My Journey Through Quarantine

The year 2022 was a strange time. Because of COVID, we couldn’t leave our houses much. For me, this meant I had a lot of free time, and I started to get bored. I wanted to find games I could play online with other people. That’s how I found LIQ (Life in Quarantine). You can check out the original game on its itch.io page to see what it was like. The game had a nice pixel art style, and it looked like a fun tactical game you could play online. This was exactly what I was looking for! I didn’t know then that I would start changing the game and even help make it better.

As a developer myself, I’ve always been interested in how software works, and games are no different. LIQ seemed like it had a lot of potential, and I became curious about it. I started by just playing, but soon I wanted to try changing things myself.

Embracing the World of Modding

The way I actually started modding the game is kind of funny. At first, I was just curious about how safe the game was. Like many people, I opened the developer tools in my browser to take a look. I saw that the game was using something called a websocket. So, I decided to write a small program to intercept what was going through that connection.

That’s when I found out you could actually cheat and get items in the game this way! I also discovered that you could completely see how the game was made (it was decompilable). I thought this wasn’t very secure, so I told the developer about it. To my surprise, he asked me if I would be interested in helping him with the game!

That’s how it all started. I began modding because it was fun and, let’s be honest, I was still pretty bored. Later on, I even started getting requests from the community on the Discord server for new things and changes.

What I Ended Up Doing

Here’s what I was able to do with LIQ:

• First of all, I helped make it possible to create mods for the game.
• I wrote the code for the CTF (Capture The Flag) game mode.
• I created the Creative Mode where players can build their own maps.
• I added some fun new items to the game.
• I helped with adding Texture Packs so the game could look different.
• This was all done together with the main developer of the game. He gave a lot of support to make mods and texture packs work well, especially with the multiplayer part of the game.
• At that time, I was still new to using the Godot game engine.
• I also hosted the server where players could download the mods from.

Technical Skills and Learnings

Through my work on the LIQ project, I gained experience and skills in several technical areas, including:

• WebSockets: I learned how the game used WebSockets for real-time communication and gained experience in analyzing and understanding this type of network protocol.
• WebSocket Interception: By writing my own proxy, I was able to intercept and analyze WebSocket traffic, which provided valuable insights into the game’s communication structure.
• Decompilation: I gained firsthand experience with decompiling software to understand its underlying code and logic.
• Godot Game Engine: I got an introduction to the Godot game engine and learned the basics of how it works in the context of a real-world project.
• Network Analysis: Using tools like Wireshark, I developed skills in analyzing network traffic to understand game mechanics and identify potential vulnerabilities.
• Modding Workflow: I gained a general understanding of the process involved in modding a game, from initial exploration to creating and implementing new features.

Why the Original Game Stopped

Over time, a few things happened that led to the original LIQ not being updated anymore:

• The main theme of the game, which was about life during COVID, wasn’t really current anymore.
• Both the original developer and I didn’t have as much free time to work on updates.
• Because the name had “COVID” in it, we couldn’t publish it on app stores.
• The game engine (Godot) got a big update, and upgrading the game would have taken a lot of work.
• As time went on, fewer people were playing the game, and the initial excitement died down.

The LIQ Community Edition is Coming!

But don’t worry, the story of LIQ isn’t over! I have plans for a new version called the LIQ Community Edition.

This will be a completely new version of the game with a fresh theme and some new ways to play. The idea is to build this together with the community. Check out the official Discord server for updates and to get involved: LIQ Community Discord.

I’m planning to start this project around April or May 2025, and we’ll release things bit by bit as they are ready. I can’t share all the details yet, but know that it’s coming, so don’t lose hope for the future of LIQ!