Writing a MMORPG game in Elm on both client and server
summary
Built New Ash World with Elm on client and server, running as two Elm apps that communicate over websockets with an automatic binary format so there is zero websocket code to write. Uses Lambda to auto-generate encoders/decoders and handle live migrations (but requires explicit migration functions or JSON backups for production). Analytics go to a small Dark service. Includes a playable tick‑based demo, a custom DSL for fight strategies, and concrete notes on what worked and what needed extra glue.
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chapters (14)
- 0:00Introduction to the game
- 2:10Why create this game
- 4:56Game history and inspiration
- 7:57Live demo of the game
- 10:37Front-end development with Elm
- 14:09Backend development challenges
- 18:05Introducing Lamdera
- 20:43Implementing chat functionality
- 29:02Data migration and management
- 33:51Backend analytics and services
- 36:14Websockets and real-time updates
- 38:11Custom fight strategy DSL
- 44:27Conclusion and Q&A
- 46:46Game balancing and architecture
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