I’m a new user here and not sure if this is the right place to post but I am looking to get some feedback for an idea that I have.
The idea is to build a cross-platform mobile/web application; the application would allow you to play a chess variant with other people online. The variant is played in a turn-based fashion like Chess but has pieces that move differently. I’ll just call this Chess variant “Variant X” because it is one that I made up.
I am aiming for the application to have these features:
- Play “Variant X” against other people in real time
- Create accounts and maintain a rating system
- Choose to play on a mobile application OR on a website (you can log into both with the same account)
- Have a clean User Interface
A little bit about me, I have programming experience (compsci major), although I have not coded a mobile application before. I do know that a project like this will be extremely time-consuming and cost some money.
In my initial research I have found various open-source (copyleft or not) chess resources such as lichess source code, sjaak program, winboard. I think it may be a wise idea to leverage some of these resources, especially because our final project could be open source too.
Here are some questions I am hoping to get feedback on:
- How might I go about starting a project like this?
- What programming languages would you recommend me to consider using in the creation of this?
- Which open-source projects do you think would be useful to me?
- What are the pros and cons of using a game engine like Unity to create this?
- Where do you think I should direct my further research?
I really appreciate your help! Thank you in advance.