Simple Game Server - iphone

I'm looking for a simple game server for an iPhone game I'm creating.
The game is turn based, so I just need a way for players to find other players,
and then have the server gather and send out turns.
It's a simple two player card game.
If you have ever seem the with friends app.. ( Chess with friends, Words with friends ) that is the type of server I'm looking for.
Any suggestions on free or low cost software I can use??

If you would like to integrate OpenFeint, there is a turnbased multiplayer component you can take advantage of. No independent server required, with a simple and capable API ready for you to use.
http://www.openfeint.com/ofdeveloper/index.php/kb/article/000074

Here is a similar open source game. It is a two-player game server.
It can be hosted on Google App Engine.

For something scalable you can use SmartFoxServer or Google App Engine if you want to role your own scalable backend on the cheap. Integrating with Apple Push Notification could be done with Urban Airship

You can use Apple's GameCenter's built in Match making feature to create turn based multiplayer games.
http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/NetworkingInternet/Conceptual/GameKit_Guide/MatchesandVoice/MatchesandVoice.html

Related

Multiplayers online game (MMO) | Architecture | Learning Path

I want to learn game development.
I'm coming from Web, Desktop and Mobile Applications.
where is no really REAL-TIME programming.
And all architecture templates and life cycles is very different.
Now I have 1 idea for game. I don't know if this will very good game, but for first game my main goal is - Get experience
My game is online game with 2 players.
The players has cards (like in Clash Royal) and will player release the card - game need to do something.
Now question is in Architecture....
In applications that I made - all business logic was on SERVER SIDE..........
But If i understand right - here is Game on Players phone do all business logic..and server is just "message provider" ??
The second question is - If I have to use online service (like Photon) or build my TCP/UDP server.. (Its not so hard and for first game I think I can do it by myself)
UPDATED:
The main question what is resources I need to read for get more information about type of Architectures in Game Dev?
Thank you for your answers.
There is no RIGHT ANSWER for your question, as there are many ways to do an on-line game, and everyone have their pros and cons, like:
Host & Clients, where one of the players is acting like a server.
Authoritary Server, where all the logic is calculated on one side, and then update the others.
If you are working on Unity I recommend you to look the different network api's over there: Photon, Unet...
You can use the server services that Unet provides, or build your own system.
But one advise: don't mess with physics on on-line games, will be punishing.

Multiplayer with multiple app ids

I am interested in making an iOS game with a 2 player multiplayer aspect. I'd like to use Game Centre to send the data, which seems to work well with 1 app. What I would like to have is a paid and free version of the game, with the ability to play multiplayer between the paid and free versions.
The problem I have is:
Is it possible to use Game Centre to send data between the paid and free versions of the game, even if they have different app ids?
From what I've seen online, I don't think that it is possible, and I'll most likely have to have my own server to handle the data transfer. Any insight though would be much appreciated. Thanks!
There is such option in iTunes-connect.
Here is guide to it
https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/LanguagesUtilities/Conceptual/iTunesConnect_Guide/15_GameCenter/GameCenter.html
Here are two options you should be looking for
Groups: allows you to share your leaderboard and achievement data between apps. Apps in a group do not need to be multiplayer compatible.
Multiplayer Compatibility: allows you to specify which apps are compatible with a specific app and therefore, allow multiplayer games between the apps. Apps do not need to be on the same platform or in a group to be multiplayer compatible.

Adobe Flash iPhone Game Development like Words/Hanging with Friends possible?

Adobe Flash CS 5 and 5.5 offers the ability to create applications for the iPhone. Would it be possible to create a multiplayer turn style game like the iPhone game Words/Hanging with Friends/Chess with friends?
If so anyone have any good places to start with. My only problem would be making multiplayer and turn style work. I am only curious as I am not up to coding par enough to do this with Objective C.
Thanks all!
Yes it would be possible. You could leverage a service like the Flash Collaboration Service (also known as LiveCycle Collaboration Service) to manage the state between games:
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flashplatform/services/collaboration.html
You would not be able to leverage GameCenter integration without a Native Extension.

How can I implement multiplayer in my iphone game?

I want to create a playstation home style multiplayer game for iphone. How can I implement multiplayer in my project? Also, how can I give players a chance to chat? How can I let them create their own avatars to interact? I am a one man developer, with no access to servers. Maybe I can use iPhone game centre???
If you're looking for some kind of platform to build on, there is a product called SmartFoxServer:
http://www.smartfoxserver.com/
I have not used it, but it claims to provide a client API for native Obj-C or Unity3D. It allows for chat features.
If you want to roll your own, I recommend getting started with NodeJS:
http://nodejs.org/
GameCenter does not provide any kind of backend for multiplayer networking, at least not in the way you are implying. If you intend to build a networked multiplayer game over the internet, you most likely need some kind of backend.
Slicehost is a good way of getting a server like NodeJS running quickly and cheaply:
http://www.slicehost.com/
Don't forget that GameKit in iOS allows multiple devices to find each other locally (via Bluetooth or local Wifi) and create sessions. This might be a good starting point for your game. Here's some info on GameKit:
http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/NetworkingInternet/Conceptual/GameKit_Guide/Introduction/Introduction.html
I think this would usually be done with webservice interaction against a server. You may be able to develop a webservice and pay a small fee to have it hosted by a web provider, or to use your own machine as (an unreliable) server while proving the concept.
Or you could just use Nextpeer - http://www.nextpeer.com
It makes adding online tournaments to your game real simple.
You can look at Gamooga (http://www.gamooga.com/).
Its a realtime communication platform for multiplayer games so you dont need to worry about building and deploying your own multiplayer servers. You can upload your own server side scripts onto Gamooga's cluster which receive and process your clients' messages. You can use Gamooga's iOS API with in your app to send messages from the client side to your server side scripts. You can download the SDK and look at the demos to start off.
There is a free plan of Gamooga platform too that you can make use of to start with.
Disclosure: I am founder of Gamooga, replying only since its relevant to the question.

iOS Game Center Peer to Peer using Game Kit

I would like some confirmation before looking into the APIs deeply. Does Game Center let developers build an app so users can connect and interact with each other seamlessly ?
I mean, if I wanted to build a simple game, like a multiplayer quizz. I want people to look for each other on game center, go to a "game room" and answer the same quizz questions, the fastest winning.
As a developer point of vue, what will be required to my app ? Do I have call back like
player:(Player *)player didSendData:(NSData *)data
so I can check who gets the good answer and broadcast a message to everyone (to update their screen)
I know I could RTFM, I just want to know if "yes" that's basically the goal, or "no" you won't be able to do that with game center.
Thanks !
The answer is, Yes, you can do that. You can use Game Center to connect users using Apple's matchmaking services. This allows you to send push notifications to other Game Center users to invite them to connect. There's also the underlying GameKit framework (which Game Center uses) that allows you to create an ad-hoc network between devices in proximity over BlueTooth or Wifi. You can also dive into a bit of hardcore C and use Bonjour to connect devices. I use both peer-to-peer and Game Center connectivity in my game Cee-lo.