What is Bawllers
Bawllers is a fast-paced, multiplayer combat game where players control balls that fight using power-ups scattered throughout the level. These power-ups grant combat abilities that players use to destroy their opponents. The game features multiple game modes, but the core objective is usually simple: the last player or team standing wins.
Abilities and pickups include: * Primaries: Core combat abilities that deal damage or knock players away. * Mega Primaries: Overpowered combat abilities that often destroy large parts of the level and can even harm the user. * Secondaries: Movement-focused abilities that boost speed, jump height, or grant temporary flight. * Health pickups: Restore health and increase survivability.
Players can also interact with the environment, opening up different strategies and emergent gameplay depending on the mode or level.
Tech stuff
I’m developing this game solo, as a way to learn how to finish a full project within a defined scope.
The game uses a hybrid authority model. Because of the physics-based player controller, positional authority is client-side—by design. While I could have implemented server-side simulation with client-side smoothing, I considered it out of scope for this project. Prioritizing player experience and development speed, I built a custom netcode that favors responsiveness.
To address cheating, I implemented a server-side collision arbiter that verifies each collision using buffered player states and compares them against client-reported data. While position is client-authoritative, all other data—such as damage, abilities, and health—are server-authoritative. This shared authority approach gives me control over critical gameplay elements while keeping development agile. The project is currently closed source, as I intend to publish the game on Steam.