Matchmaker/Lobby

Why do I need a Matchmaker and/or Lobby?

A lobby or matchmaker system plays a crucial role in online multiplayer games for various technical reasons.

Player management

A lobby or matchmaker system helps manage players by grouping them into appropriate matches based on various criteria such as skill level, geographical location, or game preferences. This ensures a balanced and enjoyable gaming experience for all players involved.

Backend

You do not want your player to communicate directly with your backend and you want to offer a centralized point for them to access. Imagine you have an API token that start a VM in a certain provider, you do not want the Token hardcoded in the Game Client, accessible to any players!

Security

Using a centralized lobby or matchmaker system helps maintain control over the game's security. By filtering and validating player connections, a matchmaker can prevent unauthorized access, protect user data, and mitigate potential cheating or hacking attempts.

Game session management

A lobby or matchmaker system manages game sessions by creating, updating, and terminating them as needed. This ensures that players can join or leave games seamlessly, and the game instances can be efficiently managed by the system.

You Don't Need One Right Away! (Development mode)

During the development phase, you might not need a fully-fledged lobby or matchmaker system for several technical reasons:

Simplified testing environment

In the initial stages of development, you might focus on implementing and testing the core game mechanics and networking features. By avoiding the complexity of a lobby or matchmaker system, you can more easily test and debug your game with a smaller group of players, often within your development team.

Faster iteration

Without a lobby or matchmaker, you can make quick changes to your game code and test new features or fixes without worrying about the impact on the matchmaking process. This allows for a more agile development approach, enabling your team to iterate and refine the game mechanics more rapidly.

Resource allocation

Developing a full-scale lobby or matchmaker system requires considerable time and resources. By delaying the implementation of these components, you can allocate your resources more efficiently, focusing on the core gameplay and networking features first.

Scalability concerns

In the early stages of development, you likely won't have a large number of players to manage. As a result, a basic system for connecting players or even manual connections for testing purposes may be sufficient. However, as your game grows and attracts more players, a lobby or matchmaker system will become increasingly necessary to manage player connections and ensure a smooth gameplay experience.

It's crucial to design your game architecture to accommodate a lobby or matchmaker system in the future. This forward-thinking approach will make it easier to integrate these components when you're ready to test your game with a larger group of players, ensuring a smoother transition and a more polished final product.