Communication hub for video game development systems having a video game development tool and video game platforms with communication libraries

• US 8,176,124 B2
• Filed: 12/04/2008
• Issued: 05/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Disney Enterprises Incorporated (The Walt Disney Company)
• Original Assignee: Disney Enterprises Incorporated (The Walt Disney Company)
• Inventors: Graham, Fraser, Thomsen, Bryce
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Haresh N
• Application Number:
  US12/328,619
• Publication Number:
  US 20100144443A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,251 Days
• Field of Search: 709/205, 709217-228, 463/42, 725/62, 725/133, 714/46
• US Class Current: 709/205
• 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 13/31 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 13/60 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 2300/513 server hierarchy, e.g. local, regional, national or dedicated for different tasks, e.g. authenticating, billing
• 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 2300/6009 for importing or creating game content, e.g. authoring tools during game development, adapting content to different platforms, use of a scripting language to create content

Abstract

A video game development system for enhancing communications between development tools and video game platforms or running games. The system includes a communications hub module running on a computer or server and communicatively linked with first and second video game platforms to allow the communications hub module to forward messages to and receive messages from the game platforms. Memory accessible by the communications hub module stores communication data sets or libraries controlling communications with the game platforms. A video game development tool is provided in the system and is communicatively linked with the communications hub module. The development tool transmits messages formatted based on a client-side communications library defining communications with the hub module. The hub module receives the transmitted messages, generates game platform messages from the received messages based on the platform communication libraries, and forwards the game platform messages to the first and second video game platforms.

Claims

1. A video game development system facilitating communications with at least first and second video game platforms based on at least first and second communication libraries, respectively, comprising:

a communications hub module running on a hub server communicatively linked with the first and second video game platforms;

memory accessible by the communications hub module storing the first and second communication libraries; and

a video game development tool running on a computer system and communicatively linked with the communications hub module, the video game development tool transmitting messages configured based on a client-side communications library providing communication protocols for the communications hub module,

wherein the communications hub module receives the transmitted messages, generates first and second game platform messages from the received messages based on the first and second communication libraries, respectively, and forwards the game platform messages to the first and second video game platforms,

wherein the first game platform messages have differing format than the second game platform messages,

wherein the messages transmitted by the video game development tool include game data for a video game running on the first and second video game platforms,

wherein the game platform messages are forwarded to both the first and the second video game platforms,

wherein the communications hub module processes each of the messages transmitted by the video game development tool to determine a list of recipients for each of the game platform messages,

wherein the list of recipients is determined based on a set of addressees provided in the messages transmitted by the video game development tool,

wherein the video game development system further includes a second video came development tool linked with the communications hub module, and

wherein the second video game development tool is specified in the set of addressees or is placed on the list of recipients based on the came data in the transmitted messages.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the list of recipients is determined from a list of clients registered with the communications hub module to receive messages from video game development tools and wherein the registered clients include subsystems of games running upon the first and second video game platforms.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the video game development tool uses a single communications socket to send the transmitted messages to both the first and second video game platforms via the communications hub module.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the communications hub module provides a communication interface between the video game development tool and the first and second video game platforms including maintaining communication sockets to the first and second video game platforms and implementing protocols in the first and second communication libraries.

5. A communication method for a video game development system, comprising:

providing a communication hub application on a computer linked to a communications network;

with the communication hub application, receiving a message from a game development tool running on a developer workstation;

identifying message recipients for the received message in the video game development system;

processing the received message based on communications libraries corresponding to each of the identified message recipients to form a set of recipient-specific messages, whereby the recipient-specific messages are in two or more configurations associated with corresponding ones of the identified message recipients;

transmitting the recipient-specific messages from the computer running the communication hub application to the identified message recipients; and

receiving a second message from a second game development tool running in the video game development system,

wherein the messages received from the game development tool and the second game development tool have a single configuration defined by a set of hub application communications data,

wherein the configurations of the received messages differ from at least one of the configurations of the recipient-specific messages, and

wherein the second received message comprises a list of addressees including the game development tool running on the developer workstation.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the message received from the game development tool has a configuration defined by a set of hub application communications data and wherein the configuration of the received message differs from at least one of the configurations of the recipient-specific messages.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the set of hub application communications data is stored in memory on the developer workstation for access by the game development tool.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the identifying of the message recipients comprises registering a set of clients including instances of a video game running on a set of video game platforms and further comprises determining from game data content in the received message a subset of the registered clients to identify as the message recipients.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the set of clients includes subsystems of the video game instances affected by modifications to game data in the game data content in the received message.