Managing participants in an online session

• US 9,762,631 B2
• Filed: 05/21/2014
• Issued: 09/12/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment America LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Chatani, Masayuki, Van Datta, Glen
• Primary Examiner(s): Blair, Douglas
• Application Number:
  US14/283,959
• Publication Number:
  US 20140256449A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,210 Days
• Field of Search: 709227, 709205
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/335 using Internet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/34 using peer-to-peer connections
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/35 Details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/358 Adapting the game course according to the network or server load, e.g. for reducing latency due to different connection speeds between clients
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/79 involving player-related data, e.g. identities, accounts, preferences or play histories
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/795 for finding other players; for building a team; for providing a buddy list
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/208 for storing personal settings or data of the player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/407 Data transfer via internet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/408 Peer to peer connection
• 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 2300/535 for monitoring, e.g. of user parameters, terminal parameters, application parameters, network parameters
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5533 using program state or machine event data, e.g. server keeps track of the state of multiple players on in a multiple player game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5546 using player registration data, e.g. identification, account, preferences, game history
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/556 Player lists, e.g. online players, buddy list, black list
• 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: H04L 12/185 with management of multicast group membership
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1048 : Departure or maintenance mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1051 : Group master selection mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 : Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 : Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 : Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 : in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

The present invention relates to an application that is configured to be operated in a multi-participant environment on a computer network. The application manages participants in an online session of a multi-user application so that if one of the participants exits the session, the session can continue without interruption. The application initiates an online session of the multi-user application, wherein the online session includes two or more participants comprised of network computers that are communicatively linked to a computer network. If the application detects that a first participant has disconnected from the online session, wherein the first participant is responsible for managing certain managerial functionality associated with the running of the multi-user application, then the application broadcasts a notification to existing participants of the online session over the communication network, thereby notifying the existing participants that the first participant has disconnected from the online session. The initiating application then re-assigns the functionality associated with the first participant to an existing participant of the online session. The participants can be communicating in a peer-to-peer arrangement or can be performing server duties in a client-server arrangement.

Claims

1. A method for managing an online session, the method comprising:

establishing an online session between a plurality of computing devices, each computing device associated with an identifier;

assigning one or more tasks to each of the plurality of computing devices;

maintaining a table stored in database memory, wherein the table tracks the identifier of each computing device in association with the one or more tasks assigned to the computing device;

detecting that one of the computing devices has exited the online session based on a failure to receive a response from the computing device after a pre-determined period, the exited computing device associated with an identifier;

identifying that the exited computing device had been assigned at least one of the tasks based on the identifier of the exited computing device as found in the maintained table; and

re-assigning the at least one of the tasks that had been assigned to the exited computing device to another of the plurality of computing devices, wherein the maintained table tracks the re-assigned tasks in association with an identifier of the reassigned computing device, and wherein each of computing devices remaining in the online session share one or more copies of the maintained table.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein re-assigning the at least one of the tasks is based on at least one of network bandwidth capability, processing capability, technical specification, resource availability, or geographic location of the re-assigned computing device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising giving a priority to the reassigned computing device based on at least one of network bandwidth capability, processing capability, and location.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the reassigned computing device is given the priority based on having at least one of largest bandwidth capability relative to other remaining computing devices, highest processing capability relative to the other remaining computing devices, most highly suited technical specifications, highest resource availability, and a location nearest a centralized physical location relative to physical locations of the other remaining computing devices.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein re-assigning the at least one of the tasks is based on user-specified preferences respectively associated with each of the computing devices remaining in the session.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the user-specified preferences include desire to be assigned a specified task or desire for another computing device to be assigned the specified task.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the maintained table further tracks at least one of scores from an online game, time of a gaming session, location of items in the online game, and location of a participant in the online game.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the reassigned task includes filtering a communication message.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising assigning the respective identifier to each of the computing devices in the online session.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the assigned tasks include application-specific functions, and wherein the application-specific functions are specific to a type of application.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising broadcasting a notification to the remaining computing devices upon detection that the exited computing device has exited the online session.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising broadcasting a request regarding reassignment of the tasks assigned to the exited computing device.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein re-assigning the at least one of the tasks is random.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein re-assigning the at least one of the tasks is based on order of identifiers in the maintained table.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending an invitation to at least one computing device that is not in the online session.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising maintaining a list of computing devices not in the online session, wherein the invited computing device is selected from the list.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising pausing the online session until the invited computing device has joined.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, having embodied thereon a program executable by a processor to perform a method for managing an online session, the method comprising:

establishing an online session between a plurality of computing devices, each computing device associated with an identifier;

assigning one or more tasks to each of the plurality of computing devices;

maintaining a table stored in database memory, wherein the table tracks the identifier of each computing device in association with the one or more tasks assigned to the computing device;

detecting that one of the computing devices has exited the online session based on a failure to receive a response from the computing device after a pre-determined period, the exited computing device associated with an identifier;

identifying that the exited computing device had been assigned at least one of the tasks based on the identifier of the exited computing device as found in the maintained table; and

re-assigning the at least one of the tasks that had been assigned to the exited computing device to another of the plurality of computing devices, wherein the maintained table tracks the re-assigned tasks in association with an identifier of the reassigned computing device, and wherein each of computing devices remaining in the online session share one or more copies of the maintained table.