Mafia Manager is not your Typical PowerBuilder Application
Introduction
The purpose of this article is to illustrate the power of PowerBuilder is not just limited to business applications. Mafia Manager is an application that I wrote using PowerBuilder Version 10.5. It is about as far from a business application that you can get and it was relatively easy for me to get it fully functional and from concept to an amazingly popular and
well known tool (Version 2.0) within about 2 or 3 months. A quick summary of Mafia Manager, is that it is a Windows Application front end to a popular RPG (Role Playing Game) by Aftershock Innovations called Mafia Live. The tool was later changed from Mafia Live to Mark of Mafia I suspect Aftershock ran into problems where someone was claiming ownership of the Mafia Live game but thats just my opinion.
Most people associate PowerBuilder with business applications, however there is no reason the tool cannot be used for other project types like I used in Mafia Manager. Early in 2009 when I got my first iPhone, I downloaded and installed a game called Mafia Live (by Aftershock Innovations), later the name was changed to Mark of Mafia. The game was your basic RPG (Role Playing Game) about running your own Mafia. You choose from three basic business options such as Capitalist, Psychopath or Executioner. The concept was the same no matter what role you chose, but there were minor differences in play depending on which role you chose. The Capitalist favoring earning money off investments, etc.
I Had An Idea, and it was Well Received
After playing the game on my iPhone for several weeks and becoming somewhat addicted I found myself taking too much time trying to keep up with players that seemed to work the game 24×7. I had become good at reviewing my weapons against a potential opponents, and comparing how many assets a competitor had compared to the amount of money they were spending on expensive weapons requiring lots of money in upkeep. But it was time consuming. So I decided, why not automate this process? There was a rule against using “Bots”, but it was allowed as long as the bot did not perform actions for the player. My idea was to build an application around the program that could instantly provide me the information I was computing manually, along with the exact amount of income and attack/defense score. This would allow me to not only improve my play, but let me play faster and enjoy the game, but not take too much time from my family. I posted the idea on a Forum of Aftershocks, first asking if anyone like the idea and second asking Aftershock if it was “OK” with them. Everyone loved the idea and Aftershock didn’t seem to mind, little did they know that hundreds of players were playing the game as long as they were “because” of my Mafia Manager. It was very rewarding and fun, and I made a few hundred dollars in donations which was nice but amounted to pennies per hour of effort. I’m a true programmer, just enjoy helping other people.
Within a Month, Mafia Manager Version 1.0 was Reality
The image above was of Version 2.0 which was far more advanced, there were about ten times as many features as my original plan. Version 1.0 still had enough bells and whistles to make the front-end a huge hit from the start especially since it was free. I had a couple very generous persons helping he with a Support Forum and we really hoped we were onto something big. As it turned out, I was working full time at my job, and full time on the program and I burned out seriously bad about three months later, once actually waking up with a paralyzed hand from falling asleep at the desk on the arm of the chair. It stayed paralyzed for almost two weeks, apparently a condition called Sunday Morning Palsy, or something like that. I slept on a nerve that controlled my hand movements and damaged it to the extent it needed weeks to recover… that was a wake up call. But I digress the purpose of this was to show that PB can be used for many other cool applications. When looking at the image of Version 2.0 you should note that the section on the left, a tall narrow pane, was the actual “Mark of Mafia” game being displayed in the PB app via an Internet Explorer control. All the other parts of the window were displayed by me parsing the HTML in the OLE control and putting it into a useful format. It was a lot of dirty work and proved to be a maintenance nightmare because every change Aftershock made affected the HTML in some way that would break some of my parse logic. In Version 2 I also implemented a database so that every attack could be stored in the database and used as extra information when deciding to attack someone.
Mafia Manager – Future?
Considering that I don’t have a job that pays, I am considering to restart the project, and would welcome any help. It is more fun working with other developers and learning from each other. So let me know if it is something you might be interested in. Late in Version 2.0 I experimented with making the application a Saas (Software as a Service) application; and didn’t have a hard time with a $3.99 monthly subscription, however I just didn’t give it enough time to grow.
Sincerely,
Rich (a.k.a. DisplacedGuy)
30 Responses
Just wantd to say thanks for having me by your site. Do you have any thoughts on http://game-script.net for facebook apps and gaming scripts? Thought you might have heard about them and might be able to help me out. Also if you ahve a game or know of a game site I found a site http://topmorpg.com that has many listed you might want to submit your favorite. Its where I find a bunch of games I like to play. Again thanks for the wonderful read.
Thanks for the kind words, sorry I don’t know about the questions you mentioned.
Regards,
Rich
Substantially, the post is actually the greatest on this precious topic. I harmonise with your conclusions and will thirstily look forward to your coming updates. Saying thanks will not just be enough, for the great clarity in your writing. I will instantly grab your rss feed to stay abreast of any updates. Pleasant work and much success in your business endeavors!
You wouldn¡¯t believe it but I¡¯ve wasted all day digging for some articles about this. You¡¯re a lifesaver, it was an excellent read and has helped me out to no end. Cheers,
Heya¡my very first comment on your site. ,I have been reading your blog for a while and thought I would completely pop in and drop a friendly note. . It is great stuff indeed. I also wanted to ask..is there a way to subscribe to your site via email?
Hi,
Sure you can subscribe by using the RSS link at the top or bottom of the page, I think it works okay. I think I’ve seen you over on my other site too, the Orlando 411 Travel, Business and Relocation Blog. Thanks again for the nice comments. As soon as I’m done with comments here I’ll give your site some click love. 🙂
Regards,
Rich
Hey, I just visited your site and I was amazed at how great your Alexa rating was. I have been working my butt off trying to generate traffic to this and my Orlando 411 Relocation, Business and Travel Links site but the lowest I could get the Alexa was like 1.4 million you had yours around 200,000 which is GREAT. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Rich
rich@otown411.com
How did you make this template? I got a blog as well and my template looks kinda bad so people don’t stay on my blog very long :/.
Hi, I used the Prosumer Theme. I really like this theme and have tried lots of them. I use this same theme on my Orlando 411 Information Blog it is pretty easy to configure and looks decent I should make a point to thank the author of it. I visited your site but was unable to figure how to leave a comment, it required being a registered user but I couldn’t find out where to register.
Sincerely,
Rich
You are very welcome. I enjoy writing about and using PowerBuilder. I am experimenting with PB12.Net and Visual Studio 2010 .NET
very well information you write it very clean. I’m very lucky to get this information from you.
This is the type of information that should be shared around the web. Shame on the search engines for not positioning this post higher!
Hello This is a great blog keep your good work and thank you for hvar in with me So nice to hear frome you.Thanks!
Extraordinary post as expected.
I am always looking on the internet for articles that can assist me. Thank you
Hey ! Do you hold some type of donation box where I might return monetary gift in PayPal?
I really got a kick out of your article. I don’t really have much to say in reply, I only wanted to comment to reply with wonderful operate. good luck in 2010.
Howdy! This is my very first visit to you blog and I have so enjoyed the encouragement that you share. You also have alot of interesting links too. Thanks for being in blog land and I intend to visit and learn more again soon.
Blessing.
You realize, I would like it if there were a lot more blogs and forums such as this one, I really love the content published here
Thanks for the awesome information, good quality, well written, easy to understand the main point, two thumbs up!
Hey very nice blog!! Man .. Beautiful .. Amazing .. I will bookmark your blog and take the feeds also…
Dude, please notify me that youre heading to write much more. I notice you havent composed a different blog for any though (Im just catching up myself). Your weblog is just as well significant to be missed. Youve received so much to say, such understanding about this issue it can be a shame to see this blog disappear. The world-wide-web wants you, man!
I can’t get over how much I concur with this top class article. Do post more soon. Yours Sincerely, Abel Gatchell
I learn something new on different blogs everyday. It is always refreshing to read posts of other bloggers and learn something from them. Thanks for sharing.
Wow this takes me back. Do you have a RSS feed?
You you could edit the page subject
The Displaced Guy | PowerBuilder – Not Just for Business Apps (Mafia Manager) to more suited for your subject you make. I loved the the writing however.
This is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I enjoy seeing websites that understand the value of providing a prime resource for free. I truly loved reading your post. Thanks!
Only wanna tell that this is extremely helpful, Thanks for taking your time to write this.
[…] Not Just for Business Apps (Mafia Manager – – The Displaced Guy […]
Excellent de trouver un blog avec des idées innovantes sur ce domaine. Bravo !!!