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Agents-based modeling for a peer-to-peer MMOG architecture

Published: 01 April 2005 Publication History

Abstract

Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) are becoming a very important part of computer entertainment business. With the recent development of broadband technologies, the increase in the number of players is putting a strong pressure on this type of application. Commonly used clients/server systems don't cope well with scalability, limiting the number of players who can interact with each other, are not robust enough, and might be subject to bottlenecks due to their centralized infrastructure. These systems also force developers to invest enormous amounts of money in hardware and time to design complex software systems. To solve these problems we propose a fully distributed, peer-to-peer architecture for MMOGs.We discuss the issues surrounding MMOGs, the limitations in terms of network infrastructure and the lack of a simulation environment to study and evaluate network architectures and protocols. We use a peer-to-peer (P2P) based architecture and protocol to provide a more scalable, flexible, and robust technology solution than do currently used infrastructures. We conducted the design and implementation of a modular MMOG, called "Time-Prisoners," using a P2P protocol developed in Java and JXTA. The characteristics of P2P overlays enabled us to organize dynamically, and in transparent way for the users, the group of players according to their locations in the virtual world, and allowed the design of a scalable mechanism to distribute the game state to the players and to maintain a consistent world in case of node failures.

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Ruay-Shiung Chang

A peer-to-peer (P2P) architecture for implementing a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) is described in this paper. MMOGs are online games played simultaneously by tens of thousands of users scattered around the globe. Exchanges of data between players and systems are done solely through the Internet. Traditionally, the games are implemented using a centralized approach. A server, or a set of servers, is responsible for the regular operations of the games. Like most Internet search engines, this approach requires powerful servers and is vulnerable to sabotages, such as distributed denial of service attacks. In addition, when the number of users grows, the system scalability becomes a problem. Therefore, the authors propose a peer-to-peer approach. Section 2 of this paper discusses the available technologies for implementing MMOGs. Currently, client/server topology is commonly used. Issues related to the client/server model include scalability, robustness, security and proof-cheating, and network bandwidth and delay. As for the peer-to-peer approach, the authors mention several advantages over the client/server model, such as reduced cost and network latency. Section 3 describes the specification of an MMOG game designed by the authors, called Time Prisoners. Essentially, it is a role-playing game with several levels of difficulties. Players must solve puzzles and collect items to free the prisoners. The next section proposes the conceptual peer-to-peer architecture and protocols for MMOGs. Section 5 illustrates how the peer-to-peer architecture can be implemented using multiple agents. An agent can represent a user or a system resource. It can be dynamically created and destroyed to simulate the joining and leaving of users. The agent approach is common in many distributed applications. Finally, the scalability, network efficiency, data storage, and policing problems are discussed. Only the good points are mentioned. The disadvantages should also be outlined. To summarize, this paper is succinctly written. The MMOG concepts and its implementation are well presented. However, the downside of using P2P architecture should also have been discussed. Simulations to demonstrate the superiority of P2P are also needed. Online Computing Reviews Service

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Published In

cover image Computers in Entertainment
Computers in Entertainment   Volume 3, Issue 2
Theoretical and Practical Computer Applications in Entertainment
April 2005
74 pages
EISSN:1544-3574
DOI:10.1145/1063723
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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 01 April 2005
Published in CIE Volume 3, Issue 2

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Author Tags

  1. JXTA
  2. MMOG
  3. distributed applications
  4. network communications
  5. network topology
  6. online gaming
  7. peerto-peer architecture
  8. protocol

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Cited By

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  • (2022)An Introduction to Online Video Game QoS and QoE Influencing FactorsIEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials10.1109/COMST.2022.317725124:3(1894-1925)Online publication date: 1-Jul-2022
  • (2018)SimCECComputers in Entertainment10.1145/317774716:2(1-26)Online publication date: 10-Apr-2018
  • (2015)Graph of Game WorldsComputers in Entertainment 10.1145/2582179.263342911:2(1-21)Online publication date: 28-Jan-2015
  • (2014)Analysis of a novel hybrid P2P architecture2014 IEEE 11th Consumer Communications and Networking Conference (CCNC)10.1109/CCNC.2014.7056309(508-513)Online publication date: Jan-2014
  • (2013)A novel scalable hybrid architecture for MMOG2013 IEEE International Conference on Multimedia and Expo Workshops (ICMEW)10.1109/ICMEW.2013.6618435(1-6)Online publication date: Jul-2013
  • (2012)Adaptive load-balancing for MMOG servers using KD-treesComputers in Entertainment10.1145/2381876.238188110:1(1-16)Online publication date: 6-Dec-2012
  • (2012)ROIAProceedings of the 2012 Fourth International Conference on Multimedia Information Networking and Security10.1109/MINES.2012.195(374-377)Online publication date: 2-Nov-2012
  • (2012)A Survey of AoIM, Distribution and Communication in Peer-To-Peer Online Games2012 21st International Conference on Computer Communications and Networks (ICCCN)10.1109/ICCCN.2012.6289259(1-5)Online publication date: Jul-2012
  • (2011)Network modeling and simulation of massively multiplayer online gamesSIMULATION10.1177/003754971142328388:8(908-920)Online publication date: 19-Oct-2011
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