Start by clarifying requirements and scope, then walk through a layered architecture: board representation, move generation/validation, game state management, and networking. Emphasize trade-offs and justify choices based on constraints like latency, consistency, and scalability.
Pro tip: Proactively discuss how you would handle disconnections, reconnections, and cheat prevention, as these are often overlooked but critical for a robust multiplayer game.
Ask about expected scale (concurrent games, players), latency requirements, platform (web/mobile), and whether features like matchmaking, chat, or persistence are needed.
Choose a data structure (e.g., 2D array or bitboards) and implement piece movement rules with validation, considering efficiency and ease of debugging.
Define game state (board, turn, move history) and decide on authoritative server vs. peer-to-peer, ensuring consistency and handling edge cases like checkmate.
Select a protocol (WebSocket for real-time) and design message formats for moves, game events, and state updates, addressing reliability and ordering.
Discuss scaling with multiple game servers, load balancing, and handling failures (e.g., server crashes, network partitions) with reconnection logic.
AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.