NOTIFYING USERS OF ACTIONS IN CROSS-PLATFORM ENVIRONMENTS

• US 20150283464A1
• Filed: 06/19/2015
• Published: 10/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zynga Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Zynga Incorporated
• Inventors: Lohstroh, Shawn, Dagley, Geoff, Rouse, Justin
• Granted Patent: US 10,918,954 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 13/35 Details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/79 involving player-related data, e.g. identities, accounts, preferences or play histories
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/537 for exchanging game data using a messaging service, e.g. e-mail, SMS, MMS
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2101 Auditing as a secondary aspect
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2109 Game systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2117 User registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements

Abstract

A gameplay notification system receives gameplay indications and notification configuration information from a gameplay system. The gameplay indications and configuration information are stored in a platform queue corresponding to a client device platform type. Further configuration information may be received from various gameplay devices of a user. The notification configuration information is analyzed by the gameplay notification system to schedule transmission of gameplay notifications to various client device platform types. The notifications are sent to the corresponding client devices according to frequency, day of the week, and notification states, among other configuration settings, that pertain to a user and the user'"'"'s corresponding client devices.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, from a game server, an indication of a gameplay action associated with a user identifier;

responsive to receipt of the indication, routing the indication to at least one platform queue corresponding to a client device platform type, the routing specified by a notification configuration associated with the user identifier;

responsive to routing the indication to the at least one platform queue, generating a gameplay notification including the indication of the gameplay action; and

transmitting, according to the notification configuration, the gameplay notification from the respective at least one platform queue to at least one client device corresponding to the user identifier and having a client device platform type corresponding to the at least one platform queue.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to transmitting the gameplay notification, merging the indication with any prior indications associated with the user identifier in the respective at least one platform queue to produce the gameplay notification.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication includes one of a number of pending moves, a number of won games, a number of lost games, a number of rematches available, a number of newly initiated games, a game name listing, a number of game session identifiers, and a number of pending messages.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification configuration includes a frequency of notification indicator, a notification schedule, and the user identifier being associated with at least one platform queue, the method further comprising:

analyzing the frequency of notification indicator and the notification schedule;

responsive to analyzing the frequency of notification indicator and the notification schedule, determining a next transmission of the gameplay notification;

responsive to the analyzing and the determining of the next notification, ensuring a predetermined maximum number of notifications to a client device is not exceeded; and

subsequent to transmitting the gameplay notification, purging the corresponding at least one platform queue of any indications of gameplay action corresponding to the user identifier.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein each gameplay indication is a facet of the gameplay notification, the method further comprising, subsequent to merging the indication, inserting a user-selectable element per facet of gameplay notification content, which, upon selection, directs a terminal session associated with the user identifier to a game session corresponding to the respective facet of the gameplay notification content.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing, in the notification configuration, notification information received from a further client device associated with the user identifier and having a further client device platform type, the notification information pertaining to the further client device and including a corresponding notification specification including at least one of a frequency of notification indicator, a notification schedule, and a platform identifier; and

when a platform queue corresponding to the further client device platform type of the further client device does not exist, creating a corresponding platform queue.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing, in the notification configuration, notification information received from a further client device associated with the user identifier, the notification information including at least one further client device platform type and a respective corresponding notification specification including at least one of a frequency of notification indicator, a notification schedule, and a platform identifier; and

when a platform queue corresponding to any one of the at least one further client device platform types does not exist, creating a corresponding platform queue.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the game server, an indication of a further client device corresponding to the user identifier and having a corresponding further client device platform type, the indication received upon a first use of the further client device in a gameplay session associated with the user identifier; and

when a platform queue corresponding to the further client device platform type of the further client device does not exist, creating a corresponding platform queue.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing an invitation to the at least one client device corresponding to the user identifier, the invitation prompting a user to subscribe to receive gameplay notifications, the invitation being provided to the at least one client device by at least one of a user-selectable element provided in a gameplay session, a user-selectable option in a listing of account settings, and an e-mail provided to the at least one client device.

10. A computer-readable storage medium embodying a set of instructions, that when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving, from a game server, an indication of a gameplay action associated with a user identifier;

responsive to receipt of the indication, routing the indication to at least one platform queue corresponding to a client device platform type, the routing specified by a notification configuration associated with the user identifier;

responsive to routing the indication to the at least one platform queue, generating a gameplay notification including the indication of the gameplay action; and

transmitting, according to the notification configuration, the gameplay notification from the respective at least one platform queue to at least one client device corresponding to the user identifier and having a client device platform type corresponding to the at least one platform queue.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise, prior to transmitting the gameplay notification, merging the indication with any prior indications associated with the user identifier in the respective at least one platform queue to produce the gameplay notification.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the indication includes one of a number of pending moves, a number of won games, a number of lost games, a number of rematches available, a number of newly initiated games, a game name listing, a number of game session identifiers, and a number of pending messages.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the notification configuration includes a frequency of notification indicator and a notification schedule per platform queue, the operations further comprising:

analyzing the frequency of notification indicator and the notification schedule;

responsive to analyzing the frequency of notification indicator and the notification schedule, determining a next notification of the gameplay notification;

responsive to the analyzing and the determining of the next notification, ensuring a predetermined maximum number of notifications to a client device is not exceeded; and

subsequent to transmitting the gameplay notification, purging the corresponding at least one platform queue of any indications of gameplay action corresponding to the user identifier.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein each gameplay indication is a facet of the gameplay notification and the operations further comprise:

subsequent to merging the indication, inserting a user-selectable element per facet of gameplay notification content, which, upon selection, directs a terminal session associated with the user identifier to a game session corresponding to the respective facet of the gameplay notification content.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise:

storing, in the notification configuration, notification information received from a further client device associated with the user identifier and having a further client device platform type, the notification information pertaining to the further client device and including a corresponding notification specification including at least one of a frequency of notification indicator, a notification schedule, and a platform identifier; and

when a platform queue corresponding to the further client device platform type of the further client device does not exist, creating a corresponding platform queue.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise:

storing, in the notification configuration, notification information received from a further client device associated with the user identifier, the notification information including at least one further client device platform type and a respective corresponding notification specification including at least one of a frequency of notification indicator, a notification schedule, and a platform identifier; and

when a platform queue corresponding to any one of the at least one further client device platform types does not exist, creating a corresponding platform queue.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving, from the game server, an indication of a further client device corresponding to the user identifier and having a corresponding further client device platform type, the indication received upon a first use of the further client device in a gameplay session associated with the user identifier; and

when a platform queue corresponding to the further client device platform type of the further client device does not exist, creating a corresponding platform queue.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise providing an invitation to the at least one client device corresponding to the user identifier, the invitation prompting a user to subscribe to receive gameplay notifications, the invitation being provided to the at least one client device by at least one of a user-selectable element provided in a gameplay session, a user-selectable option in a listing of account settings, and an e-mail provided to the client device.

19. A notification system comprising:

a notification server comprising;

a notification controller implemented by at least one processor and configured to receive an indication of a gameplay action from a game server and notification information from a client device, the indication of the gameplay action and the notification information associated with a user identifier;

a platform queue array communicatively coupled to the notification controller and configured, according to a notification configuration associated with the user identifier, to store the indication, the platform queue array including;

at least one platform queue corresponding to the user identifier, wherein each of the at least one platform queues includes;

a gameplay indicator storage configured to store the indication of the gameplay action,

a notification module communicatively coupled to the gameplay indicator storage and configured to transmit a gameplay notification, and

a configuration module communicatively coupled to the notification module and configured to generate the gameplay notification; and

a routing module communicatively coupled to the notification controller and the platform queue array and configured to route the indication to selective ones of the at least one platform queue corresponding to the user identifier within the platform queue array according to the notification configuration, and

a notification data storage module communicatively coupled to the notification controller and configured to store the notification information within the notification configuration.

20. The notification system of claim 19, wherein the notification configuration includes a frequency of notification indicator, a notification schedule, and the user identifier being associated with at least one platform queue, the configuration module being further configured to:

analyze the frequency of notification indicator and the notification schedule;

responsive to analyzing the frequency of notification indicator and the notification schedule, determine a next transmission of the gameplay notification;

responsive to the analysis and determination of the next notification, ensure a predetermined maximum number of notifications to a client device is not exceeded; and

subsequent to delivering the gameplay notification, purge the corresponding platform queue.