What it is
Darkrest is an MMO game platform I built end to end - the game itself (C++ client and server with Lua scripting), a custom launcher, and a web app where players manage their accounts. Everything runs in Docker, deploys through GitHub Actions, and is watched by Grafana dashboards fed from Prometheus.
The pieces
- Launcher (Electron) - downloads, updates, and starts the game; hooks into the same auth as the website
- Website (Next.js/Express) - account registration, player management, and an admin panel, backed by MySQL
- Game (C++/Lua) - client and server work, with game mechanics scripted in Lua
- Infra - Dockerized services, CI/CD pipeline, monitoring with Grafana + Prometheus
What I learned
Keeping four stacks (Electron, Node.js, C++, Lua) talking to each other is mostly an exercise in not overcomplicating the boundaries. The infra work paid off the most - automated deploys and real monitoring made running a live game with actual players way less stressful.