Initial overview of Parlor services.

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 Parlor Design -*- mode: outline -*-
 * Notes
 * Overview
 The Parlor package intends to provide a framework that supports the
 implementation of simple networked games. These may be turn based, puzzle,
 party, or other types of games that involve one or more players acting out
 a fairly uncomplicated game mechanic.
 It builds upon the Cocktail package also provided by the <?> platform. The
 Cocktail package is used to provide a basic network environment where
 clients can share information with the server and with one another. It
 allows the Parlor services to largely concentrate on requirements specific
 to implementing simple online games.
 The services provided are divided into the following components:
 ** Game configuration and creation
 Games are likely to have a variety of configuration options that need be
 negotiated before the game starts and then communicated to the game
 management code. Additionally, players must be brought together via some
 sort of matchmaking mechanism that is apporpriate for the particular game.
 This component aims to provide the following services:
 - A simple invitation mechanism: one player invites another to play a
  game.
 - A table-based matchmaking mechanism: one player creates a table with a
  game configured in a specific way and other players "sit down" at that
  table to join the game.
 - A room-based, party game creation mechanism: one player configures the
  game and creates a room in which the game is taking place. Other players
  enter that room and either enter the game immediately or participate
  when the next "round" begins.
 - An extensible game configuration mechanism: an object model and user
  interface for setting game configuration parameters and communicating
  them to the game manager.
 ** Game state management
 Once the game has begun, a means is needed to share the public game state
 with the players of the game and to communicate private game state if and
 when necessary. This component uses the Cocktail distributed object
 services to share information among the players and provide channels of
 communication between the game manager and the players.
 ** Game flow management
 Many games share a common order of events or flow. Turn based games, for
 example, tend to progress by each player taking the action appropriate for
 their turn after which the turn proceeds to the next player. This
 component aims to extract, as much as possible, the commonalities among
 game flows and implement them in extensible manager classes that reduce
 game implementation to the authoring only of code specific to the game in
 question.
 ** Rating calculation and tracking
 Rating calculation and tracking are popular components of most online
 games. The Parlor services will incorporate hooks for calculating ratings
 adjustments for players when a game's outcome has been decided and will
 provide a framework for storing those ratings persistently.
 ** Player availability management
 A plague of online gameplay is that any of the players may disconnect from
 the game server at any time, or simply stop responding. The Parlor
 services aim to provide common facilities for handling disappeared or
 unresponsive players in whatever way is most appropriate for each
 particular game.