Matchmaking (video games)
In multiplayer video games, matchmaking is the process of connecting players together for online play sessions.
Elements
Playlists
Playlists are automatically-managed streams of online play sessions that players can join and leave at will. A set of predefined rules is used to determine the configuration of each session without the need for human input.
Games will normally offer a choice of themed playlists (e.g. teams or solo, quirky rulesets, etc.) to suit different tastes or moods. Since playlists are handled by servers controlled by the game's developer it is possible for them to be changed over time.
When a player selects a playlist they join a pool of other people who have made the same choice. The playlist server then either connects them to an existing session or creates a new one.
Parties
Parties are groups of players who are treated as a single entity by matchmaking systems. A party can skip from session to session without its players becoming separated from each other. The concept is particularly well-suited to playlists, which can automatically handle the logistics of finding or creating play sessions with enough room for the whole group.
Game server
A game server (sometimes host or shard) is a server which is the authoritative source of events in a multiplayer video game. The server transmits enough data about its internal state to allow its connected clients to maintain their own accurate version of the game world for display to players. They also receive and process each player's input.
Types
Dedicated server
Dedicated servers simulate game worlds without supporting direct input or output, except that required for their administration. Players must connect to the server with separate client programs in order to see and interact with the game.
The foremost advantage of dedicated servers is their suitability for hosting in professional data centers, with all of the reliability and performance benefits that entails. Remote hosting also eliminates the low-latency advantage that would otherwise be held by any player who hosts and connects to a server from the same machine or local network.
Dedicated servers cost money to run, however. Cost are sometimes met by a game's developers (particularly on consoles) and sometimes by clan groups, but in either case, the public is reliant on third parties providing servers to connect to. For this reason, most games which use dedicated servers also provide listen server support.
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