Building a multiplayer game server

and keeping (most of) your hair

What if there was

a better way to play games?

 realtime multiplayer game running in the browser

@opherv

Hi! I'm Opher

I work with developers, designers and video makers to create some pretty cool experiences

I'm a creative developer at Eko

http://incheon.gg

anatomy of a game

@opherv

while (true)
{
  processInput();
  updateGameState();
  render();
}

Input

0

1

2

3

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7

render

game step

8

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15

@opherv

Why do you even need a server?

Because your players suck

if cheating can happen,

it will happen

authoritative server

@opherv

authoritative server

Run game world

Receive input request

Validate input

Broadcast game state

Why

@opherv

Non-blocking Event I/O 

@opherv

Running the same game code,

both on the server and the client

@opherv

open source

Thriving ecosystem with NPM

@opherv

Web dev == Game dev

@opherv

Browser/Server Communication

websockets

WebRTC*

@opherv

io.emit('myEvent',{ x: 15, y: 20, ammo: 20});

Server

socket.on('myEvent', function (data) {
  console.log(data);
});

Client

13,759 km

@opherv

Tel Aviv

Melbourne

LAG

Game Loop

Render Loop

@opherv

Option 1

client step N

client step M

The client is in the past

Real Time Strategy

Option 2: Extrapolation

30

31

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39

30

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39

Building a multiplayer game server

and keeping (most of) your hair

Building a multiplayer game server

and keeping (most of) your hair

@opherv

@opherv

more info: http://incheon.gg

@opherv

Thanks!

@OpherV

opherv.com

opherv@gmail.com