We Built a Game with Quark Multiplayer in a Week

Introduction

Can you create a unique multiplayer game in just a few days? Ryan Ash and Aleksandr Lazarev, two talented developers, put Quark Multiplayer Engine to the test, building Connectivity—a meditative, social experience where players communicate by placing letters into the world. With Quark’s seamless networking, they built a fully functional prototype in a week, focusing entirely on gameplay rather than infrastructure. Watch the game demo recording and dive into how they build it.

Game Concept

We’ve had the idea for about ten years — the thought that chats could be more dynamic and immersive. Instead of waiting for someone to finish typing, what if messages appeared letter by letter in real time, visible to everyone nearby? Conversations would become part of the environment, unfolding naturally and interactively. This idea that players should exist in a shared world, creating an environment that was gentle and meditative. 

When we finally decided to build a small game in our free time, this idea found its place. We didn’t want another shooter or a complex RPG. Instead, we aimed for something simple, meditative, and social — a shared world where players could explore, communicate, and express themselves creatively.

We drew inspiration from Journey, with its atmospheric landscapes and abstract, glowing figures. But we added a twist: players could write words into the world using scattered stones with letters. Others could see them, jump on them, and even use them to interact. It was playful, expressive, and delightfully strange.

The Spark

The project started on a whim. During a company-wide call, we were watching presentations of large-scale projects in development using Quark Multiplayer — impressive but still far from release. We were itching to share something tangible, something people could play right away.

That’s when it clicked: why not challenge ourselves to make a game in a week or two, working in the evenings? We were already at the stage where our networking tech was mature enough to "get a working multiplayer game from scratch in a day or two." The infrastructure was there — we just needed to bring it to life.

Building It

Getting started was surprisingly easy. We ported our framework to a new Unreal Engine project in no time. With a cloud-based server already running, we could test with tens of thousands of connections worldwide without any extra setup or cost. The original game using the server wasn’t even affected — it just worked.

In the first hour, we had a basic multiplayer environment up and running and thanks to the framework, we were able to start working on game logic straight away. Everyday, we added to the content and game mechanics:

• Interacting with letters written by other players
• Implementing unusual jump mechanics
• Providing mood visualization and audio cues
• Creating a desert and the objects within it

By the end of the week, we had a playable MVP with real-time communication, letter-jumping, and a shared desert world. Over the next couple of weeks, we refined the visuals and added more interactions, working in our free time at a relaxed pace. Considering how long game development usually takes, building a networked experience this quickly felt almost surreal. And along the way, we didn’t have to deal with Linux dedicated server builds, SDK platform integrations, or session connection issues.

Magic Moments

During the development and testing of this project, there were some unforgettable moments:

• The first spontaneous meeting in the world — “Wow, it works! Hi there!”
• The first interaction — “You were standing on my word, and I literally pushed you off the screen while typing another one!”
• The first external players — “Hey guys, where are you? Look what I found!”
• The first public showcase — “Hold on, you made this in a couple of weeks? That’s insane, we should tell people about it.”

And beyond those first times, just being able to log in and spend time together has become something we do now — and genuinely enjoy. Between a blank canvas and the ability to create an experience like this, all it took was an idea, some motivation, a plan, and a bit of effort to put it all together.

Pure magic.

Play Connectivity

Explore what’s possible with the Quark Multiplayer Engine. Connectivity — a meditative, social multiplayer experience built in just one week — is now available to download and play.

Download the game and see Quark in action.