Build an Online Game In a Simple Database

This is a Game Dev Podcast with my guest Tyler F. Cloutier, co-founder and head of Clockwork Labs, who are building their MMO, Bitcraft Online, entirely in a database. They are making this database available for other developers under the name SpacetimeDB. It's a real time relational database that promises to massively simplify infrastructure required for both applications and games alike, almost like an operating system for the cloud. I'm very on board with their vision. Can it actually hold up? Let's have a look.

Links to my Guest

➤ SpacetimeDB: https://spacetimedb.com/

➤ Bitcraft Online: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3454650/BitCraft_Online/

Listen to the podcast on the go (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc.):

➤ https://tyrollerjonas.podbean.com/

0:00 - Intro

1:27 - What is SpacetimeDB?

7:24 - How SpacetimeDB is different

11:06 - Best use cases and limitations

15:55 - How it works: modules, reducers, transactions

19:34 - Publishing and hot-swapping server code

20:21 - Client model: reducers for writes; live queries and permissions

25:52 - Scaling and memory

28:40 - Per-match databases and the actor model

31:21 - Performance: reducer duration, locks vs MVCC, and offloading work

37:48 - Starter projects and analytics; community dashboards

41:12 - Authentication: OpenID Connect, Spacetime Auth, and Steam

46:07 - Platform philosophy: generalized vs specialized

51:25 - UGC and user-generated logic

55:05 - Origins, team structure, and optimization milestones

57:27 - Full history/time travel and postmortems

59:14 - Scaling by game type; video calling experiment and event tables

01:02:42 - Make it easy & LLM-friendly

01:07:48 - Comparing Firebase/Supabase/Vercel; why we built it

01:12:09 - Scheduled reducers, tickless servers, and timers as tables

01:13:57 - Matchmaking with SpacetimeDB (Underdogs VR, Postgres wire) and libraries

01:17:58 - Asynchronous multiplayer and efficiency

01:21:53 - Business model: self-hosting, Main Cloud free tier, licensing

01:26:48 - Avoiding vendor lock-in (SpatialOS lesson)

01:27:28 - BitCraft origins and vision

01:32:11 - Learning from veteran reviews; OSRS vs WoW philosophy

01:36:12 - Building costs, biggest design challenges, and live updates

01:39:43 - Core identity: simulating civilization, community, and expectations

01:42:35 - Outro

My game "Thronefall":

➤ Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2239150/Thronefall/

➤ Discord: https://discord.gg/gVYctptyg8

➤ Nintendo Switch: https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Thronefall-2669627.html#Overview

My game "Will You Snail":

➤ Play Will You Snail on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1115050/Will_You_Snail/

➤ Join the Will You Snail Discord: https://discord.gg/G3mRDrK

For the game developers among you:

➤ Join our creative game dev community on Discord: https://discord.gg/Ye6zzfQ