Distributed network architecture for introducing dynamic content into a synthetic environment

• US 20080287195A1
• Filed: 03/06/2008
• Published: 11/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Trion World ABC LLC
• Original Assignee: Trion World ABC LLC
• Inventors: Farina, Bryan Joseph, Lee, Robert Ernest, Van Caneghem, Jon Edward, Aldridge, David M., Maltzen, Jason A.
• Application Number:
  US12/075,135
• Publication Number:
  US 20080287195A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/42
• 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 13/352 involving special game server arrangements, e.g. regional servers connected to a national server or a plurality of servers managing partitions of the game world
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/60 Generating or modifying game content before or while executing the game program, e.g. authoring tools specially adapted for game development or game-integrated level editor
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6009 for importing or creating game content, e.g. authoring tools during game development, adapting content to different platforms, use of a scripting language to create content
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 3/006 based on simulated virtual individual or collective life forms, e.g. social simulations or particle swarm optimisation [PSO]

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention relate generally to computer-based simulations and synthetic environment generation, and more particularly, to a system, a computer-readable medium, a method and an apparatus for generating synthetic environments in a distributed architecture to, among other things, introduce dynamic content.

Claims

1. A method to communicate among nodes in a distributed network architecture to facilitate massively multiplayer online games, the method comprising:

generating universal messages conforming with a universal data structure configured to exchange game data between nodes in a synthetic environment generation platform, the nodes including subsets of nodes configured to provide distributed processes for the synthetic environment generation platform;

transmitting at least a subset of the universal messages to a subset of the nodes to modify a synthetic environment; and

modifying at least a portion of the synthetic environment in response to a distributed process of a node.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein modifying the portion of the synthetic environment comprises:

introducing dynamic content into the synthetic environment.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein generating the universal messages comprises:

extracting the game data from a data arrangement conforming with a platform-independent format.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein generating the universal messages comprises:

extracting the game data from a data arrangement conforming with a format defined by an extensible markup language.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

implementing the game data according to an object-oriented class structure.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

accessing a schema to determine the use of the node; and

configuring the node to interface with the universal data structure without modifying executable code to exchange the game data between the universal data structure and another data arrangement associated with the node.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

integrating the game data of a universal message from the subset of the universal messages with the node based on the schema.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

detecting that the node is compatible with a universal message from the subset of the universal messages based on a node attribute associated with the universal message,

wherein the node attribute specifies the node.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein modifying the portion of the synthetic environment comprises:

introducing dynamic content into the synthetic environment.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the distributed processes comprise:

a game management process, a game sub-process, and a database process.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

transmitting a subset of the universal messages from the game management process to either the game sub-process or the database process, or both.

12. A computer readable medium to generate a universal message in association with synthetic environments, the computer readable medium comprising executable instructions to:

receive data for transport into a synthetic environment generation platform;

generate a universal message to include a universal data structure; and

transmit the universal message.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 12 wherein the executable instructions to generate the universal message comprises executable instructions to:

format the data in accordance with the universal data structure having a platform-independent format.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 12 wherein the executable instructions to generate the universal message comprises executable instructions to:

generate a property class object to include the data.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 12 wherein the executable instructions to generate the universal message comprises executable instructions to:

format the data in accordance with the universal data structure,

wherein the universal data structure is useable by nodes in communication with the synthetic environment generation platform.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 12 wherein the executable instructions to receive data for transport comprises executable instructions to:

extract the data from a data arrangement defined by an extensible markup language.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 16 wherein executable instructions to generate the universal message further comprises executable instructions to:

serialize the data from the data arrangement; and

generate a property class object to include the data.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 17 further comprising executable instructions to:

packetize the property class object.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 12 wherein the executable instructions to generate the universal message to include the universal data structure further comprises executable instructions to:

generate a compressed universal message.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 19 wherein the executable instructions to generate the compressed universal message comprises executable instructions to:

determine that a data portion of the data has been modified to identify a modified data portion;

determine an attribute for the modified data portion; and

form the compressed universal message to include a key specifying the attribute for the modified data portion and a value of the attribute.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 19 wherein the executable instructions to generate the compressed universal message comprises executable instructions to:

generate an object including a plurality of property values arranged as a vector;

determine that a property value from the plurality of property values has been modified to identify a modified property value; and

form the compressed universal message to include the modified property value and an index into the vector.