"Since the 2010s, a common trend among online games has been to operate them as games as a service, using monetization schemes such as loot boxes and battle passes as purchasable items atop freely-offered games."
Developing the game so that it can be played online with multiple players and allowing players to interact with each other.
Network architecture: Understanding the basic architecture of a network is essential when starting to learn about networking. This includes understanding how different components of a network, like routers, switches, and servers, work together.
Network protocols: Network protocols are the rules that govern communication between devices on a network. There are many different protocols, including TCP/IP, HTTP, and FTP.
Transport layer protocols: Transport layer protocols are responsible for ensuring reliable transmission of data across a network. Commonly used transport layer protocols include TCP and UDP.
Application layer protocols: Application layer protocols are used to facilitate communication between network applications. Examples include HTTP, SMTP, and DNS.
Network topologies: Network topologies refer to the layout or structure of a network. Common topologies include star, bus, ring, and mesh.
Network security: Network security involves protecting a network from unauthorized access, viruses, and other threats. There are a variety of security measures that can be implemented, including firewalls, antivirus software, and encryption.
IP addressing: IP addressing is how devices on a network are identified. There are two types of IP address, IPv4 and IPv6.
DNS: DNS (Domain Name System) is a protocol used to translate domain names (like google.com) into IP addresses.
LANs and WANs: LANs (Local Area Networks) are networks that are confined to a small geographic area, while WANs (Wide Area Networks) connect devices across larger distances.
Cloud computing: Cloud computing refers to the practice of using remote servers to store, manage, and process data. This can be an efficient way to handle networking tasks, especially for game developers who need to manage large amounts of data.
VPNs: A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a secure connection between two networks, typically used to connect remote workers to a company's internal network.
Load balancing: Load balancing refers to the practice of distributing network traffic across multiple servers to ensure that no single server becomes overloaded.
Quality of Service (QoS): QoS is a mechanism for prioritizing network traffic based on the type of traffic and its importance to the network.
Network monitoring: Network monitoring involves tracking network performance and identifying potential issues in real-time. This can help prevent downtime and other problems.
Network troubleshooting: Network troubleshooting involves identifying and resolving network issues, such as connectivity problems and slow performance. This is an important skill for game developers, who often need to troubleshoot networking issues with multiplayer games.
Local Area Network (LAN): A network connecting devices in a small geographical area like a home, office or building.
Wide Area Network (WAN): A network connecting devices from different geographical locations like an entire city, state or country.
Wireless Network: A network that allows devices to connect wirelessly using technologies like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
Cloud Networking: A type of network that uses the internet to connect devices and facilitate communication and data exchange between them.
Client-Server Network: A network model where one or more computers act as servers and the rest as clients. The server provides resources like files, databases and security services to clients upon request.
Peer-to-Peer Network: A network where devices can act as both clients and servers, and they can interact directly without the need for a central server.
Virtual Private Network (VPN): A secure network that allows remote users to access a local network over the internet using encryption and other security measures.
Overlay Network: A network organized on top of another network, such as the internet, to provide additional functionality like improved performance, fault tolerance or security measures.
Mesh Network: A type of network where devices interconnect with one another directly, unlike client-server models.
Social Network: A type of network that models social relationships between people for communication, collaboration or gaming purposes.
Message-based Network: A network that sends data in the form of messages between devices, where the sender device publishes a message and the recipient devices subscribe to that message.
Unified Communication Network: A network that integrates various modes of communication like voice, video, messaging, email and file sharing to enable comprehensive communication.
Internet of Things (IoT) Network: A network of devices interconnected through the internet, specifically designed for IoT applications.
Blockchain Network: A distributed and decentralized network that uses cutting-edge blockchain technology, which is secure, trustworthy and tamper-proof for peer-to-peer transactional networking purposes.
Hibernating Network: A network where devices or certain parts of it can be put into hibernation mode to conserve energy when they are not in use or during low-traffic periods.
"In 2019, revenue in the online games segment reached $16.9 billion, with $4.2 billion generated by China and $3.5 billion in the United States."
"Online games are ubiquitous on modern gaming platforms, including PCs, consoles and mobile devices, and span many genres, including first-person shooters, strategy games, and massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG)."
"Unlike purchased retail games, online games have the problem of not being permanently playable, as they require special servers in order to function."
"The design of online games can range from simple text-based environments to the incorporation of complex graphics and virtual worlds."
"Many online games create their own online communities, while other games, especially social games, integrate the players' existing real-life communities."
"Online gaming has drastically increased the scope and size of video game culture. Online games have attracted players of a variety of ages, nationalities, and occupations."
"The online game content is now being studied in the scientific field, especially gamers' interactions within virtual societies in relation to the behavior and social phenomena of everyday life."
"Due to their growing online nature, modern video game slang overlaps heavily with internet slang, as well as leetspeak, with many words such as 'pwn' and 'noob'."
"Another term that was popularized by the video game community is the abbreviation 'AFK' to refer to people who are not at the computer or paying attention."
"The culture of online gaming sometimes faces criticism for an environment that can promote cyberbullying, violence, and xenophobia."
"Some are also concerned about gaming addiction or social stigma."
"Since the players of an online game are strangers to each other and have limited communication, the individual player's experience in an online game is not necessarily different from playing with artificial intelligence players."
"Some online games can receive a massive influx of popularity due to many well-known Twitch streamers and YouTubers playing them."
""GL HF" which stands for "good luck, have fun," which is often said at the beginning of a match to show good sportsmanship."
"At the end of a game, 'GG' or 'GG WP' may be said to congratulate the opponent, win or lose, on a 'good game, well played'."
"Many video games have also inspired internet memes and achieved a very large following online."
"The existence of online components within a game can range from being minor features, such as an online leaderboard, to being part of core gameplay, such as directly playing against other players."
"The culture of online gaming sometimes faces criticism for an environment that can promote cyberbullying, violence, and xenophobia."
"Online games have attracted players of a variety of ages, nationalities, and occupations."