Question

I’m facing an architecture problem I didn’t manage to solve. I’m developing a little game in PHP and Javascript, and I need to save the user’s progress. Now, the problem is that PHP can’t determine when the user wins the level: it’s done in Javascript. Is there any way to save the user’s progress when he wins a level?

For example, when the user wins level 1, he gains access to level 2. If he tries to access level 2 without having completed the previous level, he gets redirected to the last completed one. In my controller I was doing the following:

if (1 !== $id) {
    if ($app['session']->get('last_level') !== ($id - 1)) {
        // redirect the user
    }
}

Now I need a way to store the last_level value into the session, an operation that can’t be simulated by the user.

Any hints?

Answer 1

You’re going to want to do the different last_level calculations on the server. That way the user can’t hack around with the JavaScript, and submit something on a specially crafted form. So depending on what your storage system is (KV store, Database, Textfile, etc.), put that value in there, and retrieve it.

Ajax can help you out, but isn’t necessary. It depends on how your game is set up. But if they complete the level, the server needs to be notified.