What was Google Stadia? – Features and game list

Robert Sole 2 December, 2019

1 1.795 8 reading minutes

During the Game Developers Conference 2019, the Stadia project was presented by Google. The idea of Google Stadia is to offer a solution to gamers through Cloud Gaming. This is not something new, as several companies have been working on this solution for quite some time. The first to have a salable product seems to be Google. So she is the pioneer in the field of Cloud Gaming and who has a great responsibility. Your idea is offer a high quality product, with a minimum ping, a moderate cost and a brutal catalog. Let's see what it is and what features Stadia will have.

Table of Contents

What is Cloud Gaming?

The first stop is to simply explain what Cloud Gaming is. Explained very simply is that someone runs the game for us. There is a central unit, usually a private company, which is the one who is running the game. We will only play the game. This communication is done through the internet, of course.

Esto eliminates the need for expensive hardware to run and enjoy a game. In addition, it allows you to play any game on any connected device. So We could play Counter Strike on our SmartTV without having to have the computer next to it.

We must be clear that this does not exempt us from having a computer with certain characteristics and especially an internet connection. The most critical aspect is the internet connection. We need a broadband connection and the least amount of routing possible. A routing is any network management device between us and the server. Our router and the number of nodes of our operator through which the information passes, are routers.

How Google Stadia works

Getting to the current point has not been easy, fast and cheap. To get to develop Stadia it took a total of 20 years and developing a special infrastructure. The company has highlighted that "Your network offers more than any other competitor on the planet"

To get it they have laid out hundreds of thousands of kilometers of fiber optic cable covering the entire world. This is the most important feature and the one that makes progress on Google Stadia possible.

As we have explained, conventional information in any cloud service rbounce in a lot of points. This causes a increased latency or time between action-reaction in the game. From when we shoot until it is reflected on the screen, 'x' time passes. The more intermediate steps, the longer and therefore the worse gaming experience.

Google will do it directly through a special system that eliminates intermediate points. Google Stadia is characterized by only having one intermediate point: our router.

Simplifying gaming

The Google Stadia platform is trying to simplify the need for the user to purchase expensive hardware to play. The hardware we have is the main barrier when playing games. Each time the games ask for more requirements and components are more expensive, so you have to simplify costs. This would be achieved with the game in the cloud, where the user needs a very basic hardware to enjoy it.

Google believes that the mass of potential players is greater than that of current players. They believe that if they have users consume content on YouTube massively, they think that also they will be able to make them play in a massive way. Its motto is "Powered by Google and For Everyone"

One of the biggest problems was that there was no possibility of competing between platforms. Xbox players couldn't take on PlayStation or PC players. Now these possibilities are opening up. The company wants to eliminate them with a platform that encompasses them all.

Developers, fundamental

It's all very well to talk about gamers, but what about game developers? They are essential for games to exist and they should be kept happy. Not only must there be good feedback, there must also be the possibility of depositing money to create better games or more content for those already created. This is why Google wants Stadia to pivot on: Create + Scale + Connect

Currently there is a lot of buying games due to the 'hype' of the moment and then it ends in disaster. Google Stadia intends to correct this point using a hyperlink and a wait of a handful of seconds.

The waiting time between the announcement and the 'hype' until the game comes out is suppressed. A game that often takes up a lot, comes with serious bug problems and a long list of damages for the user.

As a solution Stadia introduces 'single code base' Or what is the same, there is only one version of the game to develop, maintain, update and patch, if necessary. This eliminates developers having to limit quality according to user hardware. There are infinite user configuration possibilities and they seek to reduce it to just one, to make it easier to develop content.

Finally, in this field the scalability of the platform is important. It will have to house hundreds of players, each playing a different game or match. This point is key, because if the capacity of the network is exceeded, the entire system may fall.

Google Stadium Controller

It would become something like the device to control everyone and everything. They wanted to create a platform specific single control that is compatible with all. It must be compatible with the Google Chrome browser, Chromecast, a SmartTV, a smartphone, a PC and any other device. Stadia Controller is the universal solution with unique additional functions that no other controllers have.

Said command shall have the ability to detect directly and uniquely the screen on which we are playing. It will ensure that you have the necessary resources to run the game according to your screen, so as not to fall short. It will have the ability to dynamically change the resource needs assigned to you as the platform you play on changes.

It has a button that activates Google Assistant, which is like the 'OK Google' on Android. It has a integrated microphone to catch the sound, that sends it to the Data Center for its processor, computing and bounce the user whatever it touches.

Infrastructure

They have been needed, as we have commented, 20 years to develop the Google Stadia infrastructure. The information is repeated around the world in milliseconds without a rest. Thus, the company can offer a great computing capacity close to the user.

To give us an idea, its network is based on fiber optic connections and submarine cables at hundreds of points around the world. There are more than 7500 'edge nodes locations'. Everything is connected by a own worldwide network of backboness. In this way, the company manages to have a 20-year advantage over other companies that want to enter this field.

Google tries to show that nobody has the infrastructure that they have for Stadia. Deploying it involves high technical requirements that are 'invisible' to the user. In addition, each point of the network has its own Data Centers with interconnected racks with graphics, memory and scalable storage. Lhe users, according to Google, should not worry about anything and do not need to know anything about it.

Without cheats

They wanted to make it clear that cheats have no place on this platform. It is clear that they will eliminate anyone who uses traps and will put measures so that they do not get hooked again. Something that users will undoubtedly like a lot, fed up with the cheats that distort the games.

Shared computing

The most important video platform in the world, YouTube will be a pillar for the company. Different Data Center rooms will be used to manage both points. You can stream the game while playing without major worries. Hardware resources are not used for computing both aspects so as not to limit performance.

In addition, the platform will have 'unlimited' resources so developers can freak out as much as they want. The games can be heavier and more complex, without limits. All in favor of seeking to offer the user a visual experience as impressive as possible. Google will allocate resources dynamically and instantly within its network of Data Centers.

Besides, everything it will be based on Linux. They will also be flexible with APIs and graphics engines, se can use Unity, Unreal Engine, Havok, Vulkan or whatever the developer wants.

Playing alone is boring

Anything about videogames must implement, yes or yes, a powerful multiplayer mode. Gone are games with story mode, now a multiplayer mode is needed. The problem for developers is having the necessary servers and optimal redundancy to avoid crashes. Google wants Stadia to forget about that and the limitation of users. They want, for example, Battle Royals have hundreds or thousands of participants at the same time, smoothly.

Google Stadia to comply with all this will have a direct connection between the ISP that offers service (Movistar, Euskaltel, Vodafone or whatever) and their network. They want to isolate this traffic from the conventional internet, so it goes through several nodes. Deleting all these intermediate steps eliminates the ping maxed out and a number of absurd protocols and slowdowns.

It looks for a 'low latency and perfect timing'. You don't want an opponent to walk past you and take two seconds or more to shoot. It has to be all as if the game were running on our computer.

Thus, each user has their own instance within the Data Center by managing the Stream from a large number of ways. It allows for example to have one or more screens for each player linked to their stream or to others. Stream Connect, which is how it is called, It would become the multiscreen of the XXI century within Google Stadia.

Multiplayer gaming

Function is described Crow Play and State Share as an important function in multiplayer. You want to scale to as many players as possible within Stadia. All being able to exchange (with other users) in an easy and instantaneous way the game, the moment, is state and to be able to continue it, from where or when you want. A complete revolution in the way you play. And all this with broadcast publishes on YouTube.

'Create + Share + Engadge' is the name that has been given to this system. Clearly Google has the tools to offer a different way of entertainment. YouTube will be a fundamental part. But the company points out something, 'entire internet' will be the Stadia store.

We can see any game and if it is in the portfolio to play it. We can insert a link in any part of the network so that they come to our game. Any user can communicate with us. Everyone is welcome.