System and method for remote updates

• US 8,290,920 B2
• Filed: 09/09/2010
• Issued: 10/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zynga Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Zynga Incorporated
• Inventors: Mahajan, Amitt, Lu, Sifang, Rajlich, Luke Thomas, Wang, Timothy D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Spieler, William
• Application Number:
  US12/878,904
• Publication Number:
  US 20110320401A1
• Time in Patent Office: 768 Days
• Field of Search: 707/703, 700/91, 463/1
• US Class Current: 707/703
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/00 Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions gaming systems which provide a financial reward G07F17/32
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor

Abstract

In one embodiment, accessing, using a computing device, a batch file comprising a plurality of events generated by a remote game client application executing an instance of a computer-implemented game; accessing, in response to the batch file, a game state data object associated with the instance of the computer-implemented game, wherein the game state data object includes one or more game state parameters formatted as serialized unstructured data; parsing the game state data object to identify the one or more game state parameters; processing the plurality of events in the batch file against game logic to update one or more of the game state parameters; re-serializing the one or more game state parameters into an updated game state data object; and storing the game state data object in a memory cache.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

accessing, using a computing device, a batch file transmitted after a threshold period of time by a remote game application executing an instance of a computer-implemented game, wherein the batch file includes a plurality of events generated by the remote game client application;

accessing, in response to the batch file, a game state data object associated with the instance of the computer-implemented game, wherein the game state data object is a Binary Large Object (BLOB) and includes one or more game state parameters formatted as serialized unstructured data;

parsing the game state data object to identify the one or more game state parameters;

processing the plurality of events in the batch file against game logic to update one or more of the game state parameters;

re-serializing the one or more game state parameters into an updated game state data object; and

storing the game state data object in a memory cache for subsequent asynchronous processing to update a database that persistently stores the game state data object as a BLOB.

2. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising:

assigning a unique identifier to the updated game state data object;

storing the unique identifiers in a queue associated with a database;

asynchronously processing each of the identifiers in the queue to update data stored in the database, wherein processing one of the identifiers comprises;

retrieving the updated game state data object identified by the identifier from the memory cache; and

storing the updated game state data object in the database.

3. The method recited in claim 2, wherein:

the database is partitioned into a plurality of sections;

the data stored in the database are divided into a plurality of groups; and

each of the sections of the database is used to store one or more of the groups of data.

4. The method recited in claim 1, wherein:

the batch file is compressed; and

parsing the batch file comprises uncompressing the batch file.

5. A system, comprising:

a memory comprising instructions executable by one or more processors; and

one or more processors coupled to the memory and operable to execute the instructions, the one or more processors being operable when executing the instructions to;

access a batch file transmitted after a threshold period of time by a remote game application executing an instance of a computer-implemented game,

wherein the batch file includes a plurality of events generated by the remote game client application;

access, in response to the batch file, a game state data object associated with the instance of the computer-implemented game, wherein the game state data object is a Binary Large Object (BLOB) and includes one or more game state parameters formatted as serialized unstructured data;

parse the game state data object to identify the one or more game state parameters;

process the plurality of events in the batch file against game logic to update one or more of the game state parameters;

re-serialize the one or more game state parameters into an updated game state data object; and

store the game state data object in a memory cache for subsequent asynchronous processing to update a database that persistently stores the game state data object as a BLOB.

6. The system of claim 5, further comprising instructions operable to, when executed, cause the one or more processors to:

assign a unique identifier to the updated game state data object;

store the unique identifiers in a queue associated with a database;

asynchronously process each of the identifiers in the queue to update data stored in the database, wherein processing one of the identifiers comprises;

retrieve the updated game state data object identified by the identifier from the memory cache; and

store the updated game state data object in the database.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein:

the database is partitioned into a plurality of sections;

the data stored in the database are divided into a plurality of groups; and

each of the sections of the database is used to store one or more of the groups of data.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein:

the batch file is compressed; and

parsing the batch file comprises uncompressing the batch file.

9. One or more computer-readable storage media, which are non-transitory, embodying software operable when executed by one or more computing devices to:

access a batch file transmitted after a threshold period of time by a remote game application executing an instance of a computer-implemented game, wherein the batch file includes a plurality of events generated by the remote game client application;

access, in response to the batch file, a game state data object associated with the instance of the computer-implemented game, wherein the game state data object is a Binary Large Object (BLOB) and includes one or more game state parameters formatted as serialized unstructured data;

parse the game state data object to identify the one or more game state parameters;

process the plurality of events in the batch file against game logic to update one or more of the game state parameters;

re-serialize the one or more game state parameters into an updated game state data object; and

store the game state data object in a memory cache for subsequent asynchronous processing to update a database that persistently stores the game state data object as a BLOB.

10. The media of claim 9, further comprising software operable when executed by the one or more computing devices to:

assign a unique identifier to the updated game state data object;

store the unique identifiers in a queue associated with a database;

asynchronously process each of the identifiers in the queue to update data stored in the database, wherein processing one of the identifiers comprises;

retrieve the updated game state data object identified by the identifier from the memory cache; and

store the updated game state data object in the database.

11. The media of claim 10, wherein:

the database is partitioned into a plurality of sections;

the data stored in the database are divided into a plurality of groups; and

each of the sections of the database is used to store one or more of the groups of data.

12. The media of claim 9, wherein:

the batch file is compressed; and

parsing the batch file comprises uncompressing the batch file.