Network Architectures and Data Management for Massively Multiplayer Online Games

Current-generation Massively Multiplayer Online Games MMOG, such as World of Warcraft, Eve Online, and Second Life are mainly built on distributed client-server architectures with server allocation based on sharding, static geographical partitioning, dynamic micro-cell scheme, or optimal server for placing a virtual region according to the geographical dispersion of players. This paper reviews various approaches on data replication and region partitioning. Management of areas of interest field of vision is discussed, which reduces processing load dramatically by updating players only with those events that occur within their area of interest. This can be managed either through static geographical partitioning on the basis of the assumption that players in one region do not see/interact with players in other regions, or behavioural modelling based on players' behaviours. The authors investigate data storage and synchronisation methods for MMOG databases, mainly on relational databases. Several attempts of peer to peer P2P architectures and protocols for MMOGs are reviewed, and critical issues such as cheat prevention on P2P MMOGs are highlighted.

[1]  Steven Fortune,et al.  A sweepline algorithm for Voronoi diagrams , 1986, SCG '86.

[2]  Carsten Griwodz,et al.  Latency reduction by dynamic core selection and partial migration of game state , 2008, NETGAMES.

[3]  Mark Claypool.  Network characteristics for server selection in online games , 2008, Electronic Imaging.

[4]  Sugih Jamin,et al.  An Efficient Synchronization Mechanism for Mirrored Game Architectures , 2002, NetGames '02.

[5]  Stephan Krause,et al.  A case for mutual notification: a survey of P2P protocols for massively multiplayer online games , 2008, NETGAMES.

[6]  Alastair F. Donaldson,et al.  Tackling online game development problems with a novel network scripting language , 2008, NETGAMES.

[7]  Graham Morgan,et al.  Load balancing for massively multiplayer online games , 2006, NetGames '06.

[8]  Mark Claypool,et al.  The effect of latency on user performance in Real-Time Strategy games , 2005, Comput. Networks.

[9]  Kaiwen Zhang,et al.  Persistence in massively multiplayer online games , 2008, NETGAMES.

[10]  Filip De Turck,et al.  Dynamic microcell assignment for massively multiplayer online gaming , 2005, NetGames '05.

[11]  Huiru Zheng,et al.  Second Life as a Learning and Teaching Environment for Digital Games Education , 2009 .

[12]  Minglu Li,et al.  The Cost-Based Resource Management in Combination with Qos For Grid Computing , 2009 .

[13]  N. Mustafee.  Grid Technology for Maximizing Collaborative Decision Management and Support : Advancing Effective Virtual Organizations , 2010 .

[14]  Wu-chi Feng,et al.  A geographic redirection service for on-line games , 2003, MULTIMEDIA '03.

[15]  Amund Tveit,et al.  Scalable Agent-Based Simulation of Players in Massively Multiplayer Online Games , 2003 .

[16]  Shervin Shirmohammadi,et al.  A Dynamic Area of Interest Management and Collaboration Model for P2P MMOGs , 2008, 2008 12th IEEE/ACM International Symposium on Distributed Simulation and Real-Time Applications.

[17]  Greg Wadley,et al.  Using a simple MMORPG to teach Multi-user, Client-server Database Development , 2007 .

[18]  Alejandro P. Buchmann,et al.  Addressing cheating in distributed MMOGs , 2005, NetGames '05.

[19]  Sumeet Gupta,et al.  Intelligent Industrial Data Acquisition and Energy Monitoring using Wireless Sensor Networks , 2010, Int. J. Grid High Perform. Comput..

[20]  Chimay J. Anumba,et al.  Using grid technology for maximizing collaborative emergency response decision making , 2009 .

[21]  Hands-On Experience in Building Institutional Grid Infrastructure , 2009 .

[22]  Andrzej Skowron,et al.  Discovery of Process Models from Data and Domain Knowledge: A Rough-Granular Approach , 2007, PReMI.

[23]  Martin Mauve,et al.  Local-lag and timewarp: providing consistency for replicated continuous applications , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Multimedia.

[24]  Wim Lamotte,et al.  Dynamic server allocation in a real-life deployable communications architecture for networked games , 2008, NETGAMES.