Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • A63F13/00—Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions
  • A63F13/70—Game security or game management aspects
  • A63F13/75—Enforcing rules, e.g. detecting foul play or generating lists of cheating players
• • A63F13/12—
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • A63F13/00—Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions
  • A63F13/30—Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06N—COMPUTING ARRANGEMENTS BASED ON SPECIFIC COMPUTATIONAL MODELS
  • G06N5/00—Computing arrangements using knowledge-based models
  • G06N5/04—Inference or reasoning models
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • A63F13/00—Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions
  • A63F13/60—Generating or modifying game content before or while executing the game program, e.g. authoring tools specially adapted for game development or game-integrated level editor
  • A63F13/67—Generating or modifying game content before or while executing the game program, e.g. authoring tools specially adapted for game development or game-integrated level editor adaptively or by learning from player actions, e.g. skill level adjustment or by storing successful combat sequences for re-use
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • A63F2300/00—Features of games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions, e.g. on a television screen, showing representations related to the game
  • A63F2300/50—Features of games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions, e.g. on a television screen, showing representations related to the game characterized by details of game servers
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • A63F2300/00—Features of games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions, e.g. on a television screen, showing representations related to the game
  • A63F2300/50—Features of games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions, e.g. on a television screen, showing representations related to the game characterized by details of game servers
  • A63F2300/53—Features of games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions, e.g. on a television screen, showing representations related to the game characterized by details of game servers details of basic data processing
  • A63F2300/534—Features of games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions, e.g. on a television screen, showing representations related to the game characterized by details of game servers details of basic data processing for network load management, e.g. bandwidth optimization, latency reduction
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • A63F2300/00—Features of games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions, e.g. on a television screen, showing representations related to the game
  • A63F2300/60—Methods for processing data by generating or executing the game program
  • A63F2300/6027—Methods for processing data by generating or executing the game program using adaptive systems learning from user actions, e.g. for skill level adjustment
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • A63F2300/00—Features of games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions, e.g. on a television screen, showing representations related to the game
  • A63F2300/80—Features of games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions, e.g. on a television screen, showing representations related to the game specially adapted for executing a specific type of game
  • A63F2300/8011—Ball

Definitions

• the invention relates to a data processing system, and apparatus, a software agent and to a method for reducing latency effects is an interactive multi-user software application processed via an interconnecting network
• latency refers to the noticeable propagation delay between cause and effect
• network latency is a difficult problem to overcome
• Today's Internet environment has considerable latency, typically in the order of seconds
• High-speed analog modems introduce as much as 30 milliseconds of delay, which means 60 milliseconds end-to-end Latency effects tend to get more serious with larger size of the network and with increased network load Eliminating all network latency is impossible
• a multi-user video software application such as a multi-player video game or a multi-user activity in a virtual reality environment
• the application is processed via a network interconnecting the users
• the network may be a local-area-network (LAN) or a wide-area-network (WAN) Since the latency is due to propagation delays and physically inevitable, the application itself is to be made tolerant of latency Techniques are being developed for minimizing the user's awareness that latency is in the system
• a known technique to mitigate the latency effects in multi-player video games is dead-reckonmg Rather than constantly exchanging messages about state changes of an object, manipulated by a particular user in the virtual environment, formulae for calculating the object's trajectory are exchanged
• the agent of the object manipulated by the particular user as well as the other agents for other users rendering the same object all calculate the new location of the object using the formulae
• the agent detects that the true location of the object deviates from the calculated location by more than a certain threshold
• the agent transmits a message with corrective data to the other agents
• the agent transmits a message with corrective data to the other agents
• the agent transmits a message with corrective data to the other agents
• the object When the message is received by the other agents, they reposition the object and adjust their dead-reckonmg calculations Repositioning of the object may be accomplished over two or more video frames to avoid noticeable discontinuities
• labels corresponding to specific formulae together with their arguments could be exchanged, instead of transmitting the formulae
• Latency will probably be the most noticeable in direct, close proximity interaction between players and/or objects via the virtual environment. In reality, similar actions and reactions occur in a time frame that we call "instantly" .
• a software simulation of a competitive sport such as a football game simulation video application. If a player with the ball begins to move to the left, the defender should immediately follow. Suppose that the simulation is afflicted with a delay, so that the defender has to wait, say 500 milliseconds, before he knows the new trajectory of the other player. By the time the defender has made his correction, the offensive player will have passed.
• the invention provides a data processing system for processing an interactive software application for a competition between first and second users.
• the system comprises first and second user-interface machines for being actuated by the first and second users, respectively.
• the machines are interconnected via a network.
• the system is operative to represent at the first machine the second user as an agent whose reaction to an action of the first user is governed by a rule base stored in the system.
• the interactive video application uses a surrogate agent representing the player on the machine of an opposing player.
• a surrogate agent representing the player on the machine of an opposing player.
• the reaction of the surrogate agent to movements of the local, opposing, player is governed by a predetermined rule base, e.g. , statistical rules. Whether the local player wins or loses the confrontation depends on the differential between his play against his opponent's surrogate versus his opponent's play against the surrogate of aforesaid local player. In theory, the outcome of the contest is the same as if the players were actually playing against each other. On the network, however, where there is considerable latency in true head-to-head play, the latency is effectively eliminated by the surrogate.
• the system is operative to represent at the second machine the first user as another agent whose reaction to an action of the second user is governed by the rule base.
• the rule base may have different portions, or rule sets, for governing the reaction of the first-mentioned agent and of the other agent. Different sets of rules allow differentiating between the participating users through their agents. For example, each of the participants has a pre-specified task in the application different from the task of another participant thus requiring different responses to actions. Alternatively, or supplementarily, this feature further helps to personalize the agents as individual beings with unique behavior.
• the rule base may comprises statistical tables to determine the agent's reaction. For the sake of completeness, the idea of using a statistical tables to determine the outcome of a contest has been used before in computer games, but in a different manner and in a different context.
• the user plays against the game's artificial intelligence, usually represented by statistical tables.
• the statistics may represent real sport figures' statistics, or may be determined by the difficulty-level of the game.
• the statistical tables are used to determine the outcome of a contest between two individual users in a confrontation occurring in a virtual reality environment.
• the rule-base technique eliminates latency effects due to the network. Such latency effects are not present in the prior art computer game, wherein a single user competes with the computer.
• the rule base is adaptable by the system to a history of actions of at least the first user or the second user. This feature reduces the discrepancy between the artificial behavior of the rule based agent and the individual behavior of the actual player guiding the agent. In other words, the agent may adopt the personal style of his user.
• the rule base is selectively programmable by at least the first or the second user. This feature permits setting or fine-tuning of the rules of the game, thus personalizing the competition. It can also be used, for example, to handicap the various players, making beginning players more competitive with experienced players.
• the invention provides an apparatus for processing an interactive software application for a competition, between a local user and at least one remote user operating a respective remote user interface machine; the apparatus comprising: communication means for exchanging information between the apparatus and the remote user interface machine with respect to operations of the users; and user-interface means for being actuated by the local user and representing actions of the local and remote user; characterised in that the apparatus is operative to represent the remote user as an agent whose reaction to an action of the local user is governed by a rule base stored in the apparatus.
• the invention provides a software agent for use in a data processing system for processing an interactive software application for enabling interaction between at least first and second users, the system comprising:
• the agent comprising means for representing the second user at the first machine, where a represented reaction of the second user to an action of the first user is governed by a rule base of the agent.
• Fig. l is a block diagram of a data processing system in the invention.
• Fig.2 is a diagram of two user-controlled interacting agents.
• DETAILED EMBODIMENTS Fig. l is a diagram of a data processing system 100 according to the invention.
• System 100 processes an interactive software application for a competition between first and second users 102 and 104.
• System 100 comprises a first user-interface machine 106 to enable first user 102 to interact with system 100, and a second user-interface machine 108 to enable second user 104 to interact with system 100.
• Machines 106 an 108 each have a display 110 and 112 for graphical representation of the interaction.
• System 100 further comprises a network 114 interconnecting machines 106 and 108.
• Network 110 may, but need not, comprise a server 116.
• System 100 represents second user 104 graphically as an agent on display 108 of machine 106 of first user 102.
• the immediate reaction of this agent to an action of first user 102 is governed by a rule base 118.
• Rule base 118 is preferably stored in machines 106.
• system 100 represents first user 102 graphically as another agent on display 110 of machine 108 of second user 104.
• the immediate reaction of this other agent to an action of second user 104 is governed by a rule base 120.
• Rule base 118 and rule base 120 are preferably stored in machines 106 and 108, respectively. Operation is explained with reference to Fig.2.
• Fig.2 is a diagram with a graphical representation of the events in the application as seen from the point of view of first user 102 at display 108.
• the application illustrated relates to a game of American football.
• first user 104 is graphically represented by a first agent 204 (the tackle) and that second user 106 is graphically represented by a second agent 206 (the running back).
• agent 206 comes within range of agent 204, user 104 has to anticipate the trajectory of agent 206.
• user 106 has to foresee the movements of agent 204. If running back 206 swerves to the left, tackle 204 should immediately follow.
• Rule bases 118 and 120 comprise, for example, rules based on statistics as mentioned above. Of course, other rule types can be used as well. Rule bases 118 and 120 may be made to adapt to a history of actions of first user 102 or second user 104, or to both.
• System 100 may record actions and reactions of users 102 and 104 when interacting with system 100. This inventory may show particular tendencies in the behavior of individual users. For example, user 106 will make his agent 206 swerve to the right in 70% of the confrontations with agent 204 and 30% to the left. This information is valuable to user 104. Accordingly, system 100 may update the rule base for agent 204 to adapt to this behavior: move to the left in 70% of the cases and 30% to the right when opposing each other face to face.
• rule bases 118 and 120 may be programmable by at least user 104 or user 106, so that the game can be adapted to the level of skill required of the users. Rule bases 118 and rule base 120 need not be uniform. Different rules are required depending on the type of role played by user 104 and user 106. In a game wherein the roles frequently interchange, as in the example of the football game, rule bases 118 and 120 are symmetric. Both parties in the example above play the offense and the defense alternately. Now suppose that the game is attended by twenty-two users, numbers one to eleven playing in a first team, and numbers thirteen to twenty-two playing in a second team. Each team has players with different tasks.
• rules that actually apply to a current confrontation can be overridden by messages from the user in order to change the scenario.
• the user may indicate that he wants to run away instead of continue the encounter (in the football game), or that he chooses another weapon (not applicable to the regular football game or so it is hoped).
• the rules that govern reactions and quick action responses in the new scenario then change accordingly.
• the invention may be fully embodied in a storage device comprising an interactive software application for a competition between first and second users, wherein the application comprises a rule base for governing a reaction of an agent, representing the second user in the application, to an action of the first user in a confrontation.
• the invention is not restricted to the interactions of pairs of players.
• the same technique is applicable to one, two or more players simultaneously interacting with many other players. Each player then is represented by his agent on the other players' machines.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
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• Artificial Intelligence (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
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• Data Mining & Analysis (AREA)
• Evolutionary Computation (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Computing Systems (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• Mathematical Physics (AREA)
• Software Systems (AREA)
• Computer Security & Cryptography (AREA)
• Information Transfer Between Computers (AREA)
• Multi Processors (AREA)
• Computer And Data Communications (AREA)
• Management, Administration, Business Operations System, And Electronic Commerce (AREA)

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• 1997
  • 1997-09-19 JP JP10516339A patent/JP2000502276A/ja active Pending
  • 1997-09-19 WO PCT/IB1997/001128 patent/WO1998014898A2/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1997-09-19 EP EP97939121A patent/EP0870268A2/en not_active Withdrawn

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