VIDEO GAME DATA SYNCHRONIZATION USING BLOCKCHAIN

Abstract

In this final project, a system is proposed to store a player’s progress within a video game in a blockchain system. Specifically, this project aims to propose an alternative way of hosting player data for a live service type video game where one player’s progress is shared and impacts other’s overall experience. In this case, it is important that the player progress can be securely stored and accessed, while removing the need for hosting a server while simultaneously adding redundancy by making it so that every participant has a copy of everyone’s progress, allowing a full peer-to-peer online structure. The benefit of the proposed work is to alleviate the problems with existing live-service type games that deploy servers to store player’s progress. As deploying and maintaining these servers will cost the game publisher, there will be a point where the game will no longer be profitable enough to support the ongoing service and eventually support for the game will be suspended. By moving the storage to blockchain, progress can be maintained by the player base and removes the need for standalone servers to provide saving services to the players. The proposed method is by moving player’s progress data from a centralized, single- party owned server that is common with today’s live service game to a novel blockchain-based database where the data is saved and maintained throughout the game’s active players. By using the proposed method, the results are that publisher will no longer need to maintain dedicated servers and therefore the player base can continue to play and enjoy game while maintaining progress.