Scalable game space

• US 9,959,145 B1
• Filed: 07/29/2008
• Issued: 05/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gershon, Alexander, Montz, Allen Brady, Hay, Owen D., Wakashige, Wade Kiyoshi, Quek, Karen Hwei M., Rogers, III, Charles S., Werbel, Frederick J., Gupta, Diwakar
• Primary Examiner(s): MADAMBA, CLIFFORD B
• Application Number:
  US12/182,003
• Time in Patent Office: 3,563 Days
• Field of Search: 705 14
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/505 considering the load
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5083 Techniques for rebalancing the load in a distributed system
• 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 17/3262 Player actions which determine the course of the game, e.g. selecting a prize to be won, outcome to be achieved, game to be played
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3276 wherein the players compete, e.g. tournament
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/19 at layers above the network layer network arrangements for networked applications for scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60

Abstract

Users are allowed to communicate with a server via a local client even when the server experiences an abnormal peak of traffic. The local client is configured to send a new connection request only after a specified time interval passes from a previous connection. The local client presents content, such as a game, that makes it appear to the user as if the user is interacting with the server while the local client is waiting for reconnection to the server. The user interactions during the time interval are locally stored and later provided to the server for further process.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, by a Web server, an initial request from a user device of a user to access electronic content of the Web server;

in response to receiving the initial request, determining, by the Web server, if a threshold number of users currently accessing the electronic content is reached;

in response to a determination that the threshold number of users currently accessing the electronic content is reached, preventing access, by the user, of the electronic content;

transmitting interactive content, that is to be presented by a client application executed on the user device, and time information from the Web server to the user device of the user in response to the initial request and the determination that the threshold number of users currently accessing the electronic content is reached, the time information indicating to the user device an amount of time, based at least in part on traffic at the Web server, before transmitting a next request for connection to the Web server, the interactive content configured to change based at least in part on user interaction with the interactive content; and

establishing a connection with the user device by the Web server allowing access to the electronic content based at least in part on the amount of time indicated by the time information and the interactive content, the interactive content including a plurality of interactive activities involving other users wherein, after successfully completing the plurality of interactive activities involving other users, the user is no longer prevented from accessing the electronic content.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of interactive activities involving other users includes one or more rounds, each round offering an award for winning, and wherein accessing the electronic content includes at least one offer including one or more items available from an electronic marketplace.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein if the user accepts the award, the user is prevented from accessing the electronic content instead of establishing the connection with the user device by the Web server allowing access of the electronic content.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein if the user fails a round of the plurality of interactive activities involving other users, the user is prevented from accessing the electronic content instead of establishing the connection with the user device by the Web server allowing access of the electronic content.

5. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

monitoring, by a computer server, first requests for accessing electronic content received at the computer server from a plurality of clients to determine if a threshold number of the plurality of clients currently accessing the electronic content is reached;

in response to a determination that the threshold number of clients currently accessing the electronic content is reached, preventing accessing the electronic content by at least transmitting, by the computer server, interactive content and time information to each client of the plurality of clients, the time information based at least in part on traffic at the computer server and indicating, to the plurality of clients, the amount of time before transmitting a next request for the next connections, the interactive content configured to change based at least in part on user interaction with the interactive content; and

allowing, by the computer server, a connection to access the electronic content, after an amount of time indicated by the time information elapses, for each of the respective clients of the plurality of clients that successfully completes an interactive activity involving other users that is included in the interactive content, the interactive activity involving other users selected to reduce a number of the plurality of clients that can access the electronic content at next connections.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising, allowing an initial connection from a client of the plurality of clients through which a particular user wants to participate in the interactive activity involving other users.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the interactive content is transmitted through the initial connection.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the client of the plurality of clients is a client application that is configured to present the interactive content to the particular user without communicating with the computer server.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the number of the plurality of clients to be reduced is determined based on capacity of the server and number of current users.

10. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, by a computer server, an initial request from a client of a user to access electronic content;

determining, by the computer server, if a threshold number of clients currently accessing the electronic content is reached;

in response to a determination that the threshold number of clients currently accessing the electronic content is reached, preventing access, by the user, of the electronic content;

transmitting, by the computer server, time information and content to the client of the user, the time information indicating to the client an amount of time, based at least in part on traffic at the computer server, before transmitting a next connection request to the computer server, the content configured to change based at least in part on user interaction with the content; and

allowing, by the computer server, the user to access the electronic content after the amount of time indicated by the time information elapses and a determination that the user has successfully completed a plurality of interactive activities involving other users that is included in the content such that a predetermined number of users is removed from attempting to access the electronic content at the amount of time indicated by the time information after the initial request.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising, informing the user that successful completion of the plurality of interactive activities is a precondition to accessing the electronic content.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the plurality of interactive activities involving other users includes one or more rounds, each round offering an award for winning.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein if the user accepts the award, the user is prevented from accessing the electronic content.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein if the user fails an activity of the plurality of interactive activities involving other users, the user is prevented from accessing the electronic content.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the predetermined number of users is estimated based on the capacity of the server providing the electronic content and the number of current users.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein if the user successfully accesses the electronic content, the user is enabled to participate in a promotion campaign provided in a game space.

17. A computer system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory device including instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

receive an initial request from a user device operated by a user to access electronic content;

determine if a threshold number of users currently accessing the electronic content is reached;

in response to a determination that the threshold number of users currently accessing the electronic content is reached, preventing accessing, by the user, access to the electronic content;

transmit time information and content to the user device operated by the user, the time information indicating to the user device an amount of time, based at least in part on the number of users currently accessing the electronic content, before transmitting a next request for a next connection to a server, the content configured to change based at least in part on user interaction with the content; and

allowing the user to access the electronic content after the amount of time indicated by the time information elapses and a determination that the user has successfully completed a plurality of interactive activities involving other users that is included in the content such that a number of users currently accessing the electronic content at the amount of time after the initial request is limited to a predetermined number.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the plurality of interactive activities includes one or more contest rounds.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the memory device further includes instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

adjust, dynamically, the number of contest rounds in the plurality of interactive activities based on a number of users removed from a and a number of new users in the game space; and

transmit information about the adjusted number of contest rounds to the user.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the predetermined number of users currently accessing the electronic content at the time interval after the initial request is determined based on a capacity of the server.

21. A computer program product embedded in a non-transitory computer readable medium, comprising:

program code for enabling a number of user devices operated by a number of users to submit requests to a server for accessing electronic content;

program code for monitoring the requests to determine when a number of users currently accessing the electronic content reaches a threshold level;

program code for, in response to a determination that the threshold level is reached, preventing accessing, by the number of users, to the electronic content;

program code for transmitting interactive content and time information to user devices of the number of users devices operated by users of the number of users submitting the requests to access the electronic content, the time information indicating to the user devices of the number of user devices an amount of time, based at least in part on the traffic associated with the server, before submitting second requests to access the server, the interactive content including a plurality of interactive activities involving other users selected to reduce the number of users currently accessing the electronic content and configured to change based at least in part on user interaction with the interactive content; and

program code for allowing a connection to the server to access the electronic content for each of the users of the number of users who successfully completes an activity of the plurality of interactive activities involving other users after the amount of time indicated by the time information has elapsed.

22. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the users are prevented from accessing the electronic content if the users do not successfully complete the plurality of interactive activities involving other users.