Phone Game Needs No Server

Sunish Sugathan — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:33:45 GMT

Multiplayer games on mobile devices, such as phones, typically depend on remote servers for communication between devices and game hosting, but a new augmented reality game developed by researchers at Vrije Universiteit in the Netherlands requires no such server. The game employs the Ibis computing middleware system, which was originally designed for high-performance, distributed computing chores. The researchers adapted the system to operate on Android phones so that the handsets can run a lightweight communication server that enables a direct interface with the game via a 3G or Wi-Fi connection. The game was created in response to Google's Android Developers Challenge 2 and designed to use data fusion, combining numerous aspects of the device's hardware to blend game play with real-world events. The researchers say the game's networking methodology could be used in situations in which significant infrastructure is not always available, such as disaster relief or military operations.

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http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/24624/?a=f

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Phone Game Needs No Server