Providing an IM Cross-Platform Game Engine for Text-Messaging Games

Several types of Text Messaging (TM) games are available today. They explored different types of games genres, categories and platforms, such as Short Messaging Service (SMS) competitions and text-based adventures on Instant Messaging (IM) bots. This paper presents IMgine, a game engine able to provide TM games across distinct IM platforms. It implements game engine routines in a configured game loop for multiple IM platforms, capable of representing TM game states and logic by the execution of predefined game functions. As validation process, IM games were developed to show the IMgine capability of providing game mechanics and dynamics aspects according to TM and IM restrictions. As a result, a foundation for IM games that organizes the definition of TM game states and logic is provided, allowing game developers to be concerned with the game core implementation instead of IM transmission process or TM interaction limits.