Believe it or not, ensuring fairness in online multiplayer games is a field of scientific study but it may not be immediately obvious why. After all, the games we’ve been playing since the 1980s have all been constructed with rigid, unbreakable rules. Try as you might, there’s (usually) no way to walk straight through a wall or take down bosses with a single shot. So, why isn’t this true online, as well?
The pursuit of this strange part of science began way back in 2006, an era when Counter-Strike, RuneScape, and World of Warcraft were the most popular online games. Call of Duty, now the archetypical multiplayer game, was only on its third entry (there are now 19), while some of today’s most popular titles, like League of Legends and Rocket League, had barely reached the drawing board.
A paper on Research Gate entitled Fairness and Playability in Online Multiplayer Games delved into why games with strict programming sometimes fail simply because of a connection to the internet. It explains how “differences in […] delays” are the culprit in these circumstances, a fancy phrase for what gamers know as lag, packet loss, high ping, and slow broadband speeds.
What do these problems indicate? Ping is a measure of time (in milliseconds) that describes how long it takes for a message to travel from your computer to the game’s server, while packet loss occurs when that message doesn’t arrive at all. The term lag is used as a general term to cover both of these issues but it’s mostly meaningless from a tech support perspective.
A ping between 20 and 40ms keeps most games running smoothly. With longer times, a problem known as rubberbanding may occur, in which the player’s avatar appears to teleport around the map as the server tries to pinpoint their actual location. As far as fairness is concerned, this can result in missed shots and other cues, and lead to the player being ejected from a match.
Unfortunately, this is a problem that’s difficult to deal with, as there’s so much variation between how data is sent and received around the world that a one-size-fits-all solution isn’t really feasible. In fact, most FAQ pages and support forums tend to turn the issue back on the player, asking them to check their setup. Troubleshooting for Rocket League insists on a wired internet connection, for instance.
Loot Boxes
Of course, there is more to an equitable gaming experience than actually connecting to the server so let’s take a look at some of the aspects of fairness that developers actually can control. One of the more beneficial developments involves blockchain technology. Certain kinds of experiences, especially in the casino industry, can be configured in a way that allows for provably fair outcomes in encounters of chance.
A section on the Bitcoin Casino Wiz website describes this concept as giving the player the opportunity to check that the hand they were dealt (for example) was predetermined, random, and not influenced by the casino. The algorithm used to produce the final result is usually available to view after the game concludes, too. Oddly enough, this can allow for difficulty levels to be implemented.
While this may not sound as relevant to multiplayer gaming as an internet connection, the addition of random loot box rewards in titles like Apex Legends does mean that developers are now obligated to provide a similar set of assurances to players. Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony recently took steps to include casino-style odds alongside every instance that loot boxes are offered, according to a report by the Games Industry site.
Due to a possible future in which Web3 technologies like NFTs are integrated into video games, it’s entirely feasible that this kind of blockchain integration could assist when it comes to proving the fairness of certain gameplay aspects. After all, plenty of multiplayer titles, mobile apps, and MMOs utilize similar mechanics to casinos, such as the exchange of real money for a chance at receiving something.
There will always be resistance to the involvement of experimental, high-technology ideas in gaming, as plenty of people still prefer the simple, offline experiences of the 1980s and early 1990s. The reality is that games in this category might be considered rare outside the indie scene today, and developers have to continue to find ways to make their products more enticing to consumers.
In any case, fairness isn’t just about rolling the same dice for each player. It’s a complex mix of connectivity, odds, and accountability.
