As part of the new Multiplayer Robot, we'd like to have desktop apps for Mac and Linux. However, since neither of us have experience developing for Mac or Linux, we're creating open source initiatives in hopes that the community can help to create these apps. To help these apps come along as easily as possible, we're going to put the Windows app on GitHub to use as a reference. This should happen next month as part of the Oracle release (see: Trello[trello.com]). Around the same time, we'll also create official repositories for the Mac and Linux apps.

Here's some of the general ideas we've had regarding the development of these apps:

• All Multiplayer Robot communications happen over SignalR, so this will make things go much easier.

• This is the main reason we're making two separate repositories for Mac and Linux, instead of one cross-platform one. We want the app to feel natural and at home on its given system.
• It may make sense, however, to derive a core library of common functionality in its own repository that the individual apps will reference.

• Turn notifications, downloads, and uploads are the most important features.

For now, we'd like to get the conversation started for these apps. Here's some topics which we want to discuss:

• The Windows app is written in C# and targets .Net 4.5. A Mono-compatible core library could be refactored from it that could be used on either Linux or Mac.

• The Windows interface is minimalist, allowing users to play turns without ever even looking at its UI. We'd like to carry this over into the other apps.

• If this is the case, we may need some pointers from Mac developers on how to do this :)

So, if you're a Mac or Linux developer who is interested, sound off below. We need your help!