MQTT for Multiplayer Games? I am not a Game-Developer and I do not know how they create multiplayer internet games. But I know that MQTT can be used for that. Why?
# IoT turns to IoP
MQTT is used for connecting devices. Think about using MQTT for connecting players. “Internet of Things” (IoT) will turn to „Internet of Players“ (IoP).
# A Player is like a Device?
In a multiplayer game, each player is like a device. When they join the game, it’s like they’re saying “Hello, I’m here!” to everyone else – this is known as a “birth message” in MQTT terms.
# Sharing Information Seamlessly
As players move around in the game, they keep sending updates like their location, healthy state, collected goodies, …. MQTT acts like a messenger, picking up this information and delivering it to everyone else playing.
# Handling Player Exits
What if a player leaves the game intentionally or unintentionally? MQTT has a smart feature called “last will message.” It’s like a goodbye note that tells other players someone has left the game. This way, everyone stays in the loop.
# Central Management
A central game management connected to the central MQTT broker, written in any kind of language, could be used to observe and control the game and all the players.
# Why MQTT?
1. **Real-Time Updates**: It’s fast and perfect for real-time games.
2. **Reliable**: Even if a player’s connection is shaky, MQTT makes sure messages get through.
3. **Efficient**: It doesn’t eat up much data, so players won’t lag.
4. **Simple**: It’s not complicated to set up and to use.
# Conclusion
Using MQTT in multiplayer games is like having a super-efficient mailman who ensures everyone knows what’s happening as it happens.
For Unity there is a „Unity for MQTT“ and a “GraphQL for Unity Pro” asset. Easy to use and usable with all the main build targets, including WebGL!
See the game demo I made with MQTT.. I also integrated data from WinCC Unified in the demo, with the GraphQL for Unity Pro Asset.
You can try it out: https://server.rocworks.at/unity/game/ (could be already removed when you try to access it)