Game execution environments

• US 8,641,528 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 02/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Gault, Andrew Buchanan, Pereira, Rui Filipe Andrade
• Primary Examiner(s): CUFF, MICHAEL A
• Application Number:
  US13/836,752
• Publication Number:
  US 20130217506A1
• Time in Patent Office: 326 Days
• Field of Search: 463/40, 463/42
• US Class Current: 463/40
• 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: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• 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 13/335 using Internet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/35 Details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/355 Performing operations on behalf of clients with restricted processing capabilities, e.g. servers transform changing game scene into an encoded video stream for transmitting to a mobile phone or a thin client
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/42 by mapping the input signals into game commands, e.g. mapping the displacement of a stylus on a touch screen to the steering angle of a virtual vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/537 using indicators, e.g. showing the condition of a game character on screen
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/71 using secure communication between game devices and game servers, e.g. by encrypting game data or authenticating players
• 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 13/795 for finding other players; for building a team; for providing a buddy list
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/86 Watching games played by other 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 2300/407 Data transfer via internet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/409 Data transfer via television network
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/51 Server architecture
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/538 for performing operations on behalf of the game client, e.g. rendering
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/552 for downloading to client devices, e.g. using OS version, hardware or software profile of the client device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45579 : I/O management, e.g. providing access to device drivers or storage
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/45595 : Network integration; Enabling network access in virtual machine instances
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45537 : Provision of facilities of other operating environments, e.g. WINE I/O emulation G06F13/105
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 : Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 : Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/61 : for supporting one-way streaming services, e.g. Internet radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 : Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 : Responding to QoS
• 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 67/131 : Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 : specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/136 : Incoming video signal characteristics or properties
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/42 : characterised by implementation details or hardware specially adapted for video compression or decompression, e.g. dedicated software implementation H04N19/635 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/44 : Decoders specially adapted therefor, e.g. video decoders which are asymmetric with respect to the encoder
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/46 : Embedding additional information in the video signal during the compression process H04N19/517, H04N19/68, H04N19/70 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/70 : characterised by syntax aspects related to video coding, e.g. related to compression standards

Abstract

Systems and methods for executing multiple video games, or other sources of video, include a game execution environment in which each game application is executed on the same operating system but within a virtual I/O shell. The virtual I/O shell includes virtual video, audio and input channels that allow each game application to operate as if it had dedicated drivers. In some embodiments, the systems and methods of the invention are used to provide video streams to a plurality of clients over the internet.

Claims

1. A method for switching between application environments, comprising:

receiving a first request to play a game from a first client device via a network;

executing an instance of a game application in response to receiving the request;

establishing a virtual shell to drive data between the instance of the game application and the first client device, the instance of the game application executed by an operating system, the operating system executed by a hardware device of a first application environment;

receiving a second request to play the game from a second client device via the network;

determining whether a quality of service associated with use of the first application environment is higher than a quality of service associated with use of a second application environment upon receiving the second request;

spawning an additional instance of the game application within the second application environment upon determining that the quality of service associated with use of the second application environment is higher than the quality of service associated with use of the first application environment;

synchronizing the additional instance of the game application within the second application environment with the instance of the game application within the first application environment; and

switching transfer of data between the game application and the first and second client devices to the second application environment from the first application environment after said synchronizing is performed.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing an additional virtual shell to drive data between the additional instance of the game application and the second client device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein switching transfer of data comprises switching streaming of video data from the virtual shell to the additional virtual shell.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein synchronizing comprises synchronizing streaming of video data from the first application environment to the first client device with streaming of video data from the second application environment to the second client device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first application environment includes a hardware device, the operating system, the instance of the game application, and the virtual shell, wherein the second application environment includes a hardware device, an additional operating system, the additional instance of the game application, and an additional virtual shell, the additional virtual shell used to drive data between the additional instance of the game application and the second client device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the second application environment includes an additional hardware device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first client device has a different IP address than an IP address of the second client.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the quality of service includes a size of an image of the game and a quality of the image.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein spawning the additional instance includes executing the additional instance of the game using an additional hardware device and an additional operating system.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual shell includes a virtual input channel driver, a virtual sound driver, a virtual video channel driver, a virtual control channel driver, or a combination thereof, wherein the additional virtual shell includes an additional virtual input channel driver, an additional virtual sound driver, an additional virtual video channel driver, an additional virtual control channel driver, or a combination thereof.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the virtual input channel driver provides inputs received from the first client device to the instance of the game application.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the virtual sound channel driver transfers sound data between the first client device and the instance of the application.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the virtual video channel driver transfers video data between the first client device and the instance of the application.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the virtual control channel driver transfers control commands from the first client device to the instance of the application to control the game.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoding instructions for switching between application environments that, in response to execution by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

receiving a first request to play a game from a first client device via a network;

executing an instance of a game application in response to receiving the request;

establishing a virtual shell to drive data between the instance of the game application and the first client device, the instance of the game application executed by an operating system, the operating system executed by a hardware device of a first application environment;

receiving a second request to play the game from a second client device via the network;

determining whether a quality of service associated with use of the first application environment is higher than a quality of service associated with use of a second application environment upon receiving the second request;

spawning an additional instance of the game application within the second application environment upon determining that the quality of service associated with use of the second application environment is higher than the quality of service associated with use of the first application environment;

synchronizing the additional instance of the game application within the second application environment with the instance of the game application within the first application environment; and

switching transfer of data between the game application and the first and second client devices to the second application environment from the first application environment after said synchronizing is performed.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise establishing an additional virtual shell to drive data between the additional instance of the game application and the second client device.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein switching transfer of data comprises switching streaming of video data from the first application environment to the second application environment.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein synchronizing comprises synchronizing streaming of video data from the first application environment to the first client device with streaming of video data from the second application environment to the second client device.

19. A system for switching between application environments, comprising:

a first application environment including a first hardware device; and

a second application environment including a second hardware device, the first hardware device configured to;

receive a first request to play a game from a first client device via a network;

execute an instance of a game application in response to receiving the request;

establish a virtual shell to drive data between the instance of the game application and the first client device, the instance of the game application executed by an operating system executed by the first hardware device;

receive a second request to play the game from a second client device via the network;

determine whether a quality of service associated with use of the second application environment is higher than a quality of service associated with use of the first application environment;

direct the second hardware device to spawn an additional instance of the game application within the second application environment upon determining that the quality of service associated with use of the second application environment is higher than the quality of service associated with use of the first application environment;

direct the second application environment to synchronize the additional instance of the game application within the second application environment with the instance of the game application within the first application environment; and

switch transfer of data between the game application and the first and second client devices to the second application environment from the first application environment after the synchronization is performed.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein each of the first and second hardware devices includes a central processing unit, a memory, a graphical processing unit, and an input/output device.