Online multiplayer gaming brings a world of excitement to players. But for indie developers, behind-the-scenes server management can quickly turn into a nightmare. As your player base erupts, manually juggling virtual machines to keep a game running smoothly simply becomes too much to handle. Downtime caused by player spikes can ruin a game’s authority, unwinding months of hard work. Luckily, there’s a secret weapon out there for indie devs called managed Kubernetes, which works hard to automatically scale servers depending on player demand. Below, we take a look at why managed Kubernetes is an indie dev’s best friend.
What Are Game Servers?
When you’re playing a single-player game, your computer or console is responsible for everything from displaying graphics to game logic. However, when you’re playing online multiplayer games, things become a little trickier. When you team up with friends to explore virtual worlds, there’s a central authority keeping everything in sync for all players. This is where game servers come into the equation.
You can think of a game server as a powerful computer with the sole purpose of managing the online experience for multiple players. It’s the single source of truth that’s reliable for tracking everything from character position to item locations. There are two primary types of game servers:
- Authoritative servers. These servers receive inputs, process them according to a game’s logic, and then broadcast the results to all players. This process ensures that each player sees the same thing happening at the same time.
- Matchmaking servers. These servers are responsible for connecting players. They take into account skill level, game mode, and location to pair players. Once matched, they’re directed to an appropriate server to commence their online adventure.
Challenges of Game Server Management for Indie Devs
Every indie developer hopes their game becomes viral. However, as Uncle Ben might say “With great success comes great responsibility”. This is especially true when it comes to managing the online experience for players. Indie studios typically suffer from limited resources, which is why operating game servers in-house becomes a recipe for disaster.
Scalability is an ongoing concern. Imagine having a game become an instant success, which would flood the servers with traffic. Most indie devs aren’t prepared for this, which leads to lagging and crashing. Scaling up the server capacity to handle the surge is time-consuming and complex, which can result in complete failure just as the game reaches virality.
Running in-house servers involves constant infrastructure stress. Software updates, hardware maintenance, security patches, and troubleshooting all fall on the indie devs’ shoulders. This requirement for constant maintenance pulls resources away from what matters – creating an outstanding gaming experience.
Setting up a server infrastructure comes with hefty costs, which can be a major obstacle for indie devs during the early days of game development and launch. Additionally, setting up hardware and acquiring the necessary licenses can be extremely expensive.
Finally, deployment and server complexity can be challenging, including networking, knowledge of cloud technologies, and system administration. Unfortunately, indie developers often don’t have access to dedicated IT teams to handle these tasks, which makes overcoming obstacles a significant hurdle.
An Introduction to Managed Kubernetes
Imagine having the ability to eliminate the headaches involved with server management, allowing you to focus purely on game development. This is where managed Kubernetes, an absolute game-changer, comes into the picture.
Kubernetes, often called K8s, is an open-source system responsible for automating deployment, scaling, and managing containerised applications. You can think of Kubernetes as a powerful conductor for gaming servers, ensuring they remain active.
Unfortunately, setting up and maintaining Kubernetes can be time-consuming and complex. This is why we recommend using managed Kubernetes. These providers offer cloud-based services that take care of the heavy workload involved with managing a Kubernetes cluster. They manage the infrastructure, configuration, and daily ops, allowing you to reap the rewards without suffering the headache.
Benefits of Managed Kubernetes for Game Server Management
Indie developers are passionate about their projects, but managing servers can soon get in the way. Managed Kubernetes removes the burden of managing the game’s infrastructure, allowing developers to maintain focus on improving their game. Here are some of the benefits of managed Kubernetes for game server management:
- Effortless scaling. When player traffic surges, there’s zero need to panic about new hardware provisions. Managed Kubernetes benefits from automated scaling.
- Cost-effectiveness. Say goodbye to upfront investments in physical servers. Managed Kubernetes leverages cloud resources, meaning you only pay for elements you use. This flexibility is appealing to indie devs because it avoids overspending.
- Streamlined deployment. With managed Kubernetes, there’s no need to worry about server configuration. All you need to do is package game server logic into a deployable unit.
- Automated management. Managed Kubernetes takes care of the tedious tasks including self-healing, scaling, and provisioning. This means your team can focus on letting their creativity shine.
- Enhanced developer experience. Without worrying about costly and time-consuming game server management, developers can concentrate on vital game development.
How to Use Managed Kubernetes for Game Servers
There’s no denying the power of managed Kubernetes, but it can still feel like a complex beast at first. However, the basic process can be broken down into three manageable steps:
- Containerise the game server. This involves packing everything your game server needs (source code, libraries, and dependencies) into a self-contained box. Tools like Docker can simplify this process.
- Deploy as Kubernetes deployments. This containerised game server can then be deployed onto your managed Kubernetes cluster. Deployments are objects that manage the game server’s lifecycle.
- Utilise the power of autoscaling. The real magic happens with autoscaling features, which are built in by managed Kubernetes providers.
The indie developer journey is full of passion and challenges. While creating a captivating gaming experience sits at the heart, managing technical complexities behind the scenes can often steal the show. Luckily, managed Kubernetes has become the indie dev’s secret weapon, allowing affordable access to scalability, streamlined deployment, automated management, and an enhanced developer experience.