SPIN Box: A SPARQL-based Computer Game Engine

Here is another example video (5 minutes) illustrating what you can do with SPIN. TopBraid Composer 3.0 beta comes with a SPARQL-based computer game engine called SPIN Box. This engine allows ontology developers to create new kinds of computer games without having to hard-code anything in a programming language like Java. Instead, the engine runs SPARQL CONSTRUCT rules (using SPIN) to determine the behavior of each field in the game.

The game may appear silly but the underlying message is a powerful one: the game demonstrates how Semantic Web standards and tools can be used for model-driven application development. The SPIN framework can be used to create domain models that have executable behavior attached to them. Being based on RDF and SPARQL, SPIN files can be shared online and re-purposed for different use cases. For example, anyone can extend the behavior of a computer game by introducing new types of objects. Theoretically such applications can even use other (Semantic) Web resources or background knowledge to drive their behavior.

While traditional applications operate on closed worlds, the Semantic Web has been designed to be open and linkable. Frameworks such as SPIN open an application's architecture and can provide an unprecedented level of dynamic behavior and flexibility. The box is now open.