Method and system for merging disparate virtual universes entities

• US 7,921,128 B2
• Filed: 02/05/2008
• Issued: 04/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hamilton, II, Rick Allen, Harrison, Steven Mark, O'Connell, Brian Marshall, Pickover, Clifford Alan, Walker, Keith Raymond
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Hung Q
• Application Number:
  US12/026,045
• Publication Number:
  US 20090198664A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,155 Days
• Field of Search: 707/758, 707/769, 707/912, 715/706
• US Class Current: 707/758
• 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 13/77 involving data related to game devices or game servers, e.g. configuration data, software version or amount of memory
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5533 using program state or machine event data, e.g. server keeps track of the state of multiple players on in a multiple player game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5586 for enforcing rights or rules, e.g. to prevent foul play
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/912 Applications of a database

Abstract

A migration tool for merging disparate virtual universes by selecting a source region or source account, selecting a destination edge or destination account, retrieving and storing virtual universe information for the source region or account, inserting the virtual universe resources of the source region or account into the destination region or account, activating the inserted resources, and deleting the source resources from the source region or account.

Claims

1. An automated method comprising:

selecting, using a computer system, one or more region edges from each of a first virtual universe region and a second virtual universe region, wherein the first virtual universe region is disparate from the second virtual universe region, and are not associated together by shared software or hardware components;

instructing, by the computer system, a source virtual universe grid to lock the first virtual universe region to form a first locked virtual universe region corresponding to at least one edge among selected one or more region edges, said lock preventing avatars entering or exiting the first locked virtual universe region and preventing changes to resources in the first locked virtual universe region;

retrieving, from the source virtual universe grid, data and resource information for the first locked virtual universe region;

storing the data and resource information retrieved from the source virtual universe grid in a temporary table;

sending a delete query to the source virtual universe grid to delete the data and resource information in the source virtual universe grid;

sending an insert query to a destination virtual universe grid that contains the second virtual universe region, wherein the insert query includes the data and resource information stored in the temporary table; and

stitching, by the computer system, the first virtual universe region to the second virtual universe region in the destination virtual universe grid, wherein the stitching is a three-dimensional geometric merging of the first virtual universe region to the second virtual universe region along the at least one edge.

2. The method as set forth in claim 1 further comprising repeating said steps of selecting, instructing, retrieving, storing, deleting, inserting, and stitching updating for a plurality of source virtual universe grids and one or more destination virtual universe grids.

3. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the one or more region edges comprise one or more coordinate lines forming a boundary between said source virtual universe grid and said destination virtual universe grid.

4. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the selection of the one or more region edges is performed by automatic comparison of said source virtual universe grid and said destination virtual universe grid to determine an optimal match boundary.

5. The method as set forth in claim 4 wherein said optimal match boundary is determined using minimization of landscape interpolation.

6. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said lock comprises teleporting any avatars that are in said first virtual universe region, in response to instructing a source virtual universe grid to lock the first virtual universe region.

7. A computer system for merging disparate virtual universe regions, the computer system comprising:

one or more processors, one or more computer-readable memories and one or more computer-readable, tangible storage devices;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to select one or more region edges from each of a first virtual universe region and a second virtual universe region, wherein the first virtual universe region is disparate from the second virtual universe region, and are not associated together by shared software or hardware components;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to instruct a source virtual universe grid to lock the first virtual universe region to form a first locked virtual universe region corresponding to at least one edge among selected one or more region edges, said lock preventing avatars entering or exiting the first locked virtual universe region and preventing changes to resources in the first locked virtual universe region;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to retrieve, from the source virtual universe gird, data and resource information for the first locked virtual universe region;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to store the data and resource information retrieved from the source virtual universe grid in a temporary table;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to send a delete query to the source virtual universe grid to delete the data and resource information in the source virtual universe grid;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to send an insert query to a destination virtual universe grid that contains the second virtual universe region, wherein the insert query includes the data and resource information stored in the temporary table; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to stitch the first virtual universe region to the second virtual universe region in the destination virtual universe grid, wherein the stitching is a three-dimensional geometric merging of the first virtual universe region to the second virtual universe region along the at least one edge.

8. The computer system of claim 7, wherein the one or more region edges comprise one or more coordinate lines forming a boundary between the source virtual universe grid and the destination virtual universe grid, and the selection of the one or more region edges is performed by automatic comparison of the source virtual universe grid and the destination virtual universe grid to determine a match boundary.

9. A data processing system comprising:

a bus;

a storage device connected to the bus, wherein computer usable code is located in the storage device;

a communication unit connected to the bus; and

a processing unit connected to the bus, wherein the processing unit executes the computer usable code for merging disparate virtual universe regions;

the processing unit further executes the computer usable code to;

select one or more region edges from each of a first virtual universe region and a second virtual universe region, wherein the first virtual universe region is disparate from the second virtual universe region, and are not associated together by shared software or hardware components;

instruct a source virtual universe grid to lock a first virtual universe region to form a first locked virtual universe region corresponding to at least one edge among selected one or more region edges, the lock preventing avatars entering or exiting the first locked virtual universe region and preventing changes to resources in the first locked virtual universe region;

retrieve, from the source virtual universe gird, data and resource information for the first locked virtual universe region;

store the data and resource information retrieved from the source virtual universe grid in a temporary table;

send a delete query to the source virtual universe grid to delete the data and resource information in the source virtual universe grid;

send an insert query to a destination virtual universe grid that contains the second virtual universe region, wherein the insert query includes the data and resource information stored in the temporary table; and

stitch the first virtual universe region to the second virtual universe region in the destination virtual universe grid, wherein the stitching is a three-dimensional geometric merging of the first virtual universe region to the second virtual universe region along the at least one edge.

10. The data processing system of claim 9, wherein the processing unit further executes the computer usable code to teleport any avatars that are in the first locked virtual universe region, in response to instructing a source virtual universe grid to lock the first virtual universe region.