Arrangement for building and operating human-computation and other games

• US 9,120,017 B2
• Filed: 02/08/2012
• Issued: 09/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Chickering, David M., Law, Edith, Mityagin, Anton
• Primary Examiner(s): HUYNH, CONG LAC T
• Application Number:
  US13/368,848
• Publication Number:
  US 20120135809A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,301 Days
• Field of Search: 715/237, 463/42
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• 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 2300/6009 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/221 Parsing markup language streams streaming G06F40/149

Abstract

A game description language is provided for human computation games, as well as a game platform or generator component that can generate the code base for the game. The game description language and schema framework can be used to represent the game logic and synchronization patterns of a human computation game. The automated code generation tool takes a file, e.g., a file made from the above game description language, or the like, as an input and generates a code base for the corresponding human computation game. These tools allow a prototype of a human computation game to be generated within minutes.

Claims

1. A method of constructing human computation web-based games, comprising:

creating a markup language schema that includes a game states element that describes the states and synchronization points of a multi-player game and that specifies a game state machine, the game state machine including a set of game states that each correspond to a union of all players'"'"' states and to a set of events that causes transitions between game states, the game states machine being usable to synchronize players'"'"' actions;

analyzing the created markup language schema; and

generating code based on results of the analyzing.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the schema includes a bot element that is employable as an opponent against a human player in a human computation game.

3. The method of claim 1, in which the markup language schema further includes a game element, the game element including a number of players element, a game time element, a player states element, and the game states element.

4. The method of claim 3, in which the game element further includes a database element.

5. The method of claim 3, in which the player states element includes a set of player states and a set of transitions between player states.

6. The method of claim 1, in which the game states element includes a set of game states representing different phases of the game and a set of events that cause transitions between game states.

7. The method of claim 6, in which each different phase corresponds to a union of all players'"'"' states allowed in the phase.

8. The method of claim 1, in which the markup language is implemented in XML.

9. A system for constructing human computation web-based games, the system comprising a memory device and one or more processors to execute instructions stored in the memory device to:

create a markup language schema that includes a game states element that describes the states and synchronization points of a multi-player game and that specifies a game state machine, the game state machine including a set of game states that each correspond to a union of all players'"'"' states and to a set of events that causes transitions between game states, the game states machine being usable to synchronize players'"'"' actions;

analyze the created markup language schema; and

generate code based on a result of analysis of the created markup language schema.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the schema includes a bot element that is employable as an opponent against a human player in a human computation game.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the markup language schema further includes a game element, the game element including a number of players element, a game time element, a player states element, and the game states element.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the game element further includes a database element.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the player states element includes a set of player states and a set of transitions between player states.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the game states element includes a set of game states representing different phases of the game and a set of events that cause transitions between game states.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein each different phase corresponds to a union of all players'"'"' states allowed in the phase.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein the markup language is implementable in XML.