Communication game program and communication game system

• US 7,854,657 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2006
• Issued: 12/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Shiraiwa, Yusuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Hotaling, II; John M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hsu; Ryan
• Application Number:
  US11/495,596
• Publication Number:
  US 20070078005A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,604 Days
• Field of Search: 463/40, 463/41, 463/42, 463/25, 463/29, 709/205, 709/227
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/31 Communication aspects specific to video games, e.g. between several handheld game devices at close range
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/34 using peer-to-peer connections
• 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 13/803 Driving vehicles or craft, e.g. cars, airplanes, ships, robots or tanks

Abstract

A game device measures a delay time between the game device and each of other game devices, all of which communicate with each other, and stores start time data in a memory. Furthermore, the game device calculates a time at which each of the other game devices starts executing a predetermined event based on the delay time, so as to be transmitted to each of the other game devices. When data indicating a time at which the game device starts executing the predetermined event (correction data) is transmitted from each of the game devices, the game device corrects a time indicated by the start time data based on the transmitted data. Thereafter, the game device executes the predetermined event (a racing game) at the time indicated by the start time data.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable physical storage medium having tangibly recorded thereon a communication game program to be executed by a computer of a game device included in a communication game system comprised of the game device and at least one other game device being connected to each other through a decentralized network, the communication game program instructing the computer to perform:

measurement for measuring a delay time between the game device and each of the at least one other game device, all of which communicate with each other;

storage for storing start time data indicating a time at which the game device is to start executing a predetermined event in a memory of the game device;

transmission for calculating a time at which each of the at least one other game device of the decentralized network is to start executing the predetermined event based on the delay time, and transmitting data indicating the time to each of the at least one other game device;

correction for correcting, when data indicating a time at which the game device is to start executing the predetermined event is transmitted from each of the at least one other game device in the decentralized network, the time indicated by the start time data based on the transmitted data; and

event execution for executing the predetermined event at the time indicated by the start time data.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable physical storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

the start time data indicates a remaining time from a current time to the time at which the game device is to start executing the predetermined event;

the storage is executed after each of the at least one other game device included in the communication game system finishes measuring the delay time;

and the communication game program instructs the computer to further perform a subtraction of repeatedly executing a process of updating the start time data at a predetermined time interval such that the updated start time data indicates a time obtained by subtracting a predetermined time from the start time data.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable physical storage medium according to claim 2, wherein

the communication game program instructs the computer to further perform completion notification for notifying each of the at least one other game device that the game device finishes measuring the delay time, and

the subtraction is executed if the game device has received a notification indicating that each of the at least one other game device finishes measuring the delay time or if data indicating the time at which the game device is to start executing the predetermined event is initially transmitted from the at least one other game device.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable physical storage medium according to claim 3, wherein

in the storage, when the game device has received the notification indicating that each of the at least one other game device finishes measuring the delay time, data indicating a predetermined time is stored in the memory as the start time data, and

when the data indicating that the time at which the game device is to start executing the predetermined event is initially transmitted from the at least one other game device, the data is stored in the memory as the start time data.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable physical storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

the transmission is executed at a predetermined time after each of the at least one other game device included in the communication game system finishes measuring the delay time.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable physical storage medium according to claim 5, wherein

the transmission is repeatedly executed at a predetermined time interval after each of the at least one other game device included in the communication game-system finishes measuring the delay time.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable physical storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

in the transmission, the time at which each of the at least one other game device is to start executing the predetermined event is calculated based on the delay time between the game device and each of the at least one other game device and the start time data.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable physical storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

in the correction, a corrected time is calculated such that the corrected time indicates a time point between the time indicated by the data transmitted from each of the at least one other game device and the time indicated by the start time data.

9. A communication game system comprised of a game device and at least one other game device being connected to each other through a decentralized network, the game device comprising:

measurement programmed logic circuitry for measuring a delay time between the game device and each of the at least one other game device, all of which communicate with each other;

storage control programmed logic circuitry for storing start time data indicating a time at which the game device is to start executing a predetermined event in a memory of the game device;

transmission programmed logic circuitry for calculating a time at which each of the at least one other game device in the decentralized network is to start executing the predetermined event based on the delay time, and transmitting data indicating the time to each of the at least one other game device;

correction programmed logic circuitry for correcting, when data indicating a time at which the game device is to start executing the predetermined event is transmitted from each of the at least one other game device in the decentralized network, the time indicated by the start time data based on the transmitted data; and

event execution programmed logic circuitry for executing the predetermined event at the time indicated by the start time data.