I am writing a small little game for my children - it really does not matter what it does, although I still could not tell you, since I / they have not decided yet! However, I think that it will have a server component and several client components, and I see how clients can communicate with the server.
ALL of my previous experience ... my whole career really ... includes a server element, either a database, a web server, or two in tandem. In this case, they are also not suitable, so I wonder what I can and should use to communicate between them.
Obviously, it would be preferable to use a technology or technique that I can reuse in my work, where I increasingly work with Windows Forms. I assume that there is a 1001 approach that I could take; it's a matter of sorting chaff wheat.
I literally just started reading about WCF, but it is not yet clear if this service-oriented approach is what I'm looking for.
I am deliberately vague about what applications will do; I expect the client to report its presence on the server, submit custom options to the server, and in turn, the server will periodically update the client with what is happening in the wider game. The game will be turn-based, not real-time ... and very low-tech!
Suggestions? Ideally, with links to good learning resources, if known.
Conclusion: I really thought there might be more viable alternatives; there is Remoting (now depraved), but consensus suggests that WCF is the way to go - in my case, self-service looks attractive.
Thanks for answers.