Hacks’ Mickey:
The part that took the longest was getting the network link to tell me WHO was looking at a certain location. Once I got that figured out, I’ve made it where parts of the game can be played inside of Google Earth through one network link, while the ongoing results of the game are pushed to Google Earth using a second network link.
How he got a server to know to whom specifically it was sending KML to is still an open question. We’ll have to ask him.
When a user Registers they get an ID, the KML file they download contains a network link that includes the ID of the user. Each user is calling a seperate URL, that’s how the server knows who’s who.
It’s interesting to see how this can be extended quite easily. Some of the things that are currently web based could also be moved into Google Earth to make it a totally GE based game. Can’t wait for that!
This is why I love Ogle Earth. Awesome!