Building a Multiplayer Game with Unity

In gaming, online experiences have evolved beyond just being a feature. Fast development of technologies and hardware during the last 20 years provided the global gaming community with more immersive, interactive, and engaging online experiences. These trends affected both the gaming experiences and development approaches of how the games are crafted. In general, the entire industry has changed completely over the past 20 years thanks to the Internet and the widespread popularization of online gaming.

Unity Engine being among the leading game development frameworks, populates multifunctional tools and offers developers an entire environment for building online projects. Having been in the industry for over 14 years, of which over 10 years in Unity, today we want to share our guides and feedback on how to make a multiplayer game in Unity, from conceptualization to production and execution, highlighting the steps and thoughts critical to crafting engaging online experiences.

Types of Multiplayer

Understanding the various online modes is crucial in designing a game that resonates with your target audience.

Source: Unity Gaming Report 2024 Cintᵀᴹ survey 2023

• Local multiplayer projects hark back to the early days of gaming, where friends would gather around a single console or arcade machine to play together. This concept brings an immediate sense of competition and cooperation because participants can share real-time reactions and strategies. The technical approach here lies in creating balanced and accessible gameplay that can keep all users engaged on a single screen.
• Online games playable via the Internet are totally different. They allow people from around the world to connect through common gameplay, compete, and cooperate with each other. The scalability of online projects can be vast, accommodating thousands or even millions of gamers simultaneously. Developers must consider network stability, server capacity, and latency issues to provide a smooth gaming experience.
• Co-playing games with a splitted screen offer a mix of local and individual gaming experiences. Game mechanics such as racing, shooters or co-op action adventures often provide an option to divide a game’s screen into multiple sections, each dedicated to a different gamer. The challenge here is to design each segment of the screen to deliver a complete and immersive experience without compromising game performance.

Goals for the Game

When learning how to create a multiplayer game in Unity, it is also important to understand the goals of the game. Meaning that it is not just a preliminary step in the game production, but a fundamental point to decide when working on the initial design. Moving through the development plan these goals lie as a basis for the game roadmap and make sure that the game not only provides the experience but also leads users to clear and understandable targets.

Source: Unity Gaming Report 2024 Cintᵀᴹ survey 2023

Key objectives may include:

• Enhancing Gamer Engagement. At the heart of any successful game is its ability to engage players deeply and meaningfully. For online projects, this engagement is twofold: gamers must be drawn into the game itself through compelling mechanics and narrative, and they must also feel a connection with other gamers.
• Fostering Social Interaction. Online projects inherently rely on gamer interaction, but fostering a positive and active community takes careful planning and ongoing effort. Encouraging gamers to collaborate, compete, and communicate in ways that are respectful and enjoyable.
• Promoting Competition. Competition is a driving force for many gamers, and effectively incorporating it into a game can elevate the entire experience. This goes beyond just providing leaderboards or gamer rankings; it’s about creating a competitive ecosystem that rewards skill, strategy, and teamwork.

Target Audience

When researching how to make a multiplayer Unity game, it is essential to identify the target audience as well. E.g. for building an online game, it’s critical to know the final users, their behaviors and desires, and demographic range, and preferably associate the product with certain user portraits. This affects every aspect of game development, from the initial concept and engineering to the final marketing and SMM strategies. A well-defined target audience will save the efforts made during production and guarantee the delivery of experiences that meet users’ expectations and preferences.

Source: Midiasearch

It’s always time and cost-consuming and also pushes away from the actional production start, but the understanding of demographic factors such as age, gender, and location can significantly improve the final product from the users’ point of view. For example, a game targeting teenagers might focus on fast-paced action and social interaction, while a game aimed at older adults might prioritize strategy and depth of content. Gender can also influence game design, although it’s important to avoid stereotypes and recognize the broad range of interests across all genders.

Understanding the interests of your target audience goes beyond just the genre of the game. It involves delving into the themes, narratives, and aesthetics that appeal to them. For instance, gamers drawn to fantasy settings might appreciate intricate world-building and lore, while fans of sci-fi might be more engaged by technology-driven gameplay and futuristic narratives.

The distinction between casual and hardcore gamers is just the starting point in understanding gaming preferences. Casual gamers might prefer projects that are easy to learn and can be played in short sessions, emphasizing relaxation and entertainment. In contrast, hardcore gamers might seek out projects that offer depth, complexity, and the potential for mastery.

Client-Server Technical Stack

Building an online game with Unity requires a comprehensive understanding of the technical stack, including networking solutions, synchronization methods, and server infrastructure. Moreover, you should know how does Unity multiplayer work.

• Networking Solutions. Engine offers various networking solutions, such as Unity Multiplayer (UNET), PUN, and Mirror, to facilitate online game development.
• Synchronization Methods. Ensuring that all gamers’ game states are synchronized in real-time is crucial. Techniques like interpolation and prediction help in minimizing latency and providing a seamless online experience.
• Server Infrastructure. Depending on the game’s scale, developers might opt for dedicated servers, peer-to-peer networking, or cloud-based solutions to manage the online aspects efficiently.

Specifics of Unity Multiplayer Game Development for Mobile, Desktop, or Web Browsers

Source: Unity Gaming Report 2024 Cintᵀᴹ survey 2023

The development of Unity multiplayer game offers a broad canvas for creativity and innovation across various platforms for each game type, each with its distinct set of challenges and opportunities. Cross-platform capabilities provide a solid foundation and wider options for developers, but understanding the nuances of each platform (mobile, desktop, consoles, web browsers, and other platforms) is vital to tune the experience and optimize the performance for various gamers. Developing online projects for different platforms involves unique considerations:

• Mobile Devices. Developing online projects for mobile devices requires a keen focus on optimization to ensure smooth gameplay on a wide range of hardware. Performance optimization is always the to-do list with the highest priority for developers because mobile devices and operation systems have limited powers compared to PC and consoles.
• Desktop Computers. Leverage the higher processing power and graphics capabilities to enhance the game’s visual fidelity and complexity. On top of that, the range of additional gadgets available to desktop gamers, such as gamepads, keyboards, mice, and even VR headsets, to multiply interaction and immersion.
• Web Browsers. Ensure compatibility and performance across different browsers for your Unity multiplayer web game, emphasizing quick load times and accessibility. Utilize the support of WebGL for graphics rendering and Web Sockets for multiplayer gaming, which may reach the gaming experiences close to desktops or consoles.

Popular Unity Multiplayer Games

Several successful online projects have been developed with this game engine, showcasing its versatility and power.

• Among Us. A social deduction game that became a cultural phenomenon, demonstrating the potential for simple mechanics to foster deep social interaction and virality.
• Phasmophobia. A cooperative horror game that leverages engine’s capabilities to create a deeply immersive and terrifying experience.
• Rust. An open-world survival game that showcases the engine’s ability to handle complex simulations and large, dynamic environments.
• Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout. A massively online party game that pits dozens of gamers against each other in a series of chaotic obstacle courses until one victor remains.
• Hearthstone. A digital collectible card game that changed the genre. It is the standard for card battles and has many variations and modifications implemented in other digital games.
• Kerbal Space Program. Gamers undertake the challenge of building and launching spacecraft in a physics-based simulation to explore celestial bodies.

In fact, the list of brilliant games made with Unity is many times longer. Have a look at the list of the Top 10 Mobile Games Made with Unity in 2023.

Interesting fact. More than 70 of the 100 largest mobile game titles through different mobile stores are made on Unity.

Conclusion

Building an online game is always a much more complex challenge and requires, first of all, high-level planning and prototyping, before deep diving into creativity and engineering. Each development step starting from the pre-production, to production, release and further development highlight various fundamental goals to achieve. The success stories of thousands of projects illustrate the multifaceted potential of the engine in transforming creative visions into reality.

Whether you’re an indie developer, gaming startup or a part of an enterprise, the engine offers the tools and community support to bring online game ideas to life.

Getting a Reliable Partner

If you need help to create a multiplayer game Unity, Fgfactory stands ready to assist. With 14+ years of experience developing various game mechanics for both single player and multiplayer titles, our team is equipped with the knowledge, tech skills and professionals to help bring your project to release and further. The technical and design teams are available to assist with a wide variety of technical, creative or consulting requests. At Fgfactory game development agency, we understand the power of collaboration in unlocking the full potential of Unity gaming services.

Our approach is focused on transparency, dedication, and individual approach for each business goal. Reach out to Fgfactory today and take the first step towards transforming your online game concept into a captivating reality. Let’s make something extraordinary.