Method and system for mediating interactive services over a wireless communications network

• US 8,769,122 B2
• Filed: 12/01/2009
• Issued: 07/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Hutcheson, Doug, Robinson, Richard, Caliguri, Steven John
• Primary Examiner(s): VU, VIET DUY
• Application Number:
  US12/628,930
• Publication Number:
  US 20100173695A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,673 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/219, 709/223, 709/224, 709/227, 709/228, 709/250, 709/204, 709/205
• US Class Current: 709/228
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/332 using wireless networks, e.g. cellular phone networks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/335 using Internet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/352 involving special game server arrangements, e.g. regional servers connected to a national server or a plurality of servers managing partitions of the game world
• 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 2300/204 the platform being a handheld device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/406 Transmission via wireless network, e.g. pager or GSM
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/50 characterized by details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/534 for network load management, e.g. bandwidth optimization, latency reduction
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5546 using player registration data, e.g. identification, account, preferences, game history
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5566 by matching opponents or finding partners to build a team, e.g. by skill level, geographical area, background, play style
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3211 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3218 wherein at least part of the system is portable
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3223 Architectural aspects of a gaming system, e.g. internal configuration, master/slave, wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3237 about the players, e.g. profiling, responsible gaming, strategy/behavior of players, location of players
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3239 Tracking of individual players
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3241 Security aspects of a gaming system, e.g. detecting cheating, device integrity, surveillance computer security G06F21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3255 Incentive, loyalty and/or promotion schemes, e.g. comps, gaming associated with a purchase, gaming funded by advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3272 Games involving multiple players
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3295 : Games involving skill, e.g. dexterity, memory, thinking

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a method and system for controlling the state of an interactive application and controlling delivery of the interactive application to one or more users. The system of the present invention is a system for delivering an interactive application to one or more users of a communications network and may comprise an interactive application adapted to the communications network; a user access device adapted to receive said interactive application; control means for establishing parameters under which said interactive application is rendered on said user access device; and mediation means for establishing terms for the interaction between the at least one user and other users and the communications network.

Claims

1. A system for delivering an interactive application to one or more users of a communications network, comprising:

control means for establishing parameters under which said interactive application is rendered on a user access device based on at least one of capabilities of the user access device, a user skill level associated with the user access device or communication network parameters associated with the user access device, wherein the interactive application is adapted to the communication network and the user access device is adapted to receive the interactive application; and

mediation means for establishing terms for the interaction between the at least one user and other users and the communications network, wherein the mediation means for mediating the interactive application based on the established parameters regarding at least one of a level of play, the interaction between the at least one user and other users, spectral efficiency of the communication network, efficiency or features of the user access device, gaming experience of the one or more users, wherein the mediation means are further for initiating a game play including locating the other users, wherein locating includes one or more of retrieving user information and past history relating to each of the other users, retrieving game information, retrieving device information, and determining whether the device information includes location information.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the communications network further comprises a wireless communications network, wherein the communications network comprises a wireless communications network and said interactive application is transmitted between said user access device and the wireless communication network at less than full frame rate, and

wherein said user access device comprises one or more of a wireless phone, a personal digital assistant, a pager, and an email device, wherein said interactive application comprises more than about three degrees of freedom and resides on said user access device, wherein the latency related to the delivery of said interactive application is less than about 200 ms.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the mediation means for establishing terms for the interaction between the at least one user and other users and the communications network includes means for establishing a user skill level associated with the user access device, wherein the mediation means include notification means for causing the transmission of a notification to the user access device related to discrepancies in skill levels associated between two or more user access devices.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the control means for managing real-time state of a plurality of plays of the interactive application, and further for placing the one or more of the users into different communication networks as appropriate for game play based on information supplied by the mediation means or by the one or more users, and wherein the control means for using one or more user profiles from a player database for facilitating personalization of the interactive application, wherein a user profile comprises one or more of information relating to a user'"'"'s experience level, personalize messages, prompts, game hints, help files, genres, the user'"'"'s skill level, and the user'"'"'s training files.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the control means for managing a user'"'"'s access to the interactive application based on one or more of the user'"'"'s access device'"'"'s ability to support the interactive application, lack of processing speed, and software incompatibility, and the control means for altering an overall state of global degrees of freedom relating to the interactive application based on a change in play or field conditions including weather changes.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the control means having correction means for minimizing transmission errors during the delivery of the interactive application by performing block coding or convolutional coding, and wherein the control means for maintaining a persistent state of play sessions for facilitating resumption of one or more of the play sessions associated with one or more users at a later time, and wherein the control means comprise data loss prevention means for preventing data from being lost, wherein the data relates to user profiles or games sessions.

3. A method for synchronizing delivery of an interactive application to one or more users of wireless access devices over a wireless communications network further comprising a game server, comprising:

initiating a connection between the wireless access device and the game server over the wireless communications network;

synchronizing the each of the wireless access devices based on at least one of capabilities of the user access device, a user skill level associated with the user access device or communication network parameters associated with the user access device;

synchronizing at least one of the game server, transmission display of the interactive application, and a state of play between the users and the wireless communications network, wherein synchronizing, in real-time, the state of play includes identifying when one or more of the users in a first game state that is different from a second game state of the game server and synchronizing the first game state with the second game state, wherein synchronizing includes calculating, in real-time and facilitating each user to continuously experience the real-time state of play, where facilitating each user includes distributing information relating to the real-time state of play to each user or associating each user to a relevant game server; and

facilitating access to the interactive application by the users.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein initiating comprises:

logging on to the system;

locating other users;

retrieving player information about the users located; and

retrieving game information, and

wherein synchronizing further comprises supplying state information to a synchronization check timer that cooperates with a game timer to determine the intervals at which the network synchronizes the access devices, wherein synchronizing further comprises synchronizing, based on state information, time and length variances associated with one or more of the intervals, wherein the state information is provided the wireless access devices, and the variances occur based on at least one of type, length, complexity, and degrees of freedom associated with games being played.

6. A system for delivering an interactive application to one or more users of a communications network, comprising:

a control component, executed on a processor and memory, the control component to establish parameters under which an interactive application is rendered on a user access device based on at least one of capabilities of the user access device, a user skill level associated with the user access device or communication network parameters associated with the user access device; and

a selection component to establish terms for the interaction between the at least one user and other users and the communications network, wherein the selection component is further to mediate the interactive application based on the established parameters regarding at least one of a level of play, the interaction between the at least one user and other users, spectral efficiency of the communication network, efficiency or features of the user access device, gaming experience of the one or more users, wherein mediating includes initiating a game play including locating the other users, wherein locating includes one or more of retrieving user information and past history relating to each of the other users, retrieving game information, retrieving device information, and determining whether the device information includes location information.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the communications network further comprises a wireless communications network,

wherein the control component includes a component to modify color display data to minimize data transferred over the communication network, and wherein the control component is further to prevent access by the interactive application to one or more content based on associated capabilities of the user access device, and

wherein the selection component includes a notification component for causing the transmission of a notification to the user access device related to discrepancies in skill levels associated with two or more user access devices.

11. A method for delivering an interactive application to one or more users of a communications network, comprising:

establishing parameters under which the interactive application adapted to the communication network is rendered on a user access device based on at least one of capabilities of the user access, device, a user skill level associated with the user access device or communication network parameters associated with the user access device, wherein the user access device is adapted to receive the interactive application; and

establishing terms for the interaction between the at least one user and other users and the communications network, and mediating the interactive application based on the established parameters regarding at least one of a level of play, the interaction between the at least one user and other users, spectral efficiency of the communication network, efficiency or features of the user access device, gaming experience of the one or more users, wherein mediating includes initiating a game play including locating the other users, wherein locating includes one or more of retrieving user information and past history relating to each of the other users, retrieving game information, retrieving device information, and determining whether the device information includes location information.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the communications network further comprises a wireless communications network, wherein the communications network comprises a wireless communications network and said interactive application is transmitted between said user access device and the wireless communication network at less than full frame rate, and

wherein said user access device comprises one or more of a wireless phone, a personal digital assistant, a pager, and an email device, wherein said interactive application comprises more than about three degrees of freedom and resides on said user access device, wherein the latency related to the delivery of said interactive application is less than about 200 ms.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

establishing terms for the interaction between the at least one user and other users and the communications network includes establishing a user skill level associated with the user access device; and

causing the transmission of a notification to the user access device related to discrepancies in skill levels associated between two or more user access devices.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

managing real-time state of a plurality of plays of the interactive application, and further for placing the one or more of the users into different communication networks as appropriate for game play based on information supplied by the mediation means or by the one or more users; and

using one or more user profiles from a player database for facilitating personalization of the interactive application, wherein a user profile comprises one or more of information relating to a user'"'"'s experience level, personalize messages, prompts, game hints, help files, genres, the user'"'"'s skill level, and the user'"'"'s training files.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

managing a user'"'"'s access to the interactive application based on one or more of the user'"'"'s access device'"'"'s ability to support the interactive application, lack of processing speed, and software incompatibility;

altering an overall state of global degrees of freedom relating to the interactive application based on a change in play or field conditions including weather changes;

minimizing transmission errors during the delivery of the interactive application by performing block coding or convolutional coding; and

maintaining a persistent state of play sessions for facilitating resumption of one or more of the play sessions associated with one or more users at a later time, and wherein the control means comprise data loss prevention means for preventing data from being lost, wherein the data relates to user profiles or games sessions.

16. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which when executed by one or more processing devices, cause the one or more processing devices to perform one or more operations comprising:

establishing parameters under which an interactive application adapted to a communications network is rendered on a user access device based on at least one of capabilities of the user access, device, a user skill level associated with the user access device or communication network parameters associated with the user access device, wherein the user access device is adapted to receive the interactive application, wherein the interactive application is delivered to one or more users of the communications network; and

establishing terms for the interaction between the at least one user and other users and the communications network, and mediating the interactive application based on the established parameters regarding at least one of a level of play, the interaction between the at least one user and other users, spectral efficiency of the communication network, efficiency or features of the user access device, gaming experience of the one or more users, wherein mediating includes initiating a game play including locating the other users, wherein locating includes one or more of retrieving user information and past history relating to each of the other users, retrieving game information, retrieving device information, and determining whether the device information includes location information.

17. The machine-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the one or more operations further comprise:

establishing terms for the interaction between the at least one user and other users and the communications network includes establishing a user skill level associated with the user access device;

causing the transmission of a notification to the user access device related to discrepancies in skill levels associated between two or more user access devices;

managing real-time state of a plurality of plays of the interactive application, and further for placing the one or more of the users into different communication networks as appropriate for game play based on information supplied by the mediation means or by the one or more users; and

using one or more user profiles from a player database for facilitating personalization of the interactive application, wherein a user profile comprises one or more of information relating to a user'"'"'s experience level, personalize messages, prompts, game hints, help files, genres, the user'"'"'s skill level, and the user'"'"'s training files.

18. The machine-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the one or more operations further comprise:

managing a user'"'"'s access to the interactive application based on one or more of the user'"'"'s access device'"'"'s ability to support the interactive application, lack of processing speed, and software incompatibility;

altering an overall state of global degrees of freedom relating to the interactive application based on a change in play or field conditions including weather changes;

minimizing transmission errors during the delivery of the interactive application by performing block coding or convolutional coding; and

maintaining a persistent state of play sessions for facilitating resumption of one or more of the play sessions associated with one or more users at a later time, and wherein the control means comprise data loss prevention means for preventing data from being lost, wherein the data relates to user profiles or games sessions.

19. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which when executed by one or more processing devices, cause the one or more processing devices to perform one or more operations comprising synchronizing delivery of an interactive application to one or more users of wireless access devices over a wireless communications network further comprising a game server, wherein the one or more operations further comprise:

initiating a connection between the wireless access device and the game server over the wireless communications network;

synchronizing the each of the wireless access device(s) devices based on at least one of capabilities of the user access device, a user skill level associated with the user access device or communication network parameters associated with the user access device;

synchronizing at least one of the game server, transmission display of the interactive application, and a state of play between the users and the wireless communications network, wherein synchronizing, in real-time, the state of play includes identifying when one or more of the users in a first game state that is different from a second game state of the game server and synchronizing the first game state with the second game state, wherein synchronizing includes calculating, in real-time and facilitating each user to continuously experience the real-time state of play, where facilitating each user includes distributing information relating to the real-time state of play to each user or associating each user to a relevant game server; and

facilitating access to the interactive application by the users.

20. The machine-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the one or more operations further comprise:

logging on to the system;

locating other users;

retrieving player information about the users located; and

retrieving game information, and

wherein synchronizing further comprises supplying state information to a synchronization check timer that cooperates with a game timer to determine the intervals at which the network synchronizes the access devices, wherein synchronizing further comprises synchronizing, based on state information, time and length variances associated with one or more of the intervals, wherein the state information is provided the wireless access devices, and the variances occur based on at least one of type, length, complexity, and degrees of freedom associated with games being played.