Design Issues for Online Gaming
In this section, we're going to address a hodgepodge of design issues that are peculiar to online games.
Arriving Players
Players can log on wanting to play your game at any time, and the game has to be capable of dealing with them intelligently. In most noncomputer games, all the players must be present at the beginning of the match, or it won't be fair. In Monopoly, for example, anyone who entered the game late would be at a significant disadvantage—the others would have already grabbed the best properties, and the game's built-in inflation would swiftly bankrupt them.
The usual solution is to start new matches at frequent intervals and to have a waiting area or “lounge” where the players can hang around while ...
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