INDE GAMEDEV. MULTIPLAYER UNDER THE HOOD.
Your multiplayer game doens'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.
the machine is a toaster.
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 amout 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. Check the release contents and license before buying.
STATUS: ACTIVELY DEVELOPING
Version 1.0 is almost ready to hatch! The core
multiplayer architecture is already built, but this chicken has
bigger plans. Expect new features, improvements, and probably a
few questionable decisions along the way.
Buy once, get all future updates for free. The
roadmap is already laid out for upcoming releases.
The features have a roadmap. The bugs prefer improvisation.
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. Everything is delivered through GitHub, where you can explore the code, download releases, and follow future updates.
After purchasing, you'll receive access to the private GitHub repository. You can clone the project or download the available releases. All future versions will be available there too. One purchase, one very busy repository.
Absolutely! Buy once and get every future update for free. New releases will be added to the repository as the project grows. The price may increase with future versions, 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 1.5. 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.
YOUR GAME. YOUR NEXT COMMIT.
Grab the source. Build something ridiculous
Get the complete source code, build your own multiplayer game, and enjoy every future update at no extra cost.
The checkout is still incubating. Check back soon.
