SERVER AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING A VIDEO GAME

• US 20150045121A1
• Filed: 08/27/2013
• Published: 02/12/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENA Company Limited
• Original Assignee: DENA Company Limited
• Inventors: Oku, Kazuho
• Granted Patent: US 9,079,106 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/355 Performing operations on behalf of clients with restricted processing capabilities, e.g. servers transform changing game scene into an encoded video stream for transmitting to a mobile phone or a thin client
• 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 2300/209 characterized by low level software layer, relating to hardware management, e.g. Operating System, Application Programming Interface
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/538 for performing operations on behalf of the game client, e.g. rendering
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/66 for rendering three dimensional images
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6623 for animating a group of characters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/543 using regions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/563 Motion estimation with padding, i.e. with filling of non-object values in an arbitrarily shaped picture block or region for estimation purposes

Abstract

One object of the present invention is to reduce the load on a server and reduce the communication traffic produced in providing online games. In accordance with one aspect, the server can execute a game program including: a game progress module for progressing a game; a generation module for generating, at first time intervals, frame information containing a plurality of drawing commands to be executed on a terminal device to render one frame of a game screen; a determination module for determining whether to send the generated frame information to the terminal device; a compression module for compressing the generated frame information; a sending module for sending to the terminal device the compressed frame information to be sent; and a request module for requesting drawing execution time information from the terminal device at second time intervals.

Claims

1. A server for providing a game to a plurality of terminal devices communicatively connected to the server, the server comprising:

a central processing unit;

memory storage configured to store machine-readable instructions that, when executed, cause the central processing unit to

progress the game in accordance with input information sent from one of the plurality of terminal devices;

generate frame information at predetermined intervals in accordance with progression of the game, the frame information containing at least a plurality of first type drawing commands to be executed on the terminal device to render one frame of a game screen in accordance with progression of the game on the terminal device, each of the plurality of first type drawing commands including object information specifying an object to be drawn and coordinate information specifying a coordinate where the object is to be drawn;

compress the generated frame information; and

send the compressed frame information to the terminal device,

wherein the game screen contains a region having a plurality of unit objects with an identical shape continuously arranged in vertical and/or horizontal directions;

the frame information contains the plurality of first type drawing commands for drawing at least the plurality of unit objects arranged continuously, the plurality of first type drawing commands arranged in the same order as the plurality of unit objects are to be arranged; and

each of the plurality of first type drawing commands includes the coordinate information in a form of difference between the coordinate where the object is to be drawn and a coordinate specified by coordinate information of the first type drawing command written immediately before if there is the first type drawing command written immediately before.

3. The server of claim 1, wherein

the frame information contains a second type drawing command including a rotation angle information specifying a rotation angle of the object to be drawn;

and

the second type drawing command includes the rotation angle information in a form of difference between the rotation angle of the object and a rotation angle specified by rotation angle information of the second type drawing command written immediately before if there is the second type drawing command written immediately before.

4. The server of claim 1, wherein

the game is simultaneously played by a plurality of users each operating one of the plurality of terminal devices;

the frame information is generated for each of the plurality of terminal devices; and

the compressed frame information is sent to each of the plurality of terminal devices.

2. (canceled)

5. A method using a server for providing a game to a plurality of terminal devices communicatively connected to the server, the method being implemented in a central processing unit of the server by executing machine readable instructions, the method comprising:

progressing the game in accordance with input information sent from one of the plurality of terminal devices;

generating frame information at predetermined intervals in accordance with progression of the game, the frame information containing at least a plurality of first type drawing commands to be executed on the terminal device to render one frame of a game screen in accordance with progression of the game on the terminal device, each of the plurality of first type drawing commands including object information specifying an object to be drawn and coordinate information specifying a coordinate where the object is to be drawn;

compressing the generated frame information; and

sending the compressed frame information to the terminal device,

wherein the game screen contains a region having a plurality of unit objects with an identical shape continuously arranged in vertical and/or horizontal directions;

the frame information contains the plurality of first type drawing commands for drawing at least the plurality of unit objects arranged continuously, the plurality of first type drawing commands arranged in the same order as the plurality of unit objects are to be arranged; and

each of the plurality of first type drawing commands includes the coordinate information in a form of difference between the coordinate where the object is to be drawn and a coordinate specified by coordinate information of the first type drawing command written immediately before if there is the first type drawing command written immediately before.