🎨 Minimal Sketch (Backend)

A real-time multiplayer drawing and guessing game backend built with Node.js, Express, and Socket.IO.

📋 Overview

Minimal Sketch is an online pictionary game where players take turns drawing and guessing words. The backend provides real-time communication, game state management, and room-based multiplayer functionality.

✨ Features

🎮 Current Features

• Real-time multiplayer support using Socket.IO
• Room-based gameplay
• Turn-based drawing and guessing
• Real-time chat functionality
• Canvas synchronization
• Player management (join/leave)
• Game state management
• Socket.IO Admin UI for monitoring

🛠️ Technical Stack

• Node.js
• Express.js
• Socket.IO
• Sequelize (Database ORM)
• SQLite3 (Database)
• CORS support
• Environment-based configuration
• Socket.IO Admin UI for development

📁 Project Structure

src/
├── app.js              # Express application setup
├── server.js           # HTTP and Socket.IO server setup
├── socketHandlers.js   # Game logic and socket event handlers
├── configs/            # Configuration files
├── constants/          # Constants and enums
├── data/              # Data files (e.g., word database)
├── database/          # Database configuration
├── models/            # Database models
├── services/          # Business logic services
└── sockets/           # Socket-related utilities

🚀 Getting Started

📋 Prerequisites

• Node.js (v14 or higher)
• npm or yarn
• SQLite3 (included in dependencies)

⚙️ Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Vibhishan/minimal-sketch-backend.git
   cd minimal-sketch-backend

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Create a .env file in the root directory with the following variables:

   PORT=4000
   NODE_ENV=development
   

4. Start the development server:

   npm run dev

   The server will start with nodemon for automatic reloading during development.

5. Access Socket.IO Admin UI:

   • Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:4000/admin
   • This provides a visual interface to monitor and debug socket connections

💻 Development

The project uses the following development tools:

• nodemon for automatic server reloading during development
• @socket.io/admin-ui for monitoring socket connections

📜 Available Scripts

• npm run dev - Start the development server with hot reloading
• npm test - (To be implemented) Run test suite

🔌 API Endpoints

• GET /health - Health check endpoint

📡 Socket Events

The backend supports various socket events for real-time communication:

• Room Management:

  • CREATE_ROOM
  • JOIN_ROOM
  • LEAVE_ROOM
  • ROOM_STATE_UPDATE

• Game Flow:

  • START_GAME
  • ROUND_START
  • TURN_START
  • TURN_END
  • GAME_END

• Drawing & Guessing:

  • DRAW_EVENT
  • CLEAR_CANVAS
  • WORD_SELECTED
  • GUESS_WORD
  • WORD_GUESSED

• Chat:

  • SEND_MESSAGE
  • RECEIVE_MESSAGE

🔮 Future Features & Improvements

🎮 Gameplay Enhancements

• Word selection system
• Basic scoring mechanism
• Health check endpoint
• Round-based gameplay with multiple rounds per game
• Final scores display at game end
• Player ranking system with leaderboards
• Custom word suggestions from players
• Different game modes (e.g., speed drawing, team play)
• Power-ups and special abilities

🎨 Drawing Features

• More drawing tools (brush, spray, shapes)
• Undo/Redo functionality
• Background color selection
• Save and share drawings
• Drawing templates or stencils
• Layer support for complex drawings

👥 Social Features

• Player profiles and avatars
• Friend system and private rooms
• Emoji reactions to drawings
• Voice chat integration
• Spectator mode
• Replay system for past games

⚡ Technical Improvements

• Responsive design for all screen sizes
• Offline mode with local storage
• Performance optimizations for large rooms
• Better error handling and recovery
• Analytics and game statistics
• Dark mode support

♿ Accessibility

• Screen reader support
• Keyboard shortcuts
• High contrast mode
• Colorblind-friendly palette
• Adjustable font sizes
• Reduced motion options

🔒 Security & Moderation

• Report system for inappropriate content
• Word filtering and moderation
• Room password protection
• Anti-cheat measures
• User verification system
• Automated content moderation

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request. Here's how you can contribute:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Please make sure to:

• Follow the existing code style
• Add tests for new features
• Update documentation as needed
• Keep your PR focused on a single feature or bug fix