Final Year Project - Scrabble game with online play -

Question

Hi all,

I am a final year computer science student, and about to begin my final year project. For my project, I'm planning to create a Scrabble game. I would like to create this in C#, (not ASP.net), and have network / online support to allow players to play against each other remotely.

I have previous experience in creating C# projects, but absolutely none in graphics and networking. I am currently looking into the different options for me in terms of creating and managing the UI. So far I have looked into using OpenGL in C# via the OpenTK tools. However, it has also crossed my mind that it may be a better option to use the XNA libraries, and go down that route. I am completely unsure of which to use (baring in mind that the game is just Scrabble, not anything 3D or processor intensive).

Does anyone have any advice regarding which of these paths to go down? (or others that I haven't mentioned, baring in mind that I have no previous experience in the graphics side of things, aside from Windows forms!)

For the project, the areas that I wish to focus on most is the UI experience and the scoring algorithms that the system will use to keep track of each player's score.

Thanks in advance, I was a regular observer of these forums during the past couple of years and found them a big help, but this is my first actual post! :)

Matt