A Survey on Game Backend Services

Game Concepts

Games are more interesting when players are able to achieve goals and compete against other players. These features foster retention and competitiveness, and are applicable also in the gamification of e-learning activities. The following list enumerates the most common game concepts:

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  Leaderboards: Databases that keep scores. They allow users to post their scores in a game and compare themselves with other players’ scores. They measure the success of a player in a game.

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  Achievements: Goals/challenges set in a game that players managed to accomplish. Achievements give players a motivation to keep playing, to earn as many as possible, and a way compare themselves with other players. The fulfilment of a goal may enhance the status of the player or unlock access to other levels, for instance.

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  Multiplayer: A play mode that allows several players to simultaneously cooperate or compete in a game. This feature supports a range of other subfeatures, such as challenges, where players compete each other on either a score challenge or an achievement challenge, and matchmaking games for real-time, turn-based, or self-hosted matches.

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  Saved Games: Allow the remote storage (in the cloud) of game data, for instance, the state and the players progress in the game.

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  Quests: Periodic game challenges that players can complete to earn rewards. This way, developers can launch periodic challenges to their gaming communities.

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  Gifts: Allow players to send/request game resources or items to/from friends (for instance, in their Google+ circles).

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  Matchmaking: Automatically sets up game matches and finds opponents based on parameters set by the game developer. Usually only a specific number of players can be matched at the same time.