Drew Wutka
DWUTKA at Marlow.com
Mon Jul 18 09:12:29 CDT 2011
Why not just detect the game he is playing based upon the window's that are running? Each game should have a window that should be easy to identify. Drew -----Original Message----- From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of jwcolby Sent: Sunday, July 17, 2011 1:23 PM To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving Subject: [AccessD] Child computer Game timer I have designed a game timer for my son which I am making available to list members if they want it. This timer is designed for children who are old enough to play "unsupervised" and I want them to have a set time that they can play per session. I want to record when they start and stop and have a display of how long they have been playing. I used to have Robbie "write it down" and set a timer on the stove. Both of which he "forgot" more often than not. This is not a "dishonest teenager" control mechanism, I am not getting into trying to outsmart a teenager here. It is merely meant to allow me to see how much time my son is playing. I removed all of the shortcuts from the desktop etc so that the way he opens his games is through this database. I actually copied one of the shortcuts into the startup directory for one game that required a shortcut. I then informed him that there are consequences if he is playing without going through the timer. The timer is an Access form which has a game combo and a child id combo. In my case only my son uses it at the moment, though I will probably have my daughter use it as well. It is FE/BE. The form consists of: 1) A game combo 2) A child combo 3) A start time 4) A stop time 5) The minutes they are allowed to play, fixed ATM though it could be included in the child record. Status controls are: 1) Last Play elapsed time 2) Last play time stopped At the very bottom of the form is an elapsed time. So the child selects the game they will play. The game has the stuff required to actually open the game, usually the filespec for the game (path and file name) but it can also use a shortcut file if the game requires starting directory etc. Selecting the game starts a timer which shows up on the "Elapsed time" at the bottom, and records the start time. There is a button which enters the stopped time and moves to a new record. Once a record is "stopped" it can no longer be edited. No records can be deleted (through the form). When the time is up, my son often does the "I need to do this one small thing before I quit" routine. In order to allow that but still encourage him to get off, i built in an annoyance timer. The database does not (yet) shut down the game automatically (though I might go there) but it does beep a series of beeps when time is up, and then starts beeping at him every N seconds. N decreases over time until it is beeping every second. This is truly annoying (to anyone in the room) and encourages him to finish up and get off. It also alerts any adult near by that "time is up". In fact it is so annoying that he was turning down the speaker when it beeped. I had to inform him that there would be consequences for that. ;) The system is working fine so far. I am finally getting his times logged regularly and getting him off when his time is up. We shall have to see how it works long term. Adolescents can be sneaky. Total loss of gaming privileges for breaking the rules is the consequence of being sneaky. Possible enhancements: 1) Times of day allowed to play 2) Total time allowed to play 3) Play time allowed per child etc. -- John W. Colby www.ColbyConsulting.com -- AccessD mailing list AccessD at databaseadvisors.com http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com The information contained in this transmission is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain II-VI Proprietary and/or II-VI Business Sensitive material. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender immediately and destroy the material in its entirety, whether electronic or hard copy. You are notified that any review, retransmission, copying, disclosure, dissemination, or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited.