Playing Games

PlayRen streams games from cloud servers directly to your browser. Here's how the entire play experience works.

Launching a Game

1. Navigate to a game's detail page from your library.
2. Choose a save slot or select New Game for a fresh playthrough.
3. Click the Play button.

What Happens Behind the Scenes

When you click Play, the platform performs several steps automatically:

1. Server selection — The scheduler picks the best available cloud server. It prefers servers that already have the game cached for faster startup.
2. Cache check — If the game isn't cached on the selected server, it's downloaded from the partner's storage. This may add 10-30 seconds on the first launch.
3. Container launch — A Docker container starts with the game loaded and your save data mounted.
4. Stream connection — A WebRTC peer connection is established between your browser and the game container.

The entire process typically takes 10-20 seconds. A loading indicator keeps you informed of progress.

The Stream Player

Once connected, the game appears in an interactive video player in your browser. Everything you see is rendered on the cloud server and streamed to you in real time.

Mouse and Keyboard Input

• Click anywhere on the stream to interact with the game, just as you would on a local application.
• Type to enter text in any in-game text fields.
• Scroll with your mouse wheel if the game supports scrolling.
• Input is captured only when the stream player has focus. Click on the stream area to re-focus if inputs stop responding.

Stream Toolbar

The toolbar at the bottom of the player provides:

• Fullscreen — expand the stream to fill your entire screen. Press Esc to exit.
• Mute/Unmute — toggle audio. The stream starts muted by default due to browser autoplay policies. Click unmute to hear game audio.
• Stop — end your session and return to the game detail page.

Fullscreen Mode

For the best experience, use fullscreen mode. The stream scales to fit your screen while maintaining the game's aspect ratio. On most browsers, press F11 or use the fullscreen button in the toolbar.

During Gameplay

Auto-Save

Games automatically save your progress at key story points. The Ren'Py engine handles auto-save internally, and save files are persisted to your save slot on the server.

Manual Save

Use the in-game save/load menu (accessible through the game's own UI, typically by right-clicking or pressing Escape) to create manual save points within your slot.

Session Keepalive

Your session stays active as long as you're interacting with the stream. If you're idle for an extended period, the session may be reclaimed to free server resources. You'll see a warning before this happens.

Stopping a Game

To end your session:

1. Click the Stop button in the stream toolbar, or
2. Navigate away from the play page.

When you stop, your save data is preserved in your selected slot. The cloud container is shut down and its resources are freed. You can resume from the same slot anytime.

Tips for the Best Experience

• Use a wired connection or sit close to your Wi-Fi router for lower latency.
• Close unnecessary tabs to free up bandwidth and CPU for video decoding.
• Use Chrome or Edge for the most reliable WebRTC performance.
• Enable hardware acceleration in your browser settings if available.

Next Steps

• Save Management — Learn about the 3-slot save system in detail.
• Troubleshooting — Fix common streaming issues.