System and method of facilitating external notifications for events that occur in a plurality of different virtual spaces

• US 8,439,759 B1
• Filed: 07/26/2012
• Issued: 05/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabam (Netmarble Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabam (Netmarble Corporation)
• Inventors: Mello, Stephanie, Yu, Wendy, Polamarasetty, Deepak
• Primary Examiner(s): Ahmed, Masud
• Application Number:
  US13/558,878
• Time in Patent Office: 292 Days
• Field of Search: 463 25- 42, 715/757
• US Class Current: 463/42
• 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 13/85 Providing additional services to players
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/87 Communicating with other players during game play, e.g. by e-mail or chat
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/532 using secure communication, e.g. by encryption, authentication
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5546 using player registration data, e.g. identification, account, preferences, game history
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/572 Communication between players during game play of non game information, e.g. e-mail, chat, file transfer, streaming of audio and streaming of video
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/575 for trading virtual items
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

External notifications related to virtual spaces, such as virtual game spaces may be provided to users. The notifications may provide an indication of events that have occurred in the virtual game spaces, offers of virtual goods, and/or other information related to the virtual game spaces. External notifications may be sent, for example, via email, text message, instant message (external from the virtual space), and/or through other external communication media. This may provide centralized and/or coordinated distribution of notifications for a plurality of different virtual game spaces.

Claims

1. A system configured to provide external notifications of events that take place within virtual spaces, the system comprising:

one or more processors configured to execute computer program modules, the computer program modules comprising;

a user module configured to manage user platform profiles associated with individual users, the user platform profiles include a first platform profile associated a first user, wherein the user platform profiles comprise;

information related to virtual game spaces the users participate in such that, responsive to the first user participating in a first virtual game space and a second virtual game space, the first platform profile includes information related to the participation of the first user in the first virtual game space and the second virtual game space; and

sets of notification information that facilitate determinations as to whether notifications related to the virtual game spaces should be sent to the users such that the first platform profile includes a first set of notification information that facilitates determinations as to whether notifications related to the first virtual game space and the second virtual game space should be transmitted to the first user;

a notification parameter module configured to receive notification parameter sets, wherein the individual notification parameter sets include notification parameters for separate notifications that are to be transmitted to the users, wherein the notification parameter module is configured to receive notification parameter sets for the first virtual game space and for the second virtual game space;

a notification determination module configured to determine whether notifications based on the individual notification parameters sets should be generated based on sets of notification information in the user platform profiles such that, responsive to reception of a first notification parameter set for a notification to the first user related to the first virtual game space, the notification determination module determines whether a first notification should be generated in accordance with the first notification parameter set based on the first set of notification information; and

a notification response tracking module configured to track responses to notifications sent to the users, and to add the results of such tracking to the user platform profiles, and

wherein the notification determination module is further configured such that the information in the first set of notification information on which the determination as to whether the first notification should generated is made includes results of tracking responses of the first user to one or more previous notifications.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the notification determination module is configured such that the information in the first set of notification information on which the determination as to whether the first notification should generated is made includes user configured settings.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the notification determination module is configured such that the information in the first set of notification information on which the determination as to whether the first notification should generated is made includes information related to notifications previously generated for the first user.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the information related to notifications previously generated for the first user includes information related to a previous notification regarding the second virtual game space.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the notification determination module is configured to manage an overall number of notifications generated for the first user.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the notification tracking module is configured such that tracking the response of the first user to a notification includes determining one or more of determining whether the notification was opened, determining whether or not the notification was deleted, or determining whether or not the first user performed an action in a corresponding virtual space based on the notification.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the user platform profiles correspond to a virtual environment from which the users access the virtual game spaces.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the virtual environment is a social networking website.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer program modules further comprise a notification generation module configured to generate notifications by causing the notifications to be transmitted to the users.

10. A computer-implemented method of providing external notifications of events that take place within virtual spaces, the method being implemented in a computer system that includes one or more physical processors, the system comprising:

managing user platform profiles associated with individual users, the user platform profiles include a first platform profile associated a first user, wherein the user platform profiles comprise;

information related to virtual game spaces the users participate in such that, responsive to the first user participating in a first virtual game space and a second virtual game space, the first platform profile includes information related to the participation of the first user in the first virtual game space and the second virtual game space; and

sets of notification information that facilitate determinations as to whether notifications related to the virtual game spaces should be sent to the users such that the first platform profile includes a first set of notification information that facilitates determinations as to whether notifications related to the first virtual game space and the second virtual game space should be transmitted to the first user, the first set of notification information including results of tracking responses of the first user to one or more previous notifications;

receiving a first notification parameter set that includes notification parameters for a first notification to the first user related to the first virtual game space;

determining whether the first notification should be generated in accordance with the first notification parameter set based on the first set of notification information including the results of tracking responses of the first user to one or more previous notifications.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the information in the first set of notification information on which the determination as to whether the first notification should generated is made includes user configured settings.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the information in the first set of notification information on which the determination as to whether the first notification should generated is made includes information related to notifications previously generated for the first user.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the information related to notifications previously generated for the first user includes information related to a previous notification regarding the second virtual game space.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the determination as to whether the first notification should be generated is made in the course of managing an overall number of notifications generated for the first user.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the first user platform profile corresponds to a virtual environment from which the first user accesses the virtual game spaces.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the virtual environment is a social networking website.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprises, responsive to a determination that the first notification should be generated, generating the first notification by causing the first notification to be transmitted to the first user.