INDIE GAMEDEV. MULTIPLAYER UNDER THE HOOD.
Your multiplayer game doesn't have to
Building a multiplayer game? Start with the foundations of mine: a Godot 4 client, an authoritative Colyseus server, and the infrastructure behind it. Get the source, make it yours, and spend more time on the game you actually want to build!
Source code, not a finished game. Bring your own chickens.
Yep. That's a toaster I drew :D
01 / WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?
I wanted to make a multiplayer game.
Then I accidentally built
half the internet.
Chickens Must Die started as my own indie gamedev project. I wanted
to make an online game, but first came the networking, server logic,
databases, deployment, and approximately 47 ways to break
everything.
Turns out, making players see the same world is a
game of its own.
Rather than keep all that work to myself, I decided to share the
foundations I'm building along the way. It's real code from a
project I actually use, improve, and occasionally argue with.
Take it apart, learn how it works, and adapt it to whatever you're
creating.
No magic "make MMO" button included.
Just a
head start on the complicated stuff.
02 / CHICKEN ANATOMY
Three parts. One multiplayer game.
A suspicious amount of backend code.
The part where you press WASD.
A Godot 4 client with multiplayer networking, player movement,
synchronization, game UI and much more. Explore it, break it,
and turn it into your own game.
One server to rule them all.
An authoritative Colyseus
server handling game state, player connections, movement
validation, and a whole lot of other things chickens shouldn't
be trusted with. The server gets the final say.
The stuff nobody screenshots.
Databases, caching, message queues, Docker deployment, and a
map compiler. All the behind-the-scenes machinery that keeps
your multiplayer project from becoming a very expensive
single-player game.
Actual code. Actual architecture. Chickens sold separately.
STATUS: v1.0 RELEASED
Version 1.0 is out. The multiplayer starter kit
now has its foundation: the Godot client, authoritative Colyseus
backend, infrastructure, tooling, and technical documentation.
More world-building tools, gameplay systems, scaling work, and
networking experiments are already on the roadmap.
Buy once. Every future release is included.
v1.0 escaped the oven. The roadmap is still making noises.
03 / BEFORE YOU HATCH A PLAN
Reasonable questions.
Mostly reasonable answers.
You're getting the source code and multiplayer architecture behind Chickens Must Die. A real project you can explore, modify, and use as the foundation for your own game.
Nope! This is the code behind my multiplayer game, not a finished game to play. Version 1.0 provides the foundation, but you'll still need to configure, understand, and adapt things to build your own project. Some assembly required. Chickens not included.
Indie game developers and programmers who want to build their own multiplayer game without starting from scratch. If you enjoy writing game code but would rather skip some of the backend headaches, you're in the right coop.
The Godot 4 game client, authoritative Colyseus multiplayer server, backend infrastructure, and developer tools. The full release is delivered as a downloadable ZIP package, ready to unpack, explore, and adapt.
After purchasing, you'll receive the current release as a downloadable ZIP package. Every future version will be available as a new ZIP download too.
Absolutely! Buy once and get every future update for free. Each new version will be published as its own downloadable ZIP package. The price may increase for new buyers, but if you've already bought it, you won't pay again. Early chickens get the worms.
Yep! I've already mapped out the upcoming releases through version 1.4. You can check what's planned, follow the project's progress, and see what I'm cooking next. The roadmap may evolve as development continues.
Yes! Once you've purchased the source code, you're free to modify it and use it in your own games, including commercial projects. Build something awesome, weird, or completely different. The chicken won't judge.
Yes, some programming experience is definitely recommended. You should be comfortable with Godot and GDScript, plus have a basic understanding of Node.js and web backend development. If you know a bit of TypeScript, getting around Colyseus and Express should feel pretty familiar. This is source code, not a no-code game maker.
This project is a tribute to all the chickens that sacrificed
themselves for my mediocre physique. Thousands of chickens gave
their lives for my gains. The gains were questionable. The
sacrifice was not. This project is dedicated to them.
RIP, little protein bros.
04 / GOOD DEEDS
Chickens give us eggs, chaos, and evidently a business model. Seems fair to give a little something back.
MONTHLY SIDE QUEST
I put 3% of the income from every project toward charitable causes. Once sales begin, this section will also link to a public record of what was donated, how much, and where it went.
Heroic chicken noises required.
SECURITY CLEARANCE: DEEPLY NOT
Does this have anything to do with Godot, Server, networking, or the product you're looking at? Absolutely not.
Why? Just because I felt like it :D
Eight bears. Is it essential? Yes.
CHICKENS EAT BUGS.
Grab the source. Build something ridiculous.
Download the complete source code as a ZIP, build your own multiplayer game, and get every future release at no extra cost.
