Social matching of game players on-line

• US 20060135264A1
• Filed: 12/20/2005
• Published: 06/22/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Newson, Paul E., O'Kelley, Patrick W. II, Shaw, David, Fulton, William B.
• Granted Patent: US 9,375,641 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/35 Details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/537 using indicators, e.g. showing the condition of a game character on screen
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/795 for finding other players; for building a team; for providing a buddy list
• 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: A63F 2300/5586 for enforcing rights or rules, e.g. to prevent foul play

Abstract

A social matchmaking service selects matches of on-line game players based on personal/social characteristics of the players. The social matching service evaluates several criteria to obtain a list of available, socially compatible, game sessions. Criteria about the player include a player'"'"'s friends, positive feedback about the player, negative feedback about the player, games completed with other players, players to avoid, and the player'"'"'s gamer zone, country and language. Criteria about hosts of potentially compatible game sessions are also considered. Social matching utilizes a multi-pass approach, applying rules for prioritizing social criteria at each pass. The multi-pass approach starts with a narrow search and broadens the search at each successive pass. At each successive pass, sessions are added to the list of potential sessions until a reasonable number of sessions is achieved. Game sessions are assigned session values in accordance with affiliations between players.

Claims

1. A method for socially matching game players on-line, said method comprising:

receiving a plurality of affiliations between players;

determining a session value of at least one game session in accordance with said affiliations; and

providing at least one compatible game session in accordance with at least one determined game session value.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising determining if a game session is a compatible game session in accordance with at least one of:

a social rating of a player searching for a compatible game session;

a social rating of a player hosting a game session;

a gamer zone selected by said player searching for a compatible game session, a gamer zone being indicative of a range of socially acceptable game sessions;

a gamer zone selected by said player host a game session;

a country selected by said player searching for a compatible game session; and

a language selected by said player searching for a compatible game session.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein said affiliations comprise at least one of:

an affiliation indicative of a player being added to a friend list of another player;

an affiliation indicative of a player having submitted positive comments about another player;

an affiliation indicative of a player having previously completed a game session with another player;

an affiliation indicative of a player having submitted negative comments about another player; and

an affiliation indicative of another player having submitted negative comments about a player.

4. A method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:

(a) querying for game sessions having positive session values and being within a gamer zone selected by said player searching for a compatible game session;

(b) if greater than or equal to a threshold amount of game sessions is found in step (a), providing said found game sessions as compatible game sessions;

(c) if less than said threshold amount of game sessions is found in step (a), querying for game sessions having no negative session values, being within said gamer zone selected by said player searching for a compatible game session, being conducted in a same country as a country selected by said player searching for a compatible game session, and being conducted in a same language as a language selected by said player searching for a compatible game session;

(d) if a total amount of game sessions found in step (a) and step (c) is greater than or equal to said threshold amount, providing said total amount of game sessions as compatible game sessions;

(e) if less than said threshold amount of game sessions is found in step (a) and step (c), querying for game sessions having no negative session values, being within said gamer zone selected by said player searching for a compatible game session, and at least one of;

being conducted in a different country than a country selected by said player searching for a compatible game session; and

being conducted in a different language than a language selected by said player searching for a compatible game session;

(f) if a total amount of game sessions found in step (a), step (c), and step (e) is greater than or equal to said threshold amount, providing said total amount of game sessions found in step (a), step (c), and step (e) as compatible game sessions;

(g) if less than said threshold amount of game sessions is found in step (a), step (c), and step (e), querying for game sessions having positive session values and being within a different gamer zone than a gamer zone selected by said player searching for a compatible game session;

(h) if a total amount of game sessions found in step (a), step (c), step (e), and step (g) is greater than or equal to said threshold amount, providing said total amount of game sessions found in step (a), step (c), step (e), and step (g) as compatible game sessions;

(i) if less than said threshold amount of game sessions is found in step (a), step (c), step (e), and step (g), querying for game sessions having no negative session values and being within a different gamer zone than a gamer zone selected by said player searching for a compatible game session; and

(j) providing said total amount of game sessions found in step (a), step (c), step (e), step (g), and step (i) as compatible game sessions.

5. A method in accordance with claim 4, wherein said threshold amount is one of a predetermined amount and an amount selected by said player searching for a compatible game session.

6. A method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising determining a session value of a game session in accordance with a weighted combination of affiliations between a player searching for a compatible session and each player in a game session.

7. A method in accordance with claim 6, wherein, for a selected game session, said weighted combination comprises a summation of:

a first weight times a number of players in said selected game session having been added to a friend list of said player searching for a compatible game session;

a second weight times a number of players in said selected game session having submitted positive comments about said player searching for a compatible game session;

a third weight times a number of players in said selected game session having previously completed a game session with said player searching for a compatible game session;

a fourth weight times a number of players in said selected game session about which said player searching for a compatible game session has submitted negative comments; and

a fifth weight times a number of players in said selected game session having submitted negative comments about said player searching for a compatible game session.

8. A method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:

determining that a game session comprising one player having been added to a friends list of a player (searcher) searching for a compatible game session and comprising several players having no affiliations is more compatible than a game session comprising one player having submitted positive comments about said searcher and comprising several players having no affiliations;

determining that a game session comprising one player having submitted positive comments about said searcher and comprising several players having no affiliations is more compatible than a game session comprising one player having previously completed a game session with said searcher and comprising several players having no affiliations;

determining that a game session comprising one player previously completed a game session with said searcher and comprising several players having no affiliations is more compatible than a game session wherein all players have no affiliations with said searcher;

determining that a game session wherein all players have no affiliations with said searcher is more compatible that a game session comprising one player about which said searcher has submitted negative comments; and

determining that a game session wherein all players have no affiliations with said searcher is more compatible that a game session comprising one player that has submitted negative comments about said searcher.

9. A system for socially matching game players on-line, said system comprising:

a plurality of databases comprising a plurality of affiliations between game players, said affiliations comprising at least one of;

an affiliation indicative of a player being added to a friend list of another player;

an affiliation indicative of a player having submitted positive comments about another player;

an affiliation indicative of a player having previously completed a game session with another player;

an affiliation indicative of a player having submitted negative comments about another player; and

an affiliation indicative of another player having submitted negative comments about a player; and

a service for;

determining a session value of at least one game session in accordance with said affiliations and in accordance with at least one of;

a social rating of a player searching for a compatible game session;

a social rating of a player hosting a game session;

a gamer zone selected by said player searching for a compatible game session,

a gamer zone being indicative of a range of socially acceptable game sessions;

a gamer zone selected by said player host a game session;

a country selected by said player searching for a compatible game session; and

a language selected by said player searching for a compatible game session; and

providing at least one compatible game session in accordance with at least one determined game session value.

10. A system in accordance with claim 9, wherein said service determines a session value of a game session in accordance with a weighted combination of affiliations between a player searching for a compatible session and each player in a game session, said weighted combination comprising a summation of:

a first weight times a number of players in said selected game session having been added to a friend list of said player searching for a compatible game session;

a second weight times a number of players in said selected game session having submitted positive comments about said player searching for a compatible game session;

a third weight times a number of players in said selected game session having previously completed a game session with said player searching for a compatible game session;

a fourth weight times a number of players in said selected game session about which said player searching for a compatible game session has submitted negative comments; and

a fifth weight times a number of players in said selected game session having submitted negative comments about said player searching for a compatible game session.

11. A system in accordance with claim 9, wherein said service:

determines that a game session comprising one player having been added to a friends list of a player (searcher) searching for a compatible game session and comprising several players having no affiliations is more compatible than a game session comprising one player having submitted positive comments about said searcher and comprising several players having no affiliations;

determines that a game session comprising one player having submitted positive comments about said searcher and comprising several players having no affiliations is more compatible than a game session comprising one player having previously completed a game session with said searcher and comprising several players having no affiliations;

determines that a game session comprising one player previously completed a game session with said searcher and comprising several players having no affiliations is more compatible than a game session wherein all players have no affiliations with said searcher;

determines that a game session wherein all players have no affiliations with said searcher is more compatible that a game session comprising one player about which said searcher has submitted negative comments; and

determines that a game session wherein all players have no affiliations with said searcher is more compatible that a game session comprising one player that has submitted negative comments about said searcher.

12. A system in accordance with claim 9, wherein:

(a) said service queries for game sessions having positive session values and being within a gamer zone selected by said player searching for a compatible game session;

(b) if greater than or equal to a threshold amount of game sessions is found in act (a), said service provides said found game sessions as compatible game sessions, said threshold being one of a predetermined amount and an amount selected by a player searching for a compatible session;

(c) if less than said threshold amount of game sessions is found in act (a), said service queries for game sessions having no negative session values, being within said gamer zone selected by said player searching for a compatible game session, being conducted in a same country as a country selected by said player searching for a compatible game session, and being conducted in a same language as a language selected by said player searching for a compatible game session;

(d) if a total amount of game sessions found in act (a) and act (c) is greater than or equal to said threshold amount, said service provides said total amount of game sessions as compatible game sessions;

(e) if less than said threshold amount of game sessions is found in act (a) and act (c), said service queries for game sessions having no negative session values, being within said gamer zone selected by said player searching for a compatible game session, and at least one of;

being conducted in a different country than a country selected by said player searching for a compatible game session; and

being conducted in a different language than a language selected by said player searching for a compatible game session;

(f) if a total amount of game sessions found in act (a), act (c), and act (e) is greater than or equal to said threshold amount, said service provides said total amount of game sessions found in act (a), act (c), and act (e) as compatible game sessions;

(g) if less than said threshold amount of game sessions is found in act (a), act (c), and act (e), said service queries for game sessions having positive session values and being within a different gamer zone than a gamer zone selected by said player searching for a compatible game session;

(h) if a total amount of game sessions found in act (a), act (c), act (e), and act (g) is greater than or equal to said threshold amount, said service provides said total amount of game sessions found in act (a), act (c), act (e), and act (g) as compatible game sessions;

(i) if less than said threshold amount of game sessions is found in act (a), act (c), act (e), and act (g), said service queries for game sessions having no negative session values and being within a different gamer zone than a gamer zone selected by said player searching for a compatible game session; and

(j) said service provides said total amount of game sessions found in act (a), act (c), act (e), act (g), and act (i) as compatible game sessions.

13. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the acts of:

receiving a plurality of affiliations between players;

determining a session value of at least one game session in accordance with said affiliations;

determining a session value of a game session in accordance with a weighted combination of affiliations between a player searching for a compatible session and each player in a game session;

providing at least one compatible game session in accordance with at least one determined game session value; and

providing an indication of a session value for each provided game session.

14. A computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 13, said computer-readable medium having further computer-executable instructions for:

(a) querying for game sessions having positive session values and being within a gamer zone selected by said player searching for a compatible game session;

(b) if greater than or equal to a threshold amount of game sessions is found in step (a), providing said found game sessions as compatible game sessions;

(c) if less than said threshold amount of game sessions is found in step (a), querying for game sessions having no negative session values, being within said gamer zone selected by said player searching for a compatible game session, being conducted in a same country as a country selected by said player searching for a compatible game session, and being conducted in a same language as a language selected by said player searching for a compatible game session;

(d) if a total amount of game sessions found in step (a) and step (c) is greater than or equal to said threshold amount, providing said total amount of game sessions as compatible game sessions;

(e) if less than said threshold amount of game sessions is found in step (a) and step (c), querying for game sessions having no negative session values, being within said gamer zone selected by said player searching for a compatible game session, and at least one of;

being conducted in a different country than a country selected by said player searching for a compatible game session; and

being conducted in a different language than a language selected by said player searching for a compatible game session;

(f) if a total amount of game sessions found in step (a), step (c), and step (e) is greater than or equal to said threshold amount, providing said total amount of game sessions found in step (a), step (c), and step (e) as compatible game sessions;

(g) if less than said threshold amount of game sessions is found in step (a), step (c), and step (e), querying for game sessions having positive session values and being within a different gamer zone than a gamer zone selected by said player searching for a compatible game session;

(h) if a total amount of game sessions found in step (a), step (c), step (e), and step (g) is greater than or equal to said threshold amount, providing said total amount of game sessions found in step (a), step (c), step (e), and step (g) as compatible game sessions;

(i) if less than said threshold amount of game sessions is found in step (a), step (c), step (e), and step (g), querying for game sessions having no negative session values and being within a different gamer zone than a gamer zone selected by said player searching for a compatible game session; and

(j) providing said total amount of game sessions found in step (a), step (c), step (e), step (g), and step (i) as compatible game sessions.

15. A computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 14, wherein said threshold amount is one of a predetermined amount and an amount selected by said player searching for a compatible game session.

16. A computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 13, said computer-readable medium having further computer-executable instructions for determining if a game session is a compatible game session in accordance with:

a social rating of a player searching for a compatible game session;

a social rating of a player hosting a game session;

a gamer zone selected by said player searching for a compatible game session, a gamer zone being indicative of a range of socially acceptable game sessions;

a gamer zone selected by said player host a game session;

a country selected by said player searching for a compatible game session; and

a language selected by said player searching for a compatible game session.

17. A computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 13, wherein said affiliations comprise at least one of:

an affiliation indicative of a player being added to a friend list of another player;

an affiliation indicative of a player having submitted positive comments about another player;

an affiliation indicative of a player having previously completed a game session with another player;

an affiliation indicative of a player having submitted negative comments about another player; and

an affiliation indicative of another player having submitted negative comments about a player.

18. A computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 13, said computer-readable medium having further computer-executable instructions for determining a session value of a game session in accordance with a weighted combination of affiliations between a player searching for a compatible session and each player in a game session.

19. A computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 18, wherein, for a selected game session, said weighted combination comprises a summation of:

a first weight times a number of players in said selected game session having been added to a friend list of said player searching for a compatible game session;

a second weight times a number of players in said selected game session having submitted positive comments about said player searching for a compatible game session;

a third weight times a number of players in said selected game session having previously completed a game session with said player searching for a compatible game session;

a fourth weight times a number of players in said selected game session about which said player searching for a compatible game session has submitted negative comments; and

a fifth weight times a number of players in said selected game session having submitted negative comments about said player searching for a compatible game session.

20. A computer-readable medium in accordance with claim 13, said computer-readable medium having further computer-executable instructions for:

determining that a game session comprising one player having been added to a friend list of a player (searcher) searching for a compatible game session and comprising several players having no affiliations is more compatible than a game session comprising one player having submitted positive comments about said searcher and comprising several players having no affiliations;

determining that a game session comprising one player having submitted positive comments about said searcher and comprising several players having no affiliations is more compatible than a game session comprising one player having previously completed a game session with said searcher and comprising several players having no affiliations;

determining that a game session comprising one player previously completed a game session with said searcher and comprising several players having no affiliations is more compatible than a game session wherein all players have no affiliations with said searcher;

determining that a game session wherein all players have no affiliations with said searcher is more compatible that a game session comprising one player about which said searcher has submitted negative comments; and

determining that a game session wherein all players have no affiliations with said searcher is more compatible that a game session comprising one player that has submitted negative comments about said searcher.