What I Want to Build in CS3216

"What exactly do I want to build in CS3216?". This question has been bugging me for the entire summer and I still do not have an answer to this question. Initially, I wanted to build a multiplayer game that uses WebRTC because it has been really hot after Google demonstrated prototypes of their WebRTC games during Google I/O, such as Chrome Maze, Cube Slam and Racer. Most people will shy away from building games simply because it's tough to produce the assets for the game. However, with a background in design, and because I have experience in building an iPad game Tenza Yakitori as the final project of CS3217, I felt that I could build a game for a project and it will still turn out decent. Also, I was getting bored of building CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) apps; game logic was definitely more fun to code.

However, launching Corspedia in the last month made me rethink my decision of building a game in CS3216. A few friends have came to tell me that it was super useful and were glad that I solved a pain point in their bidding process. I'm not entirely sure if I will get such feedback or even be able to reach out to that many users if I built a game instead. I like the feeling of having users use a product I have built. (:

Games aren't all that tough to build. But making it fun and incorporating fun elements into it, is extremely tough. Games are there to provide entertainment, not so much to solve a pain point (unless you consider stress as one). Once a user gets bored of the game, it loses its value entirely. Also, I don't have the confidence to build an addictive and fun game especially when I get bored of the own game that I built.

Therefore, I'm looking at building something useful. It may not be fun, but will definitely improve the lives of its users. NUS Computing students have built better timetable builders, better IVLE experiences and improved many other NUS-related services. Hence, for the first assignment (and possibly the final project), my team and I shall make an attempt at improving a school-related service: A better forum.