I actually did this with Joust, something like ten years ago, using java sockets for the communications and dhtml for presentation.
The multiplayer version is long gone, but you can still get try out the original dhtml head-to-head version (provided you have IE3+ or Netscape Navigator handy):
The multiplayer version is long gone, but you can still get try out the original dhtml head-to-head version (provided you have IE3+ or Netscape Navigator handy):
http://www.jasonkester.com/joust/
Might have to spend a weekend cramming it full of Node.js and replacing the 1998 DOM referencing syntax with something a bit more modern...
Edit: Holy yikes, it actually works in the latest Chrome and Firefox. No idea how... http://www.jasonkester.com/joust/