JP7461174B2 - Minigames accessed via shared interface - Google Patents

Description

This invention provides automatic creation of suggested mini-games based on recorded gameplay, creation of multi-part mini-games for cloud gaming based on recorded gameplay, and integration of recorded gameplay into social graphs. A method and system for sharing and remote control of a first user's gameplay by a second user.

The video game industry has seen many changes over the years. As computing power has expanded, video game developers have likewise created gaming software that takes advantage of that increased computing power. To that end, video game developers have coded games that employ sophisticated controls and calculations to create an extremely realistic gaming experience.

Examples of gaming platforms include the Sony Playstation, Sony Playstation 2 (PS2), and Sony Playstation 3 (PS3), each of which is sold in the form of a game console. As is well known, the game console is designed to connect to a monitor (usually a television) and allows user interaction with a hand-held controller. The game console is designed with specialized processing hardware, including a CPU, a graphics synthesizer for handling intensive graphics operations, a vector unit for performing geometric transformations, and other combining hardware, firmware, and software. The game console is further designed with an optical disc tray that accepts compact discs for playing locally through the game console. Online gaming is also possible, where users can play interactively against or with other users over the Internet. As the complexity of games continues to intrigue players, game and hardware manufacturers have continued to innovate to achieve greater interactivity and computer programs.

A growing trend within the computer gaming industry is to develop games that increase the interaction between the user and the gaming system. One way to achieve a richer interactive experience is to use a wireless game controller whose movements are tracked by the gaming system in order to track the player's movements and use them as input for the game. Generally speaking, gesture input refers to any gesture made by a player that causes an electronic device, such as a computing system, video game console, or smart appliance, to react to some gesture that is captured by the electronic device.

Another growing trend in this industry involves the development of cloud-based gaming systems. Such systems can include a remote processing server that communicates with a local thin client configured to run a gaming application, receive input from a user, and display video on a display.

This is where the embodiment of the invention was born.

Embodiments of the invention provide methods and systems for automatic creation of suggested mini-games based on recorded gameplay, creation of multi-part mini-games for cloud gaming based on recorded gameplay, sharing of recorded gameplay to a social graph, and remote control of a first user's gameplay by a second user. It should be appreciated that the invention can be realized in any number of ways, such as by a process, an apparatus, a system, a device, or a method on a computer readable medium. Several embodiments of the invention are described below.

In one embodiment, a method is provided for creating a playable limited edition video game, the method including the following method operations executed by a processor: recording gameplay by a user of a full version video game, analyzing the recorded gameplay of the user to determine an area of interest, defining boundaries within the context of the gameplay of the video game based on the determined area of interest, and creating the limited edition video game based on the defined boundaries.

In another embodiment, a method is provided that includes the following method operations, performed by a processor, of creating a playable limited edition video game: Gameplay by a user of a full version video game. analysis of the user's recorded gameplay to determine one or more areas of interest, presentation of each area of interest for selection, selection input indicating the selected area of interest; Definition of boundaries within the context of the gameplay of a video game based on the received and selected area of interest, and the creation of limited editions of the video game based on the defined boundaries.

In another embodiment, a method is provided for creating a playable limited edition video game, the method including the following method operations executed by a processor: recording a user's gameplay of a full version video game, wherein the recording of the user's gameplay includes one or more user input data or game state data, analyzing the user's recorded gameplay to determine one or more areas of interest, wherein each of the areas of interest is automatically identified based on corresponding to one or more thresholds, presenting each of the areas of interest for selection, receiving a selection input indicating the selected areas of interest, defining boundaries for the selected areas of interest within the context of gameplay of the video game based on the selected areas of interest, and creating the limited edition video game based on the defined boundaries.

In one embodiment, a method is provided that includes the following method operations and is executed by a processor to create a playable limited edition video game: recording, determining a plurality of user-defined portions of the user's recorded gameplay; for each user-defined portion, defining boundaries within the gameplay context of the video game based on the user-defined portions; and determining a video based on the defined boundaries. Creating playable parts of a game, a sequential arrangement of each playable part of a video game to define a limited edition of the video game.

In another embodiment, a computer readable tangible medium is provided containing program instructions for creating a playable limited edition of a video game, including: a user with a full version of a video game; program instructions for recording gameplay by a user; program instructions for determining a plurality of user-defined portions of the user's recorded gameplay; for each of the user-defined portions, a gameplay context of a video game based on the user-defined portion; program instructions for defining boundaries within and creating playable portions of a video game based on the defined boundaries, each playable portion of the video game sequentially to define a limited edition of the video game; Program instructions for arraying.

In another embodiment, a system is provided that includes: at least one server computing device, the at least one server computing device recording gameplay by a user of a complete video game. logic for determining a plurality of user-defined portions of the user's recorded gameplay, comprising logic for creating a playable limited version of the video game, for each of the user-defined portions; Logic for the definition of boundaries within the gameplay context of a video game based on user-defined parts and the creation of playable parts of a video game based on the defined boundaries, a video game to define a limited edition of a video game Logic for sequentially arranging each of the playable parts of .

In one embodiment, a method for sharing recorded gameplay to a social graph is provided, the method including the following method operations executed by a processor: recording video of a user's gameplay during an active state of a gameplay session; receiving a command to initiate a sharing operation during the active state of the gameplay session; in response to receiving the command, pausing the gameplay session and providing a sharing interface; receiving processing inputs via the sharing interface to determine a user-defined selection of the recorded video; sharing the user-defined selection of the recorded video to the user's social graph; and restoring the active state of the gameplay session.

In another embodiment, a method is provided for sharing recorded gameplay to a social graph, including the following method operations performed by a processor: during an active state of a gameplay session. Recording footage of a user's gameplay, receiving a command to initiate a sharing operation during an active gameplay session, and, in response to receiving the command, determining a user-defined selection of the recorded footage. , the sharing of user-defined selections of recorded video against the user's social graph.

In another embodiment, a fixed computer readable medium is provided containing program instructions defined for sharing gameplay recorded against a social graph. The program instructions include: program instructions for recording gameplay footage of a user during an active state of a gameplay session; and for initiating a sharing operation during an active state of a gameplay session. program instructions for receiving a command for, in response to receiving the command, determining a user-defined selection of the recorded video, for sharing the user-defined selection of the recorded video for the user's social graph; Program instructions for.

In one embodiment, a method for remotely controlling gameplay of a user is provided, the method being executed on at least one processor and including the following method operations: providing a live video feed of the gameplay of a user, processing a transition control request for the gameplay of the first user to a second user, and initiating control of the gameplay of the first user by the second user.

In another embodiment, a method for providing multiplayer gameplay, executed on at least one processor, is provided that includes the following method operations: providing a live video feed of gameplay of a first user; processing a request for a second user to join the gameplay session of the first user; gameplay by the second user during the gameplay session of the first user; The start of the.

In another embodiment, a fixed computer readable medium is provided containing program instructions for providing remote control of a user's gameplay. The program instructions include: program instructions for providing a live video feed of a first user's gameplay to a second user at a remote location; Program instructions for processing a transition control request, program instructions for initiating control of a first user's gameplay by a second user.

Other aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrates the principles of the invention.

The invention can be best understood by referring to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1A illustrates a user playing a cloud-based video game according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1B shows multiple users at multiple locations participating in a cloud-based video game.

FIG. 2A shows a system for cloud gaming according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2B illustrates an accumulation of game titles across different generations of gaming consoles in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a method for providing a game demo to a user according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4A illustrates a hierarchical organization of portions of a video game according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4B illustrates an interface for selecting a portion of a gameplay timeline to create a mini-game or game slice, according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4C illustrates an interface for selecting a portion of a gameplay timeline for creating a mini-game according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a series of screenshots demonstrating a method for creating a mini-game from an existing cloud-based video game in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a system for creating game slice code according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7A illustrates the modification of a virtual space to create a game slice of a video game, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7B illustrates modification of a scene graph to create a game slice according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates a method for creating game slices according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9A depicts various games according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 illustrates an interface for viewing game slices related to a title.

FIG. 9B shows a game slice information page according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 10 illustrates a view of a user's account information, including a live view of friends in a cloud gaming social network, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 illustrates a method for presenting a live gameplay feed of the current user's friends according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 illustrates a system including a cloud gaming system and a social network, according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 13 is a graph illustrating the variation of various game state variables over time, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14A illustrates a method for creating game slices of a linear video game according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14B illustrates a method for creating a game slice for an open-world video game according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14C illustrates a method for creating game slices for a sports video game, according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 15 conceptually illustrates a multi-game slice game configuration according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 16 conceptually illustrates the creation of mini-games for a multi-game slice in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 illustrates an interface for gameplay sharing according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 illustrates an interface 1800 for selecting a portion of a recorded gameplay video for sharing, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 illustrates an interface 1900 for viewing a live video stream of a user's gameplay, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 illustrates hardware and user interface that can be used to provide interactivity in a video game, according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 21 illustrates additional hardware that can be used to process instructions in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 22 illustrates an example of scenes A through E in which users A through E interact with a game client 1102 connected to a server process via the Internet, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 illustrates one embodiment of an information service provider architecture.

The following embodiments describe automatic creation of suggested minigames based on recorded gameplay, creation of multipart minigames for cloud gaming based on recorded gameplay, and social graphs of recorded gameplay. A method and system for sharing and remote control of a first user's gameplay by a second user is described.

It will be apparent, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well known process operations have not been described in order to not unnecessarily obscure the present invention.

FIG. 1A shows a user playing a cloud-based video game according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown, user U1 is playing a cloud-based video game displayed on display 100. Cloud-based video games are primarily video games that run on remote servers. In one embodiment, the servers may include individual servers or servers running within a virtual machine data center, where multiple servers can be virtualized to provide the requested processing. In the illustrated embodiment, cloud gaming server 104 executes a video game displayed on display 100. Client 101 is located at the user's location and receives and processes inputs, transmits them to cloud gaming server 104, and receives video and audio data from cloud gaming server 104. The client 101 and cloud gaming server 104 communicate via a network 102 such as the Internet. In other embodiments, the client is portable as long as it can communicate with a network and provide access to a display for displaying gameplay, and allows input from the user to drive interaction. Any device can be used, whether wired or not, wireless or not. In one embodiment, the client is a thin client. However, in other embodiments, the client may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a gaming console, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a mobile computing device, a portable gaming device, a mobile phone, a set-top box, a streaming media interface. /device, smart television or network connected display, or any other computing device that can be configured to meet the client functionality defined herein. In one embodiment, the cloud gaming server is configured to detect the type of client device being used by the user and provide a cloud gaming experience appropriate to the user's client device. For example, video settings, audio settings, and other types of settings can be optimized for the user's client device.

In various embodiments, the extent of processing performed by the client may vary with respect to input and output processing. Generally speaking, however, the state of the video game is substantially maintained and executed on the cloud gaming server 104, and the client primarily receives and communicates user input and receives video/audio data for display. The client 101 may be a standalone device that connects to the display 100 and provides video data for display on the display 100. In other embodiments, the client may be integrated into the display 100. In one embodiment, the display 100 is a network-connected display that provides a platform operating system for applications or "apps" that utilize the display's network connectivity. The client in such an embodiment may be defined by the application, which runs on top of a platform provided by the display's operating system.

FIG. 1B illustrates multiple users at multiple locations participating in gameplay of a cloud-based video game. User U1 is shown at a first location interacting with the video game displayed on display 100. Users U2 and U3 are shown at a second location interacting with the video game displayed on display 106. User U4 is shown at a third location interacting with the video game displayed on display 108. Users U5, U6, and U7 are shown at a fourth location interacting with the video game displayed on display 110.

Each of the first, second, third and fourth locations is equipped with at least one computing device to process inputs from various users and display the cloud-based video game on their respective displays. Of course, the computing device may be integrated into the display or may be a stand-alone device such as a personal computer, a set-top box, a gaming console, or any other type of device, so long as it has at least one processor and memory for processing and storing data. The computing device is capable of executing or identifying a client, as already described above. The computing device is connected to a network and communicates with the cloud gaming server 104 via a network such as the Internet 102.

The cloud gaming server 104 executes various video games played by users, defines game states of predetermined video games from time to time, and transmits video data (including image data and audio data) to computing devices at specific locations. Send to. A computing device at a predetermined location processes input from a user playing a video game and transmits the input data to a cloud gaming server, which in turn processes the input data to affect a game state of the video game. . Naturally, this cloud-based gaming facilitates multiplayer gaming from players located in different locations by running the video game on a remote server that is accessible to all players over the network. do. In this way, the execution of the video game is not dependent on any hardware or network connection of a single player, but it does affect the user experience for that player.

FIG. 2A illustrates a system for cloud gaming according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown, a user 200 manipulates a controller 202 to provide input to a cloud-based video game. The controller 202 can include any of a variety of input devices, such as buttons, joysticks, touchpads, trackballs, and motion-sensing hardware, such as accelerometers, magnetometers, and gyroscopes. In one embodiment, the controller 202 can include any object that can be tracked to determine the position of the controller 202. The controller 202 can wirelessly communicate with a thin game client 204. The client 204 communicates with a cloud gaming service 210 via a network 208. The client 204 processes data from the controller 202 and creates input that is sent to a video game being run by the cloud gaming service 210. The client 204 also receives video data from the cloud gaming service 210 for display on a display 206. In one embodiment, the client 204 can process the received video data and provide a video stream in a format compatible with the display 206. In one embodiment, client 204 may include a camera for tracking the controller device or an object located on the controller device. As previously mentioned, the object may be illuminated to facilitate tracking based on analysis of video frames acquired from the camera.

Cloud gaming service 210 includes resources for providing an environment in which video games can be executed. Generally speaking, resources may include various computer server hardware, such as processors, storage devices, and networking equipment, that can be utilized to facilitate the execution of video game applications. In the illustrated embodiment, video game library 212 includes a variety of video game titles. Each game title defines executable code and associated data and asset libraries used to materialize the video game. Host 214 may be a single computing device that defines a platform for instantiating virtual machine 216. In another embodiment, host 214 itself may be a virtualized resource platform. In other words, the host 214 may operate one or more server computing devices and is responsible for manipulating the use of resources defined by the server computing devices and for materializing virtual machines 216 during that time. Presenting a possible unified platform.

Each of the virtual machines 216 can support an operating system and define a resource environment on which the video game application 218 can run. In one embodiment, the virtual machine can be configured to mimic the hardware resource environment of a gaming console, with the operating system associated with the gaming console running on the virtual machine to support the execution of game titles developed for that gaming console. In another embodiment, the operating system can be configured to mimic the native operating system environment of a gaming console, regardless of whether the underlying virtual machine is configured to mimic the hardware of the gaming console. In another embodiment, an emulator application runs on top of the virtual machine's operating system, and the emulator is configured to mimic the native operating system environment of the gaming console to support video games designed for the gaming console. Of course, a variety of modern and traditional gaming consoles can be mimicked within the cloud-based gaming system. In this manner, users can access game titles from different gaming consoles through the cloud gaming system.

When user 200 requests to play a particular video game title, that video game title is retrieved from library 212 . If a matching virtual machine is not already instantiated or available, a new matching virtual machine is instantiated on host 214. The captured video game title is then available or executed as an application 218 on the newly materialized virtual machine 216. In one embodiment, this entails determining the appropriate platform for the video game title (e.g., what gaming console or operating system is required to run the game) and determining the appropriate virtual machine to run the video game title on. , for example, with an emulator application capable of running the video game title. This video game execution is communicated to game client 204 to provide user 200 with an interactive gaming experience. More specifically, execution of video game application 218 receives input data from client 204 via network 208 . Application 218 processes the input data to update the game state of the running application. As the game state changes, application 218 outputs video data for display on display 206 and sends to client 204. Application 218 may also output feedback data to client 204 that is used to provide additional feedback mechanisms to the user. By way of example, the user's controller 202 may include a tactile vibration feedback mechanism that is activated based on feedback data output from the video game application.

In one embodiment, the cloud gaming system is configured to detect a type of client device associated with a user and a type of controller available to the user to provide input to a cloud-based video game. For example, in one embodiment, when a user logs into the cloud gaming system, the user may be presented with an option to specify the type of client device with which they are accessing the cloud gaming system. In one embodiment, a series of client device options may be presented from which the user may select one that corresponds to their client device. The user may also be presented with an option to specify the type of controller device to be used to play the video game. In one embodiment, a series of controller options may be presented from which the user may select a controller type that corresponds to their controller hardware. In other embodiments, the cloud gaming system may be configured to automatically detect the client device type and/or the controller device type.

For example, upon login, a client device may transmit information identifying itself as well as the connected controller device to a cloud gaming server (e.g., upon request from the cloud gaming server). Based on this information, the cloud gaming server can determine appropriate video game output configurations and input parameter configurations to provide an optimized gaming experience for the user's client device and controller device. In one embodiment, look-up tables are employed to determine the video game configuration and input parameter configuration based on the detected client device and the detected controller device.

Of course, a video game may be developed for a particular platform and a particular controller device. However, once such a game is made available through a cloud gaming system such as that described herein, a user may access it from a different controller device. For example, a game may be developed for a game console and its associated controller, but a user may access a cloud-based version of the game from a personal computer using a keyboard and mouse. In such a scenario, the configuration of input parameters may define a mapping from inputs that can be made with the controller devices available to the user (in this case, the keyboard and mouse) to acceptable inputs for execution of the video game.

In another embodiment, a user may access the cloud gaming system from a tablet computing device, touchscreen smartphone, or other touchscreen-powered device. In this case, the client device and controller device are integrated into the same device and input is provided by detected touch screen inputs/gestures. For such devices, a configuration of input parameters can define specific touch screen inputs that correspond to game inputs of a video game. Locations on the touch screen that a user can touch to create game inputs may be displayed or overlaid with, for example, buttons, cross keys, or other types of input elements during the course of the game. Gestures such as swiping in a particular direction or certain touch movements can also be detected as game inputs. In one embodiment, the user is provided with instructions on how to provide input to the gameplay via the touchscreen, e.g., prior to initiating gameplay of a video game, in order to familiarize the user with the operations for controlling the touchscreen. We can provide a tutorial to show you.

In some embodiments, the client device serves as a connection point for the controller device. That is, the controller device communicates via a wireless or wired connection with the client device to issue inputs from the controller device to the client device. The client device in turn processes these inputs and then transmits the input data over a network (e.g., accessed via a local networking device such as a router) to the cloud gaming server. However, in other embodiments, the controller itself can be a networked device, with the ability to communicate its inputs over a network directly to the cloud gaming server without first having to communicate them to the client device. For example, the controller is connected to a local networking device (such as the router mentioned above) and sends and receives data to and from the cloud gaming server. Thus, even though the client device needs to receive visual output from the cloud-based video game and display it on a local display, input latency can be reduced because the controller can send inputs directly to the cloud gaming server over the network, bypassing the client device.

In one embodiment, a networked controller and client device may be configured to send certain types of input directly from the controller to the cloud gaming server, while other types of input go through the client device. For example, inputs whose detection does not depend on other additional hardware or processing on the controller itself can be sent directly to the cloud gaming server over the network, bypassing the client device. Such inputs include button inputs, joystick inputs, built-in motion sensing inputs (such as accelerometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes, etc.). However, inputs that require additional hardware or processing by the client device can be sent by the client device to the cloud gaming server. These include captured video or audio that requires processing by the client device before being sent to the cloud gaming server. Additionally, input from the controller motion detection hardware is processed by the client device in conjunction with captured video to detect controller motion and position, and then communicated from the client device to the cloud gaming server. It will be appreciated that a controller device according to various embodiments also receives data (eg, feedback data) from a client device or directly from a cloud gaming server.

FIG. 2B conceptually illustrates the accumulation of game titles across different generations of gaming consoles, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In the video gaming industry, video games are developed for specific video game consoles. Over time, a library of game titles for a particular game console accumulates. For example, in the illustrated diagram, a first generation console 220 has a collection 228 of game titles developed for it. A second generation console 222 is accompanied by a collection 230 of game titles developed for it. And a third generation console 224 is also shown, which has a collection 232 of game titles developed for it. In another embodiment, there is also a collection 234 of game titles that are specifically developed for cloud-based gaming use with the client 226. Additionally, other types of games, such as internet games, can also be developed and collected for distribution via the cloud gaming system as described herein. Of course, game titles from different generations of gaming consoles can be collected and integrated into the cloud gaming library 212. As shown, the library 212 includes a library 236 of first generation consoles developed for the first generation console 220. Similarly, library 212 also includes a second generation console library 238 and a third generation console library 240, which include video games developed for second and third generation consoles, respectively. Other types of games, such as games developed for client 226 and Internet games, may also be included in game library 212. As can be seen, a large number of game titles across various generations of gaming consoles are compiled and made available via the cloud gaming library. As previously mentioned, each of these games may be run on a virtual machine that mimics the operating system associated with the particular gaming console for which the game was developed. In this manner, users accessing the cloud-based gaming system may easily access and play games from many different consoles, as well as access and play games from other contacts, such as Internet games, and games developed specifically for the cloud-based gaming system.

FIG. 3 illustrates a method for providing a user with a game demo according to one embodiment. An interface 300 is shown that provides vignettes or icons 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, and 312 of various game titles available for demo. Each icon is configured to provide an image that is indicative of the game it represents. In one embodiment, when a user hovers over a given icon, the icon is activated to display an animation or video clip that represents the video game or otherwise provide additional information regarding the content of the video game. In the illustrated embodiment, the user hovers over icon 302, which is highlighted and an active animation that represents a scene from the video game is displayed. When the user selects an icon, a preview video is displayed according to method operation 314. If the user continues to select the game at method operation 316, then method operation 318 launches the game code for the demo. At method operation 320, the game demo is immediately available for gameplay by the user. Of course, since the game demo is cloud-based, it is immediately available by instantiating the game demo pre-loaded within the cloud-based system. When the game demo is launched, the previously loaded game demo instantiation begins to execute. At method operation 322, it is determined whether the user wishes to continue executing the game demo or to play another demo of the video game, if available. If so, the method returns to operation 322 to continue executing the game demo or to execute a new game demo of the video game. If not, the user is presented with an option to purchase a mini version of the video game at method operation 324. Additionally, at method operation 326, the user may be presented with an option to purchase a full version of the video game. If the user selects to purchase either the mini version or the full version of the game, then at method operation 328, that version of the game is added to the user's account. Of course, since the game is made available via the cloud-based gaming system, adding the game to the user's account merely gives the user's account access to a particular version of the game. Moreover, once purchased, the game is virtually instantly available from the cloud-based system for the user's gameplay, especially if it has been previously instantiated on the cloud-based system.

FIG. 4A shows a hierarchical structure of various parts of a video game, according to an embodiment of the invention. As an example, a video game may be structured into various sections 400. In the illustrated embodiment, a settings section, an introduction section, various levels sections, and an exit section may be included. A given level can be further divided into various scenes. As shown, the level 3 section is divided into various scenes 402. When the user finishes playing a given scene, recording a gameplay timeline for that scene, including recorded video of the user's gameplay, and recorded input data and game state of the executed gaming application. I can do it. In the illustrated embodiment, gameplay timeline 404 represents the user's gameplay at level 3, scene 2 of the game. In accordance with embodiments of the invention, users may select portions of their recorded gameplay from which to create mini-games or game slices. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the gameplay timeline 404 has a start time T0 and an end time Tz, and to create a mini-game, the portion of the gameplay timeline from time Tx to time Ty is chosen.

FIG. 4B illustrates an interface for selecting a portion of a gameplay timeline to create a mini-game or game slice, according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the illustrated embodiment, a touch screen 411 of a device 410 displays an interface 412. In one embodiment, the device 410 is a tablet computing device. The interface 412 includes a selectable gameplay timeline 414. In a close-up 430 of the gameplay timeline 414, it can be seen that the gameplay timeline 414, according to one embodiment, is represented as a film strip with adjustable markers 416 and 418. Marker 416 designates a selected start location along the gameplay timeline 414, and marker 418 designates a selected end location of the gameplay timeline. Additionally, a marker 419 can be placed within the portion of the gameplay timeline 414 provided by the start marker 416 and the end marker 418. For ease of use and to provide the user with a visual understanding of which portion of their gameplay has been selected, a start frame 420 may be displayed corresponding to the location of marker 416 on the gameplay timeline, which is an image of recorded gameplay footage corresponding to the time of the location of start marker 416. Similarly, an end frame 424 may be displayed corresponding to the location of marker 418 on the gameplay timeline, which is an image of recorded gameplay footage corresponding to the time of the location of end marker 418. Additionally, a representative frame 422 may be displayed corresponding to the location of marker 419 along the gameplay timeline, which may be used as a representative image of a mini-game to be created based on the selected portion of the gameplay timeline. It will be appreciated that although a touch screen interface is presented and described in the illustrated embodiment, in other embodiments, various other inputs may be utilized to select the start and end locations that define the portion of gameplay for mini-game creation. For example, input can be provided via a game controller, keyboard, motion input, voice input, and other types of input devices and mechanisms, allowing selection of portions of gameplay, including selection of representative frames from recorded gameplay footage.

In some embodiments, the selection marker may not be continuously adjustable along the gameplay timeline, but may instead stop at predetermined points along the gameplay timeline. It can be configured as follows. For example, predetermined points in time may be defined to correspond to particular events that occur within the timeline of gameplay. The specific events on a given gameplay timeline that are assigned to predetermined points in time can be created based on an analysis of the user's gameplay and depend on the unique architecture of the video game's gameplay. In one embodiment, the predetermined point in time is assignable based on the character's geographic location within a virtual world defined by the video game. For example, predetermined points in time may include a character moving from one geographic location to another, e.g., from one scene location to another, from one city to another, or from one city to another. can be assigned to specific times, such as entering a vehicle, entering a room within a structure, entering a vehicle, entering a different type of environment, or any other significant geographic transition. In another embodiment, the predetermined time points can be assigned based on controlled user growth within the video game. For example, a predetermined point in time may be when a character or entity controlled by a user completes a mission, acquires a skill, acquires an object, passes a level, or otherwise completes a portion of a video game. or to perform or accomplish some other important activity within the video game.

FIG. 4C illustrates an interface for selecting a portion of a gameplay timeline to create a mini-game, according to an embodiment of the invention. Gameplay timeline 414 depicts a timeline along which a user can set start and end markers 416 and 418, thereby specifying gameplay selections to create a mini-game. A start frame 410 corresponding to the position of start marker 416 and an end frame 424 corresponding to the position of end marker 418 are shown. Of course, these frames can be identified from recorded footage of the user's gameplay. Several candidate frames 440, 442, 444, and 446 are presented from which the user can choose one to use as the representative frame for the mini-game. Candidate frames can be determined in various ways. For example, candidate frames are presented at small intervals during selected portions of the gameplay timeline. This spacing can be equal so that candidate frames are uniformly arranged along the gameplay timeline, or it can be equal so that some frames are more spaced than others along the gameplay timeline. It is also possible to make them non-uniform so that they are close to each other. In one embodiment, candidate frames are created at a higher density during earlier portions of the selected portion of the gameplay timeline compared to later portions of the selected portion of the gameplay timeline. In one embodiment, candidate frames are created at a high density in both early and late regions of the selected portion of the gameplay timeline, but in the middle portion of the selected portion of the gameplay timeline. , candidate frames are created with a lower density.

After a user selects a portion of gameplay to create a mini-game, in embodiments of the present invention, a system and method are provided that creates a playable mini-game based on the selected portion of gameplay. More specifically, the mini-game allows another user to play essentially the same portion of the video game played by the original user, possibly under essentially the same conditions and parameters. In this sense, the mini-game is more than just a replay video of the original user's gameplay (although a replay video clip of the original user's gameplay is provided in conjunction with the mini-game), but is an actual playable portion of the video game designated based on the user's own gameplay selections. Thus, the second user can experience a similar gameplay experience as the original user.

FIG. 5 shows a series of screenshots demonstrating a method for creating mini-games from existing cloud-based video games, according to an embodiment of the invention. Screenshot 500 shows a user playing a video game. In the illustrated embodiment, the user is playing level 3 of the video game. In screenshot 502, the user has completed level 3 of the video game. Upon completion of a level, the user is provided with the option to create a game slice or mini-game based on the user's gameplay in that level. When the user selects to create a game slice, the user is provided with an interface in screenshot 504 to select a starting position for the game slice from the user's recorded gameplay. As already mentioned, a representation of the gameplay timeline is displayed with an adjustable slider that the user can move to specify the starting position of the game slice. After the user specifies a starting position, in screenshot 506 the user is provided with an interface configured to allow selection of an ending position for the game slice. Once again, the adjustable slider is moved by the user to specify the ending position along the timeline of the gameplay displayed within the interface. Once a start and end position is specified from the user's gameplay timeline, a game slice or mini-game is created as described elsewhere. Screenshot 508 provides the user with the option to share the newly created game slice with other users or to notify other users of the newly created game slice, or to create another game slice from the same gameplay timeline. Additional options may be provided, such as the option to create a game slice, continue gameplay of the current video game, and view the user's existing game slices. If the user selects to view their existing game slices, screenshot 510 shows an interface displaying game slices that the user previously created. In the illustrated embodiment, the user can select one of the previously created game slices and view information and statistics for that game slice, as shown in screenshot 512. Information and statistics about a given game slice may include any of the following: the title of the game slice, the video game from which the game slice was created, the date the game slice was created, the video game the game slice was created from, The number of times it has been played by other users, the completion percentage showing the average percentage of game slices completed by users who performed plays for that game slice, comments left by other users, etc.

Although in the embodiment just described, the option to create a game slice is presented to the user after completion of a certain level of the video game, it will be appreciated that in other embodiments, the option to create a game slice is presented to the user. A user can create a game slice during the video game or at any other time, as long as there is recorded gameplay of the video game, with definable selections for the game. For example, in one embodiment, an interface may be provided that provides a user with access to various recorded gameplay from various video games associated with the user. A user selects gameplay of a particular video game and creates a game slice by selecting a portion of the recorded gameplay from which to create a game slice in accordance with embodiments described herein. can do.

FIG. 6 illustrates a system for creating game slice code in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The terms game slice and mini-game are used interchangeably herein to define a separately playable portion of a video game created based on a user's selections from an existing recorded gameplay. In the illustrated embodiment, a user's gameplay 600 conceptually represents a user interacting with a full version of the video game. A main game code 602 is executed to define the full version of the video game displayed by the user. While the video game is played, it generates various types of game output, including video data, game state data, and user input data, which can be recorded to thereby define the user's recorded gameplay. In the illustrated embodiment, an image stream 604 conceptually represents the output of video data by the video game. Also shown is game state metadata 606 and user input data 608. The game state data 606 includes data that defines the game state of the running video game from moment to moment during gameplay. The game state data can include values of any variables that define the running state of the video game. User input data is data created by capturing user-initiated actions that occur during interaction with a video game, perhaps provided as activation of an input device on a controller device, detection of sensor data (such as a motion sensor), captured audio input, etc.

As previously mentioned, the user interface graphically depicts the user's recorded gameplay and facilitates selection of certain portions of the user's gameplay to create game slices. In the illustrated embodiment, the user has defined a selection 610 from their recorded gameplay. This selection of the user's recorded gameplay is used by the game slice generator to create a game slice code 622 that defines a limited game based on the selected portion of the user's gameplay. Game slice generator 612 includes a game state analyzer 614 that analyzes the game state of recorded selections 610. Based on an analysis of the game state of the recorded selections, a game breakpoint processor determines appropriate breakpoints that define the beginning and end of the game slice. Breakpoints can be based on geography, time, mission or goal accomplishment, scene boundaries (physical or temporal), or any other aspect with respect to which a video game's gameplay can be divided for the creation of game slices. can also be defined. A brief description of some illustrative embodiments serves to highlight certain possibilities of breakpoint determination.

For example, some video games involve controls that allow a character to move from one geographic scene or location to another. Selected portions of the user's gameplay may be determined to be created from gameplay in certain scenes. In such embodiments, the boundaries of a particular scene can define geographic breakpoints for a game slice, and by selecting such a scene with the exclusion of other scenes, other nearby or to exclude adjacent scenes, as well as scenes that are neither proximate nor adjacent to that particular scene, or are otherwise less related or unrelated. It will be appreciated that the recorded gameplay selection 610 may involve gameplay from multiple scenes, in which case the game breakpoint processor 616 may include multiple scenes used for the recorded gameplay selection. can be configured to define breakpoints according to the boundaries of

It should be noted that a scene is both geographical and temporal in nature; that is, the scene may define not only a geographical area within the virtual space defined by the video game, but may also be configured to exist at a particular time or chronological point in time within the larger context of the video game. Such a scene may have a defined objective or goal for the player to achieve. Thus, game breakpoints may be defined in terms of chronology or other temporal aspects, as defined by the video game.

Additionally, a given scene may have associated objects or features as part of the scene during gameplay. These objects or features may be analyzed to further define breakpoints according to their content. For example, the objects in the scene may be taken from a subset of an asset library that may be defined for a game slice by the game breakpoint processor 616, excluding other objects in the asset library that are not used in the scene related to the recorded gameplay selection. Of course, the objects and features in a given scene may be dynamic elements with associated mechanisms that define their changes in response to events occurring in the video game. For example, an object may have a damage modeling module that determines when it is damaged (e.g., hit by a weapon) and adjusts the appearance of the object. Or a feature may be a vehicle enabled in the scene with associated logic that defines its appearance, operation, and response to user input during gameplay. Such logic or damage modeling may further define game breakpoints for creating game slices.

Various aspects of the video game that define selected portions of the video game or are otherwise used can be the basis for defining game breakpoints. The example described is provided as an example only and not as a constraint. Of course, in other embodiments, other aspects of the video game may form the basis for defining breakpoints for creating game slices.

In one embodiment, a video game may be organized into various scenes that must be completed sequentially, such that subsequent scenes cannot be attempted without first completing a preceding scene. Each scene can include multiple objectives or goals, some of which are necessary to complete the scene and some of which are also optional for completion of the scene. Objectives include moving from a starting position to a predetermined ending position in a scene, surviving a predetermined length of time, destroying a predetermined number of enemies, scoring a certain number of points, or completing a specific It can include defeating enemies, or any other activity that can be defined within the game. Once a user has achieved that completion point in a scene, if for some reason the user is no longer able to continue playing the game (e.g. the user quits the game, the user's game character dies, etc.) may have various predetermined completion points to which the user can return (e.g., running out of lives or health, crashing the user's vehicle, etc.). At predetermined completion points, the video game can be configured to automatically save the user's progress or present the user with an option to save their progress.

In one embodiment, game breakpoint processor 616 is configured to define game breakpoints at predetermined completion points. In one embodiment, this finds the closest completion points to the selected start and end positions from the user's recorded gameplay selection and defines those closest completion points as game breakpoints for the game slice. This is achieved by using In other embodiments, to define the starting breakpoint for creating a game slice, the closest completion point that occurs before the selected starting position from the recorded gameplay selection is used, while the ending breakpoint The closest completion point that occurs after the selected ending position from the recorded gameplay selection is used to define . In yet another embodiment, if the completion point is located within a predetermined radius (e.g., before or after) of the start or end position of the user's recorded gameplay selection, the completion point Used to define start or end game breakpoints corresponding to . If there is no completion point located within the predetermined radius, a game breakpoint is defined that more closely matches the user's selected start or end position for the recorded selection. In another embodiment, the predetermined radii for the start and end positions may be different for the purpose of determining whether to use an existing completion point to define a game breakpoint.

As previously mentioned, game breakpoint processor 616 determines appropriate breakpoints applicable to various aspects of the video game based on the user's recorded gameplay selections. Breakpoints defined by processor 616 serve to define limited ranges of game slices that are created based on the user's recorded gameplay selections. In one embodiment, an overlay processor 617 is provided that creates an overlay that can contribute to an improved user experience when playing game slices created by game slice generator 612. For example, in one embodiment, the overlay processor 617 defines pregame slice data that defines footage, gameplay, or additional information that can be provided as an introduction to the game prior to the actual gameplay of the game slice. An example of pre-game slice data is an introductory video that can provide a background to the user who has started the sliced gameplay. In another embodiment, the pre-game slice data defines introductory gameplay for the game slice and provides the user with an opportunity to learn skills that may be useful or necessary to the user when playing the game slice. do. In another embodiment, the pregame slice data may define one or a series of multiple information screens or images that provide information to the user about the game slice. Such information may include controller configurations, narrative background information, objectives or goals, maps, or any other type of information that is useful to the user or otherwise improves the user's playing experience of that game slice. Also included.

Overlay processor 617 may also be configured to define postgame slice data. In some embodiments, this post-game slice data may define footage or images that are displayed after completing gameplay of a game slice. For example, a congratulatory video may be displayed after the user completes a game slice. Such video may be customized based on gameplay by a user of that game slice, eg, by displaying information or images based on the user's gameplay. In one embodiment, the post-game slice data may define a playback mechanism that replays the recorded portion of the user's gameplay after the game slice is completed. In another embodiment, the post-game slice data displays statistics about the user's gameplay in the game slice and shows a comparison of the user's gameplay with other users and the original creator of the game slice. be able to. In yet another embodiment, the post-game slice data may define additional interaction elements that are presented to the user upon completion of the game slice. These include options to purchase some or all of the video game the game slice is based on, options to redirect to additional sources of information about the video game, and so on.

In some embodiments, the overlay processor 617 can be configured to define elements to be overlaid in a game slice. These include elements that are customizable by a user playing the game slice, such as characters, objects, property customization, and other customization options. In some embodiments, the overlay processor 617 can be configured to define simplified elements for a game slice, thereby reducing the complexity of the game slice code and the resources required to execute the game slice. As an example, many video games include artificial intelligence (AI) entities such as characters, vehicles, enemies, etc. These AI entities are governed in the full video game by an artificial intelligence model that defines the AI entities' reactions and actions based on events occurring in the video game. However, in a limited scope game slice, the actions of some AI entities may be simply defined through hard-coded definitions or simplified extrapolations, rather than full modeling as would be the case in a full video game.

For example, if in the recorded gameplay selection of a full video game, a given AI character moves in a certain way according to an AI model that is unlikely to change in the game slice, it is more efficient to define an approximation of the AI character's movements for the game slice. Such an approximation does not require the full AI model to be included as part of the game slice code, but still provides a user playing the game slice with an experience with the AI character that is substantially equivalent to that in the gameplay of the original user for which the game slice was created. The resource savings realized by approximating the activities of an AI body are even more significant when multiple AI bodies exist and interact with the user's recorded gameplay selection. Each AI body may have an AI model that depends on the output of the AI models of the other AI bodies. However, when the gameplay was recorded, the activities of each of these AI bodies are known and can therefore be replayed in the game slice by simplified mechanisms such as direct coding of their control variables or approximation of their activities.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 6, a game settings state processor 618 is provided to define the initial state of the game slice. Based on the operation of game state analyzer 614 , game breakpoint processor 616 , and game settings state processor 618 , code assembly manager 620 assembles various portions of code to define game slice code 622 . When that game slice code 622 is executed, the user's gameplay 624 provides inputs that define the execution state of the game slice code, including video data and feedback data for displaying the game slice to the user. Create play output. The video data may include pre-game slice overlay video 622, game slice video 624 resulting from gameplay of the game slice, and post-game slice overlay video 626.

Of course, in one embodiment, the game slice code 622 is completely self-contained, including all of the code portions necessary to execute the game slice. However, in other embodiments, the game slice code 622 may incorporate references or advice about existing code portions within the main game code of the complete video game. Additionally, the game slice code 622 may include references to or use existing assets in an asset library for the main game code of the complete video game. However, in other embodiments, a new asset library may be created for the game slice code.

FIG. 7A illustrates modification of a virtual space to create a game slice of a video game, according to an embodiment of the invention. Map 700 represents a scene or geographic portion of a video game. The map shown is a two-dimensional representation that can be representative of the three-dimensional virtual space that is moved through and experienced during actual gameplay of the video game. As shown, map 700 shows a region 702 and several passageways 704, 706, 708, and 710. During recorded gameplay of a video game, a user's character 712 moves from area 702 to passageway 710 . Based on this recorded movement and other analysis of the video game's gameplay, it may be determined that the additional passages 704, 706, and 708 are not necessary for creating game slices. Those paths represent incorrect choices compared to path 710, lead to areas unrelated to the game slice, or eliminate the ability of the game slice player to follow the path and experience the same gameplay as the original user. may be reduced. Furthermore, if the areas to which paths 704, 706, and 708 lead are not supported within the game slice, including such paths may be confusing to the player, or at least result in a poor user experience. Thus, in modified map 720, corridor 710 and region 702 are left unchanged, but corridors 704, 706, and 708 are made unavailable for gameplay within that game slice. Thus, when a user plays a game slice that employs the terrain defined by map 720, he will experience a virtual space within which passageways 704, 706, and 708 cannot be traversed. The user is then likely to traverse passageway 710 and thus experience similar gameplay as the original user did.

It will be appreciated that the portion of virtual space defined for a game slice or mini-game may be defined by boundaries determined based on the user's recorded gameplay. The boundary defines a small region of a larger virtual space and contains a small portion of the features available in that larger virtual space. In some embodiments, the boundaries of the virtual space determine the locations within the virtual space defined by the user's gameplay, where the boundaries are closest to and surrounding those locations relative to the virtual space. The determination can be made by determining a predetermined boundary located at. For example, a user's gameplay may define a path traversed by the user's video game character. This path can be analyzed and a set of predetermined boundaries defining an area surrounding the path can be selected based on the path's location in virtual space. In some embodiments, the predetermined boundaries are defined by certain features that essentially define portions of the virtual space, such as, for example, doors, windows, walls, rooms, hallways, fences, roads, intersections, entrances, etc. can do.

FIG. 7B illustrates modifying a scene graph to create game slices in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. A scene graph 730 conceptually shows the structure of various scenes A to G of a video game. Naturally, the scenes described here are geographical and/or temporal in nature, and each can be played out within a video game as the player progresses from one scene to another. , representing a stage, level, section, point, or any other structural unit. In this scene graph 730, various nodes representing scenes A to G are shown. As shown, the player can progress from scene A to scene B, and from scene B to either scene D or E. The player can also advance from scene A to scene C, and from scene C to either scene F or G. Scene graph 730 describes the structure of a complete video game scene. However, for purposes of creating a game slice, not all available scenes are necessary for that game slice. Thus, the example shows the scene structure for a game slice with a scene graph 732. As shown, scene graph 732 includes scenes A, B, C, and F, but no other scenes included in the complete video game scene graph 730. This allows the user to proceed from scene A to either scene B or C, and from scene C to scene F. However, other scenes in the complete video game scene graph 730 are not available for gameplay in that game slice. As previously mentioned, systems according to embodiments of the invention can be configured to limit the use of scenes when creating game slices. In that way, a game slice does not contain scenes that are not necessary for its limited context of gameplay and intended purpose.

FIG. 8 illustrates a method for creating game slices, according to an embodiment of the invention. At method act 800, a user's gameplay of a video game is recorded, including a video recording of the user's gameplay and video game data, such as video game input data and game state data. At method act 802, a user interface is provided for selecting recorded gameplay to create a game slice. The interface defines a mechanism for receiving user input that defines starting and ending positions from recorded gameplay. For example, an interface may be provided to review recorded gameplay, allowing a user to define start and end positions within the gameplay footage based on movement on or playback of the gameplay footage. At method operation 804, a user-defined selection of gameplay footage is received. At method operation 806, breakpoints in the video game are identified based on user-defined selections of the received gameplay footage. In one embodiment, there are predefined breakpoints for the video game. Based on the user-defined selections of the gameplay footage, game breakpoints closest to the user-defined selection start and end locations may be selected as game breakpoints for the created game slice. At method act 808, game code is defined for slice selection as defined by the identified breakpoints. In method operation 810, a game configuration state is defined for the slice selection. In one embodiment, the game settings state is based on the game state present during the user's recorded gameplay. Method action 812 creates a game slice code, and method action 814 stores the game slice code in a game slice library and associates it with the user's account.

In one embodiment, the method may include a method act 816 in which a video selection of the proposed game slice is created based on the user's recorded gameplay video and data. Suggested gameplay selections for a user may be determined based on an analysis of the user's recorded gameplay. For example, if a portion of gameplay in which a high level of activity occurs (e.g. actively exceeding a predetermined threshold) is detected, it may be suggested for selection of game slice videos. be. At method act 818, the interface for game slice selection may provide a selection of suggested game slice videos to the user. In one embodiment, a user may be provided with a screenshot representing each of the suggested game slice video selections. At method operation 820, a user selection of one of the suggested game slice video selections is received. Based on the user's selections, the game slice code can be created and saved as already mentioned.

FIG. 9A illustrates an interface for browsing game slices associated with various game titles in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In the illustrated embodiment, the interface is organized into a series of tabs, including tabs 900, 902, and 904, which, when selected, provide access to various pages corresponding to different game titles. In the illustrated embodiment, tab 900 is currently selected, and thus the presented page provides information about game slices created for a particular game title T1. A game slice listing 904 lists the various game slices created from game title T1. In one embodiment, the game slice listing 904 also identifies the user who created the game slice (e.g., displays the username of the user who created the game slice). In one embodiment, the game slice listing 904 can be browsed or navigated to highlight different game slices among the game slices listed in the game slice listing 904. In the illustrated embodiment, game slice A created by user A is currently highlighted, thereby displaying details 906 related to game slice A. Details 906 may include various types of information related to the game slice, the level or stage on which the game slice was created, game details providing more specific information about where the game slice was created, comments by User A who created the game slice, the number of comments from others, the number of times the game slice has been played, or any other type of information about the game slice that may be provided when a listing for the game slice is highlighted.

FIG. 9B shows a game slice information page according to an embodiment of the invention. The game slice information page is for game slice A as described with respect to FIG. 9A and can be reached when the user selects the listing for game slice A as shown in FIG. 9A. Continuing to refer to FIG. 9B, the game slice information page provides various types of information related to game slices. In addition to bibliographic information about the game slice (eg, title, username of the user who created the game slice, date of creation, etc.), a video 910 of the game slice may be displayed. In one embodiment, video 910 is a recorded gameplay video of the original user who created the game slice. In another embodiment, video 910 may be a recorded gameplay video of another user, such as a user who achieved the highest score in a game slice or a user who recently played a game slice. In one embodiment, video 910 may be a live feed of a user currently playing a game slice. In other embodiments, a representative image of the game slice may be shown instead of a video.

The game slice information page may further include a selectable button 912 for initiating gameplay of the game slice. The game slice information page may also include a details section 914 that can feature various details and statistical information about the game slice, such as number of plays, average completion rate, etc. The game slice information page may also include a comments section 916 that features comments left by users. Sort button 918 provides various options for sorting comments (e.g., chronologically, most popular, by rating, by relationship to the current user (e.g., comments by friends of the user in the social graph are prioritized). ), etc.) can be provided for selection.

FIG. 10 shows a diagram of a user's account information including a live view of friends on a cloud gaming social network according to one embodiment of the present invention. The library section 1002 displays various game titles in the user's library. These may be game titles that the user has purchased or otherwise acquired. The display of game titles may include display of representative graphics in addition to the title information. It will be appreciated that the games may be full game titles, but may also be limited edition mini-versions, each of which may be part of a full game title, or may be limited in some capacity compared to the full game title. The friends listing 1004 lists the current user's friends (i.e., other users of the current user's social graph) on a social network associated with the cloud gaming system. The social network may be a social network specific to the cloud gaming system, or may be a social network separate from the cloud gaming system (a third party) with which the cloud gaming system communicates to obtain information about the user's social graph. The friend listing 1004 indicates the games owned by each friend and may include additional information about the user's friends, such as identifying the friend's online status (e.g., online, offline, inactive, etc.), the friend's last login and its duration, the last game played by the user, etc.

In one embodiment, live active users portion 1006 provides a live view of the gameplay of friends who may be currently online and playing a video game. In one embodiment, each user has the option to make his or her live gameplay available for live viewing by other users. In such embodiments, live views are presented only from those users who have the option specified to allow other users to view their live gameplay. In the illustrated embodiment, the live active user portion 1006 includes not only a live view 1010 of Friend B's current gameplay, but also a live view 1008 of Friend A's current gameplay. In one embodiment, the current user can navigate or browse friends in friends listing 1004 and/or browse live views that are available in live active users section 1006. In one embodiment, a live view may be highlighted when the current user navigates to it, and may be rendered differently than other live views. For example, the live view is displayed with a desaturated color scheme by default, but may be displayed with a fully saturated color scheme when highlighted or selected. Live views may also be displayed at a lower resolution, frame rate, or default size, but may be displayed at a higher resolution, frame rate, or size if selected. In this way, specific live views can be selected based on the user's selection in order to present the live views that the user is interested in viewing with higher fidelity than other live views that may be active at the same time. can allocate bandwidth to that the live view is not just specific gameplay of a video game, but may also display a friend's other activities on the cloud gaming system, such as navigation through a menu, or other types of activities related to that cloud gaming session; should be understood.

In one embodiment, live view is available only to those users currently actively engaged in gameplay of the video game. In other words, a given user's live view is not available when that user is either offline or online but not actively engaged in gameplay of the video game. Accordingly, when a user is performing other activities other than gameplay on a cloud gaming system (e.g., navigating the cloud gaming system's graphical interface while logged into the system), such activities It is not available as a live feed for viewing by others. In another embodiment, the live view may include all activities of a user logged into the cloud gaming system, including the user's gameplay as well as other activities other than gameplay.

In one embodiment, a given user's live view may be filtered to avoid exposing potentially sensitive or personal information to viewing by others. For example, cloud gaming systems may support chat functionality. Since some users prefer to keep chats private, you can provide an option to exclude chat logs when presenting a live view. It should be understood that chat functionality may be implemented during gameplay activities as well as non-gameplay activities, and chat functionality may be filtered out from the live view of either or both of these situations. It is. In another embodiment, aspects of the video game may be filtered out from the live view. For example, a user may wish to keep certain user-defined settings secret because they may give the user an advantage during gameplay. Thus, settings-related activity may be provided with the option of not being displayed as part of a live feed (eg, when a user accesses a video game's settings interface). In another embodiment, the live view is configured to prevent viewing of personal information (e.g., prevent viewing when a user accesses a personal information page, enters payment information, enters a password, etc.) can.

In one embodiment, the interface provides the primary user with an option to request to join a gaming session of a secondary user that is currently online. For example, a primary user may want to watch a secondary user's live gameplay feed and participate in the secondary user's gameplay. In one embodiment, when the option is activated, a request is sent to the secondary user to inform the secondary user that the primary user wishes to join their session. If the secondary user accepts the request, then a multiplayer mode of the video game is activated to facilitate multiplayer game play by the first user and the second user. In another embodiment, two or more secondary users may already be involved in multiplayer gameplay. In such embodiments, a primary user may submit a request to participate in multiplayer gameplay. Once the request is accepted by one of the secondary users (eg, the designated host of the gameplay session), the primary user can join the multiplayer session of the video game. It should be appreciated that the above-described interface showing a secondary user's live gameplay feed encourages the primary user to engage in the secondary user's gameplay after being able to view the secondary user's gameplay. It is.

In one embodiment, the option to make a request to join the secondary user's gameplay is contingent upon the primary user's determination of the ownership status of the video game. If the primary user does not own the video game, the option may not be presented, whereas if the primary user owns the same video game as the secondary user, the option to make a request to join the secondary user's gameplay is available as part of the interface. In one embodiment, even if it is determined that the primary user is not the owner of the video game, the primary user may then join the secondary user's gameplay in multiplayer mode, albeit with limited capabilities, such as gameplay duration, available scenes/levels/stages/etc, customization options, abilities, skills, weapons, characters, vehicles, or any other aspect of the video game that may be limited. In one embodiment, following gameplay of a limited edition of the video game, the primary user is provided with the option to purchase the video game outright. In another embodiment, the primary user is provided with the option to purchase additional portions of the video game.

With continued reference to FIG. 10, the displayed information may also include gaming history information 1012 for the user's friends. Game history information 1012 can provide information about a given friend's gameplay history, such as recently played games, duration of gameplay sessions, statistics regarding gameplay, etc.

It will be appreciated that many methods and configurations for presenting a cloud gaming interface are possible according to various embodiments of the invention. In one such embodiment, method operations for presenting a cloud gaming interface for a primary user, determining one or more secondary users who are friends of the primary user, and determining the current status of each of the secondary users. a method of determining, the current status is one of online or offline, the method operations comprising: determining the current status of the online secondary user at the primary user's cloud gaming interface to at least one online secondary user; A method act of presenting a live feed of a gaming session, the live feed comprising: providing an option for the primary user to join a current gaming session of an online secondary user; A method for activating a multiplayer mode for a current gaming session of an online secondary user in response to receiving a request to activate an option to join the current gaming session of the online secondary user, the operation comprising: providing game play for the primary user in a current gaming session of the online secondary user and activating a multiplayer mode; , when it is determined that the primary user owns the video game, then the multiplayer mode provides gameplay of the full version of the video game, and when it is determined that the primary user does not own the video game, then the multiplayer mode A method is provided for displaying current gaming status of a user of a cloud gaming system, including a method operation for launching a mode providing limited edition gameplay of a video game.

In one embodiment, the limited version of the video game defines a reduction in one or more of the following as compared to the full version of the video game: available levels, available scenes, available features, time limit, virtual space, campaign length, number of lives, or number of replays.

In one embodiment, the method further includes a method action of presenting the primary user with an option to purchase at least a portion of the video game when the video game is not owned by the primary user.

In one embodiment, a live feed of an online secondary user is presented in a first resolution, and selection of the live feed triggers presentation of the live feed of the online secondary user in a second resolution that is higher than the first resolution.

In one embodiment, the live feed of the online secondary user is presented in a desaturated color mode, and selection of the live feed triggers presentation of the live feed of the online secondary user in a saturated color mode.

In one embodiment, presenting the cloud gaming interface includes presenting a library of game titles associated with each of the secondary users.

In one embodiment, determining the one or more secondary users includes accessing a social graph associated with the primary user. In one embodiment, accessing the social graph includes accessing an API of a social network.

In one embodiment, presenting the cloud gaming interface for the primary user includes presenting listings of each of the secondary users in a prioritized order, where the priority is based on one or more of current status, recency of login, or co-ownership of games with the primary user.

FIG. 11 illustrates a method of presenting a live gameplay feed of a current user's friends in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. At method operation 1100, a current user logs on to a cloud gaming system. At method operation 1102, friends of the current user are identified from the current user's social graph. As mentioned above, the current user's social graph may be from a social network that is specific to the cloud gaming system, or perhaps from a social network that exists separately from the cloud gaming system. At method operation 1104, library information for the user's friends is retrieved. The user's friend library information can identify game titles in the user's friend library. At method operation 1106, the current status of the current user's friends is identified. If the given friend's current status is online, then method operation 1108 determines whether the given friend is currently engaged in gameplay of a video game on the cloud-based system. If so, then at method operation 1112 a live gameplay feed for that user is obtained. At method operation 1110, the current user's friends are prioritized for display based on various factors or preferences. At method operation 1114, the current user's friends and their status information and life gameplay feeds are presented in priority order. In one embodiment, friends of the current user who are online are given priority over friends who are currently offline. In one embodiment, friends of the current user who are currently involved in active gameplay are given priority over friends who are not currently involved in active gameplay. In one embodiment, friends with available live gameplay feeds may be prioritized over other friends. In one embodiment, friends may be prioritized based on how recently the friend logged into the cloud gaming system. In another embodiment, friends may be prioritized based on joint ownership of video games. The above example of prioritizing friends is provided merely as an example and not as a limitation. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that in other embodiments, the current user's friends may be prioritized and presented according to priorities based on other relevant factors.

FIG. 12 shows a system including a cloud gaming system and a social network according to an embodiment of the invention. Cloud gaming system 1200 provides cloud-based access to your games. The cloud gaming system includes a game library 1202 that includes a variety of game titles that may be played by a user. User data 1204 includes various types of data associated with a user account, such as game titles owned by the user, any saved gameplay of the user, and the like. In the illustrated embodiment, various gameplay sessions are conceptually shown including Session A, Session B, and Session C. Session A defines the gameplay of user A who views session A's gameplay on display 1208 . Session A's gameplay is rendered as view 1210 on User A's display 1208. Similarly, session B defines user B's gameplay as rendered on user B's device 1212 as view 1214. In the illustrated embodiment, the view 1214 of user B's sessions shows an interface that includes live views from other users, including a live view of session A and a live view of session C. As gameplay from session A and session C progresses, gameplay video can be output from sessions A and C and streamed through user B's session, as displayed in user B's view 1214. The gameplay video may be processed for streaming over User B's session, such as reducing resolution, size, frame rate, color saturation, etc. to conserve bandwidth.

Continuing with reference to FIG. 12, a social network 1216 is also shown. The social network 1216 includes user data 1218, including data such as the user's social graph, job, photos, videos, and bio. An app 1220 may run on the social network platform. A graphic user interface (GUI) 1222 provides an interface for interacting with the social network. An API 1224 facilitates access to the social network. A notification module 1226 processes notifications for the social network user according to the social network user's preferences. As discussed above, User B's view 1214 includes live feeds from other users' sessions. In one embodiment, User B's friends were determined based on access to the API 1224 of the social network 1216 to determine the members of User B's social graph. These members were cross-referenced to the user of the cloud gaming system to provide a live gameplay feed from User B's friends, including feeds from Session A and Session C.

In one embodiment, User A chooses to share from his gameplay session A to his social graph. User A's session A communicates via API 1224 to initiate notification module 1226 of social network 1216 to send appropriate notifications to friends in User A's social graph. When social network users 1230 in User A's social graph access the social network via device 1228, they may see messages or posts from User A about User A's session. If set up, the user may receive notifications such as emails indicating that User A has shared something on the social network. It should be understood that User A may share a variety of video game related activities such as achievements in the video game, invitations to play the video game, comments about the video game, invitations to watch or play game slices created by User A, video clips of User A's gameplay, etc.

FIG. 13 is a graph illustrating various game state variables over time according to an embodiment of the present invention. It should be understood that in various embodiments, there may be many different types of game state variables that are specific to a particular video game. The game state variables shown and described with respect to the illustrated embodiment are provided merely as examples and not as limitations. Game state variables may include values set by running the video game, as well as values set by user input. In the illustrated embodiment, there is a position variable shown that indicates the X, Y, and Z positions of an object in the virtual space of the video game, such as a character or vehicle. A camera angle variable indicates the orientation of a virtual camera or virtual view in the video game. In one embodiment, the camera angle is defined by an azimuth component measured with respect to an azimuth reference (e.g., along a horizontal plane) and a tilt component measured with respect to a tilt reference (e.g., with respect to a vertical plane). Action variables, such as the action A and action B variables shown, indicate the initiation and sustain of various actions within the video game. It should be understood that the actions of a given video game will be specific to the context of that video game. By way of example, the action may include triggering a modifier that modifies an existing action, such as initiating a particular strategy, applying a skill, increasing its level of intensity or frequency, etc., or other types of actions or activities that may be triggered by user input within the flow of the video game. With continued reference to FIG. 13, the weapon variable indicates the triggering of a weapon in the video game. The health variable indicates, for example, the level of health of a user's character in the video game. The button variable indicates the state of a button on a controller device, for example, whether the button is in a pressed state or in a release statement. The joystick state variable in the illustrated embodiment indicates the magnitude of the movement of the joystick relative to a neutral position. It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that the above game state variables described with respect to the illustrated embodiment are merely exemplary, and that many other types of game state variables may be tracked over time.

Referring again to the embodiment of FIG. 6, in one embodiment, the game state analyzer 614 can be configured to analyze game state variables of the user's recorded gameplay. Based on the analysis of the user's recorded gameplay, various regions of interest of the user's recorded gameplay can be defined and presented to the user as possible choices for game slice generation. For example, areas of gameplay characterized by high levels of activity of certain game state variables may define the user's recorded gameplay choices. It should be understood that the activity level of a given game state variable may be based on a variety of factors, such as the level of intensity, frequency of activation, duration of sustain, etc. In some embodiments, the analysis of the game state variables may involve searching for areas of gameplay where the activity levels of two or more different game state variables are interrelated in a predetermined manner, such as two or more variables having high activity levels simultaneously. The high activity level may be determined based on a predetermined threshold.

In various embodiments, the area of interest of a user's recorded gameplay may be automatically determined based on threshold detection of any one or more of the following: one or more user inputs, speed of user inputs, frequency of inputs, repetitive types of inputs, occurrence of input patterns, combination inputs (e.g., combo keys), movement vectors, pressure applied to the controller, and user excitement (e.g., detected based on captured image or audio data of the user).

FIG. 14A illustrates a method for generating a game slice for a linear type video game according to an embodiment of the present invention. Broadly speaking, a linear video game is one in which a player progresses through the video game following a straight line course, and in order to progress through the video game, the player must complete earlier objectives before proceeding to later objectives. Thus, all players must complete the same objectives in the same order in order to progress through the video game. Objectives in a linear video game may be tied to geographic locations as well as temporal locations within the context of the space-time storyline of the video game. At method operation 1400, a scene of the video game is identified. A scene may be both spatial and temporal in nature and may have multiple objectives defined therein. At method operation 1402, a spatial length and a temporal length of the scene is defined. The length of the scene may be defined according to user input and may be defined based on objectives tied to the scene. At method operation 1404, an initial set of items, characters, or any other objects in the scene that may be assigned properties is established. At method operation 1406, a game slice is generated for the identified length of the scene with the initial properties previously defined.

FIG. 14B illustrates a method for generating a game slice of an open-world type video game according to an embodiment of the present invention. An open-world type video game can be characterized as a video game in which a user may freely pursue any number of objectives in an order of their own choosing. Open-world type video games also typically allow a user to navigate one or more virtual spaces at will. Completion of a particular set of objectives may be required to progress to a different level of the video game or to the complete video game, but the user may freely complete these objectives in a different order. At method operation 1410, a location within the virtual world of the video game is identified. At method operation 1412, a limited portion of the virtual world is defined. The limited portion of the virtual world can be defined based on user input that defines a selection of the recorded gameplay, as described herein. For example, a user's gameplay in an open-world video game may span a wide variety of locations over the course of the gameplay. However, to generate a game slice, a user may select a portion of the gameplay that occurs within a limited geographical area of the virtual world of the video game. This limited geographic area may be determined based on an analysis of the user-selected portion of the user's recorded gameplay, such as by tracking the location of a user-controlled character within the virtual world and defining a boundary that includes all locations where the character is found to be present. At method operation 1414, initial characteristics of various objects, characters, items, vehicles, or any other objects that are to be found within the limited geographic area previously determined from the user's recorded gameplay selections are determined. At method operation 1416, a game slice is generated based on the limited geographic area of the open world and the previously defined characteristics.

FIG. 14C illustrates a method for generating game slices for a sports video game according to an embodiment of the invention. Game slices can be generated based on user-defined selections of a user's recorded gameplay. At method operation 1420, settings are identified based on the user's recorded gameplay selections. By way of example, the settings may define the location of a court, stadium, track, or any other location setting where a video game sporting event may occur. At method operation 1422, a time period is defined based on the user's recorded gameplay selections. The time period defines the portion of time in which the game slice is generated and can be determined based on a user's selection of the gameplay being recorded. The duration of a sports video game may determine certain aspects of the video game slice, such as the inclusion of special rules or activities that occur during specific periods during the sport. At method operation 1424, the players of the game slice are determined based on the players included in the user's recorded gameplay selections. A player, during game play, may include one or more user-defined characters as well as an AI character controlled by the executing video game's artificial intelligence (AI) character control logic. As described elsewhere herein, the actions of the AI character may be similar in some instances. On the other hand, in some embodiments, the AI character control logic is defined for game slices with parameters as defined by the user's recorded gameplay selections. At method operation 1426, scene attributes for the location of the sports video game slice are defined. For example, these may include attributes such as weather, track or course conditions, and other attributes of the sports setting. At method operation 1428, a game slice of the video game is generated based on the parameters described above.

FIG. 15 conceptually illustrates the formation of a multi-game slice game according to an embodiment of the present invention. A video game can be organized into various levels or stages. In the illustrated embodiment, a user's gameplay from various levels of a video game is shown. Specifically, gameplay timeline 1500 represents a user's gameplay from a first level of a video game, while gameplay timeline 1502 and gameplay timeline 1506 represent a user's gameplay from a second level and a third level of a video game, respectively. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a user can concatenate multiple game slices from a video game to form a larger multi-game slice mini-game. In the illustrated embodiment, a selection 1502 from a user's gameplay timeline 1500 is utilized to define a first game slice 1514. A selection 1504 from a user's gameplay timeline 1515 of 2 is utilized to define a second game slice 1818. And a selection 1508 from a user's gameplay timeline 1506 is utilized to define a third team slice 1522. The first game slice, the second game slice, and the third game slice are arranged in a contiguous fashion to define the mini-game 1510. In doing so, the mini-game 1510 includes game slices from each of the first level, the second level, and the third level of the video game. In this manner, a user playing the mini-game 1510 can experience limited portions of multiple levels of the video game by playing through the mini-game 1510. This may help provide a more compelling preview or demo of the video game than a traditional game demo where the user can only play one portion from one level or one stage of the video game. The experience is similar to that of a movie preview, which typically provides clips from different parts of the same movie rather than just a single clip. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a user can enjoy a multi-part game demo that provides a better sense of the scope of the complete video game and can feature gameplay from one part to the next in sequence.

In one embodiment, a user may insert additional data such as user-defined videos, messages, images, or other types of information before or after a game slice. In the illustrated embodiment, an intro 1512 is provided to introduce the player to the mini-game 1510 and possibly introduce the player to the first game slice 1514 as well. Additionally, a message 1516 is inserted between the first game slice 1514 and the second game slice 1518. Meanwhile, another message 1520 is inserted between the second game slice 1518 and the third game slice 1522. In one embodiment, the inserted data may include recorded gameplay video of the gameplay of the original user from whom the game slice was generated. If the recorded gameplay is shown before playing the game slice, the player initiating the game slice can better understand the game slice and its purpose before beginning gameplay, whereas the gameplay of the game slice , and the player can see how the gameplay of the game slice compares to the original user's gameplay.

16 conceptually illustrates the generation of a multi-game slice mini-game according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the illustrated embodiment, a user's recorded gameplay timeline 1600 of game A is shown along with a user's recorded gameplay timeline 1604 of game B and a user's recorded gameplay timeline 1608 of game C. In one embodiment, a user can generate a multi-game slice mini-game based on game slices from different video games. In the illustrated embodiment, a user's selection 1602 of recorded gameplay 1600 is utilized to define a game slice 1616, while a selection 1606 from the user's recorded gameplay 1604 is utilized to define a game slice 1620 and a selection 1610 from the user's recorded gameplay 1608 is utilized to define a game slice 1624. The game slices 1616, 1620, and 1624 are sequenced to define a mini-game 1612. Optionally, additional data can be inserted before or after the game slices. In the illustrated embodiment, an interlude 1618 is defined between game slice 1616 and game slice 1620, and another interlude 1622 is defined between game slice 1620 and game slice 1624, while an intro 1614 is inserted before game slice 1616.

It will be appreciated that in the illustrated embodiment, the game slices are taken from different video games. This gives the user great flexibility to mix game slices from different game titles, genres, and even across console platform generations. By way of example only, a user may create a mini-game that has game slices from each of several game titles in a single video game series. In this way, players of the mini-game can experience and understand the evolution of the video game series in a continuous gameplay experience.

Embodiments of the present invention have been generally described with respect to a cloud-based gaming system. However, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that similar concepts and principles as described herein may be applied to conventional console-based video systems, possibly in conjunction with a cloud-based gaming system. For example, a user may play a console-based video game and have the user's gameplay input data and game dwell metadata recorded during gameplay. Based on the user's gameplay input data and game state metadata, the actual gameplay output of the video game may be later played back. Thus, the recorded input data and game state metadata may be utilized in conjunction with the video game code to provide an interface for selection of the portion of the user's gameplay from which a mini-game is generated, as described. The mini-game code may be generated at the console and uploaded to the cloud system for download by other users. In another embodiment, the mini-game code is generated by the cloud system after receiving a selected portion of the user gameplay input data and game state metadata. The cloud system processes the selected portion of the user gameplay input data and game state metadata to generate the mini-game code based on the video game code stored in the cloud system. Mini-games may be available for cloud-based gaming in that, once created, execution of the mini-game occurs on a cloud-based system, but may also be available for download to a conventional console-based system for execution on the console to facilitate console-based gameplay of the mini-game. In this manner, mini-games may be created and played by both users of console-based video gaming systems and users of cloud-based video gaming systems.

Embodiments of the invention have generally been described in terms of playable user-defined portions of mini-games or video games. However, many of the principles described herein also apply to the generation and sharing of recorded gameplay, including sharing recorded gameplay, screenshots, and live streaming of active gameplay. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that it is easy to apply. In some embodiments, providing access to the mini-game (e.g., in response to receiving a notification) includes presenting a recorded video of the original user's gameplay on which the mini-game was based. may include. In yet another embodiment, methods, systems, and interfaces are contemplated for facilitating sharing of a user's gameplay to the user's social graph.

In one embodiment, a method for storing gameplay is contemplated. Game play may be performed by the game console's operating system in response to user requests, which may be provided in the form of standard file operations with respect to sets of data associated with the desired game play. Requests can be sent from applications related to games. Gameplay may include, for example, video content, audio content, and/or still visual content, including wallpaper, themes, code "add-on" content, or any other type of game-related content. It is contemplated that such content, whether free or paid, complete or trial, and/or for sale or rental, may be generated by users or developers.

Portions of gameplay can be buffered, or temporarily stored. As further described herein, previous actions within gameplay, for example, the previous 15 seconds, previously completed levels, may be temporarily stored. As used herein, a "portion" is any portion of gameplay that can be divided into a single bit or single byte of data, or any associated group or groups of multiple bits or multiple bytes. It may be equivalent to For example, a "portion" of gameplay may correspond to a level, chapter, scene, act, character, background, texture, course, action, song, theme, duration, size, file, portion thereof, and combinations thereof. . Further, the gameplay portion may include a screenshot or a predetermined duration of the video game.

In one embodiment, the gameplay portions may be stored locally on the game console in either primary or permanent storage. Alternatively or additionally, the gameplay portions may be transmitted over a network to be stored remotely. For example, the gameplay portions may be transmitted over a wireless or wired network to another computing device, to another game console, or to a remote server. Such a remote server may include a social media server.

Optionally, portions of gameplay that are not retrieved from the buffer or that are outside of a particular gaming interval (eg, a particular duration, level, chapter, course, etc.) may be deleted from the buffer. This removal process can be completed using standard file operations in the operating system.

Portions of the gameplay can be displayed on any of a number of display devices that can access stored gameplay. For example, stored game play may be displayed on a television set connected to the game console from which the game play was captured. In another example, the stored gameplay can be displayed on the computer to which the stored gameplay was sent. Stored gameplay can be displayed alone or in conjunction with other information, such as on social media websites.

In one embodiment, the portion of the gameplay is displayed by another game console associated with a user other than the user who buffered or captured the gameplay. In accordance with this embodiment, the gameplay portion may show a ball being thrown from a first user to a second user from the first user's perspective. Portions of the game play can then be transmitted to a second user's game console. Therefore, the second user can view the gameplay from the first user's perspective. The second user may also have a portion of the stored gameplay showing a ball thrown by the first user and catching the second user from the second user's perspective. In this embodiment, the second user can review gameplay from both the first user's perspective and the second user's perspective. Additionally, portions of the gameplay stored by the second user can be transmitted to the first user's game console, so the first user can review the gameplay from two perspectives. This embodiment is applicable to any number of users with any number of viewpoints, and thus gameplay can be viewed from any number of different perspectives.

With respect to storing, transmitting, and/or displaying gameplay as described herein, it is contemplated that portions of the gameplay may be stored, transmitted, and displayed as image or video data. However, in another embodiment, portions of gameplay may be stored and transmitted as telemetry or metadata representing image or video data, created as images or video by a game console or other device prior to display. You can do it again.

In some embodiments, the portion of gameplay has a predetermined relationship with the executed gameplay. For example, a portion of gameplay may correspond to a certain amount of gameplay prior to the currently executing gameplay, such as 10 seconds prior to gameplay. In another embodiment, the first portion of gameplay has a predetermined relationship with the second portion of gameplay. For example, the first portion of gameplay may correspond to a certain amount of gameplay before receiving a capture request for the second portion of gameplay, such as 10 seconds of gameplay before selection of a capture button. There is. In each of these embodiments, the user can configure and adjust the amount of gameplay that is buffered or requested before the current gameplay according to his or her particular preferences.

In other embodiments, the buffer is "smart" or "elastic," so that the buffer captures gameplay according to variables regardless of time. In one such embodiment, the first portion of gameplay has a predetermined relationship to an event associated with the gameplay. For example, the first portion of gameplay may be buffered to include statistical irregularities such as reaching a high score, collecting a large number of points in a short period of time, multiple selections of a button on a controller, and other unusual events. Such statistical irregularities may be determined by comparing gameplay metrics to average metrics for a particular game or scene, or for all games in general. Such average metrics may be stored locally or remotely for comparison. For example, a game console may track a global high score for a particular game and buffer gameplay where a user approaches and exceeds that high score. In another example, a remote server may track a global high score for a particular game and communicate that information to a game console that buffers gameplay where a user approaches and exceeds that high score.

In another example, portions of gameplay may be buffered to include achievements such as obtaining a trophy or reaching other landmarks. Such trophies or landmarks commemorate any goal or gaming achievement, such as achieving a certain number of points, reaching a certain level, etc. For example, gameplay may be buffered to include the awarding of a trophy for reaching level 10, for reaching 100,000 points, etc.

Similarly, the actual achievement of trophies or the progress towards reaching the event in addition to anomalies appearing in the statistics can be buffered to be included in the gameplay portion. For example, you can take a screenshot at each level from 1 to 10 and create a photo album to commemorate receiving the trophy for reaching level 10. Another example, a video can be taken of a user winning a race from the first to the fifth time, and a trophy is awarded for the fifth win.

In this way, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, at least a portion of the executed game can be stored in an ongoing buffer at all times. In other words, when a request to share a portion of the gameplay is received, the previous portion of the gameplay can already be captured to include the previous video. For example, if a request to share gameplay is received after a user has finished a racing game, the buffered gameplay may also include video of the user finishing. In other words, the user could capture moments that occur before the gameplay sharing request is made.

FIG. 17 illustrates an interface for sharing gameplay in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown, interface 17 includes a variety of selectable icons to facilitate sharing to a user's friends, e.g., members of the user's social graph. In one embodiment, interface 1700 is accessible from a dedicated button on a controller device. When the button is pressed during gameplay, interface 1700 can be presented to enable a user to share their gameplay.

Icon 1702 can be selected to initiate uploading of screenshots from the user's gameplay. In one embodiment, area 1704 of icon 1702 is populated with representative screenshots from the user's recent gameplay, thereby providing a small preview of the screenshots that may be shared. In one embodiment, selection of icon 1702 provides access to an additional screenshot selection interface that allows the user to select specific screenshots from the user's recorded gameplay for sharing to the user's social graph. This may take the form of a navigable gameplay timeline that can be traversed or navigated to identify specific points in time within the gameplay and its corresponding screenshots.

Icon 1706 can be selected to begin uploading a video of the user's gameplay. Area 1708 of icon 1706 displays representative video clips from the user's recent gameplay, such as the last 5 seconds of the user's gameplay, recent achievements, etc., so that the user's game can be shared with others. Can be configured to display small previews of video clips from the play.

Icon 1710 can be selected to start live video streaming of the user's active gameplay. In one embodiment, selecting icon 1710 triggers the user to resume gameplay while starting live video streaming of the user's gameplay. In another embodiment, selecting icon 1710 provides access to an interface to determine settings for the streaming video broadcast, such as with whom to share the streaming video, whether to include a video stream from a local image capture device intended to show the user themselves during gameplay, whether to enable comments, etc.

It will be appreciated that a user may share gameplay (e.g., selected screenshots, videos, or live gameplay streams) to one or more specifically selected friends, to their entire social graph, or to any friends in a social network. The social network may be a gaming social network associated with the platform on which the video game runs, or a third-party social network that exists separate from the video game or its platform. The social network may be accessible through an API configured to allow connectivity with the social network. Users with whom the gameplay has been shared may receive a notification informing them of the shared gameplay. Such notification may take the form of a post to a social news feed, a private message through the social network, an in-game notification, an e-mail, a chat notification, etc. Sharing a gameplay to a social network may involve making the gameplay available to other subsets of users of the social network that may or may not be part of the sharing user's social graph. For example, for a given video game, the gameplay may be shared or made available to any users of the social network who also own the video game and are thus given access to the shared gameplay of the video game. Such shared gameplay may be accessed through online forums, chat rooms, or other online channels available only to players of the video game. In one embodiment, the video game may have a dedicated page or site on a social network. The shared gameplay is available to users who access the video game's page or site. Of course, from the perspective of the sharing user, it will be appreciated that options can be provided to allow the user to specify and tailor with whom and in what forum their gameplay is shared.

18 illustrates an interface 1800 for selecting a portion of the gameplay being recorded for sharing according to an embodiment of the present invention. The interface 1800 includes a preview area 1802 that loops a preview of the currently selected portion of the video from the user's gameplay. The screenshots 1804, 1806, 1808, 1810, and 1812 are placed adjacent to one another in chronological order to define a timeline of screenshots showing the content of the gameplay video. The various screenshots 1804, 1806, 1808, 1810, and 1812 may be image frames extracted at regular intervals from the gameplay video. The screenshot timeline can be scrolled right or left to show additional frames preceding or following the currently displayed frame. Markers 1814 and 1816 indicate the start and end points of the currently selected video clip (or segment or portion). The currently selected video clip can be played repeatedly in the preview area 1802, as described above.

In one embodiment, buttons 1818 and 1820 can be selected to respectively decrease or increase the duration of the selected video portion. Preview portion 1822 can be selected to trigger playback of a full screen preview of the currently selected video clip. Trim option 1824 can be selected to access additional video trimming features.

FIG. 19 illustrates an interface 1900 for viewing a live video stream of a user's gameplay in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. At reference 1902, the name and/or alias of the user streaming their gameplay is indicated. At reference 1904, the number of users currently viewing the live video stream is indicated. A live video stream of the user's gameplay is displayed in video display area 1906. Additionally, live user video 1908 may be included that shows live video of the actual user whose gameplay is being live streamed. Command option 1910 can be selected to allow the viewing user to issue commands that affect the video game or even take control of the streaming user's gameplay. Issuance of in-game commands or remote control of a user's gameplay may include predefined or point-in-time requests from the user playing the game to allow the user viewing the game to perform such actions. You may need permission to do so.

Option 1912 allows the viewing user to join the streaming user's gameplay. And option 1914 allows the viewing user to purchase the video game in progress.

Additionally, the interface may include a comments portion 1916 that displays comments from users viewing the live video stream, indicating the time of each comment. A comment input field 1918 is provided for the viewing user to enter text for a posted comment. A submit button 1920 is then pressed to upload viewing comments by the live streaming user and others viewing the live video stream.

Although embodiments of the invention have been described in terms of accessing a variety of interfaces for sharing from the press of a dedicated button, in other embodiments some or all of these interfaces may It will be appreciated that it may not be necessary to facilitate sharing of gameplay to the graph. For example, in one embodiment, a controller button can be configured to capture a screenshot of a user's gameplay when pressed. Captured screenshots can then be automatically uploaded to the user social graph and shared.

In another embodiment, pressing a particular button on the controller initiates recording of the gameplay video. When the particular button is pressed a second time, recording of the gameplay video is stopped and the video clip can be uploaded and shared to the user social graph. In one embodiment, uploading and sharing of the video clip to the user social graph may occur automatically following the end of the video recording operation. However, in another embodiment, when the particular button is pressed a second time to stop recording, an interface is presented to allow the user to customize various options such as trimming the video, selecting representative screenshots of the video, determining which particular users to share the video with, adding captions or titles, etc. After user customization, the video can be shared with others or otherwise made available for viewing.

In one embodiment, a particular button on the controller can be configured to share a predetermined duration of gameplay video on a social network. For example, a user may specify that upon button press, the previous 10 seconds of gameplay video are to be shared to the user social graph. In another embodiment, upon button press, the next 10 seconds of gameplay video may be specified to be recorded and shared to the user social graph. It should be understood that options for trimming the video and for performing other types of customization may be applied to the recorded gameplay video. Additionally, the recorded gameplay video of the predetermined duration following the button trigger can be combined with previously buffered gameplay video as described.

In yet another embodiment, certain buttons on the controller device can be configured to initiate live video streaming of the user's active gameplay. Live video streaming can be performed only to members of the user social graph, or to other smaller or larger groups of users, such as a specific subset of the user social graph, who own the same video game or are otherwise interested in the same video game. Can be predefined to be available to all users with access, any user of the gaming platform, etc.

Automatic creation of suggested mini-games for cloud gaming based on recorded gameplay

In one embodiment, a method for recording a user's gameplay of a complete version of a video game; a method for analyzing the user's recorded gameplay to determine an area of interest; and a method act for generating a limited edition of the video game based on the defined boundary, the method being performed by a processor. A method is provided for generating a playable limited edition of a game.

In one embodiment, recording the user's gameplay includes recording one or more of user input data or game state data. In one embodiment, analyzing the user's recorded gameplay includes determining a level of activity in the user input data or game state data, and the regions of interest are regions having a level of activity above a predetermined threshold.

In one embodiment, defining a boundary within the gameplay context of the video game includes defining a spatial boundary within a virtual space of the video game. In one embodiment, the spatial boundary within the virtual space of the video game defines a portion of the virtual space that is less than the entirety of the virtual space, the portion of the virtual space having a subset of the features of the virtual space.

In one embodiment, defining boundaries within the gameplay context of the video game includes defining temporal boundaries within the temporal context of the video game.

In one embodiment, defining the boundary includes identifying the closest start or end point of one or more of a stage, level, or scene.

In one embodiment, analyzing the user's recorded gameplay includes determining user game state settings based on the user's recorded gameplay, and generating the limited edition of the video game includes defining the limited edition of the video game to have initial game state settings based on the determined user game state settings.

In one embodiment, regions of interest are automatically identified based on a match against one or more thresholds. In one embodiment, at least one of the thresholds is based on user input, speed of user input, frequency of user input, repetition of user input, input patterns, sharing of gameplay context with other users, on social networks. posting of commands associated with gameplay of the video game, or popularity of portions of the video game based on social network sharing levels.

In another embodiment, method operations include: recording a user's gameplay of a complete version of a video game; and analyzing the user's recorded gameplay to determine one or more areas of interest. a method of presenting each of the regions of interest for selection; a method of receiving a selection input indicating the selected region of interest; a playable limited edition of a video game, the method being performed by a processor, comprising a method act of defining a boundary within a gameplay context and a method act of generating a limited edition of a video game based on the defined boundary; A method is provided for generating.

In one embodiment, recording the user's gameplay includes recording one or more of user input data or game state data. In one embodiment, analyzing the user's recorded gameplay includes determining the level of activity of the user input data or game state data, and each region of interest has a level of activity that exceeds a predetermined threshold. This is an area that has

In one embodiment, analyzing the user's recorded gameplay includes determining user game state settings based on the user's recorded gameplay, and generating the limited edition of the video game includes defining the limited edition of the video game to have initial game state settings based on the determined user game state settings.

In one embodiment, each region of interest is automatically identified based on a match against one or more thresholds.

In another embodiment, a method for generating a playable limited edition video game is provided that includes method operations of recording a user's gameplay of a full version of a video game, where recording the user's gameplay includes recording one or more of user input data or game state data; analyzing the user's recorded gameplay to determine one or more areas of interest, where each area of interest is automatically identified based on a match to one or more thresholds; presenting each of the areas of interest for selection; receiving a selection input indicating the selected area of interest; for the selected area of interest, defining a boundary within a gameplay context of the video game based on the selected area of interest; and generating the limited edition video game based on the defined method operations, where the method is performed by a processor.

In one embodiment, the method act of defining a boundary within a gameplay context of a video game includes a method act of defining a spatial boundary within a virtual space of a video game, wherein the spatial boundary within the virtual space of a video game is a virtual A portion of the virtual space is defined that is less than the entirety of the space, the portion of the virtual space having a subset of the features of the virtual space.

In one embodiment, the method operations of defining boundaries within a gameplay context of the video game include method operations of defining temporal boundaries within a temporal context of the video game.

In one embodiment, the method action of defining a boundary includes a method action of identifying a nearest start location or a nearest end location of one or more stages, levels or scenes.

In one embodiment, at least one of the above thresholds is associated with one or more user inputs of speed of user input, frequency of user input, repetition of user input, input patterns, sharing of gameplay context with other users, posting comments related to gameplay on a social network, or popularity of portions of the video game based on social network sharing levels.

Generating multi-part mini-games for cloud gaming based on recorded gameplay

In one embodiment, a method for generating a playable limited edition video game is provided, the method comprising the following method operations: recording a user's gameplay of a full version of the video game; determining a plurality of user-defined portions of the user's recorded gameplay; for each user-defined portion, defining a boundary within a gameplay context of the video game based on the user-defined portion to generate a playable portion of the video game based on the defined boundary; and arranging each of the playable portions of the video game in a series to define the limited edition video game, the method being executed by a processor.

A method operation for determining each user-defined portion of a user's recorded gameplay includes a method operation for receiving a user-defined start position and a user-defined end position within the user's recorded gameplay; a receiving user-defined start position and a user-defined end position.

In one embodiment, the method operations of recording user gameplay include recording one or more of user input data or game state data. In one embodiment, the method operations of generating a playable portion of the video game include the method operations of analyzing the game state data to identify code elements and assembling the code elements to define executable code that defines the playable portion of the video game.

In one embodiment, the method operations of defining a boundary within a gameplay context of the video game include a method operation of defining a spatial boundary within a virtual space of the video game. In one embodiment, the spatial boundary within the virtual space of the video game defines a portion of the virtual space that is less than the entirety of the virtual space, the portion of the virtual space having a subset of the characteristics of the virtual space.

In one embodiment, the method operations of defining boundaries within a gameplay context of the video game include method operations of defining temporal boundaries within a temporal context of the video game.

In one embodiment, the method further includes a method operation of analyzing the user's recorded gameplay to determine a user game state setting for each user-defined portion, and the method operation of generating a playable portion of the video game includes a method operation of defining the playable portion of the video game to have an initial game state setting based on the determined user game state setting.

In one embodiment, the method act of defining a boundary includes a method act of identifying the nearest starting or ending position of one or more of the stages, levels, or scenes.

In one embodiment, the method further includes a method act of recording a user-defined video, and the method act of arranging a playable portion of a video game precedes or follows one of the playable portions of the video game. Methods include operations for placing user-defined videos at locations within the series. In one embodiment, the user-defined video includes video from at least one user-defined portion of the user's recorded gameplay.

In another embodiment, a tangible computer readable medium having program instructions embodied thereon for generating a playable limited edition of a video game is provided, the program instructions including: program instructions for recording a user's gameplay of a full version of the video game; program instructions for determining a plurality of user-defined portions of the user's recorded gameplay; program instructions for, for each user-defined portion, defining a boundary within a gameplay context of the video game based on the user-defined portion to generate a playable portion of the video game based on the defined boundary; and program instructions for arranging each of the playable portions of the video game in a series to define the limited edition of the video game.

In one embodiment, a method for determining each user-defined portion of a user's recorded gameplay includes a method of receiving a user-defined starting position and a user-defined ending position within the user's recorded gameplay. and method operations for determining a user-defined portion based on a receiving user-defined starting position and a user-defined ending position.

In one embodiment, the method operations of recording user gameplay include recording one or more of user input data or game state data. In one embodiment, the method operations of generating a playable portion of the video game include the method operations of analyzing the game state data to identify code elements and assembling the code elements to define executable code that defines the playable portion of the video game.

In one embodiment, the computer-readable medium further includes program instructions for analyzing the user's recorded gameplay to determine user game state settings for each user-defined portion of the video game. The method acts of generating include method acts of defining a playable portion of the video game to have an initial game state setting based on the determined user game state settings.

In another embodiment, a system is provided that includes at least one server computing device having logic for generating a playable limited version of the video game, the logic including logic for recording a user's gameplay of a full version of the video game; logic for determining a plurality of user-defined portions of the user's recorded gameplay; logic for each user-defined portion, defining a boundary within a gameplay context of the video game based on the user-defined portion and generating a playable portion of the video game based on the defined boundary; and logic for arranging each of the playable portions of the video game in a series to define the limited version of the video game.

In one embodiment, the method operations for determining a user-defined portion of each of the user's recorded gameplay include the method operations of receiving a user-defined start position and a user-defined end position within the user's recorded gameplay, and determining the user-defined portion based on the received user-defined start position and the user-defined end position.

In one embodiment, the method operations of recording user gameplay include recording one or more of user input data or game state data. In one embodiment, the method operations of generating a playable portion of the video game include the method operations of analyzing the game state data to identify code elements and assembling the code elements to define executable code that defines the playable portion of the video game.

In one embodiment, the logic circuitry further includes logic circuitry that analyzes the user's recorded gameplay to determine a user game state setting for each user-defined portion, and the method operations of generating a playable portion of the video game include method operations of defining the playable portion of the video game to have an initial game state setting based on the determined user game state setting.

Distribution of recorded gameplay to the social graph

In one embodiment, a method for distributing recorded gameplay to a social graph is provided, the method comprising the following method operations: recording video of a user's gameplay during an active state of a gameplay session; receiving a command during the active state of the gameplay session to initiate a distribution operation; in response to receiving the command, entering a dormant state of the gameplay session and presenting a distribution interface; processing input received via the distribution interface to determine a user-defined selection of the recorded video; distributing the user-defined selection of the recorded video to the user's social graph; and resuming the active state of the gameplay session, the method being executed by a processor.

In one embodiment, the method acts of recording video of the user's gameplay include the method acts of storing the video in a buffer during an active state of the gameplay session.

In one embodiment, method acts of presenting a shared interface include method acts of retrieving and presenting one or more portions of a video from a buffer.

In one embodiment, the sharing interface includes a duration selector that defines the duration of the user-defined selection.

In one embodiment, the method action of distributing the selection includes the method action of uploading the selection for availability on a social networking service that defines the user's social graph.

In one embodiment, the method action of uploading the selection includes the method action of compressing the selection and uploading the compressed selection.

In one embodiment, the method actions of distributing the selection include the method actions of generating notifications to members of the user's social graph.

In one embodiment, notifications are defined by one or more of a private message, a chat message, an in-game notification, a social news feed posting, or an email.

In one embodiment, the method action of distributing the selection includes the method action of presenting the selection on the user's profile page.

In one embodiment, the method of receiving a command to initiate a dispensing operation is defined from a button press on a controller device.

In another embodiment, a method of distributing recorded gameplay into a social graph comprises the following method acts: recording a video of a user's gameplay during an active state of a gameplay session; a method of receiving a command to initiate a distribution operation during an active state of a gameplay session; and, in response to receiving the command, determining a user-defined selection of the recorded video; and distributing a user-defined selection of videos to a social graph of a user.

In one embodiment, the method operations for recording video of a user's gameplay include storing the video in a buffer during an active state of the gameplay session.

In one embodiment, the method operations of determining a user-defined selection of the recorded video include method operations of retrieving and presenting the video from a buffer and processing user input identifying a portion of the video.

In one embodiment, the method act of distributing the selection includes a method act of uploading the selection for availability on a social network service that defines a social graph of the user.

In one embodiment, the method action of receiving a command to initiate a dispensing operation is defined as a button press on the controller device.

In another embodiment, a fixed computer readable medium is provided having program instructions defined thereon for distributing recorded game play to a social graph. The program instructions include program instructions for recording video of a user's gameplay during an active state of a gameplay session, program instructions for receiving a command during an active state of a gameplay session to initiate a dispensing operation; There are program instructions responsive to determining a user-defined selection of recorded video, and program instructions distributing the user-defined selection of recorded video to a social graph of a user.

In one embodiment, the method operations for recording video of a user's gameplay include storing the video in a buffer during an active state of the gameplay session.

Method operations for determining a user-defined selection of recorded video include method operations for retrieving and presenting video from a buffer, and method operations for processing user input identifying portions of the video.

In one embodiment, the method action of distributing the selection includes the method action of uploading the selection for availability on a social networking service that defines the user's social graph.

The method operation of receiving a command to initiate a distribution operation is defined as a button press on the controller device.

User remote control of gameplay

In one embodiment, a method for remotely controlling a user's gameplay includes the following method acts: presenting a live video feed of a first user's gameplay to a second remote user; a method act of processing a request to transfer control of the first user's gameplay to a second user; and a method act of initiating control of the first user's gameplay by the second user, the method comprising: , a method performed by at least one processor.

In one embodiment, the method act of initiating control of the first user's gameplay by a second user includes initiating control of the first user's gameplay by a first controller device associated with the first user. and activating control of a first user's gameplay by a second controller device associated with a second user.

In one embodiment, controlling the gameplay of the first user by the second user includes method acts of receiving input commands from a second controller device and applying the input commands to define the gameplay of the first user.

In one embodiment, the live video feed is presented to the second user via a social interface, the social interface provides access to the second user's social graph, and the first user Defined as a member of a user's social graph.

In one embodiment, the social interface includes a comment interface that posts comments during the first user's gameplay.

In one embodiment, the method acts of processing the request to transfer control include the method acts of receiving an acknowledgment from the first user that allows the second user to control the first user's gameplay.

In one embodiment, the method act of presenting a live video feed of the first user's gameplay to the second user includes the method act of presenting the live video feed in a non-full screen format, The method acts of initiating control of play by a second user include the method acts of triggering presentation of a live video feed in full screen format.

In another embodiment, a method for providing multiplayer gameplay is provided, the method comprising the following method operations: presenting a live video feed of a first user's gameplay to a second remote user; processing a request for the second user to join the first user's gameplay session; and initiating gameplay by the second user in the first user's gameplay session, the method being executed by at least one processor.

In one embodiment, the method action of initiating gameplay by a second user in a gameplay session of a first user includes the method action of initiating a multiplayer mode of the video game.

In one embodiment, the live video feed is presented to the second user via a social interface, the social interface providing access to the second user's social graph, and the first user is defined as a member of the second user's social graph.

In one embodiment, the social interface includes a comment interface that posts comments during the first user's gameplay.

In one embodiment, the method action of processing a request to join a first user's gameplay session includes the method action of receiving an acknowledgment from the first user that enables control of gameplay by the second user in the first user's gameplay session.

In one embodiment, the method act of presenting a live video feed of the first user's gameplay to the second user includes a method act of presenting the live video feed in a non-full screen format, The method acts of initiating by a user in the first user's gameplay session include the method acts of triggering presentation of a live video feed in full screen format.

In another embodiment, process program instructions for presenting a live video feed of a first user's gameplay to a second remote user and a request to transition control of the first user's gameplay to a second user. and program instructions for initiating control of a first user's gameplay by a second user. do.

In one embodiment, the method operations of initiating control of a first user's gameplay by a second user include a method operation of deactivating control of the first user's gameplay by a first controller device associated with the first user and activating control of the first user's gameplay by a second controller device associated with the second user.

In one embodiment, controlling the gameplay of the first user by the second user includes method acts of receiving input commands from a second controller device and applying the input commands to define the gameplay of the first user.

In one embodiment, the live video feed is presented to the second user via a social interface, the social interface providing access to the second user's social graph, and the first user is defined as a member of the second user's social graph.

In one embodiment, the social interface includes a comments interface for posting comments during the first user's gameplay.

In one embodiment, the method acts of processing the request to transfer control include the method acts of receiving an acknowledgment from the first user that enables the second user to control the first user's gameplay.

In one embodiment, the method act of presenting a live video feed of the first user's gameplay to the second user includes the method act of presenting the live video feed in a non-full screen format, The method acts of initiating control of play by a second user include the method acts of triggering presentation of a live video feed in full screen format.

FIG. 20 illustrates hardware and user interfaces that can be used to provide interactivity in video games, according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 20 illustrates the overall system architecture of a Sony® PlayStation 3® entertainment device, suitable for interfacing a control device with a computer program running on a base computing device, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 schematically shows a console that can be used to A system unit 2000 is provided and various peripheral devices can be connected to the system unit 2000. System unit 2000 includes a cell processor 2028 , a Rambus® dynamic random access memory (XDRAM) unit 2026 , a Reality Synthesizer graphics unit 2030 having a dedicated video random access memory (VRAM) unit 2032 , and an I/O bridge 2034 including. The system unit 2000 includes a Blu Ray (registered trademark) disc BD-ROM (registered trademark) optical disc reader 2040 for reading from a disc 2040a, which is accessible via an I/O bridge 2034, and a removable slot-in hard disk drive. (HDD) 2036 is also included. Optionally, system unit 2000 also includes a memory card reader 2038 for reading CompactFlash memory cards, Memory Stick memory cards, etc., which is also accessible via I/O bridge 2034. .

The I/O bridge 2034 is connected to six Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0 ports 2024, a Gigabit Ethernet port 2022, an IEEE 802.11b/g wireless network (Wi-Fi) port 2020, and a Bluetooth wireless link port 2018 that can support up to seven Bluetooth connections.

In operation, I/O bridge 2034 handles all wireless, USB, and Ethernet data, including data from one or more game controllers 2002-2003. For example, when a user is playing a game, I/O bridge 2034 receives data from game controllers 2002-2003 via a Bluetooth link and updates the current state of the game accordingly. Leading to 2028.

Wireless USB and Ethernet ports also provide connectivity for other peripheral devices such as a remote control 2004, a keyboard 2006, a mouse 2008, a portable entertainment device 2010 such as a Sony Playstation Portable entertainment device, a video camera 2012 such as an EyeToy video camera, a microphone headset 2014, and a microphone 2015, in addition to the game controllers 2002-2003. Thus, such peripheral devices can essentially be connected to the system unit 2000 wirelessly; for example, the portable entertainment device 2010 can communicate via a Wi-Fi ad-hoc connection, while the microphone headset 2014 can communicate via a Bluetooth link.

The provision of these interfaces means that Playstation 3 devices are potentially compatible with other peripheral devices such as digital video tape recorders (DVRs), set-top boxes, digital cameras, portable media players, voice-over-IP phones, mobile phones, printers and scanners.

In addition, a legacy memory card reader 2016 can be connected to the system unit via USB port 2024, allowing reading of memory cards 2048 of the type used by Playstation® or Playstation 2® devices.

The game controllers 2002-2003 are operable to communicate wirelessly with the system unit 2000 via a Bluetooth link or to be connected to a USB port, which also provides power to charge the batteries of the game controllers 2002-2003. The game controllers 2002-2003 may also include memory, a processor, a memory card reader, permanent memory such as flash memory, light emitters such as illuminated spherical sections, LEDs or infrared lights, a microphone and speaker for ultrasonic communication, an acoustic chamber, a digital camera, an internal clock, a recognizable shape such as a spherical section facing the game console, and wireless communication using protocols such as Bluetooth, WiFi, etc.

Game controller 2002 is a controller designed to be used with two hands, and game controller 2003 is a one-handed controller with an attachment. In addition to one or more analog joysticks and traditional control buttons, game controllers are susceptible to three-dimensional location determination. As a result, gestures and movements by a user of a game controller may be interpreted as input to the game in addition to or in place of traditional button or joystick commands. Optionally, other wireless-enabled peripheral devices, such as a PlayStation® portable device, can be used as a controller. In the case of a PlayStation®, a portable device, additional game or control information (eg, control instructions or number of lives) can be provided on the screen of the device. A dance mat (not shown), a light gun (not shown), a handle and pedals (not shown), or a single or several large buttons for a quick response quiz game (also not shown) ) Other alternative or auxiliary control devices may also be used, such as custom-built controllers.

The remote control 2004 is also operable to communicate wirelessly with the system unit 2000 via a Bluetooth® link. The remote control 704 includes suitable controls for operation of the Blu Ray™ disc BD-ROM reader 2040 and for navigation of the disc contents.

The Blu Ray™ disc BD-ROM reader 2040 reads conventional pre-recorded and recordable CDs and so-called Super Audio CDs, as well as CD-ROMs compatible with PlayStation and PlayStation 2 devices. It is possible to operate as follows. In addition to conventional pre-recorded and recordable DVDs, the reader 2040 is also operable to read DVD-ROMs compatible with PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 devices. The reader 2040 is further operable to read BD-ROMs compatible with PlayStation 3 devices as well as conventional pre-recorded and recordable Blu-Ray discs.

The system unit 2000 is operable to provide audio and video generated or decoded by the Playstation 3 device via the Reality Synthesizer graphics unit 2030 to a display and sound output device 2042, such as a monitor or television having a display 2044 and one or more speakers 2046, via audio and video connectors. The audio connector 2050 may include conventional analog and digital outputs, while the video connector 2052 may variously include component video, S-video, composite video and one or more high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) outputs. As a result, the video output may be in formats such as PAL or NTSC, or in high definition at 720p, 1080i or 1080p.

Audio processing (generation, decoding, etc.) is performed by the Cell Processor 2028. The Playstation 3 device's operating system supports Dolby® 5.1 surround sound, Dolby® Theater Surround (DTS) and 7.1 surround sound decoding from Blu-Ray® discs.

In this embodiment, the video camera 2012 is configured to transmit compressed video data in a suitable format, such as an intra-layer image-based MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group) standard, for decoding by the system unit 2000. , a single charge-coupled device (CCD), an LED indicator and a hardware-based real-time data compression and encoding device. The camera LED indicators are arranged, for example, to illuminate in response to appropriate control data from the system unit 2000 to indicate unfavorable lighting conditions. Embodiments of video camera 2012 can be variously connected to system unit 700 via USB, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi communication ports. Video camera embodiments may include one or more associated microphones and may also transmit audio data. In video camera embodiments, the CCD may have a resolution suitable for high resolution video capture. In use, images captured by a video camera can be incorporated into a game or interpreted as game control input, for example. In another embodiment, the camera is an infrared camera suitable for detecting light in the infrared.

In general, a reasonable piece of software such as a device driver should be provided so that data communication can occur without failure with a peripheral device such as a video camera or a remote control via one of the communication ports of the system unit 2000. It is. Device driver technology is well known and will not be described in detail here; however, one skilled in the art will appreciate that device driver technology or similar software interfaces may be necessary in the described embodiments. You will understand that.

Figure 21 illustrates further hardware that can be used to process instructions, according to one embodiment of the present invention. The Cell processor 2028 has an architecture that includes four basic components: an external I/O structure including a memory controller 2160 and dual bus interface controllers 2170A,B), a main processor called the Power Processing Element 2150, eight co-processors called Synergistic Processing Elements (SPEs) 2110A-H, and a circular data bus connecting the above components called the Element Interconnect Bus 2180. The total floating point performance of the Cell processor is 218 GFLOPs compared to 6.2 GFLOPs for the Emotion Engine of the Playstation 2 device.

The power processing element (PPE) 2150 is based on a bi-directional concurrently threaded Power 570 compliant PowerPC core (PPU) 855 running with a 3.2 GHz internal clock. Includes 512kB of level 2 (L2) cache and 32kB of level 1 (L1) cache. The PPE 2150 is capable of 8 single position operations per clock cycle which translates to 25.6 GFLOPs at 3.2 GHz. The primary role of PPE 2150 is to act as a controller for synergistic processing elements 2110A-H, which handle most of the computer's workload. In operation, PPE 2150 maintains a job queue, schedules jobs for synergistic processing elements 2110A-H, and monitors their progress. As a result, each synergistic processing element 2110A-H executes a kernel whose role is to fetch, execute, and synchronize jobs with the PPE 2150.

Each synergistic processing element (SPE) 2110A-H includes a respective synergistic processing unit (SPU) 2120A-H, and each memory flow controller (MFC) 2140A-H includes a respective dynamic memory access controller (DMAC). 2142A-H, each including a memory management unit (MMU) 2144A-H and a bus interface (not shown). Each SPU 2120A-H is a RISC processor that is clocked at 3.2 GHz and includes 256 kB local RAM 2130A-H that is essentially expandable to 4 GB. Each SPE provides a theoretical 25.6 GFLOPS of single precision performance. The SPU can operate with four single-precision floating point members, four 32-bit numbers, eight 16-bit integers, or sixteen 8-bit integers in a single clock cycle. Memory operations can also be performed in the same clock cycle. SPUs 2120A-H do not directly access system memory is passed to the MFC 2140A-H instructing it to do so.

The Element Interconnect Bus (EIB) 2180 is a logically circular communication bus internal to the Cell Processor 2028 that connects the above mentioned processor elements, namely the PPE 2150, the memory controller 2160, the dual bus interface 2170A,B and the eight SPEs 2110A-H, for a total of 12 participants. Participants can simultaneously read and write to the bus at a rate of 8 bytes per clock cycle. As mentioned above, each SPE 2110A-H includes a DMAC 2142A-H that schedules longer read or write sequences. The EIB includes four channels, two each in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions. As a result, for 12 participants, the longest incremental data flow between any two participants is six steps in the appropriate direction. Thus, the theoretical peak instantaneous EIB bandwidth for 12 slots is 96B per clock in the case of full utilization via arbitration between participants. At a clock speed of 3.2 GHz, this equates to a peak bandwidth of 307.2 GB/s (gigabytes per second).

The memory controller 2160 includes an XDRAM interface 2162 developed by Rambus Incorporated. The memory controller interfaces with a Rambus XDRAM 2026, which has a theoretical peak bandwidth of 25.6 GB/s.

Dual bus interfaces 2170A,B include Rambus FlexIO® system interfaces 2172A,B. The interface is organized into 12 channels, each 8 bits wide, with 5 paths inbound and 7 outbound. This allows a theoretical speed of 62.4 GB/s (36.4 GB/s outbound, 26 GB/s inbound) between the cell processor and the I/O bridge 2034 via the controller 2170A and the Reality Simulator graphics unit 2130 via the controller 2170B. Peak bandwidth is obtained.

The data sent by the cell processor 2128 to the Reality Simulator graphics unit 2130 typically includes a display list, which is a series of commands such as drawing vertices, applying textures to polygons, specifying lighting conditions, etc. Become.

FIG. 22 is an exemplary diagram of scenes A-E in which respective users A-E interact with game clients 2202 connected to server processes over the Internet, according to one embodiment of the present invention. Game clients are devices that allow users to connect to server applications and processes over the Internet. Game clients allow users to access and play online entertainment content such as, but not limited to, games, videos, music, and photos. Additionally, game clients can provide access to online communication applications such as VOIP, text chat protocols, and email.

A user interacts with a game client via a controller. In some embodiments, the controller is a game client-specific controller, while in other embodiments the controller can be a keyboard and mouse combination. In one embodiment, the game client is a standalone device that can output audio and video signals to create a multimedia environment via a monitor/television and associated audio equipment. For example, a game client can be, but is not limited to, a thin client, an internal PCI-express card, an external PCI-express device, an ExpressCard device, an internal, external, or wireless USB or Firewire device. . In other embodiments, the game client is integrated with a television or other multimedia device, such as a DVR, Blu-Ray player, DVD player or multi-channel receiver.

In scene A of FIG. 22, user A interacts with a client application displayed on monitor 2204A using controller 2206A paired with game client 2202A. Similarly, in scene B, user B interacts with another client application displayed on monitor 2204B using controller 2206B paired with game client 2202B. Scene C shows a view from behind of user C as he looks at a monitor showing the game and buddy list from client 2202C. Although FIG. 22 shows one server processing module, in one embodiment, there are multiple server processing modules around the world. Each server processing module includes sub-modules for user session control, sharing/communication logic, user geographic location, and load balancing processing services. Additionally, the server processing modules include network processing and distributed storage.

When the game client 2202 connects the processing module to the server, user session controls may be used to authenticate the user. Authenticated users may have associated virtualized distributed storage and virtualized network processing. Exemplary items that may be stored as part of a user's virtualized distributed storage include purchased media, such as, but not limited to, games, videos, and music. Additionally, distributed storage can be used to save game state for multiple games, customized environments for individual games, and general environments for game clients. In one embodiment, a server-processed user geographic location module is used to determine the geographic locations of users and their respective game clients. A user's geographic location may be used by shared/communication logic and load balancing processing services to optimize performance based on geographic location and processing demands on multiple server processing modules. Virtualizing one or both network processing and network storage allows processing tasks from game clients to be dynamically moved to underutilized server processing modules. Accordingly, load balancing may be used to minimize the latency associated with recall from storage and data transmission between the server processing module and the game client.

The server processing module has instances of server application A and server application B. The server processing module can support multiple server applications as shown by server application X1 and server application X2. In one embodiment, the server processing is based on a cluster computing architecture that allows multiple processors in a cluster to process the server application. In another embodiment, a different type of multi-computer processing scheme is applied to process the server application. This allows the server processing to scale to accommodate a larger number of game clients running multiple client applications and corresponding server applications. Alternatively, the server processing can scale to accommodate more intensive graphics processing or increased computational demands required by games, video compression, or application complexity. In one embodiment, the server processing module performs most of the processing via the server application. This allows relatively expensive components such as graphics processors, RAM, and general processors to be centrally located, reducing the cost of the game clients. The processed server application data is sent back to the corresponding game client over the Internet to be displayed on a monitor.

Scene C shows an exemplary application that can be executed by the game client and server processing modules. For example, in one embodiment, game client 2202C allows user C to create and display a buddy list 2220 that includes user A, user B, user D, and user E. As shown, in scene C, user C can see a real-time image or avatar of each user on monitor 2204C. The server processing executes the applications of each of the game clients 2202C, and with the game clients 2202 of each of user A, user B, user D, and user E. Because the server processing is aware of the application being executed by game client B, user A's buddy list can indicate which game user B is playing. Furthermore, in one embodiment, user A can view the actual in game video directly from user B. This is enabled simply by sending user B's processed server application data to game client A in addition to game client B.

In addition to being able to display video from buddies, the communication application can enable real-time communication between buddies. As applied to the previous example, this allows user A to provide encouragement or hints while watching real-time video of user B. In one embodiment, two-way real-time voice communication is established via a client/server application. In another embodiment, the client/server application enables text chat. In yet another embodiment, the client/server application converts voice to text for display on the buddy's screen.

Scenes D and E show users D and E, respectively, interacting with game consoles 2210D and 2210E. Each game console 2210D and 2210E is connected to a server processing module, and shows a network in which the server processing module coordinates game play for the game consoles and game clients.

FIG. 23 illustrates an embodiment of an Internet Service Provider architecture. An information service provider (ISP) 2370 delivers many information services to geographically distributed and connected users 2382 over a network 2386. An ISP may deliver only one type of service, such as stock quote updates, or various services such as broadcast media, news, sports, games, etc. Furthermore, the services offered by each ISP are dynamic, i.e., services can be added or removed at any time. Thus, the ISP that provides a particular type of service to a particular individual may change over time. For example, a user may be served by an ISP in a location close to the user while in his/her hometown, and the user may be served by a different ISP when he/she moves to a different city. The hometown ISP will forward the necessary information and data to the new ISP, and the user information will "follow" the user to the new city, making the data closer to the user and easier to access. In another embodiment, a master-server relationship may be established between a master ISP that manages information about the user and a server ISP that interfaces directly with the user under the control of the master ISP. In other embodiments, data is transferred from one ISP to another as the client moves around the world in order to make the ISP that delivers these services the one that is better located to serve the user.

The ISP 2370 includes an Application Service Provider (ASP) 2372 that provides computer-based services to customers over a network. Software provided using the ASP model is sometimes called on-demand software or software as a service (SaaS). A simple way to provide access to a specific application program (such as customer relationship management) is by using a standard protocol such as HTTP. The application software resides on the vendor's system and is accessed by the user through a web browser using HTML, by dedicated client software provided by the vendor or other remote interfaces such as thin clients.

Cloud computing is often used for services that are delivered over a wide geographical area. Cloud computing is a style of computing in which dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources are provided as a service over the Internet. Users do not need to be experts in the technical infrastructure in the "cloud" that supports them. Cloud computing can be divided into different services such as infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS). Cloud computing services often provide common business applications online that are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on servers. The term cloud is a metaphor for the Internet, based on how the Internet is depicted in computer network diagrams, and an abstraction for the complex infrastructure that the Internet hides.

Additionally, ISP 2370 includes a game processing server (GPS) 2374 that is used by game clients to play single and multiplayer video games. Most video games played on the Internet operate through a connection to a game server. Typically, games use dedicated server applications that collect data from players and distribute it to other players. This is more efficient and effective than a peer-to-peer arrangement, but requires a separate server to employ the server application. In another embodiment, GPS establishes communications between players and their respective game play devices exchange information without relying on a centralized GPS.

A dedicated GPS is a server that runs independently of the client. Such servers typically run on dedicated hardware located within data centers, providing more bandwidth and dedicated processing power. Dedicated servers are the preferred method of employing game servers for most PC-based multiplayer games. On a large scale, multiplayer online games typically run on dedicated servers employed by the software company that owns the game's title, and the dedicated servers can control and update the content.

The Broadcast Processing Server (BPS) 2376 distributes the audio or video signals to the audience. Broadcasting to a very small audience is sometimes called narrowcasting. The final step in broadcast distribution is how the signal reaches the listener or viewer, which may come over the air to an antenna and receiver, as in the case of a radio or television station, or through a station, or directly from a network, through cable television or wired radio (or "wireless cable"). The Internet can also bring radio or TV to the receiver, especially with multicasting, which allows signals and bandwidth to be shared. Traditionally, broadcasting has been bounded by geographical regions, such as national or regional broadcasting. However, with the fast spread of the Internet, broadcasting is no longer defined by geography, as content can reach almost any country in the world.

Storage service provider (SSP) 2378 provides computer storage space and related management services. SSP also provides regular backup and archive processing. Providing storage as a service allows users to order more storage as needed. Another major advantage is that the SSP includes a backup service so that users do not lose all their data if their computer's hard drive fails. Additionally, multiple SSPs may have full or partial copies of user data, allowing users to operate efficiently and independently of their location or the device they are using to access their data. and access the data. For example, users can access personal files on the go on their home computers as well as on their mobile phones while on the go.

Communication provider 380 provides connectivity to users. One type of communications provider is an Internet Service Provider (ISP), which provides access to the Internet. ISPs connect customers using any data transmission technology suitable for delivering Internet Protocol datagrams, such as dial-up, DSL, cable modem, wireless or dedicated high-speed interconnect. Communications providers may also provide messaging services such as email, instant messaging and SMS texting. Another type of communications provider is a network service provider (NSP), which sells bandwidth or network access by providing direct backbone access to the Internet. Network service providers may consist of telecommunications companies, data carriers, wireless communication providers, Internet service providers, cable television operators, etc. that provide high-speed Internet access and the like.

Data exchange 2388 interconnects several modules inside ISP 2370 and connects these modules to users 2382 via network 2386. Data exchange 2388 may cover a small area where all modules of ISP 2370 are close together, or it may cover a large geographic area where different modules are geographically dispersed. be. For example, data exchange 2388 can include high-speed Gigabit Ethernet (or faster) within a data center partition or an intercontinental virtual area network (VLAN).

User 2382 accesses remote services with a client device 2384 that includes at least a CPU, display, and I/O. The client device can be a PC, cell phone, netbook, PDA, etc. In one embodiment, ISP 2370 recognizes the type of device used by the client and adjusts the communication method employed. In other cases, the client device uses a standard communication method, such as html, to access ISP 2370.

Embodiments of the invention may be practiced in a variety of computer system configurations, including handheld devices, microprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through wired or wireless networks.

With the previous embodiments in mind, it should be understood that the present invention may employ various computer-implemented operations involving data stored within computer systems. These operations are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Any of the operations described herein that form part of the present invention are useful machine operations. The present invention relates to a device or device that performs these operations. The apparatus may be specifically created for the required purpose, or it may be a general purpose computer selectively activated or configured by a computer program stored within the computer. In particular, various general purpose machines may be used with computer programs written in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may be more convenient to create more specialized equipment to perform the necessary operations.

The invention may also be embodied as computer readable code on a computer readable medium. A computer readable medium is any data storage device capable of storing data which can thereafter be read by a computer system. Examples of computer readable media include hard drives, network attached storage (NAS), read only memory, random access memory, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, magnetic tapes and other optical and non-optical data storage devices. A computer readable medium may include computer readable tangible media distributed over a network coupled computer system such that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed manner.

Although the method operations have been described in a particular order, can other housekeeping tasks be performed between the tasks or at slightly different times as long as the processing of the overlay tasks occurs in the desired manner? It should be appreciated that the work can be arranged so that it can be distributed, or alternatively, in a system that allows the processing work to occur at various intervals related to the processing.

Although the invention described above has been described in some detail for purposes of clarity of understanding, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications can be practiced within the scope of the appended claims. Thus, the present embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is not limited to the details set forth herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

Claims (3)

1. A method for sharing a gameplay experience, comprising:
a cloud gaming system executing a video game, the executing the video game including processing a game state of the video game to provide gameplay of the video game;
a cloud gaming system streaming the gameplay of the video game over a network, the gameplay of the video game being played by a first user;
processing a request by a cloud gaming system to transition control of the gameplay of the video game to a second user;
and a step of the cloud gaming system responding to the request by transitioning control of the gameplay to the second user via a social interface, the social interface enabling the second user to access the gameplay while disabling the first user from accessing the gameplay . The method of claim 1, wherein the game state of the video game includes variables that define a running state of the video game. the gameplay of the video game includes gameplay video rendered from the game state of the video game, the gameplay video being transmitted over the network by the cloud gaming system;
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the gameplay of the video game includes user input generated from interactivity by the first user with the gameplay video, the user input being received over the network by the cloud gaming system, and the user input being applied during processing of the game state of the video game.

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