JP2009523537A - Computer-based gaming group - Google Patents

Abstract

  In a computer-based (eg, online) gaming environment, groups are created based on social relationships between players. A group is assigned an identification. Group identification is maintained in a single game title across multiple sessions of game titles and across multiple game titles. Groups can interact within the gaming environment in much the same way that individual users can interact. Group dialogue provides a mechanism for social and collaborative gameplay. Groups can play games with other groups. Group members can play games with each other. Group statistics and performance can be accumulated and aggregated. The group profile provides information about the group, such as a list of group members. A group profile allows group members to view information about other members of the group, such as other groups to which the member belongs. Group members can send and receive intra-group messages.

Description

Copyright Notice / Permission A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to reproduction by anyone of the patent document or patent disclosure when appearing in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or record, but otherwise owns all copyrights . The following notices apply to the following content and the software and data described in the drawings. Copyright (C) 2004, the patent applicant, reproduction prohibited.

  The technical field relates generally to gaming and multimedia devices, and more particularly to online gaming.

  Computer-based game players tend to participate in games as individuals. Furthermore, game players (gamers) tend to place their activities at the center of the game. For example, it is not uncommon for an individual online gamer to become the best player for a specific game title (eg, HALO). As an individual, this game player tries to be the best player in other game titles (eg, PROJECT GOTHAM RACING, or PGR).

  This type of behavior does not give the gamer the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of social dialogue with other players. Furthermore, typical online gaming systems do not provide a mechanism to encourage social dialogue.

  This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description of the Invention. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

  A group of gamers is identified in the online gaming environment. Group identification based on group profiles is maintained in a single game title across multiple sessions of game titles and across multiple game titles. Groups are created based on social relationships between players. A computer-based gaming system creates a group, deletes the group, manages all members of the group, enables message communication between the members of the group, determines whether a member of the group exists, Provides the ability to accumulate and aggregate performance and statistics about, edit group profiles, and enable group competition.

  The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of computer-based gaming groups, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For purposes of illustration of a computer-based gaming group, the drawings illustrate exemplary configurations thereof, but the computer-based gaming group is not limited to the specific methods and instrumentalities disclosed.

  Groups are created in a computer-based (eg, online) gaming environment, and groups are maintained across different games and across multiple sessions of the same game. Groups are based on social relationships between players. Groups are assigned an identity, and the identity of the group is maintained in a single game title across multiple sessions of game titles and across multiple game titles. Groups can interact within the gaming environment in much the same way that individual users can interact. Group dialogue provides a mechanism for social and collaborative gameplay. Groups can play games with other groups. Group members can play games with each other. Group statistics and performance can be accumulated and aggregated. The group profile provides information about the group, such as a list of group members. A group profile allows group members to view information about other members of the group, such as other groups to which the member belongs. Group members can send and receive intra-group messages. To facilitate understanding of the computer-based gaming group, an exemplary gaming environment is described, followed by a more detailed description of the computer-based gaming group.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary computer network that is useful for illustrating aspects of group interaction in a computer-based gaming environment. Here, the computers 100a to 100e can accommodate various computing objects such as games and other applications. Although this physical environment shows connected devices as computers, such illustrations are merely exemplary and may comprise various digital devices such as PDAs, game consoles, and the like. Further, the communication network 160 may itself comprise several computers, servers, network devices such as routers, and the like.

  There are a variety of systems, components, and network configurations that support distributed computing environments. For example, computing systems can be connected by a local network or a widely distributed network by wireline or wireless systems. Currently, many of these networks are coupled to the Internet, which provides an infrastructure for widespread distributed computing and encompasses many different networks. Aspects of computer-based gaming groups may be available for distributing computer readable instructions, code fragments, applications, etc. to various distributed computing devices.

  The network infrastructure enables hosts in network topologies such as client / server, peer-to-peer, or hybrid architecture. A “client” is a member of a class or group that uses the services of another class or group that does not involve the client. Thus, in computing, a client is a process (ie, roughly a set of instructions or tasks) that requests a service provided by another program. The client process utilizes the requested service without having to “know” any operational details about the other program or the service itself. In a client / server architecture, particularly a networked system, a client is usually a computer that accesses shared network resources provided by another computer (ie, a server). A server is generally a remote computer system accessible via a remote network such as the Internet. Client processes can be active in the first computer system and server processes can be active in the second computer system, communicating with each other via a communication medium, and so on. Provides distributed functionality and allows many clients to use the server's information gathering function.

  The client and server communicate with each other using the functionality provided by the protocol layer. For example, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is a common protocol used with the World Wide Web (WWW), or simply “Web”. In general, computer network addresses, such as uniform resource locators (URLs) and Internet protocol (IP) addresses, are used to identify server or client computers from each other. Communication between computing devices is via a communication medium. In particular, the client and server can be coupled to each other via a TCP / IP connection for high capacity communication.

  In general, a computer network may comprise both server devices and client devices deployed in a network environment (in a peer-to-peer environment, a device may be both a client and a server). The communication network 160 may be a LAN, WAN, intranet or Internet, or any combination thereof that facilitates communication between several computing devices 100a-100e. Further, communication network 160 may comprise wireless, wireline, or a combination of wireless and wireline connections. Further, the computer network may comprise a distributed computing environment. In such an environment, a computing task may span several computing devices that are addressable elements within a computer network.

  According to the computer-based gaming group aspect, the communication network 160 can accommodate a service 150 accessible from a plurality of computers 100a-100e. Service 150 collects information, tracks the users of computers 100a-100e, and provides computing services to all users of service 150.

  FIG. 2 shows functional components of a multimedia / game console 100 that can be used as computers 100a-100e in the network of FIG. The multimedia console 100 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 101 having a level 1 cache 102, a level 2 cache 104, and a flash ROM (read only memory) 106. Level 1 cache 102 and level 2 cache 104 store data temporarily, thus reducing the number of memory access cycles and thereby improving processing speed and throughput. The CPU 101 can be provided with multiple cores and thus additional level 1 and level 2 caches 102,104. The flash ROM 106 can store executable code that is loaded during the initial phase of the boot process when the multimedia console 100 is powered on.

  A graphics processing unit (GPU) 108 and a video encoder / video codec (coder / decoder) 114 form a video processing pipeline for high speed and high resolution graphics processing. Data is carried from the graphics processing unit 108 to the video encoder / video codec 114 via the bus. The video processing pipeline outputs data to an A / V (audio / video) port 140 for transmission to a television or other display. A memory controller 110 is connected to the GPU 108 to facilitate processor access to various types of memory 112, such as but not limited to RAM (random access memory).

  In the exemplary embodiment, multimedia console 100 includes an I / O controller 120, system management controller 122, audio processing unit 123, network interface controller 124, and first USB host controller 126 that can be implemented on module 118. A second USB controller 128 and a front panel I / O subassembly 130. USB controllers 126, 128 are for peripheral controllers 142 (1) -142 (2), wireless adapter 148, and external memory device 146 (eg, flash memory, external CD / DVD ROM drive, removable media, etc.) Work as a host. Network interface 124 and / or wireless adapter 148 provide access to a network (eg, the Internet, home network, etc.) and include a variety of different types including Ethernet cards, modems, Bluetooth modules, cable modems, and the like. It can be either a wired or wireless adapter component.

  System memory 143 is provided for storing application data that is loaded during the boot process. A media drive 144 is provided, which may comprise a DVD / CD drive, a hard drive, or other removable media drive. Media drive 144 may be internal or external to multimedia console 100. Application data can be accessed via media drive 144 for execution, playback, etc. by multimedia console 100. The media drive 144 is connected to the I / O controller 120 via a bus such as a serial ATA bus or other high-speed connection (eg, IEEE 1394).

  The system management controller 122 provides various service functions related to ensuring the availability of the multimedia console 100. Audio processing unit 123 and audio codec 132 form a corresponding audio processing pipeline with high fidelity and stereo processing. Audio data is carried between the audio processing unit 123 and the audio codec 132 via a communication link. The audio processing pipeline outputs data to the A / V port 140 for playback by an external audio player or device having an audio function.

  The front panel I / O subassembly 130 supports the functionality of a power button 153 and an eject button 152 exposed on the outer surface of the multimedia console 100, and any LED (light emitting diode) or other indicator. A system power supply module 136 provides power to the components of the multimedia console 100. A fan 138 cools the circuitry within the multimedia console 100.

  CPU 101, GPU 108, memory controller 110, and various other components within multimedia console 100 use serial and parallel buses, memory buses, peripheral buses, and processors or local buses that utilize any of a variety of bus architectures. Interconnected via one or more busses. By way of example, such an architecture may include a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus, a PCI express bus, etc.

  When the multimedia console 100 is powered on, application data can be loaded from the system memory 143 into the memory 112 and / or the caches 102, 104 and executed on the CPU 101. The application can present a graphical user interface that provides a consistent user experience in navigating the different media types available on the multimedia console 100. In operation, applications and / or other media contained within the media drive 144 can be launched or played from the media drive 144 to provide additional functionality to the multimedia console 100.

  The multimedia console 100 can be operated as a stand-alone system simply by connecting the system to a television or other display. In this stand-alone mode, the multimedia console 100 allows one or more users to interact with the system, watch movies, or listen to music. However, once the integration with broadband connectivity is prepared via the network interface 124 or wireless adapter 148, the multimedia console 100 may further operate as a participant in the relatively large network community shown in FIG. it can.

  According to the computer-based gaming group aspect, when the game is executed on the console 100, the game provides information to the service 150 operating on the communication network 160. The service 150 tracks the information of all users connected to the service 150 and provides a rich user experience. The service 150 can also allow players to create groups and track group information. Service 150 tracks user / group information across games, consoles, computing devices, and the like. By tracking information for all users / groups of service 150, service 150 aggregates statistics for all users / groups, measures game play ability, and information about friends and / or other groups (eg, which Provides a richer user experience, tracks user / group performance, and is generally aggregated across a large user community. You can measure game statistics.

  In order to provide a consistent data set across multiple games, the system generates a configuration file (according to the schema defined by the service) that defines the game data for a particular game. If so, a systematic configuration driven process is contemplated. Through the game configuration process, the game describes the data that the game generates for each game player. By using the configuration process, service 150 can understand the data as it flows from the game, and understand that the service creates a rich profile for each user and / or group of services. Can be integrated in a meaningful way with other data. The profile will follow the user as long as the user continues to receive service. That is, the profile is independent of the game and location.

For each user (or called a player or gamer), and for each group, the service collects some data (called profile data), and during all game sessions, and the game session is terminated Even later, user profiles and / or group profiles are built. In general, each of these service experiences providing a profile includes:
1. What the user / group is saying about itself / including itself (including account setup and careful personal / group profile configuration including preferred social gameplay “zones”).
2. What others are saying about the user / group (feedback score and publicly visible reputation).
3. What the game says about users / groups (game configuration and integration of data resulting from game play to calculate the player's skills, among others).
4). What the system says about the user / group (online time, total number of games played, friends list, console behavior, etc.)

  The system creates “user profiles” and “group profiles” that serve as building blocks for services and applications that aim to create a social community of gamers and foster relationships between players. A user / group profile is the entire information (eg, metadata) associated with a particular user / group (ie, a digital identification of the game player / group). A user / group profile is created from a set of services that collect this information and publish it to the community in a meaningful way. User / group profiles also allow personalization so that users and groups can customize and enhance their gaming experience. The user / group profile comprises various components including but not limited to gamer cards, game performance, and gamer preferences. User profiles can be used by players to help determine group formation.

  Referring to FIG. 3, an overview of an exemplary architecture that can be used to implement user profile and group profile interactions with a game session service and user and group interactions is shown. The console 100 interacts with a remote service 158 that provides services 161 such as voice / chat, friend list, match settings, content download, roaming, feedback, tournaments, voice messaging, group formation, and gamer updates. Service 158 also maintains profiles in profile database 162 and configuration data 164 used by service 158 and game 154. Service 158 collects profiles, collects and processes information provided by other services 158, and fulfills real-time client requests to obtain profile-related services. Profiles in database 162 are also used by game 154 to enable, among other things, personalization and customization, group interaction, and the like.

  Using the console 100, the user can interact with the guide 156. Guide 156 provides an interface for a user to navigate and enter various online areas and options provided by remote service 158. Configuration data 164 stored by the service can be used to determine the features and options provided by guide 156. When the game 154 is running, a set of defined APIs (SetContext, SetProperty, SetAchievement, and Session APIs that write data about players and groups, as well as for viewing statistics, performance, and other profile data Several specialized read APIs) are used to invoke the service 158 and interact with it. When requesting profile information via such an API, the game 154 can pass a unique identifier of the user / group. The service can return gamer cards (discussed later), game statistics, game scores, affiliations, game settings, etc. for the user / group. Further details of various aspects of the example architecture are discussed later.

  Service 158 assists in tracking and displaying a wide range of in-game statistics, such as the number of kills, maximum lap times, and win / loss (important for calculating skill values required in a match setting). Such statistics can be provided to users and / or groups of users. All statistics are provided by the various games played by the user / group and provided to the service for inclusion in the player's user profile and / or the group profile of the group. For example, a first-person shooter title may want to define a “kill” property that should be tracked independently for each “map” context (eg, 5 kills in Blood Creek vs. 10 kills in Battle Range). Groups may also want to define a similar “kill” property. This information could be displayed as follows:

  Referring to FIG. 4, profile 166 represents a user profile or a group profile. The user creates a profile (selected from guide 156) during the account signing phase, his / group's unique gamertag (unique name), tile (picture / avatar associated with the user or group), Selecting and other options creates a profile 166. From there, a basic profile 166 is created. Profile 166 can then be populated from several sources. For example, profile 166 may include self-describing data 168 from profile owners, group administrators, and / or group members. Other gamers 170 may provide feedback regarding the profile owner. Service 158 can track online and offline behavior of gamers and / or groups. In addition, the game 154 can report gamer and group statistics and game performance.

  Profile owners can directly edit their profile 166 and control who can view each section of the profile. Profile 166 can be edited by general fields (eg, tile, country, language, gender, greeting, etc.) and / or system settings (eg, audio output, controller vibration, character name, game format, game mode, etc.). . Privacy / leave settings can be adjusted such that the profile, for example, limits presence information to friends only and game performance is visible to everyone.

  Profile 166 may include feedback provided by other players 170. Feedback helps others learn about a particular gamer or group. For example, if a gamer or group uses dirty language or aggressive play in a game session, other gamers or groups may submit feedback to the service 158. The feedback mechanism improves the user experience by building reputation. Players and groups are therefore anonymous, but not unknown due to accumulated feedback.

  In another aspect of the invention, service 158 and game 154 track online and offline behavior of gamers and groups and provide usage statistics in profile 166. As gamers and / or groups play online, certain game titles are added to the list of games played, and this list is made visible to others. While offline, game console 100 and game 154 allow gamers / groups to act through mechanisms that allow the game to collect detailed information about specific player / group in-game statistics and outcomes. Chase. Profile 166 is updated to reflect offline play during the next connection to service 158. Game performance can be reported by the game to the service 154 via the gamer profile and group profile data mechanisms.

  As described above, the profile 166 can be used for customization and preference settings at the global level, as well as at the game level. Gamer and group preferences help the game 154 choose defaults for common settings, such as game profile names, controller transpositions, and controller vibrations, for example. For example, if a gamer wants to use a transposed controller, this preference will be used for the new title when the new title is played. Game 154 has access to gamer profiles and group profiles via database 162 and service 161. In addition, game usage data can be mined to adjust the game 154 to the user / group specific favorites and game features that are updated after the initial game launch.

  Presence services can be included to provide information about the location and behavior of users or groups. Presence information is made available to users and groups that gamers / groups wish to share information with. Gamer profiles and group profiles are the primary methods for accessing presence information.

  It should be understood that the following description of the gamer profile is also applicable to the group profile as appropriate, and the following description of the gamer card is appropriately applicable to the group card. For the sake of brevity, gamer profiles and gamer cards are described as exemplary embodiments. Referring to FIGS. 5-13, the gamer profile (group profile) can be viewed in several ways and forms and is typically displayed in the gamer card 172 (group card). In various embodiments, the group profile includes a group card. Gamer card 172 is a visual representation of console 100 and a gamer profile (e.g., profile 166 applied to a gamer) available for games on the web, for example. Gamer card 172 serves as a summary or snapshot of a player's gamer profile (eg, profile 166 applied to the gamer). Similarly, the group card serves as a summary or snapshot of the group's profile. The gamer can use the gamer card to set up a match setting list when the gamer is added to the preferred player list for future play again.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the gamer card 172 can be divided into two regions: a basic area 174 and a context-specific (or extended) area 176. It should be emphasized again that the following description regarding gamer cards is also applicable to group cards. The basic area 174 is provided with a set of gamer profile information in a standard and consistent manner across multiple contexts, and the extended area 176 can be customized to suit a particular context. it can. The gamer card 172 of FIGS. 5-13 is shown in the context of a guide 156, but the gamer card 172 is distinguished from the rest of the screen and adopts the background color of the screen on which the card is displayed. be able to. Furthermore, the gamer card 172 can be temporarily replaced with animation while it is loaded for viewing.

  The base area 174 can be provided in different variants corresponding to different contexts, while being a consistent view in each context. For example, an online gamer card 172 is shown when a player during an online session is looking at another player's gamer card 172. Online basic area 174 includes, for example, player gamertags, gamer tiles, overall community ratings, gamer credit (Cred) (reward points system based on points), gamer zone, country, member hierarchy, awards, etc. Includes details. When the player is looking at his gamer card 172, an offline gamer card 172 is shown. The offline basic area 174 may include a subset of the online basic area, and may further include information regarding the title played and the time played. The basic area 174 of the gamer card 172 is preferably fixed in size, has a consistent static layout, and has a fixed arrangement of all information elements such as tiles and gamer credit.

  Extended area 176 may include a set of gamer card actions, such as “view profile” and “send feedback”. In an exemplary embodiment, the gamer card's expansion area may vary based on context, so the size is not fixed. As shown in FIGS. 5 to 13, the user can scroll the list of other users by the guide 156 and the friend list 178. When a user scrolls through his friends, gamer cards for other users can be displayed, or the user can be presented with an option to view a full view of the gamer profile. The full view mode consists of different views of the extended area 176 and may include several sections such as profile summaries, community feedback, game performance, actions, and social networks. Guide 156 may evolve through a list of friends, recent players (and summary sections for each player), a user home page that navigates various options and settings, and the like.

  The profile summary includes information about the number of games played, time played, tiles, greetings, and the like. Community feedback includes ratings for style, fairness, language, collaboration, etc. The game performance section includes recent titles, experience points (gamer credit), time played, game specific statistics and performance, and so on. The behavior section includes credits built by gamers, sessions played, total play time, days active on the service, and so forth. Social networks include friends, groups, positive / negative feedback counts and the like.

  In accordance with the above, FIG. 6 shows a list of recent players in the guide 156. Gamer cards displayed when browsing recent players may indicate basic and extended areas that provide information about recent games, feedback, and presence of recent players. Figures 6-9 show overall performance and gamer credit (Figure 7), game-specific performance, gamer credit, time / session played (Figure 8), and results display sorted by date (Figure 9), etc. , Shows further details that can be obtained for recent players.

  FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary manner in which a user can navigate through various options provided by the service 158, edit gamer card information, change game settings, set preferences and privacy settings, and so forth. Indicates the user home page. Such settings and preferences can be accessed using the exemplary user interface of FIGS.

  However, there may be differences in how the guide 156, the game 154, and the player trigger viewing of the gamer profile. One example is a gamer card instantiated by a user. Here, if the user receives a request from another gamer, the user can pause the game 154 and bring the gamer card 172 to the front to find out who is sending the request. There may also be a gamer card 172 instantiated by the game, in which case the user may choose to view the gamer card 172, thereby bringing the gamer card system application to the foreground.

  It is emphasized that the user interface (UI) of FIGS. 5-13 is provided for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to limit the computer-based gaming group recited in the claims. .

  Computer-based gaming groups enhance both user engagement and the quality of social interaction between users. Using user profiles, group interaction provides a mechanism for social and collaborative gameplay. It is recognized that such game play is more enjoyable when the user is playing with people they know and like. Playing in groups and playing as a group with group identification makes it easier to play with people you know and love, especially when your favorite game changes over time. Computer-based gaming groups (eg, online gaming) increase the social aspect of gameplay, significantly connect users to each other, help users build shared commitments to play with each other, It is further imagined that new users will facilitate the path to become a qualified participant in the gaming community and will help users establish group identity in and across multiple games. Is done.

  A group is an association of users who agree to be part of a group. A group may include users across multiple games. It is imagined that users with common social interests will form a group. For example, brothers in the family could form a group, high school or college mates could form a group, members of a bowling league or softball league could form a group, or a combination thereof. Although certain computer-based game players may form groups, the common social interest need not be game-related. Groups differ from friend lists in that the components of a friend list do not necessarily have a common social interest. Members of the friend list may not know each other and may not recognize that they are on a friend's friend list. Furthermore, it is possible that members of a player's friend list do not like each other. In contrast, group members share at least one social interest and recognize that they are all part of the same group.

  Groups can be created (created) via system applications instantiated by the game or from the game context. Thus, a player need not be playing a game to join or leave a group. Group size is not limited. However, in the exemplary embodiment, the group size is limited to save system resources. For example, the group size could be limited to 10 members. When a group is created, the group is given a group name. The group name is assigned by the user. The service manages the formation of groups. The service assigns a globally unique identifier to a group and maintains this globally unique identifier for that group. Players can be invited to join a group at any time. In general, players are invited to join a group by players who are already members of the group. Any invited player can join the group.

  Any member of the group may invite any other player to join the group. In the exemplary embodiment, one member of the group is assigned the role of group administrator. The group administrator is given the authority to remove members from the group. Any group member can leave the group at any time. In an exemplary embodiment, when a member leaves or is removed from a group, a new invitation from another group member is required to rejoin.

  In an exemplary embodiment, the service automatically assigns the group administrator role to the creator of the group. A group member can be a group manager at any given time. The group member can determine who the group manager is by counting all the group members. The group manager can transfer the role of the group manager to another group member. That is, the role of the group manager can be transferred within the group. When the group manager transitions the role of the group manager to another group member, the service notifies the other group member of the migration by a system message. In the exemplary embodiment, the group management role comprises two modes: exclusive and shared. In the exclusive group management mode, only the group administrator can edit group settings and / or profiles. In shared group manager mode, all group members can edit group settings and / or profiles. The group manager mode can be toggled between exclusive mode and shared mode. In the exemplary embodiment, only the group administrator can toggle the group administrator mode.

  As long as the privacy settings do not prevent enumeration of group members, group members can be obtained by the system and / or by game title. Any player can see all the groups to which another player belongs. Any group member can enumerate all groups of which he is a member. Any game title and / or service can enumerate all groups in which the player is a member. Any group member can list all group members of all groups of which he is a member.

  Members of the group can send messages to other members of the group. Messages sent to the group are delivered to all members of the group. The UI identifies a message for the group as a message for the group (not a message for a single user). Exemplary messages include group recruitment messages, group inactivity warning messages, group expiration notification messages, and group management transition confirmation messages.

  Group members can review the group presence summary. The group presence summary provides the total number of members in the group and the total number of group members currently online. Group members can also review the group presence list. The group presence list provides more detailed information than that provided by the group presence summary. The group presence list provides online and offline information about group members. Furthermore, group members can count group presence summaries for all groups of which they are members.

  FIG. 14 is an exemplary flow diagram of a process for computer-based gaming group creation and interaction. A group is created at step 180. Group formation is based on social interest. In an exemplary embodiment, at least two members of the group have a common social interest. Exemplary social interests also include social interests such as family interests, work interests, sports interests, hobbies interests, non-game related club membership, non-game related interests, or appropriate. Groups can play games as a group, compete as a group, and aggregate statistics as a group. As described above, the service manages the formation of groups. Any user can create a group. Groups are assigned an identification, such as a globally unique identifier, at step 182. A group identification is associated with a group across multiple games and across multiple sessions of the same game. A group can be treated as a single entity that is entitled to many of the benefits enjoyed by individual users. The group interacts at step 184 within a computer-based gaming environment. In the exemplary embodiment, the computer-based gaming environment is an online gaming environment. Group interactions are appropriate, for example, actions related to all group members, group messaging, group presence, group performance and group statistics, group profiles, group management as an administrator, group revocation, and group competition. Dialogue can also be included.

  To illustrate aspects of computer-based gaming groups, an exemplary scenario is given. In this exemplary scenario, a player named G-MAN has earned a reputation as a ring leader who gathers his friends and plays online games. When G-MAN notices a group page in the guide, it creates its own group. G-MAN names the group Group H. G-MAN invites all his friends to join the group. A few days later, when the seven closest friends accept the invitation, G-MAN plans the first of the long evening series of Group H games. In the text of the message, G-MAN specifies Thursday from 8:00 pm to midnight and proposes PGR3 as the first game title.

  As Thursday approaches 8:00 PM, G-MAN looks into his group presence information and finds that three of the nine members are online. G-MAN invites all three people to chat.

  While playing games, Group H members become increasingly enthusiastic about group dialogue. Arguably, the best shooter of Group H is D-Blue. D-Blue starts thinking about challenging other groups to play. D-Blue searches for the overall ranking of the group and finds an appropriate opponent.

  No other member of Group H can understand why D-Blue invited a neighbor to join Group H. The neighbor of D-Blue is an unpleasant person. This person doesn't like any of the games that Group H wants to play. G-MAN dismisses D-Blue's neighbors from Group H, as the person's constant complaints disgusts.

  A few weeks later, Group H begins to realize that group identification is evolving. G-MAN proposes that the latest Halo trophy images represent group H as “public”. In the guide, G-MAN edits the group profile, adds tiles, and records the group motto.

  D-Blue does not like the group motto and enters the group profile to make changes himself. As a result, a slight slander battle between the members of Group H breaks out. Unbearable for this situation, G-MAN activates the control and reverses the group management mode from shared to exclusive. Thereafter, only the G-MAN can edit the group profile.

  Next summer, G-MAN will depart for a backpack trip in Australia and transfer management control to D-Blue. However, D-Blue loses interest in playing with Group H because he feels he is far superior to the rest of Group H. No other member takes the initiative, and after 30 days of inactivity, Group H receives a message that if the inactivity continues, the group will expire in 30 days.

  Those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are various modifications that are within the scope of the appended claims. Although computer-based gaming groups have been described in connection with exemplary embodiments in the various drawings, others have been described to implement the same functions of computer-based gaming groups without departing from such embodiments. It is to be understood that similar embodiments can be used and modifications and additions can be made to the described embodiments.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary computer network environment in which aspects of a computer-based gaming group may be implemented. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example console that may be incorporated into a network computing environment, such as the network computing environment of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the interaction of the console with a remote service. It is a figure which shows the source of the information which gives an input to a gamer profile. FIG. 3 illustrates various graphical user interfaces according to the present invention. FIG. 3 illustrates various graphical user interfaces according to the present invention. FIG. 3 illustrates various graphical user interfaces according to the present invention. FIG. 3 illustrates various graphical user interfaces according to the present invention. FIG. 3 illustrates various graphical user interfaces according to the present invention. FIG. 3 illustrates various graphical user interfaces according to the present invention. FIG. 3 illustrates various graphical user interfaces according to the present invention. FIG. 3 illustrates various graphical user interfaces according to the present invention. FIG. 3 illustrates various graphical user interfaces according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process for creating and interacting with a computer-based gaming group.

Claims (20)

A method for computer-based gaming group interaction, comprising:
Creating a group of computer-based game players based on at least one social interest;
Providing a group profile (166) to the group;
Providing in a computer-based gaming environment (100) the ability to interact as a group across different games.   The method of claim 1, wherein at least two of the game players in the group have at least one common social interest on which the group is based.   The method of claim 1, wherein the interaction includes at least one of playing a game, performing a non-game action, and transferring a message between members of the group. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining game execution statistics for the group of game players; and determining game execution statistics for the group according to the determined statistics for the group of game players. The method described. The group is managed by a service;
The service is maintained on a server;
The method of claim 1, wherein game players in the group connect to the service via a network via a game console.   The method of claim 1, wherein the group maintains the group profile across multiple sessions of a game. The group profile is maintained across different games and the method includes:
The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing information regarding the presence of individual members of the group; and providing information regarding the presence of the group as an entity.   The method of claim 1, further comprising providing group specific information that is viewable by all members of the group. A system for group interaction in a computer-based gaming environment (100) comprising:
A database for storing information about game players in the computer-based game environment (100);
A service in the computer-based gaming environment, the service comprising:
Accessing the database,
Creating a group of game players based on information stored in the database, wherein at least two of the game players in the group have at least one common social interest;
Giving the group profile (166) to the group as a single entity;
Making the group interact with other game players not in the group, the group being for interacting across different games. The service is maintained on a server;
10. The system according to claim 9, wherein game players in the group are connected to the service via a network by a game console. The service is
Determining game execution statistics for game players in the group;
The system of claim 9, wherein game execution statistics for the group are determined according to the determined statistics for game players in the group.   The system of claim 9, wherein the service maintains the group profile across multiple sessions of a game.   The system of claim 9, wherein the service maintains the group profile across different games.   The group interacts with other non-group game players by playing a game, performing a non-game action, and transferring a message between members of the group. The system according to claim 9. Storing information about the group of game players in which at least two of the game players in the group have at least one common social interest;
A memory for storing information about the group profile (166) for the group as a single entity;
Accessing the memory,
A game console comprising: a processor that enables game play with the group, wherein the group can interact across different game consoles.   The game console according to claim 15, wherein the game console is connected to a player in the group connected via a network. The game console receives game execution statistics for game players in the group;
The game console of claim 15, wherein the game console receives game execution statistics for the group according to the statistics for game players in the group.   The system of claim 15, wherein the group profile is maintained across multiple sessions of a game.   The system of claim 15, wherein the service group profile is maintained across different games.   The game console can interact with other non-group game players by playing games, performing non-game actions, and / or forwarding messages between members of the group The game console according to claim 15, wherein the game console is a game console.

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