An Overview of the Networking Issues of Cloud Gaming: A Literature Review

With the increasing prevalence of video games comes innovations that aim to evolve them. Cloud gaming is poised as the next phase of gaming. It enables users to play video games on any internet-enabled device. Such improvement could, therefore, enhance the processing power of existing devices and solve the need to spend large amounts of money on the latest gaming equipment. However, others argue that it may be far from being practically functional. Since cloud gaming places dependency on networks, new issues emerge. In relation, this paper is a review of the networking perspective of cloud gaming. Specifically, the paper analyzes its issues and challenges along with possible solutions. In order to accomplish the study, a literature review was performed. Results show that there are numerous issues and challenges regarding cloud gaming networks. Generally, cloud gaming has problems with its network quality of service (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE). The poor QoS and QoE of cloud gaming can be linked to unsatisfactory latency, bandwidth, delay, packet loss, and graphics quality. Moreover, the cost of providing the service and the complexity of implementing cloud gaming were considered challenges. For these issues and challenges, solutions were found. The solutions include lag or latency compensation, compression with encoding techniques, client computing power, edge computing, machine learning, frame adaption, and GPU-based server selection. However, these have limitations and may not always be applicable. Thus, even if solutions exist, it would be beneficial to analyze the networking side of cloud gaming further

Neural Video Recovery for Cloud Gaming

Cloud gaming is a multi-billion dollar industry. A client in cloud gaming sends its movement to the game server on the Internet, which renders and transmits the resulting video back. In order to provide a good gaming experience, a latency below 80 ms is required. This means that video rendering, encoding, transmission, decoding, and display have to finish within that time frame, which is especially challenging to achieve due to server overload, network congestion, and losses. In this paper, we propose a new method for recovering lost or corrupted video frames in cloud gaming. Unlike traditional video frame recovery, our approach uses game states to significantly enhance recovery accuracy and utilizes partially decoded frames to recover lost portions. We develop a holistic system that consists of (i) efficiently extracting game states, (ii) modifying H.264 video decoder to generate a mask to indicate which portions of video frames need recovery, and (iii) designing a novel neural network to recover either complete or partial video frames. Our approach is extensively evaluated using iPhone 12 and laptop implementations, and we demonstrate the utility of game states in the game video recovery and the effectiveness of our overall design

Cloud Gaming Demystified: An Introduction to the Legal Implications of Cloud-Based Videogames

In this paper, we ‘demystify’ cloud-based videogaming and its legal implications, in two stages. First, we describe the videogame sector; explain the basics of cloud computing and traditional videogame technologies, and set out how the two converge in cloud-based videogame systems. Based on this analysis, we distinguish three separate models for cloud gaming services: (i) the ‘layered’ model of Gaming-as-a-Service (‘GaaS’); (ii) the ‘integrated’ model of GaaS; and (iii) the ‘consumer infrastructure-as-a-service’ model. We argue that these three models are key to analysing how intellectual property rights, contractual rights, and regulatory issues will develop in this novel environment for videogame distribution and access

Multipath Transport Protocols for Real Time Communication Systems

Real-Time Communications (RTC) has become an integral part of our daily lives. Platforms like conferencing and live streaming serve as virtual bridges, connecting individuals from diverse corners of the globe. Telepresence technologies have revolutionized remote operations, and the popularity of cloud gaming platforms is increasing rapidly. However, amid this rapid evolution, RTC applications still face persistent challenges such as video freezes, frame drops, and diminished quality that can easily disrupt the RTC flow. The evolving nature of RTC applications, such as Dualgram or Duovisions utilizing multiple camera streams to capture the best of multiple worlds, introduces new bandwidth and latency requirements for RTC. In light of these challenges and the growing demands of these applications, this thesis delves into the core of RTC systems by proposing transport protocols that align with their current requirements. We explore utilizing the multiple network interfaces present in most devices to pave the solution. With a focus on enhancing streaming through Multipath TCP and pioneering a new multipath standard for WebRTC, this study proposes a multipath transport solution for RTC systems. &nbsp;</p