Private Dedicated
Game Server

A server, plus a way to control it

Configured and deployed a private dedicated game server for a personal group. Beyond the base server setup, the project involved integrating a Discord bot to allow group members to interact with the server through Discord — checking status, receiving alerts, and managing basic server functions without needing direct access to the machine.

Server, bot, and network setup

• Installed and configured the dedicated server software on a Windows machine, including port configuration and firewall rules to allow external connections.
• Set up and configured a Discord bot using the Discord API and Developer Portal to bridge server activity with a Discord channel.
• Registered the application through the Discord Developer Portal and worked through the OAuth2 authentication flow to authorize the bot with the correct permissions.
• Edited JSON configuration files to customize server settings, bot behavior, and permission levels for different users.
• Managed network settings including port forwarding to make the server accessible to players outside the local network.

What went wrong (and got fixed)

• The Discord Developer Portal OAuth2 setup involved several steps that weren't well documented — worked through redirect URI configuration, bot token scopes, and permission integer calculations to get authorization working correctly.
• Firewall and port forwarding rules had to be carefully configured to allow game traffic while not exposing unnecessary services.
• JSON config files for both the server and bot required careful editing — syntax errors caused silent failures that required troubleshooting to isolate.

A stable server, controllable from Discord

Successfully deployed a stable private server accessible to the group over the internet, with a fully functional Discord bot integration. Members can interact with the server through Discord without needing direct machine access.