Game Multiplayer Design

Core Workflow

Identify the game mode, player count, genre, platform, latency tolerance, cheat risk, session length, persistence needs, and hosting model.
Choose topology deliberately: dedicated server, listen server, relay-assisted peer-to-peer, distributed authority, or turn-based/asynchronous backend.
Define authority before implementation. State which machine owns simulation, movement, inventory, combat, RNG, spawning, scoring, economy, and match results.
Design data flow as messages and replicated state, not as local single-player code with networking added later.
Separate input, prediction, server validation, reconciliation, interpolation, presentation, persistence, and matchmaking concerns.
Test with real network conditions: latency, jitter, packet loss, disconnects, reconnects, host migration if applicable, low frame rate, and platform suspend/resume.