I just wrapped up learning Java through theory and tutorials, and now I want to solidify my understanding by building something real.

I’m currently working on a simple two-player arcade-style game with a small twist and need a lightweight WebSocket-based client-server architecture in Java. My frontend (HTML, CSS, JS) is almost done, but I’ve never implemented WebSockets before.

I initially looked into Spring Boot, but it feels too complex for my current experience level. I’d love suggestions on libraries, frameworks, or best practices to keep it simple and efficient.

If you've worked on something similar, I’d really appreciate any insights!

Cheers ❤️