Abstract
While massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) involve large numbers of simultaneous players, two other popular game classes -- first-person shooter (FPS) and real-time strategy (RTS) games - are still only rarely considered for massively multiplayer gaming. A main technical problem for scaling these genres to be massively multiplayer is the absence of a suitable scalable multiserver networking approach. While the commonly used zoning concept performs well for an MMORPG, it is barely suitable for RTS and FPS games. As a scalable networking alternative for these genres, this article summarizes our work on the proxy-server architecture, which uses multiple servers for a single game session and implements a full replication of the game state at all proxies. We present our work on the game Rokkatan, our online evaluator game which enables massively multiplayer real-time strategy gaming using our proxy-server network architecture. We discuss the implementation of Rokkatan and analyze the distributed computation of the proxy-server approach by integrating an analytical scalability model into Rokkatan. Our experimental game sessions demonstrate high scalability of Rokkatan, which allows several hundreds of users to participate in a single, fast-paced game session.
- Cai, W., Xavier, P., Turner, S. J., and Lee, B.-S. 2002. A scalable architecture for supporting interactive games on the Internet. In Proceedingsof the 16th Workshop on Parallel and Distributed Simulation (Washington, DC., May), 60-67. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Knutsson, B., Lu, H., Xu, W., and Hopkins, B. 2004. Peer-to-peer support for massively multiplayer games. In Proceedings of the IEEE Infocom 2004 (Hong Kong, March).Google Scholar
- Lester, P. A* pathfinding for beginners. http://www.policyalmanac.org/games/aStarTutorial.htm.Google Scholar
- Müller, J., Fischer, S., Gorlatch, S., and Mauve, M. 2004. A proxy server-network for real-time computer games. In Proceedings of the Euro-Par 2004 Parallel Processing Conference (Pisa, Aug.). LNCS 3149. 606-613.Google Scholar
- Müller, J. and Gorlatch, S. 2005. GSM: A game scalability model for multiplayer real-time games. In Proceedings of the IEEE Infocom 2005 (Miami, Fla., March).Google Scholar
- Pritchard, M. 2000. How to hurt the hackers: The scoop on Internet cheating and how you can combat it. Game Developer Magazine.Google Scholar
- Prokein. R. Reiner's tilesets. http://www.reinerstileset.4players.de:1059/englisch.htm/.Google Scholar
- Rokkatan website. http://pvs.uni-muenster.de/pvs/projects/rokkatan/.Google Scholar
- Smed, J., Kaukoranta, T., Hakonen, H. 2001. Aspects of networking in multiplayer computer games. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Application and Development of Computer Games in the 21st Century (Hong Kong, Nov). 74-81.Google Scholar
- Tanenbaum, A. and Van Steen, M. 2002. Distributed Systems: Principles and Paradigms. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Thomason, L. Kyra sprite engine. http://www.grinninglizard.com/kyra/.Google Scholar
Index Terms
- Rokkatan: scaling an RTS game design to the massively multiplayer realm
Recommendations
Rokkatan: scaling an RTS game design to the massively multiplayer realm
ACE '05: Proceedings of the 2005 ACM SIGCHI International Conference on Advances in computer entertainment technologyWhile massively multiplayer online role-playing games involve large numbers of simultaneous players, two other popular game classes - first person action and real-time strategy games - are still rarely discussed for massively multiplayer gaming. This ...
Project massive: a study of online gaming communities
CHI EA '04: CHI '04 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing SystemsMassively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) continue to be a popular and lucrative sector of the gaming market. Project Massive was created to assess MMOG players' social experiences both inside and outside of their gaming environments and the impact of ...
Inferring Player Rating from Performance Data in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs)
CSE '09: Proceedings of the 2009 International Conference on Computational Science and Engineering - Volume 04This paper examines online player performance in EverQuest II, a popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Sony Online Entertainment. The study uses the game's player performance data to devise performance metrics for ...
Comments