Server Infrastructure

Our Lightweight MMO Approach

A common perception exists that creating a Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) game requires a massive team with deep pockets. At Paradise Tycoon, we challenge this notion, proving that a lean team can build an engaging MMO without having to spend excessively on backend infrastructure.

Technical Infrastructure

Our technical approach leverages managed services that have already addressed many of the most significant development problems typically encountered in creating MMOs. This approach allows our team to focus on delivering a superior gaming experience rather than expending unnecessary resources on backend infrastructure.

Our game's technical foundation is constructed on a sturdy base of

• Unity and Unity's Gaming Services for the game engine

• Photon Engine for real-time connectivity between players

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) for robust backend services

This combination offers an agile, scalable, and cost-effective solution.

Innovative Gameplay Features

To give the game environments a lively atmosphere even with smaller player counts, we've introduced our innovative Neighbourhood system. This system provides continual social contacts and interactions for both new and existing players, naturally promoting a social gameplay experience.

Our world design organizes players into tropical archipelagos called Neighbourhoods, with each Neighbourhood accommodating up to 8 players. In addition, our design includes a system called Planes that can hold up to 1000 players each. Planes contain 125 Neighbourhoods distributed across the Plane, with points of interest geographically identical in each.

Addressing the Ghost Town Effect

As new players join the game, we acknowledge that some will eventually stop playing. This "Ghost Town" effect can lead to areas becoming inactive, detracting from the gameplay experience. To counteract this, we've designed Neighbourhoods so that we can automatically move inactive players to specific Planes and free up the land slot for others. If inactive players reactivate, they can continue playing and migrate to an active Plane.

Promoting Cooperation and Social Gameplay

Another feature that we leverage is a system that dynamically groups players in a specific area or those working on the same objective. This allows players with the same goals to cooperate and work together to complete quests or construct items.

We prioritize friends, empowering players who know each other to always play together. This feature motivates players to invite real-life friends to join the game and allows friends to migrate to another Plane together, ensuring that they are placed in the same Neighbourhood.

Preparing for High Player Counts

To prepare our Light MMO for high player counts, we will conduct stress tests both with actual players and programmatically. Although most of the scalability is built into the services we use, we need to identify and address other potential bottlenecks on both the client and server side.

Analytics play a crucial role in our Light MMO development. We continuously monitor player, server, and other metrics to identify areas needing improvement, enhance the gameplay experience, and optimize server resources. Data-driven development is a fundamental part of our ethos.

Conclusion

In conclusion, building a Light MMO without massive resources is entirely feasible. A combination of intelligent technical solutions, innovative game design, and data-driven development can pave the way. Through our Light MMO approach, we emphasize the importance of aligning game design with scalability targets, leveraging managed services, and prioritizing the user experience. Our team builds value by focusing on the player experience, not by building server infrastructure.