An Overview of the Networking Issues of Cloud Gaming
A Literature Review
Abstract views: 751
,
PDF downloads: 587
Abstract
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.
References
A. M. Maheswara and V. Wibowo, “Video games as the digital entertainment platform during the COVID-19 pandemic,” in Empowering Civil Society in the Industrial Revolution 4.0, Routledge, 2021.
B. Bankov, “The Impact of Social Media on Video Game Communities and the Gaming Industry,” 2019.
K. Browning, “‘Crucial Time’ for Cloud Gaming, Which Wants to Change How You Play - The New York Times,” New York Times, Jul. 01, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/01/technology/cloud-gaming-latest-wave.html (accessed Oct. 06, 2022).
A. A. Laghari, H. He, K. A. Memon, R. A. Laghari, I. A. Halepoto, and A. Khan, “Quality of experience (QoE) in cloud gaming models: A review,” Multiagent Grid Syst., vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 289–304, Oct. 2019, doi: 10.3233/MGS-190313.
R. Shea and J. Liu, “Cloud Gaming: Architecture and Performance,” IEEE Netw., p. 6, 2013.
H. Ahmadi, S. Zadtootaghaj, F. Pakdaman, M. R. Hashemi, and S. Shirmohammadi, “A Skill-Based Visual Attention Model for Cloud Gaming,” IEEE Access, vol. 9, p. 16, 2021, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3050489.
W. Cai et al., “A Survey on Cloud Gaming: Future of Computer Games,” IEEE Access, vol. 4, pp. 7605–7620, 2016, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2016.2590500.
R. D. Yates, M. Tavan, Y. Hu, and D. Raychaudhuri, “Timely cloud gaming,” in IEEE INFOCOM 2017 - IEEE Conference on Computer Communications, Atlanta, GA, USA, May 2017, pp. 1–9. doi: 10.1109/INFOCOM.2017.8057197.
Y. Gao, L. Wang, and J. Zhou, “Cost-Efficient and Quality of Experience-Aware Provisioning of Virtual Machines for Multiplayer Cloud Gaming in Geographically Distributed Data Centers,” IEEE Access, vol. 7, pp. 142574–142585, 2019, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2944405.
D. Guo, Y. Han, W. Cai, X. Wang, and V. C. M. Leung, “QoE-Oriented Resource Optimization for Mobile Cloud Gaming: A Potential Game Approach,” in ICC 2019 - 2019 IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC), Shanghai, China, May 2019, pp. 1–6. doi: 10.1109/ICC.2019.8761510.
X. Xu and M. Claypool, “A First Look at the Network Turbulence for Google Stadia Cloud-based Game Streaming,” in IEEE INFOCOM 2021 - IEEE Conference on Computer Communications Workshops (INFOCOM WKSHPS), Vancouver, BC, Canada, May 2021, pp. 1–5. doi: 10.1109/INFOCOMWKSHPS51825.2021.9484481.
M. Carrascosa and B. Bellalta, “Cloud-gaming:Analysis of Google Stadia traffic,” Comput. Commun., vol. 188, pp. 99–116, Apr. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.comcom.2022.03.006.
S. S. Sabet, S. Schmidt, S. Zadtootaghaj, C. Griwodz, and S. Möller, “Delay sensitivity classification of cloud gaming content,” in Proceedings of the 12th ACM International Workshop on Immersive Mixed and Virtual Environment Systems, Istanbul Turkey, Jun. 2020, pp. 25–30. doi: 10.1145/3386293.3397116.
A. Di Domenico, G. Perna, M. Trevisan, L. Vassio, and D. Giordano, “A Network Analysis on Cloud Gaming: Stadia, GeForce Now and PSNow,” Network, vol. 1, no. 3, Art. no. 3, Dec. 2021, doi: 10.3390/network1030015.
O. S. Peñaherrera-Pulla, C. Baena, S. Fortes, E. Baena, and R. Barco, “Measuring Key Quality Indicators in Cloud Gaming: Framework and Assessment Over Wireless Networks,” Sensors, vol. 21, no. 4, Art. no. 4, Jan. 2021, doi: 10.3390/s21041387.
C. A. Chiang, R. S. Jhangiani, and P. C. Price, “Reviewing the Research Literature – Research Methods in Psychology – 2nd Canadian Edition,” BCcampus Open Publishing, 2015. https://opentextbc.ca/researchmethods/chapter/reviewing-the-research-literature/ (accessed Oct. 07, 2022).
Z. Li, H. Melvin, R. Bruzgiene, P. Pocta, L. Skorin-Kapov, and A. Zgank, “Lag Compensation for First-Person Shooter Games in Cloud Gaming,” in Autonomous Control for a Reliable Internet of Services: Methods, Models, Approaches, Techniques, Algorithms, and Tools, I. Ganchev, R. D. van der Mei, and H. van den Berg, Eds. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2018, pp. 104–127. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-90415-3_5.
P. Graff, X. Marchal, T. Cholez, S. Tuffin, B. Mathieu, and O. Festor, “An Analysis of Cloud Gaming Platforms Behavior under Different Network Constraints,” in 2021 17th International Conference on Network and Service Management (CNSM), Izmir, Turkey, Oct. 2021, pp. 551–557. doi: 10.23919/CNSM52442.2021.9615562.
S. Flinck Lindstrom, M. Wetterberg, and N. Carlsson, “Cloud Gaming: A QoE Study of Fast-paced Single-player and Multiplayer Gaming,” in 2020 IEEE/ACM 13th International Conference on Utility and Cloud Computing (UCC), Leicester, UK, Dec. 2020, pp. 34–45. doi: 10.1109/UCC48980.2020.00023.
J. Doyle, S. Islam, R. Bashroush, and D. O’Mahony, “Cloud Strife: Expanding the Horizons of Cloud Gaming Services,” in 2017 IEEE World Congress on Services (SERVICES), Honolulu, HI, USA, Jun. 2017, pp. 9–16. doi: 10.1109/SERVICES.2017.11.
S. Zhao, H. Abou-zeid, R. Atawia, Y. S. K. Manjunath, A. B. Sediq, and X.-P. Zhang, “Virtual Reality Gaming on the Cloud: A Reality Check.” arXiv, Sep. 21, 2021. Accessed: Oct. 07, 2022. [Online]. Available: http://arxiv.org/abs/2109.10114
M. Sužnjević, M. Homen, M. Sužnjević, and M. Homen, Use of Cloud Gaming in Education. IntechOpen, 2020. doi: 10.5772/intechopen.91341.
D. Lin and D. Lillethun, “Gaming on Edge-Cloud System,” 2019.
R. J. Grigg and R. Hexel, “COMMUNICATION VERSUS COMPUTATION: A SURVEY OF CLOUD GAMING APPROACHES,” 2017, p. 17.
A. Tsipis, K. Oikonomou, V. Komianos, and I. Stavrakakis, “Performance Evaluation in Cloud-Edge Hybrid Gaming Systems,” in Third International Balkan Conference on Communications and Networking 2019 (BalkanCom’19), 2019, p. 6.
I. Jaya, W. Cai, and Y. Li, “Rendering Server Allocation for MMORPG Players in Cloud Gaming,” in 49th International Conference on Parallel Processing - ICPP, Edmonton AB Canada, Aug. 2020, pp. 1–11. doi: 10.1145/3404397.3404463.
I. Slivar, M. Suznjevic, and L. Skorin-Kapov, “Game Categorization for Deriving QoE-Driven Video Encoding Configuration Strategies for Cloud Gaming,” ACM Trans. Multimed. Comput. Commun. Appl., vol. 14, no. 3s, pp. 1–24, Aug. 2018, doi: 10.1145/3132041.
W. Cai, C. Zhu, Y. Chi, and V. C. M. Leung, “Balancing Cloud and Mobile Terminal: An Empirical Study on Decomposed Cloud Gaming,” in 2017 IEEE International Conference on Cloud Computing Technology and Science (CloudCom), Hong Kong, Dec. 2017, pp. 1–8. doi: 10.1109/CloudCom.2017.32.
J. Sun and M. Claypool, “Evaluating Streaming and Latency Compensation in a Cloud-based Game,” 2019, p. 8.
A. Alos, F. Moran, P. Carballeira, D. Berjon, and N. Garcia, “Congestion Control for Cloud Gaming Over UDP Based on Round-Trip Video Latency,” IEEE Access, vol. 7, pp. 78882–78897, 2019, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2923294.
X. Zhang et al., “Improving Cloud Gaming Experience through Mobile Edge Computing,” IEEE Wirel. Commun., vol. 26, no. 4, pp. 178–183, Aug. 2019, doi: 10.1109/MWC.2019.1800440.
P.-C. Wang, A. I. Ellis, J. C. Hart, and C.-H. Hsu, “Optimizing next-generation cloud gaming platforms with planar map streaming and distributed rendering,” in 2017 15th Annual Workshop on Network and Systems Support for Games (NetGames), Taipei, Taiwan, Jun. 2017, pp. 1–6. doi: 10.1109/NetGames.2017.7991544.
S. J. Seyed Aboutorabi and M. H. Rezvani, “An Optimized Meta-heuristic Bees Algorithm for Players’ Frame Rate Allocation Problem in Cloud Gaming Environments,” Comput. Games J., vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 281–304, Sep. 2020, doi: 10.1007/s40869-020-00106-4.
A. Wahab, N. Ahmad, M. G. Martini, and J. Schormans, “Subjective Quality Assessment for Cloud Gaming,” J, vol. 4, no. 3, Art. no. 3, Sep. 2021, doi: 10.3390/j4030031.
K. L. Chan, K. Ichikawa, Y. Watashiba, U. Putchong, and H. Iida, “A Hybrid-Streaming Method for Cloud Gaming: To Improve the Graphics Quality delivered on Highly Accessible Game Contents,” Int. J. Serious Games, vol. 4, no. 2, Jun. 2017, doi: 10.17083/ijsg.v4i2.163.
O. Mossad, K. Diab, I. Amer, and M. Hefeeda, “DeepGame: Efficient Video Encoding for Cloud Gaming,” in Proceedings of the 29th ACM International Conference on Multimedia, Virtual Event China, Oct. 2021, pp. 1387–1395. doi: 10.1145/3474085.3475594.
Y. Han, D. Guo, W. Cai, X. Wang, and V. C. M. Leung, “Virtual Machine Placement Optimization in Mobile Cloud Gaming Through QoE-Oriented Resource Competition,” IEEE Trans. Cloud Comput., vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 2204–2218, Jul. 2022, doi: 10.1109/TCC.2020.3002023.
Y. Li et al., “Themis: Efficient and Adaptive Resource Partitioning for Reducing Response Delay in Cloud Gaming,” in Proceedings of the 27th ACM International Conference on Multimedia, Nice France, Oct. 2019, pp. 491–499. doi: 10.1145/3343031.3350941.
M. Amiri, A. Sobhani, H. Al Osman, and S. Shirmohammadi, “SDN-Enabled Game-Aware Routing for Cloud Gaming Datacenter Network,” IEEE Access, vol. 5, pp. 18633–18645, 2017, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2017.2752643.
M. Ghafari, A. Ajoodani, and S. M. S. Hemami, “Optimum HEVC Quantization Parameter for Cloud Gaming,” in 2021 5th International Conference on Pattern Recognition and Image Analysis (IPRIA), Kashan, Iran, Apr. 2021, pp. 1–5. doi: 10.1109/IPRIA53572.2021.9483484.
G. K. Illahi, T. V. Gemert, M. Siekkinen, E. Masala, A. Oulasvirta, and A. Ylä-Jääski, “Cloud Gaming with Foveated Video Encoding,” ACM Trans. Multimed. Comput. Commun. Appl., vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 1–24, Apr. 2020, doi: 10.1145/3369110.
D.-Y. Chen and M. El-Zarki, “A Framework for Adaptive Residual Streaming for Single-Player Cloud Gaming,” ACM Trans. Multimed. Comput. Commun. Appl., vol. 15, no. 2s, pp. 1–23, Aug. 2019, doi: 10.1145/3336498.
A. Franco, E. Fitzgerald, B. Landfeldt, and U. Komer, “Reliability, timeliness and load reduction at the edge for cloud gaming,” in 2019 IEEE 38th International Performance Computing and Communications Conference (IPCCC), London, United Kingdom, Oct. 2019, pp. 1–8. doi: 10.1109/IPCCC47392.2019.8958728.
Y. Li et al., “GAugur: Quantifying Performance Interference of Colocated Games for Improving Resource Utilization in Cloud Gaming,” in Proceedings of the 28th International Symposium on High-Performance Parallel and Distributed Computing, Phoenix AZ USA, Jun. 2019, pp. 231–242. doi: 10.1145/3307681.3325409.
W. Cai, Y. Chi, C. Zhou, C. Zhu, and V. C. M. Leung, “UBCGaming: Ubiquitous Cloud Gaming System,” IEEE Syst. J., vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 2483–2494, Sep. 2018, doi: 10.1109/JSYST.2018.2797080.
B. Anand and P. Wenren, “CloudHide: Towards Latency Hiding Techniques for Thin-client Cloud Gaming,” in Proceedings of the on Thematic Workshops of ACM Multimedia 2017 - Thematic Workshops ’17, Mountain View, California, USA, 2017, pp. 144–152. doi: 10.1145/3126686.3126777.
D. V. Nguyen, H. T. T. Tran, and T. C. Thang, “A Delay-Aware Adaptation Framework for Cloud Gaming Under the Computation Constraint of User Devices,” in MultiMedia Modeling, vol. 11962, Y. M. Ro, W.-H. Cheng, J. Kim, W.-T. Chu, P. Cui, J.-W. Choi, M.-C. Hu, and W. De Neve, Eds. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2020, pp. 27–38. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-37734-2_3.
H. E. Dinaki and S. Shirmohammadi, “GPU/QoE-Aware Server Selection Using Metaheuristic Algorithms in Multiplayer Cloud Gaming,” in 2018 16th Annual Workshop on Network and Systems Support for Games (NetGames), Amsterdam, Netherlands, Jun. 2018, pp. 1–6. doi: 10.1109/NetGames.2018.8463364.
H. E. Dinaki, S. Shirmohammadi, and M. R. Hashemi, “Boosted Metaheuristic Algorithms for QoE-Aware Server Selection in Multiplayer Cloud Gaming,” IEEE Access, vol. 8, pp. 60468–60483, 2020, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2020.2983080.
Copyright (c) 2022 Journal of Innovation Information Technology and Application (JINITA)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
