GAME MANAGEMENT METHOD, GAME MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, AND GAME MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

• US 20150209670A1
• Filed: 01/28/2015
• Published: 07/30/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GREE Inc.
• Original Assignee: GREE Inc.
• Inventors: Furumoto, Tomohiko, Nagai, Masato
• Granted Patent: US 10,105,598 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/35 Details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/358 Adapting the game course according to the network or server load, e.g. for reducing latency due to different connection speeds between clients
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/48 Starting a game, e.g. activating a game device or waiting for other players to join a multiplayer session
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/77 involving data related to game devices or game servers, e.g. configuration data, software version or amount of memory
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/53 details of basic data processing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/534 for network load management, e.g. bandwidth optimization, latency reduction
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/535 for monitoring, e.g. of user parameters, terminal parameters, application parameters, network parameters

Abstract

A game management system that retrieves a delay time of each of a plurality of user devices playing a game; stores the delay times retrieved from each of the plurality of user devices; and transmits an instruction to synchronize game progress to each of the user devices, the instruction including an offset time determined based on a maximum value of the stored delay times.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

circuitry configured to

retrieve a delay time of each of a plurality of user devices playing a game;

store the delay times retrieved from each of the plurality of user devices; and

transmit an instruction to synchronize game progress to each of the user devices, the instruction including an offset time determined based on a maximum value of the stored delay times.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to:

retrieve game progress states of the user devices;

compare a game progress state at the system with a game progress state at each of the user devices based on the delay time of each of the user devices; and

transmit a synchronization instruction for synchronizing the game progress of each of the user devices with the game progress of system when a difference between the game progress states exceeds a threshold.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to:

compare the delay time retrieved from each user device with a threshold; and

execute a request from the user device only when the delay time is less than or equal to a threshold.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the circuitry is configured to:

store a threshold for determining whether a request can be executed depending on a type of game; and

determine the threshold based on the type of game to be played.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

calculate a dispersion state of the stored delay times; and

determine the threshold based on the dispersion state.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein the circuitry is configured to:

calculate a number of participants who play a game in a group; and

determine the threshold based on the number of participants in the game.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to:

retrieve delay times from clients requesting to participate in a game; and

determine a group in which a same game is played based on the delay times.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein

the circuitry is configured to calculate the offset_[A2] time based on the maximum value of the stored delay times.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein

the circuitry is configured to calculate the offset time by multiplying the maximum value of the stored delay time by a predetermined value.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein

the system is a server and the circuitry comprises a central processing unit.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein

the circuitry comprises one or more processors and a memory, and

the one or more processors are configured to execute a program stored in the memory to perform the retrieving, storing and transmitting.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium including a program, which when executed by a system, causes the system to:

retrieve a delay time of each of a plurality of user devices playing a game;

store the delay times retrieved from each of the plurality of user devices; and

transmit an instruction to synchronize game progress to each of the user devices, the instruction including an offset time determined based on a maximum value of the stored delay times.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the program causes the system to:

retrieve game progress states of the user devices;

compare a game progress state at the system with a game progress state at each of the user devices based on the delay time of each of the user devices; and

transmit a synchronization instruction for synchronizing the game progress of each of the user devices with the game progress of system when a difference between the game progress states exceeds a threshold_[A3].

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the program causes the system to:

compare the delay time retrieved from each user device with a threshold; and

execute a request from the user device only when the delay time is less than or equal to a threshold.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the program causes the system to:

store a threshold for determining whether a request can be executed depending on a type of game; and

determine the threshold based on the type of game to be played.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the program causes the system to:

calculate a dispersion state of the stored delay times; and

determine the threshold based on the dispersion state.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the program causes the system to:

calculate a number of participants who play a game in a group; and

determine the threshold based on the number of participants in the game.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the program causes the system to:

retrieve delay times from clients requesting to participate in a game; and

determine a group in which a same game is played based on the delay times.

19. A game management method comprising:

retrieving a delay time of each of a plurality of user devices playing a game;

storing the delay times retrieved from each of the plurality of user devices; and

transmitting an instruction to synchronize game progress to each of the user devices, the instruction including an offset time determined based on a maximum value of the stored delay times.