ALVIC-NG: state management and immersive communication for massively multiplayer online games and communities

Abstract

ALVIC-NG is an architecture for networked games based on the classic client/server paradigm. While peer-to-peer and hybrid systems have been extensively researched, the client/server approach provides many advantages that are beneficial or even required from a content, application and service provider's point-of-view. ALVIC-NG consists of an extendable framework which allows for dynamic allocation of server capacity, combined with facilities for player activity management and moderation. This is achieved by introducing an intermediate layer of proxy servers in the architecture to intelligently channel the messages flow. Additionally, ALVIC-NG provides a means for immersive communication by enabling real-time voice chat between participants through an off-the-shelf conferencing system that is closely coupled to the state management facilities and spatial subdivision scheme. Besides a theoretical discussion, we also provide insight into the design of the simulation setup through which we are able to provide actual figures that demonstrate the viability of the proposed solution.