Original Post
Is there a good online source for developing a browser MMO HTML5 game including hosting servers etc?
I'm working on a browser MMORPG as a learning project to learn new technologies for my full time programming job such as Node, WebGL, Javascript and MySQL. I have a reasonable knowledge of these technologies and have created a basic 2D tile map with characters that works across browsers and platforms.
I feel I know all the relevant technologies enough but just lack the experience of putting it all together and most of the advice I've seen seems to take its data from large games like Guildwars or WoW which is beyond the scope of my project.
Some things I'm unsure about and would like to research more:-
- How to avoid people just taking my Javascript code and calling it their own?
- How many players does the average novices MMO game generate with just youtube channel advertisements and such? (I'm talking novice level, not Guildwars or WoW)
- Is it plausible to self-host a game server from home using FreeDNS and noIP and a spare computer instead of renting a proper webserver? (Are there legal implications? What kind of internet speed is required? How much data does a novice MMO generate over time?)
- What security implications are there to self hosting a server from home? (Are there any good Penetration tests that can be performed? Are hacking and DDOS attacks that common?)
- Do browser games break often due to browser API changes?
- Any other issues that aren't easy to foresee?