HTML5 [Hour of Code] Cloud Constructor - Build Your Cloud!

Coded Games

Member

Learn the basics of cloud computing by building your own cloud! Build servers, upgrade them, and connect clients to keep up with network demand. Play the role of a Cloud Architect during the interactive lesson and test your skills in the endless game mode. Cloud Constructor was built in conjunction with the University of Washington and is submitted into Hour of Code.


Play Cloud Constructor
Let me know what you think!


Screenshots:



 

Coded Games

Member
This game had me quite addicted, I love it!
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I really strived to make something educational but prioritize it to be fun. You learn these concepts but then get to actually see them in action in endless. So far my highscore is 36 levels, it can be quite tough.
 
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Deleted member 45063

Guest
Played it a bit and I have to say I enjoyed it quite a bit, just wished there was some sound to accompany the game. I also have a remark concerning the game: the several game resources should be moveable instead of staying in the static position that the player initially assigns to them. IMO this is very important given the nature of the game relying a lot on the player managing the connections of clients to resources manually.

Also, maybe you could leverage the current game to create a new a version of the game that focus a bit less on the player manually connecting resources for uploading / downloading but instead focuses more on the architecture itself. For example:

A database would be the only resource that stored actual resources and clients would not be capable of requesting resources from the database directly. Instead only servers could upload / download resources to / from the database. The servers themselves could have data requested from clients and this data could be cached for faster access (so initially the server needs to be connected to a database with enough storage, then a client uploads data to the server, populating its cache. The server would then automatically push the data to the database. When a new client requested the data the server could either serve the data from cache if it was available or it would have to stream it from the database). The gateways / load balancers would require a connection to multiple servers. When a client tried to connect to a load balancer this would try to establish a connection from the client to one of the available servers. The load balancers could potentially also have their own cache. The management part of the player would be on the architecture itself: creating the databases, server and load balancers, the links between each resource type (database to database for replication and the other aforementioned links), upgrading storage, processing capability and bandwidth of connections, etc. So the focus of the game would be more on creating a scalable cloud architecture. It could also feature more elements: the database to database connections would be a means of master / slave replication but you could have also some multiplexer elements that simultaneously pushed the data to multiple databases, etc.
 

Coded Games

Member
Played it a bit and I have to say I enjoyed it quite a bit, just wished there was some sound to accompany the game. I also have a remark concerning the game: the several game resources should be moveable instead of staying in the static position that the player initially assigns to them. IMO this is very important given the nature of the game relying a lot on the player managing the connections of clients to resources manually.

Also, maybe you could leverage the current game to create a new a version of the game that focus a bit less on the player manually connecting resources for uploading / downloading but instead focuses more on the architecture itself. For example:

A database would be the only resource that stored actual resources and clients would not be capable of requesting resources from the database directly. Instead only servers could upload / download resources to / from the database. The servers themselves could have data requested from clients and this data could be cached for faster access (so initially the server needs to be connected to a database with enough storage, then a client uploads data to the server, populating its cache. The server would then automatically push the data to the database. When a new client requested the data the server could either serve the data from cache if it was available or it would have to stream it from the database). The gateways / load balancers would require a connection to multiple servers. When a client tried to connect to a load balancer this would try to establish a connection from the client to one of the available servers. The load balancers could potentially also have their own cache. The management part of the player would be on the architecture itself: creating the databases, server and load balancers, the links between each resource type (database to database for replication and the other aforementioned links), upgrading storage, processing capability and bandwidth of connections, etc. So the focus of the game would be more on creating a scalable cloud architecture. It could also feature more elements: the database to database connections would be a means of master / slave replication but you could have also some multiplexer elements that simultaneously pushed the data to multiple databases, etc.
Thanks for playing! I'm glad you liked it. It's actually pretty funny, basically everything you mentioned in your ideas was how the game was originally going to work. But due to time constraints and wanting to allow a younger audience the game was simplified to only allow connections between clients and infrastructure.

Here is actually a drawing from my whiteboard prototype where you would connect a server to a database, and then connect the server to a gateway.

 
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Deleted member 45063

Guest
Well it's interesting to see we had the same line of thought! Are there any plans to come back to the original idea if the time constraints go away?
 

Coded Games

Member
Congratulations @Coded Games!! Do you have any further plans for this project after being accepted there?
Thanks!

I'm not exactly sure yet. Soon we are planning to do more larger tests. For example we are going to have a class at UW play the game so there might be minor changes made based off of the feedback from that. As for large gameplay changes or new features, I don't think I'll be making any big updates.

I kind of want to add sound effects just for a little more polish and completeness.
 
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Deleted member 45063

Guest
Thanks!

I'm not exactly sure yet. Soon we are planning to do more larger tests. For example we are going to have a class at UW play the game so there might be minor changes made based off of the feedback from that. As for large gameplay changes or new features, I don't think I'll be making any big updates.

I kind of want to add sound effects just for a little more polish and completeness.
Sounds good! I'll be waiting for any potential updates to replay it then
 

K12gamer

Member
My 2nd year teaching computers at a charter school (Grades 1 to 6)...This is a fun program I'd like my older students to try.
Nice scrolling effects...One of the only GameMaker HTML5 games I've ever played that's full screen.
Is this made with Gamemaker Studio or Gamemaker 2?
Been trying for a long time to make my HTML5 (GameMaker Studio) games full screen...with no success.
Message me if you'd be able to assist me (I'm willing to pay for your time).
(I think all I'd need is a super simple demo (Example a single room with a dot bouncing around the screen) with a proper full screen code built in).
 
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