Inspiration
Hot Grenade was inspired by the timeless "Hot Potato" party game, but reimagined as a modern multiplayer survival experience. We wanted to create a game that is easy to understand yet highly competitive, where every second creates tension and every decision can change the outcome of the match.
Our goal was to combine fast-paced gameplay with immersive 3D environments, real-time multiplayer interaction, and social communication. Rather than focusing on complex mechanics, we focused on creating a game that anyone can pick up within minutes while still providing enough excitement to keep players coming back for more.
What it does
Hot Grenade is a browser-based real-time multiplayer survival game where players compete inside a futuristic arena. At the beginning of each round, one player is randomly selected to hold the Hot Grenade. The player has only a limited amount of time to get rid of it before it explodes.
Players can pass the grenade by colliding with nearby opponents or throwing it to players who are farther away. Every successful pass resets the countdown timer, forcing the new holder to react quickly. When the timer reaches zero, the current holder is eliminated from the match, and the game continues until only one player remains.
The game also includes real-time multiplayer synchronization, proximity voice communication, responsive controls for different devices, a live leaderboard, and an automated moderation system to encourage a positive multiplayer environment.
How we built it
Hot Grenade was developed as a full-stack multiplayer web application using modern JavaScript technologies.
The frontend was built with React and Vite, providing a fast and responsive user interface. Three.js and React Three Fiber were used to render the complete 3D game world directly inside the browser, while React Three Drei simplified camera controls, lighting, and scene management.
The backend was developed using Node.js and Express, with Socket.IO handling real-time communication between connected players. This allows player movement, grenade ownership, and match events to remain synchronized throughout the game. PeerJS and WebRTC were integrated to enable low-latency proximity voice communication between players.
The project was managed using Git and GitHub for version control and deployed using Render to make the game accessible online.
Challenges we ran into
Building a real-time multiplayer game introduced several technical challenges. One of the biggest challenges was keeping player positions and grenade ownership synchronized across multiple clients while maintaining smooth gameplay.
Another challenge was ensuring the controls and interface worked consistently across desktop, tablet, and mobile devices without sacrificing usability. Optimizing the Three.js scene for browser performance while maintaining visual quality also required careful consideration.
Deploying both the frontend and backend services and configuring real-time communication in a production environment presented additional challenges during the final stages of development.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We are proud of successfully building a complete multiplayer browser game that combines 3D graphics, networking, and voice communication into a single experience.
The project demonstrates our ability to design and implement a scalable multiplayer architecture, integrate multiple modern web technologies, and create an engaging gameplay experience within the limited time available during the hackathon.
We are also proud of creating a responsive user interface, implementing real-time synchronization, and deploying the project so that other users can easily access and experience the game.
What we learned
Developing Hot Grenade significantly improved our understanding of multiplayer game development and modern web technologies.
Throughout the project, we gained practical experience with real-time networking, client-server architecture, browser-based 3D rendering, WebRTC communication, deployment pipelines, and performance optimization. We also learned the importance of designing modular systems that are easier to maintain and extend as the project grows.
Most importantly, we learned how planning, communication, and iterative development contribute to building a polished multiplayer experience.
What's next for Hot Grenade
Hot Grenade serves as the foundation for a much larger multiplayer platform. Our next goal is to introduce a true anti-gravity movement system that allows players to seamlessly traverse walls, ceilings, and other surfaces while maintaining intuitive controls.
Future updates will include additional maps, new gameplay modes, player progression, cosmetic customization, matchmaking, private lobbies, ranked gameplay, improved moderation, seasonal events, and enhanced visual effects.
We also plan to continue optimizing performance, expand support for mobile devices, improve accessibility, and introduce cloud-based player profiles so users can track their progress across multiple sessions.
Our long-term vision is to transform Hot Grenade into a polished, highly replayable multiplayer party game that players can enjoy with friends across different platforms.
Built With
- css
- html
- javascript
- react18
- three.js
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.