Methods and apparatus for distributed gaming over a mobile device

• US 10,828,571 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2019
• Issued: 11/10/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Winview IP Holdings LLC
• Original Assignee: WinView Incorporated (GameSquare Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lockton, David B., Berner, Mark K., Micheli, Mark J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuff, Michael A
• Application Number:
  US16/262,462
• Publication Number:
  US 20190160383A1
• Time in Patent Office: 650 Days
• Field of Search: 463 42, 463 1, 463 29, 463 40
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/332 using wireless networks, e.g. cellular phone networks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/35 Details of game servers
• 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 13/75 Enforcing rules, e.g. detecting foul play or generating lists of cheating 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 13/79 involving player-related data, e.g. identities, accounts, preferences or play histories
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/798 for assessing skills or for ranking players, e.g. for generating a hall of fame computing the game score A63F13/46
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/92 Video game devices specially adapted to be hand-held while playing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/406 Transmission via wireless network, e.g. pager or GSM
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/535 for monitoring, e.g. of user parameters, terminal parameters, application parameters, network parameters
• 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: A63F 2300/558 by assessing the players' skills or ranking
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5586 for enforcing rights or rules, e.g. to prevent foul play

Abstract

A system and method are provided for updating game participants. In some embodiments, the participants receive game control information via a one-way broadcast. The method selects a set of sampling participants from the set of all participants of a game. In some embodiments, the selection occurs prior to the start of the game. The method of some embodiments establishes a two-way connection between a server and each of the sampling participants. For some embodiments, the two-way connection is realtime. The method continuously maintains the two-way connection throughout the game. During each discrete game period, the method receives from a sampling participant, data for the sampling participant'"'"'s game period performance. Based on the received data, the method determines the performance for the game period and broadcasts this information to a non-sampling participant. A non-sampling participant is a participant who was not selected for the set of sampling participants. In some embodiments, the non-sampling participant determines a standing relative to the other participants in the game event. Some embodiments provide a method and system for detecting unusual performance in a game. The game has a participant. The method calculates for the participant an average performance level. Based on the average performance level, the method tracks for the participant a participant improvement factor and stores the participant improvement factor. The method compares the participant improvement factor to a threshold value.

Claims

1. A system for updating game participants, the system comprising:

a server to host a game implemented in real-time, wherein the server is configured to generate sampling data based on performance information received from one or more participants; and

a mobile device, having a connection with the server, to receive a broadcast from the server,

wherein the mobile device determines if a trigger event has occurred based on the server broadcast,

wherein the server records data for ongoing game play on the mobile device if the trigger event occurred, and

wherein the sampling data is based on performance information received from one or more sampling participants, and further wherein the game is implemented in real-time, including an acknowledgment by the server which is received by the mobile device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the connection is realtime.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a first set of data, wherein the mobile device uploads the first set of data over the connection.

4. The system of claim 3, further comprising a second set of data, wherein the server broadcasts the second set of data to the mobile device over a one-way connection.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the second set of data is based on the uploaded first set of data.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the one-way broadcast comprises a histogram.

7. The system of claim 3, further comprising a second set of data, wherein the server broadcasts the second set of data to the mobile device over a multi-cast and/or broadcast connection.

8. A server for updating game participants, the server comprising:

a communication layer for providing connections through a network, the communication layer further comprising;

a plurality of connections between a plurality of mobile devices and the server;

wherein the connections are updated with sampling data based on performance information related to a game implemented in real-time received from one or more sampling participants,

wherein the one or more sampling participants are a subset of the game participants,

wherein the plurality of mobile devices determine if a trigger event has occurred based on a server broadcast, and

wherein the server records data for ongoing game play on the plurality of mobile devices if the trigger event occurred.

9. The server of claim 8, further comprising:

a master layer for hosting the game, wherein data received by using the connections are processed by the master layer.

10. The server of claim 8, wherein the connections are selected by the server.

11. The server of claim 8, wherein the server comprises a cluster.

12. The server of claim 8, further comprising a connection to a mobile device.