METHOD AND DEVICE FOR SUPPORTING WIRELESS MULTI-PLAYER GAMING WITH A MULTI-PLAYER GAME HUB

• US 20110230269A1
• Filed: 03/24/2011
• Published: 09/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Lampela, Juha, SERAFAT, Reza, Decker, Peter
• Application Number:
  US13/071,294
• Publication Number:
  US 20110230269A1
• 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 13/31 Communication aspects specific to video games, e.g. between several handheld game devices at close range
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/327 using wireless networks, e.g. Wi-Fi® or piconet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/402 Communication between platforms, i.e. physical link to protocol
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/406 Transmission via wireless network, e.g. pager or GSM
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/50 characterized by details of game servers

Abstract

The invention relates to wireless multi-player gaming with mobile game devices. It also relates to a method and a device capable of reducing the communication load of mobile game devices in wireless multi-player gaming. Methods are provided to support wireless multi-player gaming with a multi-player game hub, wherein the hub is setting up wireless connections to at least two mobile game devices by performing an initialization procedure according to an initialization protocol. These connections form a hub-to all wireless network, wherein each connected game device is wirelessly connected as a slave device in the wireless network. The hub may further control the transfer of game execution data between the game devices. Thereby a method and a game system is provided to separate the communication load from the game execution load keeping the processing resources of the gaming devices clear for executing the game software in wireless multi-player gaming.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

setting up direct wireless connections, by a mobile game device operating in a role of a multi-player game hub, to at least two mobile game devices by performing an initialization procedure according to an initialization protocol,

forming a hub-to-all wireless network, wherein each of said connected game devices is wirelessly connected as a slave device in said wireless network, and

controlling the transfer of and transferring all game execution data exchanged between said at least two game devices by the mobile game device operating as the multi-player game hub.