From Agario to DIY Server

The Agario Craze

Agario, a game where you start as a tiny dot, obtain food dots, and grow larger to devour other players somehow grabbed my attention. It was an entertaining simple game, but oddly launched me into web development and learning some basics of server configuration.

Hacking and Modding

As my experience deepened with Agario, I started newer things. I started injecting my own code with tampermonkeye web extension to get an edge on other players. I experimented with different mods to enhance my gameplay. I stumbled upon some code that was at a whole other level – it allowed Agario to play itself. Could I create a computer that could run this game solo?

My Windows XP Machine

My solution was far from high-tech. I found my ancient Windows XP machine and turned it into my dedicated Agario player. It wasn’t groundbreaking, but it marked my entry into the world of servers.

Meeting Protocols

Setting up this “server” introduced me to some tools such as VNC, FTP, and even Telnet. These protocols may sound fancy, but they were my keys to understanding tech on a deeper level. They would allow me to remotely manage the server without having to connect a monitor and keyboard to the system every time I needed to change something.

Note: None of these protocols were open to the internet, I did not use any port forwarding rules. Systems this old probably have more exploits than people are aware of. Strictly used on a private network with no open ports exposed to the internet.

The Simple Rules

I set some basic rules for my Windows XP machine. It would start Windows whenever it had a power source, starting Google Chrome witha simple bash script under startup. It would automatically start playing agario. It was a basic setup, but it laid a solid foundation for remote system management.