A partition detection system for distributed mobile games

Abstract

Recently, a significant amount of attention has been directed toward Mobile Multiplayer Games. Current games are still limited to a few players and often rely on a server based structure, but it seems that future mobile games will be distributed, supporting large player groups. In the mobile gaming environment, network partition is a frequent phenomenon which could make the gaming experience much less enjoyable. Therefore games need a partition detection mechanism to seamlessly create separate games within the separated partitions without having to restart a game. This paper proposes two different partition detection mechanisms, one using a centralized approach, the other one utilizing the advantages of a distributed mechanism. The simulations show that both approaches detect partitioning reliably, with both having unique advantages.

Publication
Proceedings of ACM SIGCOMM 2004 workshops on NetGames ‘04 Network and system support for games - SIGCOMM 2004 Workshops

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