A Cross-Platform Gaming Library

At Lambda, we partnered with Emira to migrate their browser-based game library to mobile and desktop — and transform it into a real-time multiplayer platform. Here's how we approached it.

Goals

Emira approached us with three primary objectives:

• Port their existing browser-based game library to desktop and mobile without rebuilding from scratch
• Introduce real-time multiplayer with sub-100ms latency across all platforms
• Implement a unified backend to handle cross-platform user experiences and game state sync

Challenge

The main challenge lay in the complexity of Emira's existing infrastructure. With over 60 browser-based games, each built with different technologies and optimization levels, we needed to create a solution that would:

• Maintain consistent performance across varying system specifications
• Handle real-time game state synchronization for multiplayer sessions with minimal latency
• Provide offline capabilities for mobile users
• Synchronize user progress and multiplayer state across platforms

Here's how we visualized the challenge:

graph TB
    A[Existing Browser Games] --> B{Integration Challenges}
    B --> C[Real-Time Multiplayer]
    B --> D[Cross-Platform Compatibility]
    B --> E[User Data Sync]
    C --> F[Solution Design]
    D --> F
    E --> F
    F --> G[Desktop Platform]
    F --> H[Mobile Platform]
    style A fill:#f9f,stroke:#333
    style F fill:#bbf,stroke:#333

Solution

Our approach focused on building a scalable, low-latency platform that would serve both desktop and mobile users while enabling real-time multiplayer across all clients.

Desktop Platform

We developed an Electron-based application that creates an optimized runtime environment for the games. The platform includes:

• Custom memory management system
• Sophisticated asset caching
• Native system integration for enhanced performance
• Real-time performance monitoring and optimization

Mobile Solution

For mobile users, we created a React Native application that features:

• Custom WebView container optimized for gaming
• Intelligent touch-control system
• Offline mode for selected games
• Adaptive UI for different screen sizes

Multiplayer & Backend Infrastructure

To power real-time multiplayer across all platforms, we implemented:

• WebSocket-based architecture with client-side prediction and server reconciliation
• Redis for session state management with sub-80ms operation latency
• Cloud-based infrastructure on AWS (ECS, S3, CloudFront)
• Cross-platform user authentication and progression sync

Results

Results across the key metrics:

Performance

• <80ms average end-to-end multiplayer latency across all supported platforms
• 10K+ concurrent players supported in load testing
• 99.9% platform uptime
• 40% faster game loading times

Platform

• 100% feature parity across desktop (Electron), web, iOS, and Android
• 60% smaller mobile download size vs. desktop build
• 85% increase in session duration after multiplayer launch

At a Glance

Company Size

• Emira: 150-200 employees
• Project team size: 12 Lambda engineers
• Development timeline: 6 months

Industry

• Gaming
• Software Development
• Digital Entertainment

Tech Stack

#### Frontend

• Electron
• React Native
• TypeScript
• WebGL
• Redux

#### Backend

• Node.js
• WebSockets
• AWS (ECS, S3, CloudFront)
• Redis

#### DevOps

• Docker
• Kubernetes
• Jenkins
• Terraform

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_This case study was written by the CEO of Lambda, published on November 19, 2024._