# Multiplayer games and the servers behind them. > Multiplayer game development by Dream Awake Labs. Server-authoritative sessions, replicated gameplay, and the operator tools around them, for Unity, Unreal, and native engines, from a shared headset session in one room to a replicated inventory in a roguelike. The problem: Networked gameplay goes wrong in the details: a dropped player who cannot rejoin, an inventory that disagrees between machines, a level that generates differently on each machine, a floor nobody can run. Who it is for: For game teams and venues that need several players, or several headsets in one room, to share one correct session. ## One room, several headsets, one session Spatial Venue is our server for location-based XR. It owns the roster, phases, scores, course, props, and settings of a session, validates what each headset reports, and streams bit-packed snapshots to every headset 30 times a second over UDP, with reconnect tokens so a dropped headset rejoins in place. Around the server sit the tools a floor needs: a client library shipped as a Unity package, a read-only status page with a live feed, a command-line control tool with a JSON mode for people and for agents, and a DASP control socket so automation can drive a session without patching the game. Load tests run 48 simulated players across 8 sessions, and the decoders are fuzzed. - The Spatial Venue status page during a test session: a "Stop all" button with tick count and uptime, and a table with one session, Floor A, Ready on hole 1 of 3, and four headsets, each Aligned with 100% battery, tracking ok, and a heartbeat under one second. (The read-only status page served by the venue server. Captured in testing with simulated participants.): https://dreamawakelabs.com/work/venue-runtime/status-page.webp - Diagram of three layers: a game as a thin layer of subclasses and data assets on top; the GameplayFramework plugin in the middle with abilities and attributes, data-driven input, characters, event-driven UI, inventory, spawners, AI and projectiles, and pickups and collectibles; and Unreal Engine 5 systems at the bottom. (In Unreal, GameplayFramework gives a game a replicated base so it can be mostly data and a few subclasses.): https://dreamawakelabs.com/work/gameplay-framework/architecture.svg Case study: [Spatial Venue](https://dreamawakelabs.com/work/venue-runtime.md) ## How it works - [Spatial Venue](https://dreamawakelabs.com/technology#venue-runtime): runs server-authoritative sessions with reconnects, a status page, and a control tool. - [GameplayFramework](https://dreamawakelabs.com/technology#gameplay-framework): gives an Unreal game replicated abilities, attributes, inventory, and seeded procedural levels that every client generates identically. - [DASP](https://dreamawakelabs.com/technology#dasp): lets automation drive a session through a control socket instead of patching the game client. - [XR foundation](https://dreamawakelabs.com/technology#xr-foundation): is the Unity starting point for the headset side on Meta Quest 3 and Android XR. - [Spatial Unreal](https://dreamawakelabs.com/technology#spatial-unreal): is the Unreal plugin for games and installations that take part in DASP experiences. ## What we can build - **Session servers**: Deterministic, server-authoritative state streamed to every client, with reconnects that put a dropped player back in place. - **Replicated gameplay**: Abilities, attributes, inventory, and spawning that stay correct over the network, configured with data rather than code. - **Engine packages**: Native client libraries shipped as Unity and Unreal packages, with one codebase per engine across devices. - **Procedural content**: Seeded levels and layouts that every client generates identically. - **Operator tools**: Status pages, control tools, and JSON interfaces so people and agents can run sessions. - **Load and fuzz testing**: Simulated players that fill sessions, and fuzzed decoders on every network boundary. ## Projects - [Spatial Venue](https://dreamawakelabs.com/work/venue-runtime.md): A Rust server that runs shared sessions for several headsets in the same room, with a live status page, a command-line control tool, and a DASP control socket for automation. - [Puttscape: Mixed-Reality Mini-Golf](https://dreamawakelabs.com/work/mixed-reality-mini-golf.md): Mixed-reality mini-golf on Meta Quest 3 and Android XR from one codebase, with holes generated from the scanned room and a venue client that connects the game to our Spatial Venue server. - [GameplayFramework for Unreal Engine](https://dreamawakelabs.com/work/gameplay-framework.md): An open-source Unreal Engine plugin for building replicated, data-driven games on the Gameplay Ability System. GlitchWalker and Collectors Edition are built on it. - [GlitchWalker](https://dreamawakelabs.com/work/glitchwalker.md): A third-person roguelike in Unreal Engine 5, built as a thin layer of data and subclasses on GameplayFramework. ## One mode, server-authoritative We run one game mode server-authoritative with two to four players, or load-test the server you already have with simulated players. What you get: The running mode or the load-test report, and a written note on what to fix or build next. What you bring: - The engine and the current networking, if any - The mode or the session shape to test - Access to a build and to the server - [Plan a multiplayer system](https://dreamawakelabs.com/start?from=%2Fmultiplayer) - Email: hello@dreamawakelabs.com ## Other areas of expertise - [Story & World Intelligence](https://dreamawakelabs.com/story-intelligence.md): Film search, AI characters, and interactive stories. - [Interactive & Physical Experiences](https://dreamawakelabs.com/experiences.md): Experiences that respond to the people in the room. - [AI agents & business automation](https://dreamawakelabs.com/agents.md): AI agents for everyday business work. - [Synthetic data & digital humans](https://dreamawakelabs.com/synthetic-data.md): Synthetic data for training and testing AI. - [Agent-Ready Web Applications](https://dreamawakelabs.com/agent-ready-web.md): Web apps for people and AI agents. - [Digital Twin Simulation](https://dreamawakelabs.com/digital-twins.md): Simulated people, spaces, and systems in a game engine. - [Custom engineering](https://dreamawakelabs.com/software.md): Engineering for the parts no off-the-shelf product covers.