System and method for implementing a refund calculator in a game

• US 10,083,573 B1
• Filed: 06/11/2013
• Issued: 09/25/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabam (Netmarble Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabam (Netmarble Corporation)
• Inventors: Pieron, Luc, Im, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Milap
• Application Number:
  US13/915,416
• Time in Patent Office: 1,932 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/575 for trading virtual items
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3255 Incentive, loyalty and/or promotion schemes, e.g. comps, gaming associated with a purchase, gaming funded by advertisements

Abstract

One aspect of the disclosure relates to implementing a refund calculator in an online game. The refund calculator may provide the ability to prioritize what users may receive items, troops, and/or any other in-game parameters. The refund calculator may provide the ability to determine how many items and/or troops the user may be refunded, the time frame in which the user receives the items, troops and/or other aspects of a refund.

Claims

1. A system for implementing a mechanism for automatically determining and distributing refunds of virtual items to users in an online game, the system comprising:

one or more processors configured by machine-readable instructions to;

execute a game instance of a game space, and to facilitate presentation of views of the game space to the users to enable interaction of the users with the game space and/or each other by performing operations in the game space in response to commands received from the users through client computing platforms associated with the users;

store inventories of items that are available to the users in the game space, the inventories including a first inventory of items available to a first user in the game space and a second inventory of items available to a second user in the game space;

effectuate presentations to the users of purchase offers to purchase virtual items that can be used in the game space, wherein the presentations are made through a store interface, wherein the presentations include a first purchase offer presented to the first user and a second purchase offer presented to the second user;

receive, from the users, through the store interface, acceptances of the purchase offers, wherein the acceptances include a first acceptance from the first user and a second acceptance from the second user;

receive, from the users, subsequent to receipt of the acceptances, refund requests for sets of one or more virtual items to be refunded into the inventories of the users in the game space, the refund requests including a first refund request received from the first user for a first set of one or more virtual items to be refunded into the first inventory and a second refund request received from the second user for a second set of one or more virtual items to be refunded into the second inventory;

determine user values, indicating value of the users, based on past user spending characterizing past spending by individual ones of the users on multiple virtual items in the online game, the user values including a first user value indicating a value of the first user and a second user value indicating a second value of the second user;

determine refunds for the sets of one or more virtual items to be distributed into the inventories of the users in response to the refund requests, wherein determination of the refunds is based on the determined user values, wherein the refunds are distributed into the inventories of the users without requiring an exchange of consideration by the users for the refunds, such that whether a first refund is to be distributed into the first inventory is determined based on the first user value and wherein the first refund is to be distributed without requiring the first user to exchange any consideration for the first refund, and further such that whether a second refund is to be distributed into the second inventory is determined based on the second user value and wherein the second refund is to be distributed without requiring the second user to exchange any consideration for the second refund;

responsive to a first determination that the first refund is to be distributed, distribute the first refund for the first set of one or more virtual items into the first inventory of the first user; and

responsive to a second determination that the second refund is not to be distributed, the second refund for the second set of one or more virtual items is not distributed into the second inventory of the second user.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured by machine-readable instructions such that the amount of past user spending in the online game is monitored by one or more of:

a spend velocity, a spend frequency, a total amount spent.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured by machine-readable instructions to determine an amount of power of the users based on in-game resources of the users, the amount of power of the users including a first amount of power corresponding to the first user.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the one or more processors are further configured by machine-readable instructions to determine a quantity of one or more virtual items to distribute into the first inventory, wherein the quantity is based on the first amount of power.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured by machine-readable instructions to determine an amount of refund requests of the users based on a period of time, the amount of refund requests including a first amount of refund requests from the first user.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the one or more processors are further configured by machine-readable instructions to determine a quantity of one or more virtual items to distribute into the first inventory, wherein the quantity is based on the first amount of refund requests.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured by machine-readable instructions to determine the lifetime of the users based the amount of time the users have played the online game, the lifetime including a first lifetime of a first user.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the one or more processors are configured by machine-readable instructions to determine a quantity of one or more virtual items to distribute into the first inventory, wherein the quantity is based on the first lifetime.

9. A computer implemented method for implementing a mechanism for automatically determining and distributing refunds of virtual items to users in an online game, the system comprising:

executing an instance of a game space, and implementing the instance of the game space to facilitate participation by the users in the online game that takes place in the game space, wherein facilitating interaction of the users with the game space and/or each other by performing operations in the game space in response to commands received from the users through client computing platforms associated with the users;

storing inventories of items that are available to the users in the game space, the inventories including a first inventory of items available to a first user in the game space and a second inventory of items available to a second user in the game space;

effectuating presentations to the users of purchase offers to purchase virtual items that can be used in the game space, wherein the presentations are made through a store interface, wherein the presentations include a first purchase offer presented to the first user and a second purchase offer presented to the second user;

receiving, from the users, through the store interface, acceptances of the purchase offers, wherein the acceptances include a first acceptance from the first user and a second acceptance from the second user;

receiving, from the users, subsequent to receipt of the acceptances, refund requests for sets of one or more virtual items to be refunded into the inventories of the users in the game space, the refund requests including a first refund request received from the first user for a first set of one or more virtual items to be refunded into the first inventory and a second refund request received from the second user for a second set of one or more virtual items to be refunded into the second inventory;

determining user values, indicating value of the users, based on past user spending characterizing past spending by individual ones of the users on multiple virtual items in the online game, the user values including a first user value indicating a value of the first user and a second user value indicating a second value of the second user;

determining refunds for the sets of one or more virtual items to be distributed into the inventories of the users in response to the refund requests based on the user values, wherein the refunds are distributed into the inventories of the users without requiring an exchange of consideration by the users for the refunds, such that whether a first refund is to be distributed into the first inventory is determined based on the first user value and wherein the first refund is to be distributed without requiring the first user to exchange any consideration for the first refund, and further such that whether a second refund is to be distributed into the second inventory is determined based on the second user value and wherein the second refund is to be distributed without requiring the second user to exchange any consideration for the second refund;

responsive to a first determination that the first refund is to be distributed, distributing the first refund for the first set of one or more virtual items into the first inventory of the first user; and

responsive to a second determination that the second refund is not to be distributed, not distributing the second refund for the second set of one or more virtual items into the second inventory of the second user.

10. The method of claim 9, the method further comprising monitoring the amount of past user spending in the online game by one or more of:

a spend velocity, a spend frequency, a total amount spent.

11. The method of claim 9, the method further determining an amount of power of the users based on in-game resources of the users, the amount of power of the users including a first amount of power corresponding to the first user.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein determining a quantity of one or more virtual items to distribute into the first inventory is based on the first amount of power.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising determining an amount of refund requests of the users based on a period of time, the amount of refund requests including a first amount of refund requests from the first user.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein determining a quantity of one or more virtual items to distribute into the first inventory is based on the first amount of refund requests.

15. The method of claim 9, the method further determining the lifetime of the users based the amount of time the users have played the online game, the lifetime including a first lifetime of a first user.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein determining a quantity of one or more virtual items to distribute into the first inventory is based on the first lifetime.