Building MENA Playgrounds: A Journey Through Our Backend Development

April 18, 2025 (2mo ago)·7 min read·0 views·
Express.jsNode.jsWebsocketMongoDBRedis

The Beginning: A Vision for MENA Gamers

When we started developing MENA Playgrounds, we had a clear vision: create a platform that would serve the unique needs of gamers in the Middle East and North Africa region. The challenge was significant—we needed to build a system that could handle everything from tournament management to battle passes, all while ensuring a seamless experience for our diverse user base.

The Technical Foundation

Choosing Our Stack

After careful consideration, we decided to build our backend using Node.js with Express. This choice wasn't just about following trends—it was about finding the right tools for our specific needs. Node.js's event-driven architecture made it perfect for handling real-time features, which would be crucial for our tournament and chat systems.

Our database choice was MongoDB, which offered the flexibility we needed for our complex data structures. For real-time features and caching, we integrated Redis, which has been instrumental in maintaining our platform's performance.

The Development Journey

1. Building the Battle Pass System

One of our first major challenges was implementing the Battle Pass system. We wanted to create something that would engage players while being fair and rewarding. The system needed to:

  • Track player progress in real-time
  • Handle multiple languages (English and Arabic)
  • Manage different types of missions and rewards
  • Support various game modes

Here's a simplified version of our registration logic:

const registerUserBattlePass = async (req, res) => {
  try {
    const userId = req.user._id;
    const user = await User.findById(userId);
    if (!user) return res.status(403).json({ message: 'User not found' });
 
    // Check for League of Legends data
    const lolData = await LeagueOfLegends.findOne({ userId });
    if (!lolData) return res.status(403).json({ message: 'LoL account not found' });
 
    // Region validation
    const allowedRegions = ['me1', 'euw1', 'eun1'];
    const userRegion = user.cpid?.toLowerCase() || lolData.cpid?.toLowerCase();
    if (!allowedRegions.includes(userRegion)) {
      return res.status(403).json({ message: 'Region not allowed' });
    }
 
    // MENA country check (using geoip)
    // ...
 
    // Register user for the active battle pass
    // ...
 
    res.status(201).json({ message: 'Successfully registered!' });
  } catch (error) {
    res.status(500).json({ message: 'Error registering for battle pass' });
  }
};

This function checks user eligibility, region, and registers them for the current Battle Pass.

2. Tournament Management: A Complex Puzzle

The tournament system was perhaps our most complex feature. We needed to support multiple tournament formats:

  • Single elimination
  • Double elimination
  • Round-robin
  • Swiss system
  • Matchmaking
  • Public tournaments

Each format came with its own set of challenges. For example, implementing the Swiss system required careful consideration of pairing algorithms and score tracking. The matchmaking system needed to balance player skill levels while maintaining fair competition.

3. Real-time Features: The WebSocket Challenge

Implementing real-time features was a significant technical challenge. We built a custom WebSocket service that handles:

  • Live tournament updates
  • Match notifications
  • Team communications
  • Battle Pass progress updates
  • Support ticket system

Here's a glimpse of how we set up secure WebSocket connections:

const WebSocket = require('ws');
const https = require('https');
const fs = require('fs');
 
const server = https.createServer({
  cert: fs.readFileSync('./ssl/cert.pem'),
  key: fs.readFileSync('./ssl/key_no_pass.pem')
});
 
const wss = new WebSocket.Server({ server });
 
wss.on('connection', (ws, req) => {
  ws.isAlive = true;
  ws.on('pong', () => { ws.isAlive = true; });
  // ... handle different paths and events
});
 
server.listen(7544, () => {
  console.log('WebSocket server running securely!');
});

This setup allows us to handle real-time updates for tournaments, matches, and support tickets.

Overcoming Challenges

Language and Region Support

One of our biggest challenges was implementing proper support for both English and Arabic. This wasn't just about translation—it required careful consideration of:

  • Right-to-left text rendering
  • Date and time formatting
  • Number formatting
  • Cultural considerations in UI/UX

Performance Optimization

As our user base grew, we faced performance challenges. We implemented several solutions:

  • Redis caching for frequently accessed data
  • Efficient database queries
  • Response compression
  • Background job processing

Security Considerations

Security was always a top priority. We implemented:

  • SSL/TLS encryption
  • Token-based authentication
  • Region validation
  • IP-based geolocation
  • Role-based access control

Integration Stories

Riot Games Integration

Integrating with Riot Games' API was a journey in itself. We needed to:

  • Handle authentication flows
  • Manage rate limits
  • Implement proper error handling
  • Cache responses effectively

The most interesting part was implementing the rank tracking system, which required careful consideration of Riot's API limitations and our need for real-time updates.

Discord Integration

Our Discord integration has been crucial for community management. We built a system that:

  • Sends tournament notifications
  • Manages team communications
  • Handles support tickets
  • Facilitates community engagement

Lessons Learned

Throughout this journey, we've learned several valuable lessons:

  1. Scalability is Key: Building with scalability in mind from the start saved us countless hours of refactoring later.
  2. Real-time is Hard: WebSocket implementation requires careful consideration of edge cases and error handling.
  3. Testing is Crucial: Our comprehensive testing strategy has been instrumental in maintaining system stability.
  4. Documentation Matters: Good documentation has been essential for onboarding new team members and maintaining the system.

The Future

We're constantly working on improvements and new features. Some areas we're focusing on:

  • Enhanced tournament analytics
  • Improved matchmaking algorithms
  • More sophisticated reward systems
  • Better performance monitoring
  • Enhanced security features

Conclusion & Call to Action

Building MENA Playgrounds has been an incredible journey. From the initial concept to the current implementation, every step has taught us valuable lessons about building scalable, reliable, and user-friendly gaming platforms. The challenges we've faced and overcome have made us better developers and have helped us create a platform that truly serves the MENA gaming community.

As we continue to grow and evolve, we're excited to see how our platform will continue to serve and engage the gaming community in the MENA region. The journey is far from over, and we're looking forward to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

We'd love to hear your feedback or questions! Drop us a comment to join the conversation.

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