Party Club by Lucid11: An Indie Multiplayer Hit Built on Photon
It’s always great for us at Photon to see the innovative and exciting games that developers bring to life using our products. Recently, we had the pleasure of witnessing the explosive success of Lucid11 Interactive and their debut PC title, Party Club!
A Strong Foundation Built with Photon
Lucid11 Interactive, a vibrant new studio founded in January 2024 by a talented team of 11 professionals with diverse industry experience, set out with the ambition to create an engaging gaming experience. When it came to their multiplayer needs for Party Club, they recognized the importance of a robust and scalable solution. We’re happy they chose Photon as their multiplayer engine!
Their decision was driven by several key factors that resonate deeply with our commitment to developers. Lucid11 highlighted Photon’s “robust infrastructure and reliable server support”, as well as our “high-quality service across different regions”. They also appreciated the “variety of packages tailored to their development needs”, ensuring they had the right tools for the job from the start. Looking ahead, Lucid11 saw “Photon’s flexibility for future platform transitions” as a significant long-term advantage.
Overcoming Early Challenges with Photon’s Architecture
Initially, Lucid11 considered a peer-to-peer system for Party Club. However, they recognized the inherent challenges in maintaining a consistently smooth and stable experience with this approach. By choosing our client-server architecture, they were able to “overcome these limitations” and provide a significantly better experience for their players.
The challenge faced, regarding the multiplayer aspect of the game, stemmed from a “lack of experience in technical aspects such as server communication and security”. Managing a peer-to-peer system or their own servers appeared daunting due to the necessity of providing security guarantees and maintaining a stable infrastructure.
Initially, various multiplayer systems were considered, but many did not meet the needs in terms of “security, cost, and ease of use”. Cost and security were particularly challenging issues in making a choice. The search for a multiplayer solution involved specific criteria, implicitly focusing on these aspects.
The decision to adopt Photon (PUN) was influenced by several key features and aspects. “Photon’s extensive platform support and cost-effectiveness, along with its security features, played a significant role”. Furthermore, we offered a “powerful SDK that simplified the development process and robust security protocols”. The realization that PUN was the right fit for Party Club came when the developers started working with it and were “impressed by the comprehensive documentation and the wealth of helpful content available for various issues”. The “ability to rapidly progress in developing initial prototypes using these resources clarified that Photon, in general, was the right choice”.
The concrete results demonstrating the positive impact of using Photon Engine on the launch and performance of Party Club include the ability to “ensure that the game operated smoothly and securely across multiple platforms”. Moreover, the “swift resolution of technical issues reported by users and the delivery of a high-performance gaming experience highlighted the benefits provided by Photon”.
Powering a Phenomenal Launch and Sustained Performance
The launch of Party Club on March 17th was nothing short of spectacular. Within the first 24 hours, the game was added to an astounding 3.7 million Steam accounts! Simultaneously, Party Club reached a peak of 40,000 concurrent users and soared to the top of the Steam trends list, becoming the 41st most-played game worldwide.
What’s truly remarkable is that during this period of unprecedented player activity, Lucid11 “didn’t experience any major issues thanks to the stability provided by Photon”! Party Club supports up to four-player online co-op gameplay, and our tech seamlessly facilitated connections between friends on their chosen servers. The implementation of regional servers, a key feature of Photon, proved invaluable in “providing low-latency gameplay and a smoother experience” for players around the globe. Even with player concurrency exceeding 40,000, our engine maintained stable performance, a testament to its scalability and reliability.
Looking to the Future with Confidence
The success of Party Club, now sitting in over 3.7 million Steam libraries and enjoyed by more than 600,000 players, speaks volumes about the talent at Lucid11 Interactive and the power of a reliable multiplayer backend. We are proud to have played a part in their journey and are even more excited that Lucid11 is now “strongly considering using Photon for their future projects”.
This story is a fantastic example of how indie studios, with the right tools and vision, can achieve remarkable success. We at Photon are happy to support developers like Lucid11 Interactive and look forward to powering many more success stories in the future!
Ready to build your own successful multiplayer game? With Fusion and Quantum by Photon, it’s never been easier to integrate cutting-edge multiplayer features into your project. We offer the industry’s most advanced tools, comprehensive support, and everything you need to get started – from downloadable samples to detailed documentation.
Take the first step today – download Fusion or download Quantum and start building. If you’re looking for in-depth assistance, join our Gaming Circle, where you can connect directly with our developers and get expert guidance throughout your journey.
Your multiplayer success story starts here!
