Impact Of Latency In Wireless Networks For Real-time Multiplayer Games On Mobile Devices.

Abstract

This project describes the current state for wireless networks with regard to real-time multiplayer games on mobile devices. It looks at the limitations of these networks and mechanics to reduce the impact of the introduced network latency. The goal is to find an implementation where the user is not able to distinguish between an offline, perfect version and an online version where the user plays against other users in real time. To find this implementations the authors discuss the choices a developer must make when creating a networked game. Three different network implementations are implemented in a simple racing game created by the authors, and the game is tested on a set of users. The results indicate that users focus on responsiveness before noticing inconsistent game states.