Game delivery system

• US 20070094700A1
• Filed: 01/23/2006
• Published: 04/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Tournament One Corporation
• Original Assignee: Tournament One Corporation
• Inventors: Wolfe, Jason
• Application Number:
  US11/337,972
• Publication Number:
  US 20070094700A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/133
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/409 Data transfer via television network
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/538 for performing operations on behalf of the game client, e.g. rendering
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/552 for downloading to client devices, e.g. using OS version, hardware or software profile of the client device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8011 Ball
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4781 Games

Abstract

A game delivery system wherein games can be delivered to players using a cable television infrastructure. Players can interact with the game via an input device such as a remote control, and the user'"'"'s set top box can communicate with the cable headend in order to effectuate game play. A player can also win cash or noncash prizes in a tournament with other players as well.

Claims

1. An apparatus to implement a game, the apparatus comprising:

a cable headend comprising a processing server to serve the game to an end user; and

a content provider to store game content and to serve the game content to the processing server at the cable headend.

2. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the game content is maintained by a developer of the game.

3. An apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein the developer can update the game served to the end user using the content server

4. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the cable headend further comprises:

a proxy server to receive game data from the content provider and server the game data to the processing server.

5. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

an aggregator to receive outputs from multiple processes on the processing server and to aggregate the multiple outputs into a single cable single.

6. An apparatus as recited in claim 5, further comprising:

a tournament database to store multiple players participating in a tournament and to serve data relating to the multiple players to the multiple processes on the processing server to display on each player'"'"'s output device.

7. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising an animation database at the cable headend accessed by the processing server to store animation sequences, and if a needed animation sequence needed by a particular process running on the processing server is not present on the animation database, then the needed animation sequence is retrieved from a content provider animation database and subsequently stored on the animation database at the cable headend.

8. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising a support center maintained by the content provider to access data stored by the content provider and answer player questions independent of a company administering the cable headend.

9. An apparatus recited in claim 1, wherein the content provider comprises a database to store pre-rendered scenes and animation files containing ball trajectories, and the processing server at the cable headend serves a respective pre-rendered scene to the end user and an animated ball using a respective animation file superimposed over the respective pre-rendered scene.

10. A method to serve a game, the method comprising:

maintaining game content by a content provider using a content server;

serving the game by a cable company to a subscriber'"'"'s cable television set top box using the game content; and

updating the game content by the content provider without direct participation by the cable company.

11. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein the content provider manages tournament data, the tournament data being comprised in the game content which is used by the cable company when serving the game.

12. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein the game content comprises course conditions which the content provider can change.

13. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein support for the game is provided by the content provider independently of the cable company.

14. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein a process implementing the game requests game conditions from the content server, the game conditions capable of being changed by the content provider without direct participation by the cable company.

15. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein a process implementing the game requests tournament data standing data from a tournament database to display to an end user.

16. A method as recited in claim 10, further comprising aggregating outputs from multiple processes each implementing a respective player'"'"'s instance of the game into an aggregated cable signal which is distributed to players.

17. A method as recited in claim 10, further comprising serving simultaneous streams of game output to each of multiple players using a single cable signal.

18. A method to serve a game, the method comprising:

storing a plurality of scenes;

storing a plurality of animation sequences;

inputting move data from a player;

determining a particular scene from the plurality of scenes using the move data;

determining a particular animation sequence from the plurality of animation sequences using the move data; and

serving, using a cable network, an animated sequence to an end user comprising the particular scene with the animation sequence on top of the animated sequence.

19. A method as recited in claim 18, wherein the animation sequences are pregenerated.

20. A method to serve a game via a cable company administering a cable delivery system, the method comprising:

registering a new user to the game using a remote control in communication with a set top box;

transmitting registration information for the new user to a content provider database;

commencing a tournament among multiple players including the new user, tournament data stored by the content provider database;

initiating a process administered by the cable company to implement the game for the new user;

requesting game content information, by the process, from the content provider;

transmitting the game content information from the content provider to the process;

using the game content information to generate game output;

serving the game output of the game to the set top box; and

modifying, by the content provider, the game content information without intervention by the cable company.