BUILDING SYSTEMS FOR CONNECTED PLAY
In this live interactive masterclass, you’ll explore a player messaging feature where players leave short messages for others to discover in-game.
Guided by a senior backend engineer with hands-on experience delivering online features at AAA studios, we’ll unpack how a system like this works behind the scenes. Learn how data flows between client and backend, how features are shaped to support real-world use, and what challenges teams face when designing for live, connected games.
THURSDAY
27 NOVEMBER 2025
6PM - 8PM
If your game connects to the internet, this is the stuff you need to know.
Unpack Web Features
Learn how common online systems like cloud saves, live events, and leaderboards work and what powers them.
Simulate the Stack
Gain hands-on experience with testing backend components using containers, mock APIs, and local tools.
Map Data Flows
Learn to think through how data is shaped, stored, and used from schema design to access and flow.
Navigate Collaboration
Develop the confidence to ask better questions and think with a live ops mindset across teams.
Who Should Join ?
Junior Programmers
If you’re an early-career programmer, this masterclass will help you go beyond writing gameplay code and start thinking like a systems developer. Learn how online features like cloud saves, matchmaking, and player data actually work, and gain the confidence to design, test, and collaborate on connected systems.
Indie Developers
If you’re an indie working on a game with web connected features, this masterclass will give you a clearer picture of the challenges that impact scalability, and practical ways to plan around them. Whether you're adding leaderboards, progression tracking, or live content, you’ll learn how to scope, plan, and work with online systems.
Meet the Professional
Josh Hills
Josh Hills is a senior backend engineer and online systems programmer with credits on AAA franchises including RuneScape and Horizon. Over the past 7+ years, he’s worked across studios like Escape Velocity Entertainment, Firesprite (Sony), Guerrilla Games, and Jagex, specialising in building the backend infrastructure that powers online games from matchmaking and authentication to player profiles, live events, and cross-platform services.
Josh brings a deep understanding of how connected games are made, how different teams work together to support them, and what it really takes to ship scalable, secure, and production-ready features in a live environment.
Patrick Jones - Course author
The Into Games Masterclass Series
We're teaming up with leading industry professionals to deliver a new series of hands-on, live masterclasses. Covering every major game dev discipline, from audio to QA, design to production, each session offers direct access to professionals working in the industry today.
Each masterclass runs for 2–3 hours and focuses on the kinds of practical skills and real-world workflows that often don’t get covered in formal training.