[jchrisa]

If you want to let a mature open source sync system do the heavy lifting we've recently added Unity 3D support to Couchbase Lite. http://developer.couchbase.com/mobile/unity/

Hello world is a game where players drop shapes into a world and they automatically sync / appear on other devices.

Sorry about the plug -- great article Justin! I sent it to my team because I think it does a great job stepping back from the buzzwords and actually talking about the problems distributed databases have to confront.

[stcredzero]

Interesting. However I'm not just looking for syncing stats and inventory. What I'm talking about is designing a new game mechanic around the realities of distributed gaming, then designing a more robust server around that. The server will be finalizing entity positions, damage, and collisions a half second behind "real-time," and the game mechanic will be designed around this in a way that preserves player autonomy and immediate response. (Basically, deemphasizing aiming while emphasizing tactical dodging where the player seeks to minimize received damage over time.)

great job stepping back from the buzzwords

Those pesky buzzwords. You were just caught out being misled by one. (sync -- which typically means what you thought it did, but also has a generalized meaning)

[nosuchthing]

In competitive video games, if you give the client a large open window of freedom sooner or later you'll notice that window being used as a door by swaths of your userbase.

[stcredzero]

I thought long and hard about this. I would love it if there were tons of kamikaze tactics exploiting the additional half second of firing you have after you died. Maybe people could use this to defeat an otherwise powerful and untenable enemy.

Great!

That would mean groups of people were playing my game and cooperating to overcome huge odds in creative ways. (Players could use alts to do this, but there is already plans for a facility to let players build kamikaze drone ships without making an alt, and rigged to make this more economical.)

[marknadal]

@stcredzero I'm interested in building simulation systems for distributed systems, and trying to "gamify" them to teach people about these concepts in a tactile-playable way. Would you be interested in such work? It is less building a "entertainment" game and more an "educational" fun game. Shoot me an email: [e-mail]