Filtering messages in a distributed virtual world based on virtual space properties

• US 8,000,328 B1
• Filed: 05/22/2007
• Issued: 08/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qurio Holdings Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Qurio Holdings Incorporated
• Inventors: Walsh, Richard J., Kandekar, Kunal
• Primary Examiner(s): Moore, Jr.; Michael J
• Application Number:
  US11/752,004
• Time in Patent Office: 1,547 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/392
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/34 using peer-to-peer connections
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/35 Details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/63 by the player, e.g. authoring using a level editor
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/87 Communicating with other players during game play, e.g. by e-mail or chat
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/408 Peer to peer connection
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/51 Server architecture
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/53 details of basic data processing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5553 user representation in the game field, e.g. avatar
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/54 Organization of routing tables
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context

Abstract

A system and method are provided for filtering messages propagated among peer servers in a distributed virtual world. Each peer server hosts a virtual space within the virtual world and filters messages based on the state and properties of its virtual space. In order to propagate messages, messages originating in a virtual space are first provided to the peer server hosting that virtual space. The peer server propagates the messages to one or more of its neighboring peer servers hosting virtual spaces that neighbor its virtual space in the virtual world. These peer servers may then propagate the messages to their neighboring peer servers. When propagating the messages, the peer servers either apply filter rules to the messages or append filter rules to the messages in order to filter the messages based on the state and properties of the virtual spaces hosted by the peer servers.

Claims

1. A method for filtering messages propagated in a distributed virtual world formed by a plurality of peer servers each hosting a virtual space of a plurality of virtual worlds of the distributed virtual world, comprising:

receiving, at a neighboring peer server from the plurality of peer servers where the neighboring peer server hosts a first virtual space of the virtual world, a message from a sending peer server from the plurality of peer servers hosting a virtual space neighboring the virtual space hosted by the neighboring peer server in the virtual world;

identifying at least one filter rule for the message at the neighboring peer server; and

propagating the message based on the at least one filter rule for the message from the neighboring peer server.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing the at least one filter rule based on at least one of a group consisting of:

a state of the virtual space hosted by the neighboring peer server and a property of the virtual space hosted by the neighboring peer server.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein propagating the message comprises:

combining at least one routing rule defining at least one default message flow path for the message and the at least one filter rule to provide at least one combined rule; and

propagating the message based on the at least one combined rule.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein propagating the message comprises:

attaching the at least one filter rule to the message; and

propagating the message including the at least one filter rule attached thereto based on at least one routing rule defining at least one default message flow path for the message.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein propagating the message comprises:

propagating the message according to at least one routing rule defining at least one default message flow path for the message; and

propagating the at least one filter rule in association with the message.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying the at least one filter rule comprises generating the at least one filter rule in response to receiving the message.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein generating the at least one filter rule comprises:

identifying an affected area of the distributed virtual world in which the message is irrelevant based on a location of a source of the message within the distributed virtual world and at least one of a group consisting of;

a state of the virtual space hosted by the neighboring peer server and a property of the virtual space hosted by the neighboring peer server; and

generating the at least one filter rule based on the affected area.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying the at least one filter rule comprises selecting the at least one filter rule from a plurality of stored filter rules.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the plurality of stored filter rules were generated in response to receiving a plurality of previous messages.

10. The method of claim 8 further comprising generating the plurality of filter rules proactively prior to receiving the message.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying the at least one filter rule comprises, for each further neighboring peer server of the neighboring peer server in a default message flow path of the message:

identifying a filter rule for the neighboring peer server; and

propagating the message to the further neighboring peer server based on the filter rule.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the message is a message flow path setup message resulting in at least one default message flow path for a message type of the message.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

receiving, at the neighboring peer server, a second message from the sending peer server of the message type of the message; and

propagating the second message based on the at least one default message flow path for the message type.

14. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

receiving, at the neighboring peer server, a second message from the sending peer server of the message type of the message;

identifying at least one additional filter rule for the second message; and

propagating the second message based on the at least one default message flow path for the message type and the at least one additional filter rule.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein propagating the second message comprises:

combining at least one routing rule defining the at least one default message flow path for the message type and the at least one additional filter rule to provide at least one combined rule; and

propagating the second message based on the at least one combined rule.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein propagating the second message comprises:

attaching the at least one additional filter rule to the second message; and

propagating the second message including the at least one additional filter rule attached thereto based on at least one routing rule defining the at least one default message flow path for the message type.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein propagating the second message comprises:

propagating the second message according to at least one routing rule defining the at least one default message flow path for the message type; and

propagating the at least one additional filter rule in association with the second message.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one filter rule prevents propagation of the message to virtual objects located within at least one affected area of the distributed virtual world wherein the message is irrelevant due to at least one of a group consisting of:

a state of the virtual space hosted by the neighboring peer server and a property of the virtual space hosted by the neighboring peer server.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein the state of the virtual space comprises information identifying virtual objects within the virtual space and locations of the virtual objects within the virtual space.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein a property of the virtual space comprises at least one of the group consisting of:

information defining a terrain of the virtual space and information defining weather conditions within the virtual space.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one filter rule is user-defined.

22. The method of claim 1 further comprising updating the at least one filter rule.

23. A system comprising:

a communication interface communicatively coupling the system to a network; and

a control system associated with the communication interface and including a peer server hosting a virtual space of a distributed virtual world formed by a plurality of peer servers including the peer server each hosting a virtual space of the distributed virtual world, the peer server configured to;

receive a message from a sending peer server from the plurality of peer servers hosting a virtual space neighboring the virtual space of the peer server in the distributed virtual world;

identify at least one filter rule for the message; and

propagate the message based on the at least one filter rule for the message.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein the control system is further configured to provide the at least one filter rule based on at least one of a group consisting of:

a state of the virtual space hosted by the neighboring peer server and a property of the virtual space hosted by the neighboring peer server.

25. The system of claim 23 wherein in order to propagate the message, the peer server is further configured to:

combine at least one routing rule defining at least one default message flow path for the message and the at least one filter rule to provide at least one combined rule; and

propagate the message based on the at least one combined rule.

26. The system of claim 23 wherein in order to propagate the message, the peer server is further configured to:

attach the at least one filter rule to the message; and

propagate the message including the at least one filter rule attached thereto based on at least one routing rule defining at least one default message flow path for the message.

27. The system of claim 23 wherein in order to propagate the message, the peer server is further configured to:

propagate the message according to at least one routing rule defining at least one default message flow path for the message; and

propagate the at least one filter rule in association with the message.

28. The system of claim 23 wherein the peer server is further configured to generate the at least one filter rule in response to receiving the message.

29. The system of claim 28 wherein in order to generate the at least one filter rule, the peer server is further configured to:

identify an affected area of the distributed virtual world in which the message is irrelevant based on a location of a source of the message within the distributed virtual world and at least one of a group consisting of;

a state of the virtual space hosted by the neighboring peer server and a property of the virtual space hosted by the neighboring peer server; and

generate the at least one filter rule based on the affected area.

30. The system of claim 23 wherein in order to identify the at least one filter rule, the peer server is further configured to select the at least one filter rule from a plurality of stored filter rules.

31. The system of claim 30 wherein the plurality of stored filter rules were generated in response to receiving a plurality of previous messages.

32. The system of claim 30 wherein the peer server is further configured to generate the plurality of filter rules proactively prior to receiving the message.

33. The system of claim 23 wherein the at least one filter rule prevents propagation of the message to virtual objects located within at least one affected area of the virtual world wherein the message is irrelevant due to at least one of a group consisting of:

a state of the virtual space hosted by the neighboring peer server and a property of the virtual space hosted by the neighboring peer server.

34. The system of claim 23 wherein the at least one rule is user-defined.

35. The system of claim 23 wherein the control system is further configured to update the at least one filter rule.