2004 Web and Downloadable Games White Paper 

IGDA Online Games SIG 

style syntax that initially only proposed structured code, but that now supports object oriented 

mechanisms. PHP excels at its ease of use in building low to complex systems. PHP is completely free 

with many modules available for most popular Web servers and platforms. 

PHP is primarily designed for server side scripting, therefore it can do anything that a CGI script can do, 

from collecting data to generating dynamic page content. The difference between PHP and other scripting 

languages like JavaScript is that PHP is executed on the server hosting the file. As such, the client only 

receives the results from this script, without any access to the code that generated the result. 

PHP can also be used for command line scripting. This type of usage is ideal for scripts regularly 

executed using Cron or Task Scheduler. PHP can also be used in client side GUI application as it can 

indifferently output HTML, dynamically generated images and graphics, or even Flash movies generated 

on the fly. One of the strongest and most useful features in PHP is its support for a wide range of 

databases, from MySQL, PostgreSQL, or even Oracle to ODBC. 

PHP is often selected to create small to medium online persistent multi player role playing and/or strategy 

games, most likely due to its cost, and the fact that it is a solution which allows the implementation of a 

client server architecture relying on a database system. These games can be played directly through a 

client browser or through a downloaded client.  

8. 

DarkBasic 

DarkBasic has gained a small following over the years primarily as a first programming language, but one 

that is very capable of producing interesting and exciting content. The libraries included with the product 

allow access to DirectX and provide what amounts to a fully functioning 3D engine. Projects produced 

with DarkBasic cannot run native in a web browser, but must be downloaded to a client's machine and 

installed. The engine is currently targeted towards creating stand alone 2D and 3D games, and does not 

have pre built tools for networking capability. Nevertheless, the graphical capabilities are quite well 

documented and easily employed. 

C. 

 Security & Cheating 

As web and downloadable games have become a serious business, security and measures to counter 

cheating have increasingly become important. Where once a cheater simply boosted a high score, 

hacked games with  friends , or disrupted game play, now these activities cost customers and have a 

very real impact on revenue. This section will focus on developing a common framework for discussion of 

the issues, categorizing solutions, and introducing early solutions.  

Security is a large discipline that spans the entire lifecycle of a product or project and includes both 

technical and non technical aspects. This discussion will briefly review the standard IT security 

technologies that are relevant to online games, but will focus on those that are unique to this field. 

Security is intimately tied to the operational integrity of an online game. While computer games were once 

products, in many cases, online games today are services. This changes the essential nature of the 

business as customer service, retention, and acquisition depend more on persistent quality than on flashy 

packaging and cool graphics. Development and delivery of a game is not the end, it is just the beginning. 

The security threat for traditional computer games used to be copy protection. Various proprietary 

schemes have been created, with each one a balance of protecting sales versus annoying customers. 

Typically, providing the least hassles to consumers has won out over security techniques. Just as with 

other traditional software, the belief was that a satisfied thief today may be a good, paying customer 

tomorrow. The effectiveness of the available anti copying techniques also was, and still is, an issue. 

Building Security Into Single Player Games 

Written by Ben Widhelm, CTO TrafficMarketplace (Formerly CTO of the Flipside Network) 

Security,  as  explained  by  data  consultant  and  author  Bruce Schneier, is a process, a series of 

trade offs designed to make the compromise of a system more expensive and time consuming 

than the value of the asset protected by the system. The axiom holds true for game security; the 

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