Meta Servers
Meta Servers are the servers that distribute players and information between game servers of a specific game as well as stores global information about the players. .
Online games are typically constructed around the concept of a game servers which people log onto to play. For games with more people that want to play than the individual game instances can support, Meta Servers can function as a service to lead players to free servers as well as provide community functionality such as being able to find on which game servers one's friends are playing.
Contents
Examples
Most Online Games using Game Servers also make use of Meta Servers. so that players have some place to connect to when they wish to play. Examples of this can be found in many genres: the Battlefield, Unreal Tournament, and Quake series for First-Person Shooters; Eve Online, World of Warcraft, and Ultima Online for Massively Multiplayer Online Games;
Social Media Games with limited interaction between players, e.g. Candy Crush Saga and FarmVille, many have Meta Servers but this is hidden from players since they never need to log onto specific Game Servers.
Anti-Examples
MUDs such as BatMUD and DragonMud are examples of Online Games that due to how they are created and maintained by players only reside on single Game Servers. Eve Online is a rare example of a Massively Multiplayer Online Games that by having only one Game Server can ensure that all action players take can have a persistent effect on the game and that all narratives that emerge from playing the game relates to the same game instance.
Using the pattern
The prime reason for using Meta Servers is to augment Game Servers and help players connect to the Game Servers suiting their needs or desires. Game Lobbies are common solution for fulfilling the second reason, although games with Private Game Spaces do not need them (this in practice typically means Massively Single-Player Online Games).
Friend Lists Player Kicking Chat Channels Global High Score Lists Persistent Game Worlds
Regardless of the specific functionality the Meta Servers are to provide, they typically do so by collecting Trans-Game Information such as Gameplay Statistics from the Game Servers. If these are to be used to explicitly create Meta Games is a design option when creating Meta Servers but in many cases this is more or less unavoidable, e.g. when storing and presenting Global High Score Lists.
Diegetic Aspects
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Interface Aspects
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Narrative Aspects
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Consequences
The possibility of Meta Servers to store Trans-Game Information such as Global High Score Lists make them support Meta Games built upon the statistics, Scores, etc. that the players gain or loss in the individual games.
Relations
Gameplay Statistics Game Lobbies Friend Lists Persistent Game Worlds Private Game Spaces
Can Instantiate
with Game Servers
Can Modulate
Can Be Instantiated By
Can Be Modulated By
Possible Closure Effects
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Potentially Conflicting With
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History
New pattern created in this wiki.
References
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Acknowledgements
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