A hybrid architecture for massively multiplayer online games
Jared L. Jardine, Daniel Zappala · 2008
Many massively multiplayer online games use client-server architectures that have enormous server-side bandwidth requirements. Peer-to-peer game architectures provide better scaling, but open the game to additional cheating, since players are responsible for distributing events and storing state. We have developed a hybrid game architecture that maintains centralized control of state, while significantly reducing server bandwidth. The architecture uses a combination of client-server and peer-to-peer event distribution, so that only critical events are processed by the server. In addition, the architecture uses measurements and monitoring to ensure that players are capable of handling event distribution and are indeed providing this service. By lowering the bandwidth needed to host a game, while also providing a simple way to prevent cheating, our hybrid architecture allows game companies to support more concurrent players while still providing a controlled game experience. We deploy a game using the hybrid architecture on PlanetLab and use a measurement study to demonstrate its advantages over a client-server architecture.