CONTENTS -- INTRODUCTION -- CHAPTER 1 THE CHALLENGE OF GAME NETWORKING -- Types of Networking -- Dial-Up and PPP Networking -- Local Area Networking -- The Internet and World Wide Web -- Wireless LAN -- Cellular Technology -- Network-Gaming Models -- The Client/Server Model -- Dynamic (Real-Time) Network Gaming -- Connectionless Network Gaming -- Data Exchange in Network Gaming -- Security -- Split-Information Model -- Balancing Data Exchange -- Key Decisions -- CHAPTER 2 TYPES OF NETWORK GAMES -- Multi-User Dungeon Games -- First Principles -- Text-Based MUDs -- Possibilities Beyond Text -- Arcade Games -- Gaming Model -- Security -- Data Exchange -- Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) -- Web and "Through the Browser" Games -- Text-Based Through-the-Browser Games -- Flash-Based Web Games -- Alternate-Reality Web Games -- From Theory to Development -- References -- CHAPTER 3 PUTTING GAME NETWORKING TECHNOLOGY TO WORK -- Components of Network Gaming -- Communication -- Interaction -- The Platform -- Personal Computer -- Console -- Handheld Device -- Multi-Platform -- Complete System Architecture -- The Front-End Interface -- The Middleware -- The Back-End -- The Network -- CHAPTER 4 A COMPARISON OF NETWORK GAME TYPES -- Categorizing Multi-Player Network Games -- Pseudo Single-Player Online Games -- One-on-One Games -- Team-Based Multi-Player Games -- Map-Based Multi-Player Games -- Real Time-Strategy Games -- Massively Multi-Player Online (MMO) Games -- Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) -- Comparing Network Game Types -- Turn-by-Turn Games Versus Real-Time Action Games -- Multi-User Dungeon (MUD) Games Versus Real Time-Action Games -- NPC Combat Games Versus Pure Multi-Player -- Player Combat Games Versus NPC Combat Games -- In-Browser Games Versus Standalone Client Games -- Design Principles.

From Single Player to Multi-Player -- Adding Network Support -- Adding Multi-Player Support to the Design -- Testing Through Design -- Choosing the Technology for Your Game -- References -- CHAPTER 5 CREATING TURN-BY-TURN NETWORK GAMES -- Turn by Turn Defined -- The Game System -- Player Customization -- Case Study: Project Rockstar -- The Premise -- Setup -- Playing the Game -- Solutions to Possible Problems -- Alternative Approaches -- The Fictional PlanetStarRPG -- The Game Environment -- Profile, Ship Design, and Customization -- Update Cycles -- Pre-Programmed Combat -- Revenue Model -- In-Game Currency -- Advertising Networks -- Direct Sponsorship -- Commercializing a Turn-by-Turn Game -- References -- CHAPTER 6 CREATING ARCADE AND MASSIVELY MULTI-PLAYER ONLINE GAMES (REAL-TIME) -- Game Models Revisited -- MMORPGs -- Arcade Action Games -- Anatomy of a Game Model -- Client Software Structures -- Building Server Solutions -- End-to-End Networking Using IP -- Revenue Models -- The Direct Revenue Model -- The Indirect Revenue Model -- Merging Real-Time Gaming with the Internet -- References -- CHAPTER 7 IMPROVING NETWORK COMMUNICATIONS -- Network Communication Issues -- Packet Loss -- Network Latency -- Solutions to Network Latency Problems -- Networking Topography -- Design-Based Workarounds -- Minimizing Exposure to Latency -- The Principle of Minimum Data in Transit -- Basic Data Reduction -- Using Compression -- Using Game Environment Prediction -- Data Loss and Dropped Connections -- Combating Data Loss -- Combating Dropped Connections -- References -- CHAPTER 8 REMOVING THE CHEATING ELEMENTS -- What Is Cheating? -- What Are the Risks? -- Genre-Specific Risks -- Global Risks -- What Are the Solutions? -- Detection Approaches -- Prevention Versus Detection -- Action Versus Inaction -- Hacks, Cracks, and Cheat Codes.

How Hacks and Cracks Happen -- Types of Cheats -- Bots and Automated Playing -- Communication Layer Cheats -- Data-in-Transit Cheats -- Lookahead and Update Dropping -- Intentional Disconnections -- Solutions to Communication Layer Cheats -- Logic Layer Solutions -- Code Obfuscation in the Logic Layer -- Identifying Bots -- References -- CHAPTER 9 TESTING NETWORK GAMES -- Principles of Testing -- The Testing Process -- Components -- Types of Testing -- Strategy -- Testing the Network Layer -- Simulating Network Issues -- Load Testing -- Sustained-Load Testing -- Peak-Traffic Testing -- Testing the Logic Layer -- Simulating Player Interaction -- Stress-Testing the Middleware -- Stress-Testing the Database -- Testing Non-Interactive Games -- Testing the Client Software -- Re-Using Prediction Code in Testing -- Prediction Is AI in Practice -- An Overview of Testing Options -- CHAPTER 10 NETWORK PROGRAMMING PRIMER -- An Introduction to Socket Programming -- Types of Sockets -- Protocol Layers -- Server-Side Sockets -- Client-Side Sockets -- Using Polling -- Server-Side Polling -- Client-Side Polling -- Sequential Processing Techniques -- Socket Polling Example -- Enhancements to Basic Round Robin -- Socket Programming -- Data Types -- Sockets and Ports -- Sending and Receiving Data -- Client Example -- Server Example -- Open-Source Code Libraries -- MUD Libraries -- Action Games -- Web Gaming -- Final Thoughts -- References -- INDEX -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- X.