Networking video games over telephone network

• US 5,685,775 A
• Filed: 10/28/1994
• Issued: 11/11/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Maruyama, Kiyoshi, Yue, Ghung-Wai, Bakoglu, Halil Burhan, Chen, Jeng-Chun Janet, Lean, Andy Geng-Chyun
• Primary Examiner(s): Harrison, Jessica
• Assistant Examiner(s): SAGER, MARK ALAN
• Application Number:
  US08/330,875
• Time in Patent Office: 1,110 Days
• Field of Search: 273/148 B, 273/237, 273/439, 273/453, 273/459, 273/460, 379/90, 379/93, 379/96, 379/97, 379/99, 463/30-31, 463/1, 463/40-42, 348/512-513, 348/715, 348/12, 348/13, 370/276, 370/902, 370/912, 340/825, 340/825.2, 340/825.21
• US Class Current: 463/41
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/34 using peer-to-peer connections
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/408 Peer to peer connection
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 370/902 Packet switching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 370/912 Packet communications

Abstract

A method and apparatus for playing the same video game by a number of players at remote locations over a telephone network. More specifically, a video representation of the game played by a number of video game players stored at each of the player locations. The control signals representing the actions of the players are then transmitted to a single one of the locations where the control signals are sequenced. The sequence control signals are then stored in a queue wherein the video game is played at each of the locations by synchronously reading the control signals from each queue at each of the locations and sending them to corresponding ports of each video game at each location.

Claims

1. A video game networking unit for connection to ports of a local multiport video game machine and to a telephone network, said unit allowing a plurality of players to play a video game with each other from a plurality of locations over said network, said network unit comprising:

a. a first memory for storing control signals of said players, each of said control signals representing an action of one of said players in playing said video game, wherein those of said control signals representing actions of said players at those of said locations remote from a location of said networking unit are transmitted over said telephone network to said network unit;

b. a scanning unit for sequencing said control signals stored in said first memory, thereby forming a set of sequenced control signals;

c. a second memory for storing a queue of said sequenced control signals;

d. transmitting means for transmitting said sequenced control signals from said queue over said telephone network to said locations remote from the location of said network unit which sequenced said control signals, wherein said sequenced control signals are then transmitted to corresponding ports of a matching multiport video game at each of said locations;

e. a means for reading said sequenced control signals from said queue; and

f. a sending means for sending said sequenced control signals read from said queue to corresponding ports of said local multiport video game machine, said sending means comprising;

g. a null queue for storing null signals, each null signal representing no action to be played by a corresponding one of said players;

h. a plurality of switches for interconnecting said action queue, said null queue and said ports; and

i. an action pacer for controlling said switches so that said control signals and said null signals are sent to said corresponding ports of said video game machine so that said video game is played synchronously by and among said players.

2. A network unit as recited in claim 1, wherein said first memory comprises a plurality of action buffers, each of said buffers storing the actions of a corresponding one of said players.

3. A method of playing a video game by a plurality of players at different player locations over a telephone network, each of said players having an identical video game machine containing an identical video game program, each said video game machine having a separate port for receiving player action signals from each of said players, comprising the steps of:

designating one of the player locations as a master location and the remaining player locations as slave locations;

transmitting slave player action signals generated by one or more players at one or more slave locations to the master location over the telephone network;

at the master location, sequencing the received player action signals with player action signals generated by a player at the master location to form an action queue;

transmitting the action queue from the master location to each of the slave locations over the telephone network;

at each said slave location, applying the respective player action signals in the received action queue to corresponding ports of the video game machine at said each slave location; and

at said master location, applying the respective player action signals in the formed action queue to corresponding ports of the video game machine at said master location,

whereby the video game machines at the slave locations and the video game machine at the master location all receive identical player action signals at corresponding ports in a same sequence.

4. A method of playing a video game by two players at different player locations over a telephone network, each of said players having an identical video game machine containing an identical video game program, comprising the steps of:

designating one of the player locations as a master location and the other player location as a slave location;

determining a length of time required for player action signals to be transmitted over the telephone network between the slave location and the master location;

transmitting first player action signals generated by a first player at the slave location to the master location over the telephone network;

delaying second player action signals generated by a second player at the master location by the determined length of time to form delayed second player action signals;

at the master location, sequencing the received first player action signals with the delayed second player action signals to form an action queue;

transmitting the action queue from the master location to the slave location over the telephone network;

applying the first and second player action signals in the action queue received at the slave location to the video game machine at the slave location;

at the master location, delaying the action queue by the determined length of time to form a delayed action queue; and

applying the first and second player action signals in the delayed action queue to the video game machine at the master location,

whereby the video game machine at the slave location and the video game machine at the master location receive at substantially the same time an identical sequence of first and second player action signals.

5. Apparatus for playing a video game by a plurality of players at different player locations over a telephone network, each of said players having an identical video game machine containing an identical video game program, each said video game machine having a separate port for receiving player action signals from each of said players, comprising:

means for designating one of the player locations as a master location and the remaining player locations as slave locations;

means for transmitting slave player action signals generated by one or more players at one or more slave locations to the master location over the telephone network;

at the master location, means for sequencing the received player action signals with player action signals generated by a player at the master location to form an action queue;

means for transmitting the action queue from the master location to each of the slave locations over the telephone network;

at each said slave location, means for applying the respective player action signals in the received action queue to corresponding ports of the video game machine at said each slave location; and

at said master location, means for applying the respective player action signals in the formed action queue to corresponding ports of the video game machine at said master location,

whereby the video game machines at the slave locations and the video game machine at the master location all receive identical player action signals at corresponding ports in a same sequence.