MULTI-ACCESS ONLINE GAME SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING GAME FOR USE IN THE MULTI-ACCESS ONLINE GAME SYSTEM

• US 20080070696A1
• Filed: 09/11/2007
• Published: 03/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NHN Entertainment Corporation
• Original Assignee: NHN Corporation
• Inventors: KIM, Hyojoon, KIM, Seonghun
• Granted Patent: US 9,555,329 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 13/352 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 13/358 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 13/87 Communicating with other players during game play, e.g. by e-mail or chat
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/513 server hierarchy, e.g. local, regional, national or dedicated for different tasks, e.g. authenticating, billing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/534 for network load management, e.g. bandwidth optimization, latency reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality

Abstract

A multi-access online game system and a game control method for use in the same are disclosed. The game control method is applied to a multi-access online game system which is connected to at least one user client and includes a first server and at least one second server. The method includes: receiving an event message associated with a game from a first user client, wherein the first server receives the game-associated event message when the game-associated event message is not the real-time message, and the at least one second server receive the game-associated event message when the game-associated event message is the real-time message; determining a second user client where the real-time message is to be received; and transmitting the real-time message to the second user client. The real-time message is processed by the second server, so that the load of the first server is reduced.

Claims

1. A game control method for use in a multi-access online game system which is connected to at least one user client and includes a first server and at least one second server, the method comprising:

receiving an event message associated with a game from a first user client, wherein the first server receives the game-associated event message when the game-associated event message is not a real-time message, and the at least one second server receives the game-associated event message when the game-associated event message is the real-time message;

determining a second user client where the real-time message is to be received; and

transmitting the real-time message to the second user client.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining whether the game-associated event message is the real-time message is decided by a game application installed into the user client.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the real-time message is needed to be immediately transmitted to the second user client.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the game is a multi-access online game, the real-time message includes at least one of a moving message of a player character, a collision message, and a chatting message for another user adjacent to the player character.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining of the second user client includes:

recognizing location information, on the game, of at least one player character corresponding to the at least one user client; and

upon receiving the location information of the player character, determining a user client corresponding to a player character existing within a predetermined distance from the first player character corresponding to the first user client to be the second user client.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

before transmitting the real-time message to the second user client, buffering the real-time message;

determining whether a predetermined time expires after the buffering the real-time message; and

when the predetermined time expires, discarding the buffered real-time message.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising:

upon receiving a next real-time message from the first user client, overwriting the buffered real-time message with the next real-time message.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the number of the at least one second server is equal to the number of divided areas of a game space.

9. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for executing the method of claim 1.

10. A game control method for employing a game application installed into at least one user client which gains access to a multi-access online game system including a first server and at least one second server to play a game, the method comprising:

receiving game command information from a user;

determining whether an event created by the received game command is a real-time event;

when the event is the real-time event, generating a real-time message, and transmitting the generated real-time message to any one of the at least one second server; and

when the event is not the real-time event, transmitting a message associated with the event to a game server,

wherein the real-time message is transmitted to a game application of a user client decided by the at least one second server.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein:

the number of the at least one second server is equal to the number of divided areas of a game space, and

the game application transmits the real-time message to the second server controlling an area including a player character of a user who transmits the real-time message.

12. A multi-access online game system for controlling a game of player characters corresponding to a plurality of user clients comprising:

a game server for receiving event messages associated with a game from a first user client, and processing the received game-associated event messages according to a predetermined game logic;

a database server for receiving status change information including status change information of each player character from the game server, and storing the received status change information in a database; and

at least one distributed server for receiving a real-time message among the game-associated event messages from the first user client, determining a second user client where the real-time message is to be received, and transmitting the real-time message to the second user client.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein:

the determining whether the game-associated event message is the real-time message is decided by a game application installed into the user client.

14. The system according to claim 12, wherein:

when the game is a multi-access online game, the real-time message includes at least one of a moving message of a player character, a collision message, and a chatting message for another user adjacent to the player character.

15. The system according to claim 12, wherein the at least one distributed server includes:

a player object which appears or disappears for each accessing user client, and transmits/receives the real-time message to/from the accessing user client;

a transmission-object decision unit for determining a second user client where the real-time message is to be transmitted; and

an online-player character information manager for managing location information of player characters, who exist in an online status, to determine a transmission object.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the transmission-object decision unit receives the location information from the online-player character information manager, and determines a user client corresponding to a player character existing within a predetermined distance from a player character corresponding to the first user client to be the second user client on the basis of the received location information.

17. The system according to claim 15, wherein the player object buffers the real-time message to be transmitted to the second user client, receives a next real-time message from the first user client, and overwrites the buffered real-time message with the next real-time message.

18. A recording medium equipped with a game application installed in at least one user client which gains access to a multi-access online game system including a first server and at least one second server to play a game, the recording medium comprising:

a command interpreter for interpreting game command information inputted by a user;

an event decision unit for determining whether an event created by the command is contained in a predetermined real-time event, so that it can determine whether the event is the real-time event or a non-real-time event;

a game logic processor for executing a predetermined game logic according to the interpreted result of the command interpreter, and generating game messages associated with the event created by the command; and

a server communication unit for transmitting the non-real-time message among the game messages associated with the event to the list server, transmitting the real-time message to the second server, receiving the game messages associated with the event from at least one of the first server and the second server, and transmitting the received game messages to the game logic processor.

20. The recording medium according to claim 18, wherein the server communication unit transmits the real-time message to the second server controlling an area including a user'"'"'s player character from among the at least one second server.

19. The recording medium according to claim 19, wherein the server communication unit transmits the real-time message to a second server having a small amount of load from among the at least one second server.