Maintaining community integrity

• US 20070276521A1
• Filed: 03/16/2007
• Published: 11/29/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Harris, Adam, Schneider, Steve
• Granted Patent: US 7,753,795 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/91
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/75 Enforcing rules, e.g. detecting foul play or generating lists of cheating players
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5586 for enforcing rights or rules, e.g. to prevent foul play
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3241 Security aspects of a gaming system, e.g. detecting cheating, device integrity, surveillance computer security G06F21/00

Abstract

Maintenance of community integrity in a gaming network is disclosed. One or more devices interacting with a particular game in the gaming network may be monitored. During the course of monitoring these devices, indicia of the violation of certain rules that define fair game play may be identified. A user and/or device engaged in certain illicit game play activity that resulted in the violation of the rules that define fair game play may subsequently be identified. The identified user and/or device may then be penalized as to maintain the integrity of the gaming community. Various penalties may be implemented, including ejection from the gaming network or prohibitions with regard to future access to the gaming network. Various retributive actions may also be taken against a particular user who has engaged in illicit game play activity with respect to future game session activity.

Claims

1. A method for maintaining community integrity in a gaming network, comprising:

monitoring one or more devices interacting with a game in the gaming network for indicia of violation of one or more rules, the one or more rules defining fair game play;

identifying at least one user associated with one of the one or more monitored devices as a cheater based on at least the indicia of violation of the one or more rules defining fair game play, the indicia of violation indicating the presence of illicit game play; and

penalizing the cheater for engaging in illicit game play, wherein the illicit game play is in violation of the one or more rules defining fair game play.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more rules defining fair game play comprise rules accessed from a removable storage medium, the removable storage medium also comprising at least a portion of the game.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more rules defining fair game play comprise rules accessed from a computing device tasked with maintaining community integrity.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more rules defining fair game play are generated through observations of interactions with the game in the gaming network.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising querying the monitored device associated with the at least one user identified as a cheater to further verify the existence of illicit game play prior to penalizing the at least one user identified as a cheater.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein penalizing the cheater comprises ejecting the monitored device associated with the at least one user identified as a cheater from the gaming network.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein one or more other devices in the gaming network maintain peer-to-peer connectivity with one another notwithstanding the ejection of the monitored device associated with the at least one user identified as a cheater.

8. The method of claim of claim 1, wherein penalizing the cheater comprises adding the at least one user identified as a cheater to a list of other users identified as cheaters.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein users identified on the list of cheaters are prohibited from accessing the gaming network.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the users identified on the list of cheaters are monitored more frequently for indicia of violation of one or more rules defining fair game play.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein penalizing the cheater comprises adding an indicia of the device utilized by the cheater to a list of other devices identified as having been used to engage in illicit game play.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein devices identified on the list of devices of having been used to engage in illicit game play are prohibited from accessing the gaming network.

13. The method of claim 9, where the prohibition is temporary.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the prohibition is permanent.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the prohibition is temporary.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the prohibition is permanent.

17. The method of claim 9, wherein the prohibition is instituted after the at least one user identified as a cheater has engaged in a pre-defined number of acts constituting illicit game play in violation of the one or more rules defining fair game play.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the users identified on the list of cheaters must request readmission to the gaming network following prohibition from accessing the network.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein penalizing the cheater comprises informing one or more other users in the gaming network that the at least one user identified as a cheater has violated one or more rules defining fair game play.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the one or more other users are informed of the at least one user identified as a cheater having violated one or more rules defining fair game play in a game lobby.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein penalizing the cheater comprises instituting at least one retributive action in a game session.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the at least one retributive action comprises assigning an undesired characteristic to a character in the game session that is controlled by the at least one user identified as a cheater, the undesired characteristic being relative to the nature of the game.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the at least one retributive action comprises identifying the position of a character in the game session that is controlled by the at least one user identified as a cheater.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the at least one retributive action comprises discoloration of a character in the game session that is controlled by the at least one user identified as a cheater.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein penalizing the cheater comprises restricting network bandwidth between the device associated with the at least one user identified as a cheater and at least one other device in the gaming network.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the at least one other device is a game server.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the at least one other device is a gaming device controlled by another user interacting with the game in the gaming network and the ability of the another user to interact with the network game is affected because of the bandwidth restrictions of the at least one user identified as a cheater.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein the bandwidth restriction is the result of a denial of service attack on the device associated with the at least one user identified as a cheater.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein penalizing the cheater comprises overwriting code on the device associated with the at least one user identified as a cheater.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the overwritten code comprises software for a hardware component coupled to and enabling illicit game play by the device associated with the at least one user identified as a cheater, whereby overwriting of the software prevents interaction of the hardware component with the device.

31. The method of claim 1, wherein penalizing the cheater comprises prohibiting the at least one user identified as a cheater from entering into a game session with another user who is not involved in illicit game play.

32. The method of claim 1, wherein penalizing the cheater comprises maintaining a record of illicit game play of the at least one user identified as a cheater.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein certain actions are taken against the at least one user identified as a cheater in response to the number of instances of illicit game play activities by the at least one user.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the certain actions that are taken against the at least one user identified as a cheater in response to the type of illicit game play activities by the at least one user.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein the at least one user identified as a cheater is able to contest instances of illicit game play activities.

36. A system for maintaining community integrity in a gaming network, comprising:

a monitoring module configured to monitor one or more devices interacting with a network game;

an analysis engine configured to identify one or more indicia of violation of one or more rules that define fair game play; and

a community maintenance module configured to penalize at least one user associated with one of the one or more monitored devices based on at least the indicia of violation of the one or more rules defining fair game play, the indicia of violation indicating the presence of illicit game play.

37. The system of claim 36 further comprising a rules library comprising at least one of the one or more rules that define fair game play.

38. The system of claim 36 further comprising a rules generator configured to generate at least one of the one or more rules defining fair game play, the at least one of the one or more rules being generated through observations of interactions with the game in the gaming network.

39. The system of claim 36 further comprising a query engine configured to generate one or more queries that may be used to further verify whether the one or more monitored devices are engaged in illicit game play in response to the indicia of violation of the one or more rules defining fair game play.

40. A machine-readable storage medium having embodied thereon a program, the program being executable by a machine to perform a method for maintaining community integrity in a gaming network, the method comprising:

monitoring one or more devices interacting with a game in the gaming network for indicia of violation of one or more rules, the one or more rules defining fair game play;

identifying at least one user associated with one of the one or more monitored devices as a cheater based on at least the indicia of violation of the one or more rules defining fair game play, the indicia of violation indicating the presence of illicit game play; and

penalizing the cheater for engaging in illicit game play, wherein the illicit game play is in violation of the one or more rules defining fair game play.