KR20180022866A - Integration of the specification and game systems - Google Patents

Abstract

A programming system that exposes application programming interfaces (APIs) to game systems. The specification system obtains game metadata from game systems for games broadcast by the specification system according to the API, and generates content for broadcasts based at least in part on the game metadata. The broadcast content is provided to the spectator devices in broadcasts. The specification system receives indications of broadcast content and spectator 'interactions from the spectator devices and provides indications of interactions to game systems according to the API.

Description

Integration of the specification and game systems

Support for high definition video, increasingly broader availability of broadband connections, and the availability and capabilities of consumer computing devices including, but not limited to, mobile computing devices such as pad / tablet devices and smartphones, The evolution of computing and mobile computing has resulted in the continued evolution and growth of online gaming. Online games range from relatively simple, two-dimensional (2D) casual games to more complex 2D or 3D action, sports or strategy games that can include one or more players in a game session, Multi-player online battle arena (MOBA) games, world-building multiplayer games, complex 3D massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) that can support millions or tens of millions of active players in a permanent online "world" For example, massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs).

The ongoing evolution and growth of online gaming eventually led to an increase in the popularity of video game spectating, or virtual spectating. In virtual spectating, one or more of the viewers or spectators may choose to participate in one or more of the other players actively participating in the online game You can watch the game play. For example, in a multiplayer online game, spectators may be included in a battle or otherwise watch one or more players or teams of players participating in game play. Broadband Internet, high-resolution video, and video streaming technologies have led to the development of live broadcasting techniques that can be leveraged to provide online virtualization of online games. For example, a game specification system may allow players to broadcast live or recorded streams of their game play to dozens, hundreds or even thousands of spectators, while at the same time, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > live < / RTI > or recorded broadcasts.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating integrated game systems having a game specification system in a game specification environment in accordance with some embodiments.
1B is a block diagram illustrating an example broadcast content service in a game specification environment in accordance with some embodiments.
1C is a block diagram illustrating a source for game metadata in a game specification environment in accordance with some embodiments.
1D is a block diagram illustrating an example game system architecture in accordance with some embodiments.
2A is a flow chart of a method for providing and determining broadcast content in a game specification environment illustrated in FIG. 1A in accordance with some embodiments.
Figure 2B is a flow chart of a method for providing and determining broadcast content in the game specification environment illustrated in Figure IB according to some embodiments.
Figure 3A illustrates event detection and processing in a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments.
Figure 3B illustrates game event processing in a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments.
3C illustrates participant event tag processing in a game specification system according to some embodiments.
FIG. 3D illustrates participant inputs processing for determining events in a game specification system according to some embodiments.
4 illustrates participant inputs processing for determining broadcast-related information in a game specification system according to some embodiments.
5 is a flow chart of a method for determining events in a game specification environment in accordance with some embodiments.
Figures 6a and 6b provide non-limiting examples of a specification user interface for a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments.
Figures 7a and 7b provide non-limiting examples of a customizing user interface for a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments.
Figure 8 provides non-limiting examples of a broadcaster user interface for a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments.
FIG. 9 provides other, non-limiting examples of a user-facing specification for a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments.
Figure 10 illustrates an example virtual store front module in a game specification system according to some embodiments.
Figure 11 is a flow chart of a method for providing game-related merchandise through a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments.
Figure 12 provides non-limiting examples of game sales interfaces for a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments.
Figures 13a through 13e illustrate provisioning game client software and game states to a spectator device in a game specification environment in accordance with some embodiments.
Figure 14 provides non-limiting examples of game participation interfaces for a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments.
15A is a flow chart of a method for enabling game acquisition and participation through a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments.
15B is a flow chart of a method for step-in-touching a game through a game specification system according to some embodiments.
15C is a flowchart of a method for provisioning and cloning game character according to some embodiments.
15D is a flowchart of a method for provisioning game client software to a spectator device in a game presentation environment in accordance with some embodiments.
15E is a flowchart of a method for obtaining game data on a spectator device in accordance with some embodiments.
Figure 16 illustrates an example participant rewards module in a game specification environment in accordance with some embodiments.
17A is a high-level flow chart of a method for recognizing or compensating participants in a game specification environment in accordance with some embodiments.
17B is a flow chart of a method for compensating participants for notable events in broadcast-in games according to some embodiments.
Figure 18 provides non-limiting examples of achievement and compensation interfaces for a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments.
19A is a block diagram of a game presentation system that provides inputs for a game broadcast through a game specification system based on interactions with broadcasts in accordance with some embodiments and spectator inputs to a broadcast. Illustrates an example game effects module.
FIG. 19B illustrates an example game input module on a game system that processes the presentation data received from the presentation system to generate inputs for the game to be broadcast through the game presentation system according to some embodiments. For example.
Figures 20a-20d are flow charts of methods for generating inputs to a game system from spectator's interactions from a game specification system to broadcasts in accordance with some embodiments.
Figure 21 provides a non-limiting example of a game specification system interface that allows spectators according to some embodiments to collectively affect a game broadcast through a game specification system.
Figure 22 provides a non-limiting example of inputs to spectators' inputs for broadcast to a game specification system that collectively impacts the game being broadcast through the game specification system according to some embodiments.
Figure 23 illustrates an example game interaction module in a game specification system that allows a spectator in accordance with some embodiments to provide inputs that affect games that are broadcast through a game specification system.
24A is a flow chart of a method that allows spectators according to some embodiments to provide inputs that affect games that are broadcast to a game specification system.
24B is a flowchart of a method for analyzing spectator audio or text inputs that affect a game broadcast to a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments.
Figure 25 illustrates a non-limiting example of a spectating user interface for a game specification system that allows spectators according to some embodiments to provide inputs that affect games that are broadcast through a game specification system An example is provided.
26A is a graphical representation of a spectral user interface for a game specification system that allows spectators and spectral group inputs according to some embodiments to affect games that are broadcast through a game specification system Other non-limiting examples are provided.
Figure 26B illustrates the ratio of the broadcast user interface for a game specification system that allows spectators and grouping group inputs according to some embodiments to affect games that are broadcast through the game specification system Provides a limited example.
Figure 27 illustrates collecting and storing game data in a game specification system according to some embodiments.
28 illustrates an example game presentation module or service that exposes game presentation data to consumers in a game presentation system according to some embodiments.
29 is a flow chart of a method for collecting game presentation data according to some embodiments and exposing data to consumers in a game presentation system.
Figure 30 is a non-limiting example of a game specification data consumer interface that shows overlayed heat maps on a specification interface that represents spectator interactions with broadcast content in accordance with some embodiments. This is an example.
Figure 31 is a non-limiting example of a game specification data consumer interface that shows game specification metrics correlated with broadcast A / V content in accordance with some embodiments.
Figure 32 illustrates example network-based game specification environments according to some embodiments.
33 is a block diagram illustrating an example computer system that may be used in some embodiments.
Although the embodiments are described in the present application in a manner that is illustrative of several embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments are not limited to the embodiments or drawings described . While the drawings and detailed description are not intended to limit the embodiments to the particular forms disclosed, it is understood that the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, It should be understood that it covers the alternatives. The headings used in this application are for structural purposes only and are not intended to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word " may " is used in a permissive sense (i.e., having the possibility to do) rather than a mandatory meaning (i. Similarly, words "including,""including," and "includes" are meant to be inclusive, but are not limited to.

Introduction

Various embodiments of apparatus and methods for integrating a game specification system and a game system in a game spectating environment are described. In a game specification environment, a game specification system may receive broadcasts of game play of players from broadcaster devices for viewing by individual viewers referred to in this application as spectators, And may stream broadcasts to data devices. The broadcast may include video showing gameplay of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in a game running on the gaming system. Embodiments may include apparatus and methods for gaming systems for providing game metadata to a game specification system in addition to broadcast streams. Embodiments may also include apparatus and methods for providing content to spectators through a system of rating systems based at least in part on game metadata obtained or obtained from the gaming system (s). Embodiments also include apparatus and methods that enable spectator participation to affect games that are broadcast through the Specification System interface.

Game presentation systems may allow game players to broadcast live streams of their game play to dozens, hundreds, thousands or even more spectators, while at the same time allowing spectators to broadcast broadcasts of particular players Based video streaming systems or services that may allow the user to select a channel (also referred to as channels). The game specification system can support live streaming of broadcasts from tens, hundreds or thousands of players at the same time. The game specification system can record at least some live broadcasts and allow recorded broadcasts to be played back for viewing by spectators. The game specification system may support live and recorded broadcasts for one, two or more different online games.

Online games are a network-based game that allows one, two or more players, and in some cases even thousands of players, to participate simultaneously in the game from consumer devices coupled to the network Games. Online games that may be implemented in the game specification environment described in this application may vary from tightly scripted games to games that introduce random variable amounts to gameplay. An online game can be, for example, a game in which players attempt to achieve some goals or overcome some obstacles, and may include multiple levels that players must overcome. An online game can be, for example, a game in which players cooperate to achieve goals or overcome obstacles, or a game in which one or more players compete with one or more other players as a team or individuals. Alternatively, the online game may be a game in which the players can find and discover more passively in a complex game universe without any specific goals in mind, or the players may be able to explore their environment in the game universe Quot; world-building " online game that can actively change the game. Online games may have millions or tens of millions of players, from relatively simple, two-dimensional (2D) casual games to more complex 2D or 3D action, sports or strategy games, (MMOGs), such as massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), that can simultaneously support multiple multiplayer online battle Arena (MOBA) games Up to, including, everything.

As used herein, the term " player " is generally used to refer to an entity human being actively participating in an online game, and the term " broadcaster "Quot; viewer " or " spectator " is used to refer to a player who actually broadcasts a stream of live or recorded game play online without actually participating in the game as a player And the term " participant " is generally used to refer collectively to players (active participants) and spectators (passive participants), and the term " client " &Quot;, " game client ", " broadcasting client & ) Is generally used to refer to a hardware and / or software interface for a gaming system or streaming system in which a participant interacts with the gaming system and / or the presentation system, and the term " character "Quot;) or " game character " are generally used to control a game player on the client device to interact with other game characters, other game entities, and other objects in the game environment during a game session Quot; is used to refer to an in-game presence or " avatar "

Although the embodiments are primarily described in the context of a programming system that broadcasts game play in multiplayer online gaming environments in which two or more players are participating in online gaming sessions remotely, Player online games, as well as single-player and multi-player games that are not necessarily online, such as single-player and multi-player console games that can be played locally / offline . Moreover, although embodiments are mainly described as examples of streaming live or recorded broadcasts of games, such as action, sports, MOBA, and MMOG games, including characters in streaming games or players with avatars, - can be applied to live and recorded streams of any type of game, for example card games or strategy games, such as chess, having players of any number of players from MMORPGs to MMOGs. In addition, in some embodiments, the system may be adapted to receive live sports games from sources other than game systems, including, for example, but not limited to, live streams from electronic spectator sports (e-sports) , Broadcasts or streams of live and / or recorded digital media content from bouts, concerts, talk shows, and other events or activities, and embodiments may also support broadcasts Lt; / RTI > or streams. Moreover, although embodiments are described primarily in the context of live streams or video, embodiments may also be applied to pre-recorded streams or video.

In some embodiments of the specification system, the spectators may be divided into two or more groups, tiers, or levels. As a non-limiting example of groupings for spectators, spectators may be divided into subscribers and non-subscribers, or viewers, followers, and subscriptors. A subscriber is a viewer or spectator who signs up (and usually does not necessarily pay for) at least some of the services of the system as a service. A viewer or non-subscriber may view at least some content from the specification system but may not necessarily register with the service to receive additional or entire content or services provided to the subscriber, Or someone who does not need to pay for the service. A follower is a program that can be entered as a spectator in broadcasts registered as a "follower" of the content of the system (broadcast, broadcaster, channel, game, etc.) , And some advantages as a follower (e.g., notifications via social media channels for events to broadcasts), but not subscribed to the < RTI ID = 0.0 > It can be a person. In addition, a first (e.g., " silver ") membership level that provides multiple levels or tiers for groups or subscribers, e.g., some amount of content and services, (E. G., &Quot; gold ") that provides more (or all) content and services for a higher membership fee, as a reward for participating in broadcasts, There may be membership. Note that the spectators may be grouped according to any of a variety of different criteria. By way of non-limiting example, the spectators may be grouped by geographical area, affiliations, age, length of participation into the specification system, or any of a variety of demographic and profile metrics.

In some embodiments, in addition to broadcaster / players and spectators, participants in an online gaming environment may include a commentator. The narrator may be a spectator who watches live or recorded game play without directly participating in the game. However, the narrator is usually someone who knows a lot about a game and who provides an audio-live broadcast, such as game analysis, player analysis, and play-by-play live commentary, . One or more narrators may provide audio and / or text live broadcasts to a given game that is broadcast to the specification system, and live broadcasts may be added to broadcasts that are streamed to the spectators.

 In at least some embodiments, the game specification system may obtain game metadata from game systems to which broadcasts are being streamed, and may at least partially extract content from the game metadata for individual broadcasts ) And may provide the broadcast content with individual broadcasts to the spectators via the spectator interfaces on the spectators' devices. The broadcast content may be targeted to specific spectators or groups of spectators, for example, according to the spectators' current selections, profiles, or preferences. In some embodiments, the spectating system may acquire broadcast content and spectator interactions to affect game execution and game play in the gaming system in various ways and / or broadcast presentations to the presentation system And process it.

In some embodiments, game metadata may be received in accordance with an application programming interface (API) provided to game systems by a specification system, referred to in this application as a game system API. The game system API allows game developers to program games to interact with the features of the system described in this application. In some embodiments, a software development kit (SDK) may be provided to assist game developers in programming and developing games to support the game system API of the specification system. In some embodiments, the game metadata for a given game system includes game state (s) for the game running on the game system, indications and descriptions of events in the game, player inputs to the game, And may include, but is not limited to, one or more of: objects, players / characters, locations, data describing or representing levels, and other content or aspects of the game. In some embodiments, at least some of the game metadata, e.g., game states, may be provided in response to requests from the specification system. In some embodiments, the specification system may also acquire or receive game metadata from, but not limited to, data stores of game-related data and other sources including broadcast devices.

The game state may be a point-in-time record of game information and game data representing a particular game at a particular point on the game timeline in the game universe. The game state may include game data that may and may be used by a game client executing on the device to reconfigure the game at a particular point on the in-game game timeline. In at least some embodiments, the game states may be received in accordance with a game system API provided to the game systems by the specification system. In some embodiments, one or more game states may be used to regenerate a game session universe to start or restart gameplay at individual points within the game session timeline. Note that the format and content of the game state may be different for versions of games or for different types, titles.

In at least some embodiments, indications of game events may be received from game systems in accordance with the game system APIs provided to the game systems by the specification system. Game events may include events that are common across two or more games. However, at least some game events may be game-specific events defined by the individual game systems. Examples of game events may include, but are not limited to: specific accomplishments by specific players or teams of players; Level starts and finishes; Other important moments of beginnings, endings, or battles, bouts, challenges, or other in-game events; In-game character entrances, exits, deaths, etc.; Acquisition or loss of items, objects, powers, etc. by in-game characters or players; Or any event or moment that may be of interest within a game that is generally running on a gaming system.

In at least some embodiments, representations of the player inputs to the game for at least some players in the game may be received from the game systems in accordance with the game system APIs provided to the game systems by the specification system. The player input may be a single command or action input to the game from an individual player's game client or game controller. A combination of player input or player inputs may trigger a game event, be included in a game event, or be associated with a game event. In some embodiments, player inputs to the game may be used to form a record of a particular game session (referred to as a game record) that may be, for example, but not limited to, clients that include spectators May be stored as part of the game record along with one or more game states and other game information. A game record containing player inputs may be replayed, and in some embodiments a viewer of the replay may "step into " the replay as described later herein.

In addition to receiving and processing game metadata from the gaming system (s) to create broadcast content, in some embodiments, the system may include broadcasts running on game systems and / Various inputs from participants (players, broadcasters, and / or spectators) can be acquired and analyzed in the game specification environment to determine information or to detect events there. Events and other information determined from participant inputs analysis may be collectively referred to as broadcast metadata. The presentation system may generate broadcast content for individual broadcasts, at least in part from broadcast metadata, and may provide individual broadcasts, including, but not limited to, To provide broadcast content. The various participant inputs may include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: audio or voice inputs such as in-vocal communication or broadcast vocal channels; Video or image inputs (e. G., Images or video of representations of participants' faces or eyes); Text input such as in-game or broadcast text chat; Biometric inputs from players; And inputs to vote or indicate in-game or broadcast events as participant inputs, e.g., broadcasts and / or highlights for games, via broadcast via a user interface (UI) field.

The generated broadcast content, which may be provided to the spectators with individual broadcasts via spectator interfaces on the 'Spectators' devices, may be provided to various user interfaces (UIs), which may be provided on the UI along with the broadcast video ) Elements (e.g., buttons, dialogs, lists, tabs, menus, images, video clips, links, etc., including one or more other UI elements, (E.g., overlay video, text, etc.) that may be added to one or more of the broadcast video (e.g., text, paylines) and / or broadcast video. At least some of the UI elements may or may not be active UI elements that initiate or perform some action when selected.

In some embodiments, broadcast content and spectator interactions may be tracked, processed, and recorded as additional broadcast metadata or as the presentation data. The spectator interactions may include UI element selection, UI element manipulation (e.g., by scrolling, clicking, sliding, turning, etc.), on or near the UI element For example, hovering (e.g., with a cursor), inputting to a UI element (e.g., text entry into a text box), and focusing on one or more UI elements , ≪ / RTI > sensed through a technique). ≪ / RTI >

In some embodiments, the broadcast content may be provided to the spectators through the system client instances on the spectators' devices provided by the system. In some embodiments, the broadcast content may be in place of various applications running on the spectators' devices, or applications may also be provided, depending on the application programming interface (API) provided to the applications by the specification system have.

In some embodiments, a system, a module, or a service (referred to as a broadcast content service in this application) may be logically represented in place of, or in addition to, a specification system that adds broadcast content to a broadcast. System and spectator devices. The broadcast content service may receive broadcast streams, broadcast metadata, and game metadata from the specification system and may broadcast the broadcast streams, at least in part, based on the game metadata and / The broadcast content can be added or modified.

In some embodiments, the spectating system provides a virtual storefront for game-related content that spectators can watch, select, and order, purchase, or otherwise acquire, game-related content The game metadata can be leased. The game-related content may include virtual game items or objects (e.g., digital representations of physical objects) that may be obtained for use within games, such as gears, garments, weapons, characters, Physical figures (e.g., physical swords, action figures, toys, etc.), such as physical representations of virtual objects from within games, and / or the like, and / Or game-related physical merchandise such as t-shirts, posters, videos, or hats. In some embodiments, the rendering system may provide or provide access to " print on demand " services so that the 3D printing technology may provide game-related objects or items (e.g., May be used to print physical objects based on the designations or input designs of in-game characters, weapons, vehicles, monsters, etc.). The designs or documentation for the objects may be obtained from game systems in the game metadata, or otherwise. The virtual storefront can provide a user interface (UI) whereby spectators can view information about in-game content, for example, which characters / players use items and how they use them , The history or success of the item, and so on. The specification system may provide text and / or voice chat channels that allow spectators and broadcasters to discuss game-related items available through the virtual storefront. In some embodiments, the broadcaster may specify or select specific items or objects that are advertised or sold through the virtual storefront UI on the channel of the broadcaster.

In some embodiments, the sampling system may leverage the game metadata to allow the spectators to join or "step into " games that are broadcast through the sampling system In some embodiments, the broadcast content provided to the spectators on the Specification UI may allow the spectators to order, purchase, or otherwise acquire, demos, or full versions of the games In some embodiments, to participate in demos or full versions of online games, the game client software and game data may be stored on the device of the spectator via the presentation system interfaces and broadcast streams. ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 > And in some embodiments may be downloaded and obtained. In some embodiments, The broadcast content provided to the spectators on the UI can be ordered, purchased, or otherwise acquired, by characters, avatars, gears, and other items, in particular for spectators to participate in games Etc. The acquired characters and game items may be downloaded to the spectators' devices via the presentation system interfaces and broadcast streams. In some embodiments, the broadcast Using the Specifying UI to obtain game client software, game data, characters, and gears through the streams, spectators can join live game sessions of online games, start new game sessions , And / or pre-recorded game sessions or game sessions You can replay some.

In some embodiments, the spectators can use the Specifying UI to obtain game client software, game data, characters, and gears via broadcast streams, and may also use portions of previous game sessions or portions of game sessions Acquire, " step into, " and replay. In some embodiments, game states may be purchased or otherwise obtained via the presentation system interfaces and broadcast streams. In some embodiments, the broadcast content provided to the spectators on the Specifying UI may include user interface elements through which one or more game states, e.g., game states provided with the game metadata, Can be advertised and acquired by the spectator, can be used to regenerate the game session universe and can start or restart game play at individual points in the game session timeline, the spectator can become a player, Takes control of a character already in the game session, using a character or an avatar, and performs step-in-step to step-in the game session universe and the timeline. In some embodiments, the broadcast content provided to the spectators on the Specification UI may allow spectators to watch, order, purchase, purchase characters, avatars, gears of players specifically participating in the games, Alternatively, it may contain user interface elements that can be obtained. Thus, in some embodiments, the spectator can obtain in-game characters through all of the sampling system interfaces and streams, "load out" or equip the character, Version, may acquire and "step-in-in" game states, and may be clones or characters of characters in step-in or game sessions.

In some embodiments, a " ghosting " mode may be supported when replaying game sessions from acquired game states or game records. In ghosting mode, the player may replay the pre-recorded game session of the broadcaster / player via the Specification System interface or jump into the broadcasted game. The character / gear (e.g., racecar) of the original player may still be visible as a "ghost" to a new player. Thus, a new player can compare their performance to the performance of the original player by watching the original player's " ghost " during the replay. In addition, the broadcast live broadcast (video, audio, and / or text) of the original player may be played or displayed to the new player. As an example, a new player can use the ghosting mode as a training tool to learn how a broadcaster / player has mastered or skillfully played a difficult level or challenge in the game.

In some embodiments, the system may be used to provide compensation to, or otherwise acknowledge, the receiving system participants (broadcaster / players, spectators, and / or commentators) Game metadata and / or broadcast metadata. In some embodiments, spectators may be compensated for participating in broadcasts or events in particular broadcasted or games. In some embodiments, the system may analyze the game metadata and / or broadcast metadata to detect big or significant events or highlights in the broadcast streams, view big events, or " There can be at least some spectators compensating for "being there". In some embodiments, the spectators may be compensated for interacting with broadcasters, e.g., actively participating in broadcast audio or text chat channels. Examples of spectator compensation include acknowledgments or "badging" on the game specification system interface, virtual or digital items such as virtual gear in a game, Discounts, discounts or discounts, discounts or free access, physical items such as t-shirts or hats, and points that can be used and collected to buy images or items, It does not. In some embodiments, the system may allow the broadcasters to compensate or promote specific spectators by selecting a spectator that shows a good knowledge of the game, for example, to become a narrator for the game . In some embodiments, the broadcaster / players may perform certain feats, such as playing a certain feat in front of a certain size of a person, for example in a game, or at some level of audience participation or support, (Audience size, enthusiasm, voting, etc.). By way of non-limiting example, the broadcaster / player may obtain in-game health or strength boost, or may receive audience size or audience enthusiasm expressed through audio and / or text specifier chat input It can be rewarded with in-game powers, gears, weapons, or information based on growth. As another example, the broadcaster can obtain special broadcast content added to their broadcast channel display based on their achievements. As another example, a broadcaster may receive a monetary reward for bringing new followers or subscribers to the specification system over their broadcast channel.

In some embodiments, the specification system may enable the spectator participation in the broadcast to affect games that are broadcast through the system of the specification system in various ways. In some embodiments, the specification system may determine information based on spectator participation in broadcasts and may provide information to the gaming systems as feedback in accordance with the gaming system APIs provided to gaming systems by the specification system Can be provided. Spectator participation metrics that may be used include broadcasts or games, and spectator audio and / or video, for broadcasting " chat ", " crowd noise & / RTI > < RTI ID = 0.0 > and / or < / RTI > audience size for text entry. In some embodiments, spectator participation in broadcasts may be used as a randomizing factor in games. For example, one or more aspects or metrics of spectator participation in broadcasts or broadcasts (people or audience size, people noise, chat level or volume, etc.) may be fed back to the gaming system for use as a gaming agent Or tracked and provided as < / RTI > In some embodiments, spectator participation in broadcasts may be used to non-randomly affect games and / or game players that are broadcast in various ways. By way of non-limiting example, the size of the audience or audience of broadcasts or broadcasts of the in-game event can be fed back into the game and watched the volumes and / or events of the people noise provided in the audio output with the broadcast It can affect the size or appearance of a virtual person's size, stadium, arena, or other event venue, as seen by spectators. As another example, the level of people enthusiasm or support measured from the volume, amount, or content of audio and / or text chat channel inputs to a broadcast, for example, can be fed back into the game and the broadcaster / May affect the number of " bad guys " or monsters appearing at the current level, or may be used to compensate the broadcaster at the level by having player access to certain weapons, You can have other in-game effects. As another example, the spectator's audio and / or text inputs may be analyzed to detect content or emotion (keywords, cheers, boos, happiness, etc.); The analysis can be fed back into the game and used to influence the player's in-game status, health, power, weapons, and so on.

In some embodiments, the specification system may enable the spectators to interact and influence games in the games in various ways or games that are broadcast through the system of the specification system. In some embodiments, the individual spectators can interact with the games through the game specification interface to produce in-game effects. In some embodiments, groups of spectators may cause in-game effects via a game specification interface based on, for example, voting, or otherwise affect the game. In some embodiments, the specification system may leverage the game metadata to provide the spectating UI elements with which the spectators can interact to provide input to the individual games. In some embodiments, the specification system may provide spectator interactions as feedback to game systems in accordance with the game system API provided to the game systems by the specification system. In some embodiments, the spectators may influence or influence in-game players or in-game events, objects in the game universe, games through UI elements on the game specification interface. By way of non-limiting example, spectators may build buildings, hide weapons, set difficult levels, select weather or other environmental factors, or otherwise, through UI elements provided on the game specification interface, Game content and events. In some embodiments, the spectators may be coupled to the spectral interface via, for example, objects, boosts, weapons, medicine, health points, intensity levels, The game content may be provided to, or "gift" to, certain players or teams of players in the game. In some embodiments, the spectators may provide information, e.g., maps, alerts, or advice, to the players or teams of players through the game specification interface. In some embodiments, the spectators may increase the difficulty of game levels or tasks by, for example, causing a storm or other disaster, thereby taking objects from the players, thereby reducing the strength of the players, Challenges and difficulties for players or games in games can be introduced via the playing interface.

In some embodiments, the sampling system may store at least a portion of game metadata and broadcast metadata including, but not limited to, spectator interactions with individual broadcast content as game presentation data. The game presentation system may provide one or more user interfaces (UIs), query interfaces, and / or application programming interfaces (APIs) to enable consumers (e.g., game developers, Merchants, broadcasters, etc.) may acquire or display game-specific data for use in analyzing performance and online game usage for applications in, for example, game development, advertising, and / or marketing have.

Terms such as "get", "provide", "download", "stream", "provision", and the like (including but not limited to games, game streams, game states, game records or recordings, (Used herein in connection with various game-related virtual or physical items, including game content, game characters or gears, game-related items, etc.) purchasing, leasing, subscribing, or otherwise paying for a subscription.

Example Games Spectating  Examples game spectating environments

FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating integrated game systems having a game specification system in a game specification environment in accordance with some embodiments. The game presentation environment may include a specification system 100, one or more game systems 120, and a plurality of client devices; The client devices may include broadcaster devices 140 and spectator devices 160.

The client device (e.g., broadcaster devices 140 and spectator devices 160) may be, but is not limited to, desktop computer systems, laptop / notebook computer systems, pad / tablet devices, smartphone devices , Game consoles, handheld game devices, and wearable devices. Thus, client devices can range from powerful desktop computers configured as gaming systems down to " thin " mobile devices such as smartphones, pad / tablet devices, and wearable devices. have. The client device may implement an operating system (OS) platform compatible with the device. The client device may include, but is not limited to, input and output components and client software. Client software on a particular client device may be tailored to support the configuration and capabilities of a particular device type and the OS platform of the device. An example computing device that can be used as a client device is illustrated in FIG.

Broadcaster device 140 may include input and output components for at least one game system 120 in which individual players may participate in game sessions currently being executed by game system (s) 120 But not limited to, input devices and techniques such as controllers or joysticks, motion tracking systems, gesture-based input systems, and the like) and game client software and / or hardware . The broadcaster device 140 may be configured to allow input and output components (e.g., video cameras and microphones) and individual players to play live A / V streams (broadcasts 142) Broadcast for the spectating system 100 capable of generating other broadcaster inputs 144 including audio and text live broadcasts for broadcast to the spectators via the game specification system 100, Casting client software and / or hardware. The spectator device 160 includes input and output components (including, but not limited to, input devices and techniques such as controllers or joysticks, motion tracking systems, gesture based input systems, May interact with the specification system 100 to select, receive and view broadcasts 142 from the broadcasters or playback of pre-recorded broadcasts, But not limited to, broadcast content 126 that includes content generated from game metadata 124 received from game system (s) 120, at least in part, by game system (s) Actions 164 and audio or text chat for < RTI ID = 0.0 > and / or & But are not limited to, spectating client software and / or hardware capable of providing spectator inputs 165 that include " noise " In some embodiments, the spectator inputs 165 may also include inputs from input devices and techniques such as controllers or joysticks, motion tracking systems, gesture based input systems, and so on.

In some embodiments, the system 100 may include one or more computing devices, e.g., one or more server devices, that implement the game specification functionality. In some embodiments, the system 100 may allow the players to broadcast live streams 142 of their online game play to tens, hundreds, thousands or even more spectators, Based video streaming systems or services that can allow spectators to select broadcasts 142 of particular players (also referred to as channels) for viewing. The system 100 may support live broadcasts 142 for one, two, or more different game systems 120 and may be configured to support live broadcasts 142 from several tens, hundreds or thousands of broadcaster devices 140 And may support live streaming of broadcasts 142 to spectator devices 160. In some embodiments, the system 100 may record at least some of the broadcasts 142 and the recorded broadcasts 142 may be transmitted to the spectator devices 160 Quot;). ≪ / RTI > The game specification system 100 may support live and recorded broadcasts 142 for one, two or more different online games 120.

In some embodiments, the system 100 may include, but is not limited to, game presentation data including game metadata 124 and recordings of broadcasts 142, Systems, or services for storing profiles, preferences, and other information about the devices (e.g., players, broadcasters, and / or spectators) May also include or be accessible. In some embodiments, the system 100 may store the recordings of at least some of the broadcasts 142 in a data store, and the spectators may use the formatting client software on the spectator devices 160 Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > and / or < / RTI >

In some embodiments, the specification system 100 may implement one or more UIs and / or one or more APIs for the game specification system 100 functionality. For example, the system 100 may allow the broadcasters 140 to broadcast their live game play and other inputs 144, such as video inputs and audio or text live broadcasts or chat, to broadcaster devices 140 API 112 that can be accessed through the Internet. As another example, the system 100 may allow the spectators to play back pre-recorded broadcasts 142 or spectrators 142 to select, receive and view live broadcasts 142 from broadcasters. May be accessed via devices 150 and spectators may provide spectator inputs 165 (e.g., audio or text live broadcast or chat) to broadcasts 142, API 116 that can interact with 164 the broadcast content 126 provided by the specification system 100. For example, As another example, the system 100 may allow the game system (s) 120 to deliver the game metadata 124 to the presentation system 100, (S) 120 to provide feedback to the game system API (s) In some embodiments, at least some of the game metadata 124, e.g., game states, may be provided in response to requests 105 from the system 100.

In some embodiments, the system 100 may support broadcasts of live and / or recorded digital media content from sources other than game systems 120 via broadcaster devices 120 . For example, in some embodiments, the system 100 may include, but is not limited to, sports games, bouts, concerts, and / or games including live streams from electronic spectator sports (e-sports) And may support live or recorded broadcasts of streams from other events. e-Sports (also referred to as competitive gaming) typically tires organized multiplayer video game competitions. For example, video cameras and audio equipment may be installed in an Arena or other venue where an event, such as a sports game or an e-Sport match is open. Video and / or audio feeds from the equipment may be combined with one or more broadcaster devices 120 capable of compositing and streaming audio / video (A / V) inputs to the system 100. [ ≪ / RTI > For e-sport events, game A / V 121 may be added to the stream with feeds from cameras and audio equipment. Narrators and / or broadcasters may also enter their audio, text, and / or video content into a stream. The live stream may be broadcast to the spectator devices 160 by the spectating system 100 and / or may be recorded for re-broadcasting. The spectators can view the broadcast on spectator devices 160 and can also input A / V and / or text input on their devices 160 via the system of the presentation system.

1A illustrates game systems 120 separated from the targeting system 100 and the broadcaster device (s) 140, but in some embodiments at least one game system 120 may include a plurality of game systems 120, The system 100 may be a component of the system 100 or may be implemented at least partially by the specification system. In some embodiments, at least one gaming system 120 may be a component of the broadcaster device 140, or at least partially implemented by the broadcaster device. In some embodiments, one or more broadcaster devices 140 may be implemented within the specification system 100. In addition, in some embodiments, the system 100 may be a component of the gaming system 120, or at least partially implemented by the gaming system.

The following is a broad description of an exemplary method for broadcast streaming in a game specification system and is not intended to be limiting. Typically, the gaming system 120 will render a 2D or 3D representation of the game universe based on the current state of the universe, generate video and sound, (A / V) output 121 to client devices, which may include a client device 140 and a client device. On the broadcaster device 140 a player / broadcaster can interact with the gaming system 120 and execute on the gaming system 120 via the player input 122 using the gaming client software on the device 140 And may use the broadcasting UI / API 112 provided by the specification system 100 to construct a live stream (broadcast 142) of game play of the broadcaster for broadcast. . The live stream may include a game A / V 121 received from the gaming system 120 and may be stored in the A / V components 121 of the device 140 as an embedded or separate stream in the game A / (E. G., A video camera and a microphone). ≪ / RTI > In some embodiments, the player / broadcaster may also use the broadcasting UI / API 112 to provide text input to the broadcast 142, for example, text input to the broadcast chat window. Figure 8 provides non-limiting examples of a broadcaster user interface for a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments.

In some embodiments, live streams of broadcasts 142 are dispatched from the broadcaster device (s) 140 to the specification system 100 in accordance with the broadcasting UI / API 112. The video input may be received by the presentation system 100 in any of a variety of video formats. The audio input may be received, for example, as audio tracks in a video input, as a Voice of IP (VoIP), or according to other network formats or protocols that support digital audio transmission have. On the specification system 100, the live streams of the broadcasts 142 are processed for rebroadcast to the spectator devices 160. In some embodiments, at least some of the broadcasts 142 may be recorded and stored for playback.

On the spectator device 160, the spectator may be viewed through the spectating UI provided on the spectator device 160 in accordance with the spectating UI / API 116 provided by the system 100 Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 142 < / RTI > The system 100 may then stream the selected broadcast 142 to the spectator device 140 via the Specification UI / API 116 for display. In some embodiments, the spectator may include an audio input (e.g., voice-activated live broadcast, cheers, peoples noise, etc.) to the current broadcast 142 viewed as input 164 via the Specifying UI / (E. G., A microphone) of the device 160 to provide a voice chat or voice chat. The spectator may also provide text input, for example, text input to the broadcast chat window provided by the Specification UI / API 116. Figures 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, and 9 provide a non-limiting example of a user interface that may be used to view broadcasts in a game specification environment in accordance with some embodiments.

In at least some embodiments, the system 100 may obtain the game metadata 124 from the game system (s) 120 in which the broadcasts are being streamed, and may at least partially capture the game metadata 124 May generate broadcast content 126 for individual broadcast 142 streams received from broadcast device (s) 140 from spectators' devices 160, And may provide the broadcast content 126 with individual broadcasts 142 to the spectators through the client interfaces. In at least some embodiments, the game metadata 124 may be received in accordance with the game system API 114 provided to the game system (s) 140 by the specification system 100. In some embodiments, the game metadata 124 for a given game system 120 includes game state (s) for the game running on the game system, indications and descriptions of in-game events and objects, But are not limited to, one or more of the content or aspects of the game, data describing or representing the players / characters, positions, levels, and the like. In some embodiments, at least some of the game metadata 124, e.g., game states, may be provided in response to requests 105 from the system 100.

In some embodiments, in addition to acquiring and processing game metadata 124 from the gaming system (s) to generate broadcast content, the system 100 may execute on the gaming system (s) 120 (Players, broadcasters, and / or spectators) into the game presentation environment to determine the broadcasts 142 and / or other information about the games, And the various inputs 144 and 164 of the system 100 may be obtained and analyzed. Events and other information determined from participant inputs analysis may be collectively referred to as broadcast metadata. In some embodiments, the system 100 may at least partially generate broadcast content 126 for individual broadcasts 142 from the broadcast metadata, May provide broadcast content 126 with individual broadcasts 142 to participants including, but not limited to, the spectators. The various participant inputs 144 and 164 may include, but are not limited to: audio or voice inputs such as in-vocal communication or broadcast vocal channels; Video or image inputs (e. G., Images or video of representations of participants' faces or eyes); Text input such as in-game or broadcast text chat; Biometric inputs from participants; And in-game events or broadcast events as highlights for participant inputs, e.g., broadcasts and / or games, in broadcasts via broadcast and / or programming user interfaces (UIs) Votes or inputs to represent it.

In some embodiments, the generated broadcast content 126, which may be provided to the spectators with separate broadcasts 142 via the Specifying UIs on the spectators' devices, may be broadcast 142 ) Video, one or more various UI elements that may be provided on the Specification UI, and / or one or more overlays that may be added to the broadcast 142 video. At least some of the UI elements may or may not be active UI elements that initiate or perform some action when selected.

 In some embodiments, the broadcast content 126 may be targeted to specific spectators or groups of spectators, for example, according to spectators' current selections, profiles, or preferences.

In some embodiments, the system 100 may obtain and process the broadcast content 126 and the spectator interactions 164 so that it can be used in a variety of ways as described in this application, 0.0 > (i. E., ≪ / RTI > 100), game 142, processing of broadcast 142, and broadcast content 126. In some embodiments, the system 100 may provide game feedback 101 to the gaming system (s) Game feedback 101 may be generated at least partially from spectator interactions 164 with broadcast content 126. In some embodiments, game feedback 101 may be provided in accordance with game system API 114 provided to game system (s) 140 by the specification system 100. The game system (s) 120 may apply game feedback 101 to affect game execution and game play in the game system 120 in a variety of ways. In some embodiments, the system 100 may be configured to broadcast the broadcast (s) 140 to the broadcast device (s) 140 based, at least in part, on spectator interactions 164 with the broadcast content 126. In some embodiments, ) Can also be provided. In some embodiments, the broadcast feedback 103 includes a broadcast UI / API 112 that is provided to the broadcast devices 140 by the system 100, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 9, Lt; / RTI > to the broadcasters.

In some embodiments, the specification system 100 includes, but is not limited to, other input 167 sources including inputs from social media channels such as " tweets " or instant messaging (IM) Process, display, and analyze inputs from the channels. In some embodiments, inputs from other sources 167, such as textual inputs for a social media chat channel, may be obtained, processed, and analyzed so that the broadcast content 126 ), Game feedback (101), and / or broadcast feedback (103).

1B is a block diagram illustrating a broadcast content service in a game specification environment in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the broadcast content 126 may be added to broadcasts 142 received from the broadcast device (s) 120 and added to or in addition to the presentation system 100, A system or service (referred to in this application as broadcast content service 113) may logically be between the system 100 and the spectator device (s) It should be noted that the broadcast content service 113 may be implemented as a module or service of the system 100, or it may be implemented as a separate service. In some embodiments, the broadcast content service 113 may receive broadcasts 142, game metadata 124, and broadcast metadata 117 from the specification system 100, The broadcast content 126 may be generated and added at least in part based on the game metadata 124 and / or the broadcast metadata 117. [ In some embodiments, at least some of the game metadata 124, e.g., game states, may be provided in response to requests 105 from the system 100.

In some embodiments, the broadcast content service 113 may obtain and process the broadcast content 126 and the spectator interactions 164 to provide the game content in a variety of ways, May affect the presentation and processing of broadcasts 142 and broadcast content 126 in the network. In some embodiments, the broadcast content service 113 may provide feedback 119 to the specification system 100 that the presentation system 100 may apply to affect the game presentation environment Can be generated. In some embodiments, the system 100 may provide game feedback 101 to game system (s) 120 based on feedback 119; The game system (s) 120 may apply game feedback 101 to affect game execution and game play in the gaming system 120. In some embodiments, the system 100 is configured to broadcast broadcast 103 the broadcast device (s) 140 based at least in part on the feedback 119 received from the broadcast content service 113. In some embodiments, May also be provided. In some embodiments, the broadcast feedback 103 includes a broadcast UI / API 112 that is provided to the broadcast devices 140 by the system 100, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 9, Lt; / RTI > to the broadcasters.

In some embodiments, at least some of the components of the game specification environment illustrated in FIGS. 1a or 1b may include services that provide virtualized resources on the provider network to clients of the service provider, for example as illustrated in FIG. 32 May be implemented in the context of the provider. For example, the specification system 100 may be implemented as a sampling service on a provider network as illustrated in FIG. As another example, the broadcast content service 113 may be implemented as a service on a provider network, as illustrated in FIG. In some embodiments, one or more game systems 120 may be implemented by game providers on a provider network.

Figure IB shows a broadcast content service 113 logically between the system 100 and the spectator device (s) 160, but in some embodiments the broadcast content service 113 But instead may logically be between the broadcast device 140 and the specification system 100. The broadcast content service 113 may be implemented as a module or service of the specification system 100, or may be implemented as a separate service. In some embodiments, the broadcast content service 113 may receive the broadcasts 142, the broadcaster input 144, and the game metadata 125, and may generate the content in the broadcast 142 And can be added. Additional content may be based at least in part on the game metadata 124. Additional content may include, but is not limited to, overlays on game video.

In some embodiments, game metadata 124 may include game system (s) 124 in accordance with game system API 114 on a separate channel from game A / V 121 stream, as illustrated in Figures 1a or 1b. May be received by the sampling system 100 from the base station 120. However, in some embodiments, at least some of the game metadata 124 may be stored as metadata in the game A / V 121 content sent to the broadcast devices 120 by the gaming system (s) And may be included as metadata in the broadcast 142 streams sent from the broadcaster devices 140 to the specification system 100.

In some embodiments, game metadata 124 may be provided by game system (s) 120 from game system (s) 120 according to game system API 114, as illustrated in the figures 1a or 1b Lt; / RTI > However, in some embodiments, the targeting system 100 may acquire or receive game metadata 124 from other sources including, but not limited to, broadcast device (s) 140 . In addition, in some embodiments, the spectator device 160 may receive game metadata (e.g., video) from one or more sources including, but not limited to, the game system (s) 120 and the broadcast device (s) 124). ≪ / RTI >

1C is a block diagram illustrating a source for game metadata in a game specification environment in accordance with some embodiments. The presentation system 100 may stream broadcast (s) 142 from the broadcaster device (s) 140 to one or more spectator devices 160. The presentation system 100 may receive game metadata 124A from the gaming system 120 as illustrated in Figures 1a and 1b. In addition, the specification system 100 may receive the game metadata 124B from the broadcaster device 140. [ Game metadata 124B may include specific data for the broadcaster / player and / or game client associated with broadcaster device 140, e.g., identity information. In addition, the specification system 100 may request and receive game metadata 124C from one or more other game metadata sources 190. Other game metadata sources 190 may include, but are not limited to, game developer systems including history, statistical, and / or descriptive information and data for games, game content, players, and / Or one or more of third party systems such as online merchants, game information sites, and data stores or databases of game information. For example, the specification system 100 may request information (game metadata 124C) about the player and / or broadcaster based on the game metadata 124B received from the broadcaster device 140 have. The system 100 may generate the broadcast content 126 for the broadcast 142 based at least in part on the game metadata 124A, 124B, and / or 124C. The spectator may interact with the broadcast content 126 on the spectator device 126. In response to the interaction, the system 100 may obtain additional game metadata 124 from one or more of its sources and may provide additional or modified broadcast content 126 to a spectator device (160). However, in some cases, the broadcast content 126 and the spectator interaction may generate a request to one or more other game metadata sources 190, which may include, for example, additional broadcast content By providing game metadata 124D to spectator device 160 to be displayed as < RTI ID = 0.0 > a < / RTI > For example, the spectator device 160 may store information about the player or game content (game metadata 124D) at the source 190 based on the descriptive or identity information provided in the broadcast content 126, . Although not shown in FIG. 1C, in some embodiments, the spectator device 160 may communicate with or in place of the game system to obtain the game metadata 124. In some embodiments,

1D is a block diagram illustrating an example game system architecture in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments of the game specification environment illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the specification system 100 may communicate with the game engine 120 of the game system 120 via the game system API 114. However, in some embodiments, the system 100 may include a game system (not shown) to exchange various game system I / O 123 described in this application, including but not limited to game metadata 124 120 instead of one or more of the game servers 125. The game server (s) 125 may include game engine I / O 127 in one, two, or more game engine 129 instances illustrated as game engines 129A, 129B, ..., In order. The instances of game engine 129 may be instantiated on one or more servers of game system 120 or alternatively at least some instances of game engine 129 may be instantiated on one or more servers of game system 120 as illustrated in Figures 1a and 1b And may be operated on broadcaster devices 140 as well. In some embodiments, game system I / O 123 received from the specification system 100 may include at least some data that is specific to particular game engines 129, and the server (s) 125 may handle the distribution of data to the target engines 129. In at least some embodiments, the specification system 100 may instantiate one or more processes on one or more server devices for data handling from specific game engines 129 and processing data handling for them .

2A is a flow chart of a method for providing and determining broadcast content in a game specification environment in accordance with some embodiments. The method of FIG. 2a may be implemented by, for example, the sampling system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1a or FIG. 1b.

As indicated at 200 in FIG. 2A, the game presentation system may receive broadcasts from one or more broadcaster devices. With respect to figures 1a and 1b, the specification system may receive broadcasts of player game play from broadcaster devices for viewing by spectator individual viewers, and may stream broadcasts to spectator devices can do. The broadcast may include a video showing the game play of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in a game running on the gaming system.

As indicated at 202 in FIG. 2A, the game presentation system may receive game metadata from one or more game systems. In at least some embodiments, the game specification system may obtain game metadata from game systems in which broadcasts are being streamed. In at least some embodiments, the game metadata may be received in accordance with an application programming interface (API) provided to game systems by a specification system, referred to in this application as a game system API. In some embodiments, the game metadata for a given game system includes game state (s) for the game running on the game system, indications and descriptions of the events in the game, and objects, players / But are not limited to, characters, positions, data describing or representing levels, and other content or aspects of the game. The states, events, objects, etc. of the game that may be described in the game metadata may collectively be referred to as game-related content.

As indicated at (204) in FIG. 2A, the game specification system may at least partially determine or generate broadcast content for individual broadcasts from the game metadata. The system may use information in the game metadata to generate broadcast content that corresponds to game-related content represented in the game metadata and that graphically and / or textually represents or describes the game-related content. . As indicated at (206) in FIG. 2A, the game specification system may stream broadcasts and associated broadcast content to spectator user interfaces on the spectator devices for presentation to spectators. Broadcast content that can be generated and provided to individual spectators with individual broadcasts via spectator interfaces on the 'Spectators' devices can be provided on various user interfaces (UIs), which can be provided on the UI along with the broadcast video One of the elements (e.g., buttons, dialogs, lists, taps, menus, images, video clips, links, text, panes) including one or more other UI elements, (E.g., overlay video, text, etc.) that can be added to and / or added to broadcast video. The broadcast content may include UI elements and / or overlays, e.g., virtual game items or objects (e.g., digital representations of physical objects) that correspond to or represent game-related content, (E.g., physical swords, action figures, toys, etc.) such as weapons, characters, avatars, powers, etc., physical representations of virtual objects from within games, - UI elements that may include related physical items such as t-shirts, posters, videos, or hats and that may represent and / or describe game events and / or game states displayed in the game metadata and / May also be included.

In some embodiments, in addition to receiving and processing game metadata from the gaming system (s) to generate broadcast content, the spectating system may be configured to receive broadcasts and / or games (E.g., audio, video, and / or video) from participants (players, broadcasters, and / or spectators) in a game specification environment to determine other information or to detect events there / RTI > and / or text inputs). Events and other information determined from participant inputs analysis may be collectively referred to as broadcast metadata. The presentation system may generate broadcast content for individual broadcasts, at least in part from broadcast metadata, and may provide individual broadcasts, including, but not limited to, To provide broadcast content.

As indicated at 208 of FIG. 2A, the game specification system may receive and process spectator interactions with broadcast content from spectator user interfaces. Broadcast content and spectator interactions may include UI element selection, UI element manipulation (e.g., by scrolling, clicking, sliding, turning, etc.), hovering (e.g., by cursor) (E.g., text input into a text box) input on a UI element, and focusing on one or more UI elements (e.g., detected through an eye tracking technique) It does not. In some embodiments, the specification system may process broadcast content and spectator interactions to affect the broadcast presentation to the game system and / or the presentation system in the game system in a variety of ways . In some embodiments, the specification system may provide feedback to the gaming system (s) based, at least in part, on spectator interactions with the broadcast content. In some embodiments, game feedback may be provided to games according to the game system API of the specification system. The game system (s) can apply game feedback, which can affect game execution and game play in the game system in a variety of ways. In some embodiments, the specification system may also provide feedback to the broadcast device (s) based, at least in part, on spectator interactions with the broadcast content.

In at least some embodiments, as shown by the arrow returning from the element 208 to the element 200, the method of FIG. 2A includes the steps of the game metadata for the broadcasts being acquired and used to create and provide broadcast content , Interactions with broadcast content may be received and processed to, for example, an iterative process that affects game execution and game play.

2B is a high level flow chart of a method for providing and determining broadcast content in a game specification environment in accordance with some embodiments. The method of FIG. 2B may be implemented, for example, by the broadcast content service 113 illustrated in FIG. 1B.

As indicated at 250 in FIG. 2B, the broadcast content service may receive broadcast streams, broadcast metadata, and game metadata from, for example, a streaming service. As shown at (252) in FIG. 2B, the broadcast content service may at least partially determine the broadcast content for individual broadcasts from the game metadata and broadcast metadata. As indicated at (254) in FIG. 2B, the broadcast content service may add broadcast content to the broadcast streams delivered to the spectator device. In some embodiments, instead of, or in addition to, a broadcasting system for adding broadcast content to broadcasts received from the broadcast device (s) as illustrated in FIG. 2A, the broadcast content service may logically May be between the spectating system and the spectator device (s). In some embodiments, the broadcast content service may receive broadcasts and game metadata from a specification system, for example, as described with reference to element 204 of FIG. 1A, It is possible to generate broadcast contents for the broadcast according to the data. In some embodiments, the broadcast content service may add broadcast content as additional content to the broadcast content generated by the specification systems. In some embodiments, the broadcast content service may change the broadcast content generated by the specification systems. In some embodiments, in addition to receiving and processing game metadata to generate broadcast content, the broadcast content service may obtain broadcast metadata generated by the specification system and may be broadcast at least partially And generate broadcast content for individual broadcasts from the cast metadata.

As indicated at (256) in FIG. 2B, the broadcast content service may receive and process spectator interactions with the broadcast content. In some embodiments, the broadcast content service may acquire and process broadcast content and spectator interactions, thereby providing broadcasts and broadcast content presentations in a game presentation environment in a variety of ways as described herein. ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 > And processing. ≪ / RTI > In some embodiments, the broadcast content service may generate feedback to the presentation system that the presentation system can apply to affect the game presentation environment. In some embodiments, the specification system may provide game feedback to the gaming system (s) based on feedback; The game system (s) 120 may apply feedback to affect game execution and game play in the gaming system. In some embodiments, the specification system may also provide broadcast feedback to the broadcast device (s) based, at least in part, on feedback received from the broadcast content service.

In at least some embodiments, as shown by arrows returning from element 256 to element 250, the method of FIG. 2B may be used for a broadcast content service to generate broadcast content for broadcasts, May be received and processed to be an iterative process that affects, for example, game speculation, game execution, and game play.

game Spectating  Determining events in a game spectating environment

In some embodiments, the specification system may obtain event data representing events or highlights within games and / or broadcasts running on game systems from one or more sources. Event data may be processed to determine events from broadcasts. The determined events can be used to determine broadcast content for broadcasts, or otherwise, to affect broadcasts and / or games that are broadcast.

In some embodiments, the specification system may receive indications of game events from game systems as game metadata in accordance with a game system API provided to the game systems by the specification system. Game events may include events common across two or more games and may also include game-specific events defined by an individual game system. Examples of game events may include, but are not limited to: specific accomplishments by specific players or teams of players; Level starts and finishes; Other important moments of big names, endings, or battles, bouts, challenges, or other in-game events; In - game character entries, advances, deaths, etc .; Acquisition or loss of items, objects, powers, etc. by in-game characters or players; Or any event or moment that may be of interest within a game that is generally running on a gaming system.

In some embodiments, instead of or in addition to receiving indications of game events from the gaming system (s), the system may be configured to detect events in broadcasts and / or games running on game systems (Players, broadcasters, and / or spectators) into the game specification environment for a variety of purposes. The various participant inputs may include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: audio or voice inputs such as in-vocal communication or broadcast vocal channels; Video or image inputs (e. G., Images or video of representations of participants' faces or eyes); Text input such as in-game or broadcast text chat; Biometric inputs from players; And ballot entries on the in-game or broadcast events as highlightings for participant inputs, e.g., broadcasts and / or games, that broadcast through the user interface and the user interface (UI).

In some embodiments, participant inputs may be mapped and analyzed to specific types of events or events in an online game that are being broadcast on the broadcaster's channel. Examples of in-game in-game events that can be detected by analyzing participant inputs include, but are not limited to: specific accomplishments by specific players or teams of players; Level starts and finishes; Other important moments of big names, endings, or battles, bouts, challenges, or other in-game events; In-game character entries, advances, deaths, etc; Acquisition or loss of items, objects, powers, etc. by in-game characters or players; Or any event or moment that may be of interest within a game that is generally running on a gaming system. For example, in a sports game, people (spectators) and / or player audio, text, or other inputs may play big plays, such as scoring plays or great defensive plays ). ≪ / RTI > As another example, in a MOBA game, participant inputs may be mapped to start, ending, or highlight moments in bid battle. In some embodiments, participant inputs may be analyzed to detect potential upcoming events in an online game session. For example, in a sports game, certain people (spectators) and / or player audio patterns, text chat, or other inputs typically occur before a particular big event, for example, Or chanting, or very small peoples noises in front of the big defensive play in a football game. In some embodiments, the information determined from the analysis of participant inputs may also indicate locations and times in the game universe for individual events. For example, the analysis of spectator and / or broadcaster audio, text, or other inputs may be performed at a particular time in the game timeline for an event in the game session broadcast by the broadcaster and at a particular location or area of the online game universe .

In some embodiments, indications of events received from game systems and / or determined from participant inputs analysis can be used to generate broadcast content for individual broadcasts as described in this application.

5 is a flow chart of a method for determining events in a game specification environment in accordance with some embodiments. The method of FIG. 5 may be implemented, for example, by a component, module, or service in the game presentation environment illustrated in FIGS. 1a and 1b. As indicated at 500 in FIG. 5, the system may stream the broadcast of game play received from the broadcaster devices to the spectator devices. The broadcast may include a video showing the game play of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in a game running on the gaming system. As shown at 510 in FIG. 5, the system may obtain event data indicating events to broadcasts and / or games to be broadcasted. As indicated at 520 in FIG. 5, the system may determine events for broadcasts and / or games according to event data. Figures 3a to 3d illustrate example methods and apparatus for determining events and obtaining event data in accordance with event data. As indicated at 530 in FIG. 5, the system may generate broadcast content for broadcasts in accordance with at least partially determined events.

In some embodiments, event data obtained and processed by the specification system to detect events may include game events received from game systems. Game events for a given game system may display game-specific, in-game events that are defined and detected by an individual game system. In some embodiments, game events may be received as game metadata in accordance with the game system API provided by the specification system. Figures 3a and 3b illustrate the reception and processing of game events provided by the gaming system according to some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the event data may include spectator ' and / or broadcaster 'inputs to the specification system for marking or tagging interests or significant events or highlights in broadcasts And may include it in place of or in addition to the event tags that it represents. Figures 3a and 3c illustrate receipt and processing of participants' event tagging inputs to a specification system that may be used to determine events in broadcasts in accordance with some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the event data may include it in place of, or in addition to, participant (broadcaster and / or spectator) audio and / or text inputs to the specification system. Participant audio or text inputs may include broadcaster inputs such as broadcaster live broadcast, in-game voice or text chat, and broadcast text chat, and spectator inputs such as spectator voice comments, people noise, and broadcast text chat . In some embodiments, the system may receive broadcaster's inputs from broadcaster devices in accordance with the broadcasting UI / API, and may receive spectators from the spectator devices in accordance with the specification UI / 'Inputs. Figures 3a and 3d illustrate reception and processing of the presentation system 100 and participant interactions to determine events or highlights in the broadcasts according to some embodiments.

In addition to analyzing participant audio and / or textual inputs to detect events, some embodiments may also collect and analyze other data from participants and may use the corresponding analysis to detect events in games or broadcasts May be used alone or in combination with analysis of participant audio and / or character inputs. As an example, some embodiments may include, for example, acquiring biometric data (e.g., pulse, heartrate, perspiration, etc.) for participants from wearable devices to collect biometrics And the analysis can be used to determine metrics that can be used alone or in combination with other inputs such as analysis of audio and text inputs to determine events in games and / or broadcasts.

As another example, some embodiments may include images of participants' faces (broadcasters, players, commentators and / or spectators) captured during game play or broadcast, e.g., Images captured by cameras attached to or integrated with devices. Images may be analyzed using techniques for sensing emotions through analysis of facial recognition techniques and facial expressions and the analysis may include other inputs such as audio and text to determine events in games and / May be used alone or in combination with analysis of inputs.

As another example, some embodiments may include images of participants' eyes (broadcasters, players, commentators and / or spectators) captured during game play or broadcast, for example wearable computing devices such as smart Can capture images captured by glasses, goggles, optical head-mounted displays, virtual reality (VR) headsets, and the like attached to or integrated with cameras. Images can be analyzed using techniques for sensing emotions or other states through tracking and analysis of eye movements, blinking, dilation, etc., and the analysis can be performed using games and / or broadcast Can be used alone or in combination with analysis of other inputs, e.g., audio and text inputs, to determine in-the-field events.

Figure 3A illustrates event processing in a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the system 400 includes one or more computing devices 400 that implement one or more components or modules of the system 400 and provide one or more APIs for the functionality of the system 400 For example, one or more server devices. In some embodiments, the specification system 400 includes an event detection 470 component or module that determines or predicts events in broadcasts 442 and broadcast content (e.g., But not limited to, a broadcast content generation (480) component or module that can generate broadcast content (e.g. The specification system 400 also includes various data 478 used to analyze participant inputs and other event data sources to detect events, and event information 479 describing sensed events Or other devices including, but not limited to, storage devices, services, or systems (shown as storage 477) for storing the data and information it contains.

In some embodiments, the event detection 470 component includes a game event processing 472 module that processes game events 434 to determine game-specific events in broadcasts 442, broadcasts 442 A participant event tag processing component 474 that processes the event tags 466 to determine the participant-specific events within the broadcasts 442 and the participant's inputs (audio, video, text, speech participant input processing 476 components that process participant inputs 465 to determine events in broadcasts 442 based on speech, speech, social media, and the like. In some embodiments, participant inputs 465 may include input devices and techniques such as controllers or joysticks, motion tracking systems, gestures Based input systems, and so on.

In some embodiments, in addition to determining events in broadcasts 442, the event detection 470 component may generate information that predicts or predicts potential future events in game sessions or broadcasts To process various inputs. For example, in a sports game, audio, text, or other input may be analyzed to generate predictions of future big plays, or audio, text, or other input in a MOBA or MMOG may be analyzed ≪ / RTI > In some embodiments, this information for predicting events in broadcasts can be provided to spectators as broadcast content, for example, so that spectators can view predicted events in real time, if desired.

In some embodiments, the system 400 may include game system APIs 414 that game systems or other entities may provide game events 434 to the system 400 Or may be provided. The game events 434 may indicate game-specific events that are defined and detected by the individual game systems 420. In some embodiments, the specification system 400 may or may not include a specification UI / API 416 that provides an interface to the spectators on the individual spectator devices 460 . The spectators interact with the specification system 400 through the inputs 456 to the specification UI / API 416, for example via the specification UI / API 416, (480) module from the events or event predictions provided by the event detection (470) component to the spectator (460) and interacting with the broadcast content (426) generated by the broadcast content generation can do.

Figures 3b-3d further illustrate the components, modules, and operations of the exemplary specification system 400 as shown in Figure 3A.

Figure 3B illustrates game event processing for determining events in a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, event data that may be received and processed by the system 400 to determine events in the broadcasts 442 may include game events (e.g., 434). Game events 434 for a given gaming system 420 may indicate game-specific, in-game highlights defined and detected, for example, by the individual gaming system 420. In some embodiments, the specification system 400 may include a game event processing module 472 that processes game events 434 to determine game-specific events for broadcasts 442 have.

In some embodiments, the targeting system 400 may include a game system API 414 that allows the game systems 420 to provide game events 434 to the presentation system 400 Or may be provided. The game events 434 may display game-defined interest or interesting events or highlights in the game play on the individual game system 420. FIG. 3B illustrates a non-limiting example format for game events 434 in accordance with some embodiments. In this example, game event 434 may be a record that includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:

게임 이벤트에 대한 “현실 세계 시간(real world time)”을 나타내는 타임스탬트(timestamp) (날짜/시간).

A timestamp (date / time) that represents the "real world time" for a game event.

이벤트 (434)를 생성한 게임 시스템 (420)을 식별하기 위해 사용될 수 있는 게임 ID.

A game ID that can be used to identify the gaming system 420 that generated the event 434.

게임 시스템 (420)에 의해 실행되는 특정 게임 세션을 식별하기 위해 사용될 수 있는 게임 세션 ID.

A game session ID that can be used to identify a particular game session executed by the gaming system 420.

게임 이벤트에 대한 게임 세션 타임라인 (“게임 시간”)상에 / 게임 유니버스내 시간을 나타내는 게임 세션 타임스탬트 (날짜/시간).

Game session timestamp (date / time) on the game session timeline ("game time") for the game event / game time in the game universe.

게임 이벤트에 대한 이벤트 유형. 이벤트 유형(event type)은 모든 게임 시스템들 (420)에 걸쳐 또는 일부 게임 시스템들 (420)에 걸쳐 (예를 들어, 장르내 모든 게임들) 공통일 수 있거나, 또는 특정 게임 시스템 (420)에 특정될 수 있고/ 특정 게임 시스템에 의해 정의될 수 있다.

Event type for game events. The event type may be common across all game systems 420 or across some game systems 420 (e.g., all games in a genre), or may be common to a particular game system 420 Can be specified and / or can be defined by a particular game system.

이벤트에 지속기간(duration). 지속기간은 실제 시간(real time)으로, 게임 시간(game time)으로, 또는 양쪽으로 표시될 수 있다.

Duration of the event. The duration can be displayed in real time, game time, or both.

이벤트에 대한 게임 유니버스 또는 게임 월드 내 위치.

A location in the game universe or game world for the event.

다른 이벤트 정보. 예를 들어, 이벤트에 포함된 플레이어들 또는 플레이어들의 팀들, 이벤트에 포함된 브로드캐스터들, 이벤트의 요약 설명, 이벤트에 대한 등급(rating) (예를 들어, 1 내지 10 스케일에 기초한 이벤트 중요성(event significance))을 식별하는 정보, 또는 일반적으로 게임내(in-game) 이벤트에 관련될 수 있는 임의의 정보.

Other event information. For example, the players or teams of players included in the event, the broadcasters included in the event, a summary description of the event, a rating for the event (e.g., event severity based on 1 to 10 scales significance), or any information that can generally be associated with an in-game event.

In some embodiments, the game event processing module 472 may receive and process game events 434 to determine game-specific events or event predictions for the broadcasts 442. In some embodiments, In some embodiments, the game event processing module 472 may map at least some of the game events 434 for particular broadcasts 442. [ In some embodiments, for example, broadcast 442 may include metadata indicating a particular gaming system 420, a gaming session, and a broadcaster / player for broadcast 442, The processing module 472 may send at least some of the game events 434 to specific broadcasts 442 according to the game ID, game session ID, timestamp, and other event information fields of the game event 434 records Can be mapped. After the game event 434 is mapped to the broadcast 442, information in the event 434 record may be used to generate the broadcast content 426A for the broadcast 442. [

In some embodiments, in addition to displaying events in games, game events 434 may be provided that anticipate or anticipate potential future events in online game sessions. For example, in a sports game, a game event 434 may be provided prior to an important attack play, or a game event 434 may be provided that indicates a fight or battle to occur in the MOBA or MMOG. In some embodiments, this information for predicting or predicting events in games may be provided to spectators as broadcast content 426A so that the spectators can view broadcasts of predicted events in real time.

Figure 3C illustrates participant event tag processing for determining events in the game specification system in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, event data that may be received and processed by the specification system 400 to determine events from the broadcasts 442 may be broadcast via the individual devices 440 and 460, And event tags 466 generated by caster (s) and / or spectators. Event tags 466 for a given broadcast 442 may indicate interesting or significant events in the broadcast 442 as identified by the broadcaster and / or spectators of the broadcast 442 . In some embodiments, the specification system 400 includes a participant event tag processing module 474 that processes event tags 466 to determine participant-specific events from broadcasts 442 .

In some embodiments, the system 400 may include a broadcasting and / or specification UI that allows broadcasters and / or spectators to provide event tags 466 to the system 400. In some embodiments, APIs can be provided. The event tag 466 may display participant-defined interest or significant events or highlights in the individual broadcast 442. FIG. 3C illustrates a non-limiting example format for event tags 466 in accordance with some embodiments. In this example, event tag 466 may be a record that includes but is not limited to one or more of the following:

이벤트 태그에 대한 타임스탬트 (날짜/시간).

The timestamp (date / time) for the event tag.

이 태그 (466) 이벤트가 생성된 브로드캐스트 (442)를 식별하기 위해 사용될 수 있는 브로드캐스트 ID.

This tag 466 is a broadcast ID that may be used to identify the broadcast 442 in which the event was generated.

이 태그 (466) 이벤트를 생성한 특정 브로드캐스터 및/또는 스펙테이터를 식별하기 위해 사용될 수 있는 참가자 ID.

This tag 466 is a participant ID that can be used to identify the specific broadcaster and / or spectator that generated the event.

태그 (466)에 대한 이벤트 유형. 일 예로서, 일부 실시예들에서 태그 이벤트 유형들은 관심 또는 현저한 이벤트의 스타트 및 개별 이벤트의 끝을 표시하는 “스타트(statrt)” 태그들 및 “스탑(stop)” 태그들을 포함할 수 있고; 따라서, 두개의 태그들 (스타트 및 스탑 태그)은 개별 참가자에 의해 표시된 개별 브로드캐스트 (442)에 이벤트를 정의할 것이다.

Event type for tag 466. As an example, in some embodiments, the tag event types may include " stat " tags and " stop " tags that mark the start of an interesting or significant event and the end of an individual event; Thus, the two tags (start and stop tags) will define the event in a separate broadcast 442 displayed by the individual participants.

In some embodiments, event tags 466 may include other information about a participant-specific event. For example, in some embodiments, event tags 466 may indicate the duration for an individual event. In some embodiments, event tags 466 may indicate a location in the game universe or game world for the event. In some embodiments, event tags 466 may include information identifying the players or teams of players included in the event, broadcasters included in the event, a summary description of the event, a rating for the event (e.g., And event importance based on one to ten scales).

In some embodiments, the spectators and / or broadcasters may communicate via broadcasts 442 through individual UIs to determine, for example, whether an event is considered to be significant or significant event or highlight for the broadcast 442 ) Streams or events in game sessions. For example, spectators and / or broadcasters may be prompted to respond to an up or down vote for event (s) in broadcast 442 streams or game sessions And event tags 466 may include voting information (e.g., up / down voting information) for events in broadcast 442 streams or game sessions.

In some embodiments, the participant event tag processing module 474 may receive and process the event tags 466 to determine broadcast content 426 for the broadcasts 442. In some embodiments, the participant event tag processing module 474 may map at least some of the event tags 466 to specific broadcasts 442 in accordance with the broadcast ID. Event tags 466 may be used to generate broadcast content 426B for broadcast 442 after event tags 466 are mapped to broadcast 442. [ For example, in some embodiments, event tags 466 may be used to identify and extract highlight segments in broadcasts 442, and highlight segments may be provided as broadcast content 426B.

In some embodiments, to identify events in the broadcast 442 from the event tags 466 for the broadcast 442, the participant event tag processing module 474 may determine how many and / May analyze event tags 466 according to information in tags 466 to determine whether cast 442 or tagged in certain events in the game session. For example, in some embodiments, the participant event tag processing module 474 may determine if the spectators of at least a threshold number or percentage of participants have tagged the event as a prominent event and / 442 may be significant or prominent events. As another example, the broadcaster's tag 466 may automatically make the individual event a remarkable event, or alternatively the broadcaster's tagged event may be used to determine whether the event is considered a prominent event, Can be attached to the vote by the members. In some embodiments, the participant's opinions on the events represented through the tags 466 may be weighted; For example, a given spectator may be a highly-rated spectator or a specified narrator, and the spectator's tags 466 may automatically cause the individual event to be a prominent event, or The tags 466 of the spectator may be given a larger weight than the weight of the other spectators when tagged or voted on events as potential prominent events.

In some embodiments, in addition to displaying significant events in broadcasts, event tags 466 may be provided that anticipate or anticipate potential future events in the broadcasts. For example, in a sports game, spectators and / or broadcasters may generate event tags 466 at the time of predicting critical attack play, or may generate potential future fights or battles in a MOBA or MMOG game Event tag 466 may be generated. In some embodiments, this information for predicting or predicting events in games may be provided to spectators as broadcast content 426B so that the spectators can view broadcasts of predicted events in real time, if desired.

FIG. 3D illustrates participant inputs processing to determine events in a game specification system according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, event data that may be received and processed by the specification system 400 to determine events in the broadcasts 442 may be provided to the specification system 400 (e. G., Broadcaster < (Broadcaster and / or spectator) audio and / or text inputs for a live broadcast, in-game voice or text chat, broadcast text chat, spectator voice comments, people noise, etc.). In some embodiments, the event data may include it in place of, or in addition to, the video of participants (broadcasters and / or spectators) captured during broadcasts 442. [ In some embodiments, the system 400 may be configured to allow participants' various inputs and interactions (e.g., audio, video, text, speech, social media, etc.) during the broadcasts 442 And a participant input processing 476 component that processes participant inputs 465 to determine events from broadcasts 442 based thereon.

In some embodiments, the participant input processing component 476 may include a plurality of participants' various inputs (e.g., a plurality of inputs) to detect events 494 in the broadcasts 442 based on inputs associated with the broadcasts 442 One or more analysis modules 492 for analyzing and processing audio, video, text, speech, etc.), for example. In some embodiments, analysis modules 492 may include a video analysis 492A module, an audio analysis 492B module, a text analysis 492C module, and a content analysis 492D module, It does not.

In at least some embodiments, in general, analysis module 492 may perform analysis on its input signal (s) and / or other input data to determine one or more metrics from inputs, The determined metrics may be matched to known patterns. The patterns may then be mapped to specific types of events that may be output as sensed events 494. In some embodiments, in addition to detecting events 494 that indicate interest or significant events or highlights in broadcasts 442, analysis module 492 may determine the potential Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 494 < / RTI > For example, in a sports game, events 494 predicting future big bouts to be taken may be sensed, or events 494 predicting future battles or battles may be detected in a MOBA or MMOG .

In some embodiments, the participant input processing 476 component may also include one or more sources of analysis data 499 that may be used to analyze participants' interactions to detect events 494, You can have access to it. The analysis data 499 may include data specific to games and game systems (e.g., specific audio, text, and / or speech mappings for specific events in games) (E. G., Audio or speech patterns, facial metrics, etc.) to participants or groups of participants.

In some embodiments, the participant input processing 476 component may include events 494 detected by analysis modules 492 to determine broadcast content 426C for broadcasts 442, for example. And a sensed event processing module 496 that processes the event. In some embodiments, analysis modules 492 may provide sensed event processing 496 modules, for example, sensed events 494 in accordance with an API for module 496. The sensed events 494 may indicate potentially interesting or significant events in the broadcasts 442 as determined from the analysis of the participants' various inputs 465 (audio, video, chat, social media, . FIG. 3D illustrates a non-limiting example format for sensed events 494 in accordance with some embodiments. In this example, sensed event 494 may be a record that includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:

감지된 이벤트(494)에 대한 적어도 하나의 타임스탬트 (날짜/시간). 타임스탬트(들)은 실제 시간 (브로드캐스트) 타임스탬트들 및/또는 “게임 시간” 타임스탬트들을 포함할 수 있다.

At least one timestamp (date / time) for detected event 494. The time stamp (s) may include actual time (broadcast) timestamps and / or " game time " timestamps.

이 이벤트 (494) 가 감지된 브로드캐스트 (442)를 식별하기 위해 사용될 수 있는 브로드캐스트 ID.

A broadcast ID that may be used to identify the broadcast (442) in which this event (494) was detected.

이 감지된 이벤트 (494)에 관련된 특정 브로드캐스터 및/또는 스펙테이터를 식별하기 위해 사용될 수 있는 참가자 ID.

A participant ID that may be used to identify a particular broadcaster and / or spectator associated with this sensed event 494.

감지된 이벤트 (494)에 대한 이벤트 유형. 이벤트 유형은 게임내 이벤트 유형일 수 있고; 게임 이벤트는 모든 게임 시스템들 (420)에 걸쳐 또는 일부 게임 시스템들 (420)에 걸쳐 (예를 들어, 장르내 모든 게임들) 공통이거나 또는 포괄적일 수 있거나, 또는 특정 게임 시스템 (420)에 특정될 수 있고/ 특정 게임 시스템에 의해 정의될 수 있다.

The type of event for the detected event (494). The event type may be an in-game event type; Game events may be common or inclusive across all game systems 420 or across some game systems 420 (e.g., all games in a genre), or may be specific to a particular game system 420 And / or can be defined by a particular game system.

In some embodiments, the detected event 494 records may include other information about the event. For example, in some embodiments, the detected event 494 records may indicate the duration for an individual event. In some embodiments, sensed event 494 records may indicate a location in the game universe or game world for the event. In some embodiments, the detected event 494 records may include information identifying the players or teams of players included in the event, broadcasters and / or spectators included in the event, a summary description of the event, (E.g., event importance based on a scale of 1 to 10) for the user. In some embodiments, the sensed event 494 record indicates that the individual analysis module 492 has determined a confidence level for the event indicating how confident that the analyzed input data will correlate to the displayed event 494 level < / RTI >

In some embodiments, the participant input processing 476 component may include or have access to a video analysis 492A module. In some embodiments, participant inputs 465 may include, for example, participants 444 captured during broadcast 442 by video cameras attached or integrated to participants' individual devices 440 or 460, (Broadcasters and / or spectators). The participant video may be analyzed using techniques for sensing emotions through analysis of facial recognition techniques and facial expressions to determine metrics that may be used to identify events in individual broadcasts 442. [ For example, the facial expressions of the broadcaster may be captured by a live video feed included in the broadcast 442, and the video may be analyzed to detect the emotions of the broadcaster during game play . Surprise, fear, happiness, deeply immersive feelings that can be correlated to in-game events (victories, defeats, startling game events, etc.) intense concentration, etc. can be detected. As another example, some embodiments may include images of participants' eyes (broadcasters, players, commentators and / or spectators) captured during game play or broadcast 442, e.g., images of wearable computing devices For example, images captured by smart glasses, goggles, optical head-mounted displays, virtual reality (VR) headsets, and the like attached to or integrated with cameras. Images can be analyzed using techniques for sensing emotions or other states through tracking and analysis of eye movements, blinking, dilation, etc., and the analysis can be applied to in- May be used alone or in combination with analysis of other inputs, e.g., audio inputs, to determine the states of participants that may be correlated to cast events.

In some embodiments, the participant input processing 476 component may include or have access to an audio analysis (492B) module. Online games and game specification systems can support communication and audio input / output for game players and for game presets. For example, a player in an online game can communicate game play commands, suggestions, comments, strategy, chat, or other information to other players on their team in the game through audio input to an individual computing device. As another example, the broadcaster may provide voice-actuated broadcast to spectators over the audio channel of the game specification system. As another example, spectators in a game specification system may provide cheers, comments, chat, or other audio input to broadcasts via audio input channels to a game specification system. The synthesized participants' (player and / or spectator) audio signals may be used to provide background chatter or " people noise " for online games or broadcasts. Participants 'audio input signals can be captured, digitized, and transmitted to an online game or a presentation system via a network by audiovisual (A / V) input components on individual participants' Lt; / RTI > In an online game or a specification system, participants' audio signals may be synthesized, processed and transmitted to the players' and / or spectators' individual devices for output as game or broadcast audio.

In some embodiments, the audio analysis 492B module may process and analyze various audio inputs from players, broadcasters, and / or spectators to detect events 494. [ In some embodiments, the audio analysis module 492B may perform signal analysis, e.g., time-and frequency-domain analysis, on the audio signals to determine one or more audio signal metrics from the audio signals have. The metrics may include, for example, one or more of amplitude, pitch, duration, and frequency metrics, and any associated metric that can generally be extracted from an audio or voice signal. The audio signal metrics can be analyzed by comparing metrics to known or learned audio patterns, e.g., for individual participants or groups of participants, to determine information about the participants and / or the game session.

In some embodiments, the audio signals may be analyzed separately to determine metrics for each audio input, and the metrics may then be analyzed to determine information about the groups of participants (players and / or spectators) Normalized, synthesized, and analyzed to determine the best performance. In some embodiments, instead of or in addition to synthesizing the metrics for further analysis, the audio signals may be synthesized to generate information about the groups of participants and their metrics Or may be combined and analyzed collectively.

In some embodiments, the subject matter acquired with or with the audio input signals may be used when the information analyzes the audio input signals to determine information about the spectators and / or players. For example, the participant information may display membership or team preferences for the spectator's sports gamers based on the spectator's profile information. The spectator audio signals for the game may be grouped into groups of fans of two opposing teams in a sports game, such as football, depending on the spectator's marked team member, into two or more groups according to the metadata ) And may be analyzed separately for groups to determine group-specific information for the current game session or broadcast. For example, the group-specific information may indicate which group of spectators are currently cheering (cheering) or booing, which group is the most noisy and / or quieter, and so on. In some embodiments, the player / broadcaster audio signals may also be segmented into groups (e.g., opposing teams) according to player profile information for player group analysis.

In some embodiments, the information determined from the analysis of the participant audio inputs may be used by individual participants (players and / or players) based on analysis of individual participants' vocalizations or other sounds, for example, Emotional state or states (e.g., excitement, stress, fear, shock, surprise, amusement, etc.) of a person Can be displayed. In some embodiments, the audio analysis information is based on analysis of the combined audio signal metrics for two or more participants (players and / or spectators) to determine the state or states of the group or people (e.g., Excitement, stress, approval, disapproval, etc.) or may also indicate states or states. In some embodiments, the information may also indicate an indication of how excited the spectators are, based on an analysis of, for example, the aggregate spectator audio input, a level for the determined state.

In some embodiments, the information determined from the analysis of participant audio inputs may be used to detect particular events 494 in an online game session or broadcast. For example, in some embodiments, at least some of the audio patterns to which the audio signal metrics are matched may be mapped to specific types of events within an individual online game. For example, in a sports game, certain people (spectators) and / or player audio patterns may be mapped to big plays, such as scoring plays or massive defensive plays. In some embodiments, the information may predict or predict potential future events in an online game session or broadcast. For example, in a sports game, certain people (spectators) and / or player audio patterns may be used to describe what typically happens before a particular big event, such as people's calm or chanting in front of an important attack play in a people's football game, In the game you can be mapped to very small people noises in front of big defensive play. In some embodiments, the information may also indicate locations and times in the game universe for particular events to which the analyzed audio signals are mapped. For example, the analysis of synthesized spectator or player audio signals and correlated metadata may indicate a particular time in the game timeline and a particular location or area within an online game universe.

In some embodiments, the audio analysis module 492B may identify and extract words, phrases, or other content from the input audio associated with the broadcast 442. In some embodiments, the audio analysis module 492B may analyze the content to detect events 494 in the broadcast 442. For example, the audio analysis module 492B may determine that it is the broadcaster (s) that typically associates keywords or phrases identifying in the audio stream (s) of the broadcast 442 with keywords or phrases associated with events in game play May attempt to map to keywords or phrases associated with specific events in the genre or game participating as a player, and / or to keywords or phrases associated with particular participants (e.g., broadcasters). In some embodiments, the audio analysis module 492B may include another analysis module 492 that performs an analysis of the extracted content to detect events 494 for the broadcast 442, 492D) module to provide the extracted contents.

In some embodiments, the participant input processing 476 component may include or have access to a text analysis 492C module. Instead of or in addition to the audio input, online games and game specification systems may support communication and text input / output for game players and for game spectators. For example, players in online games can communicate game play commands, suggestions, comments, strategies, or other information to other players on their team in the game through text entry into the in-game chat window. As another example, broadcasters and spectators may participate in chat windows associated with particular broadcasts 442 in the game specification system 400. In some embodiments, the text analysis 492C module may include one or more sources 444 in the broadcast 442 to identify and extract words, phrases, or other content from the input text (e.g., -game window and a broadcast chat window). In some embodiments, the sampling system 100 may include, but is not limited to, text from other input sources or channels including inputs from social media channels such as " tweets " or instant messaging (IM) It may also include, or alternatively replace, one or more interfaces that can acquire, process, and analyze inputs. In some embodiments, the text analysis 492C module may analyze the extracted text content to detect events 494. [ For example, the text analysis module 492C may determine that the broadcaster (s) is (are) in a list of keywords or phrases that it identifies from the content of the chat windows associated with broadcast 442 to the keywords or phrases associated with events in game play May attempt to map to keywords or phrases associated with specific events in the genre or game participating as a player, and / or to keywords or phrases associated with particular participants (e.g., broadcasters). In some embodiments, the text analysis 492C module may include other analysis modules 492 that perform analysis of the extracted content to detect events 494, for example, content extracted (e.g., content 492D) Can be provided.

In some embodiments, the participant input processing 476 component may include or have access to a content analysis 492D module. Content analysis module 492D may receive content (e.g., words and / or phrases) extracted from the audio / voice and / or text chat inputs for broadcasts 442, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 494 < / RTI > For example, the content analysis module 492D may classify keywords or phrases from the extracted content into keywords or phrases associated with events in game play, in general, the genre of the game in which the broadcaster participates as a player, To keywords or phrases associated with particular events, and / or to keywords or phrases associated with particular participants (e.g., broadcasters). In some embodiments, the content analysis 492D module may access one or more of the analytical data 499 sources to retrieve data sets of keywords or phrases associated with particular genres, games, broadcasters, Have; The data sets may map the keys to the types or specific events of interest events that may be regarded as significant or prominent events or highlights in the broadcasts.

4 illustrates participant inputs processing for determining broadcast-related information in a game specification system according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the participant input processing (476) component, in lieu of or in addition to the detection and processing of events 494, may include other broadcasts that may be applied to the game specification environment in various ways as described in this application To generate the relevant analysis information 427, inputs to the game system engine are generated, for example, via the game system API of the specification system that affects game execution and game play illustrated in Figures 19 to 26 One or more participant inputs 465 may be processed to determine the compensation for the participants illustrated in Figure 16 to generate broadcast content 426 for display on the game presentation interface . In some embodiments, participant inputs 465 may include, but are not limited to, audio, video, and text inputs to the specification system via the Specification UI 416. In some embodiments, the participant inputs 465 may include input devices and techniques, such as controllers (not shown) coupled to or included in the spectator devices that may be analyzed and used to generate the broadcast- Or input from joysticks, motion tracking systems, gesture based input systems, and so on. In some embodiments, the system 400 may include, but is not limited to, inputs from a social media such as " tweets " or IM (instant messaging) to generate broadcast-related analysis information 427, One or more interfaces that can acquire and process inputs from other input sources or channels, including inputs to other input channels that may be analyzed to provide the desired output. The following provides some examples of sensing and applying broadcast-related analysis information 427 within the game specification system. However, it should be noted that these examples are not intended to be limiting.

As an example of detecting and applying broadcast-related analysis information 427 in the game specification system, the broadcast-related analysis information 427 may be determined for the spectators of one or more broadcasts of a particular online game To identify specific players, locations, areas, or areas within the game world of a broadcast online game as to which activity is " hot "as illustrated for example in FIG. 9, and can be leverage. A portion of the map or map of the online game world may be displayed on at least some of the spectator devices, for example, by the Spectating UI illustrated in FIG. 9, Players, teams, areas, areas, or locations identified as being active may be marked or highlighted on the map. In some embodiments, instead of or in addition to a map of active or interested players and / or locations, the locations of interest and / or players determined by analysis of spectator inputs 495 Can be displayed. In some embodiments, audio announcements or sounds may be used to draw attention to specific players and / or locations. In some embodiments, locations of interest in the game world and / or information about the players may also be provided to game players and / or broadcasters, for example, to feedback of broadcast-related analysis information to broadcaster devices Lt; / RTI > In some embodiments, locations of interest in the game world and / or information about the players may be used to generate feedback or inputs to the game system, for example as illustrated in Figures 19-26.

As another example of sensing and applying broadcast-related analysis information 427 within a game specification system, analysis information 427 may include information about the emotional or emotional state (e.g., stress, excitement , Anger, sadness, happiness, frustration, etc.). The analysis information 427 may be used to generate inputs to the game system engine via the game system API of the specification system. The avatars or online characters of the players in the game universe may be affected visually or otherwise in response to the inputs.

As another example of sensing and applying broadcast-related analysis information 427 in the game specification system, the analysis information 427 for spectators may be used by the broadcasters in order to affect the game characters of the broadcasters, . For example, the analysis of audio and / or text chat inputs 465 for spectators watching a particular player's broadcast may be performed by a player / broadcaster backing spectators when compared to other players in the game, Or whether the spectator is a favorite. This information can be used, for example, by boosting player health, by providing them with services, by providing points, or by various other ways to positively affect or compensate for the player's avatar or character in the game. Can be used to generate inputs to the gaming system engine via the gaming system API to the gaming system. In some embodiments, teams of players corresponding to broadcasters may be identified and the teams may be based on analysis of spectator audio and / or text chat inputs 465 for the broadcaster (s) And may be influenced by inputs to the game system engine.

As another example of detecting and applying broadcast-related analysis information 427 in the game specification system, the comprehensive analysis information 427 on the spectators of the broadcasts of the on-lime games may be provided to specific interested broadcasts or current Can be leveraged to identify active channels. In some embodiments, for example, by adding channels to a " recommended " or " hot " list for currently active channels, or by highlighting channel (s) Channels of interest on at least some of the devices may be displayed. In some embodiments, the information about the channels of interest may be analyzed for broadcaster devices that exhibit popularity or ranking of the comparison channel, for example, based on analysis of people noise or chats for individual channels. ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 > May also be provided to broadcasters via feedback of information 427. [ In some embodiments, the analysis information 427 representing channels of interest or broadcasts may include, for example, boosts, gears, or other games within the broadcasters' May be used to generate inputs to the game system engine via the game system API of the specification system that compensates individual broadcasters by providing advantages.

As another example of sensing and applying broadcast-related analysis information 427 in the game specification system, the comprehensive analysis information 427 on the spectators of the broadcasts of online games may be used to identify specific interested broadcasters Can be leveraged for. In some embodiments, for example, by adding a broadcaster (s) to a " recommended " or " hot " list for broadcasters, or by adding broadcasters and / or identified broadcasters Broadcasters of interest may be displayed on at least a portion of the spectator devices by highlighting the associated channel (s). In some embodiments, the information about broadcasters may include, for example, broadcasters ' analysis information < RTI ID = 0.0 > on broadcaster devices ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 > 427 < / RTI > In some embodiments, the analysis information 427 indicative of the broadcasts 'popularity may include inputs to the game system engine via the game system API of the specification system, e.g., broadcasters' May be used to generate inputs that compensate for popular broadcasters by providing boosts, gears, or other in-game advantages to the avatars.

As another example of detecting and applying broadcast-related analysis information 427 in the game specification system, the comprehensive analysis information 427 on the spectators of the broadcasts of the on- For example, depending on the "people noise" or chat in the current game's broadcasts, certain activities may be leveraged to identify games that are currently "hot" or of interest. In some embodiments, then games of interest may be displayed on at least some of the spectator devices by, for example, highlighting the games on the Specifying UI. In some embodiments, the analysis information 427 representing the game of interest may include inputs to the game system engine via the game system API of the specification system, e.g., the game is currently hot in a presentation environment, May be used to generate inputs for a particular game system that represents a game. The game system may use this input in various ways, for example by compensating for at least some of the players by providing boosts, gears, or other in-game advantages to the in-game characters or avatars of the players.

As another example of sensing and applying broadcast-related analysis information 427 in a game specification system, audio and / or text chat inputs 465 for broadcasts or broadcasts may be associated with or belong to spectators And may be analyzed to detect issues. The detected entities or preferences can be used to segment the spectators into two or more groups (e.g., fans of particular players or teams). For example, the spectators may respond to certain events in a game or broadcast or at least partially (e.g., at a certain time) to their audio and / or text chat inputs 465 (cheers, boos, loud, quiet, It can be sensed that it is the fans of a particular player or team on the basis of that. As another example, the spectators may select a specific player or team based on, at least in part, certain keywords, phrases, or chants that are recognized in their audio and / or text chat inputs 465 for the broadcast (s) Fans can be detected. In some embodiments, the detected member or preferences of the spectator may be added to their profile information. In some embodiments, the spectator ' s profile information may be modified over time based on further analysis of their audio or other inputs. In some embodiments, the analysis information 427 indicating the spectator affiliation or preferences may include inputs to the game system engine via the game system API of the system, e.g., how many spectators are currently in the game May be used to generate inputs for a particular game system that indicate whether it is fans of two or more teams. The gaming system may provide this input in various ways, for example by providing boosts, gears, or other in-game advantages to the in-game characters or avatars of the players based on their fan base, For example, by compensating for at least a portion or by providing visual and / or audio representations of the spectators' portion, for example, as illustrated in FIG.

As another example of sensing and applying broadcast-related analysis information 427 in a game specification system, audio and / or text chat inputs 465 for broadcast may be used to detect, for example, (E.g., fans of specific players or teams) based on the analysis of the " Weak Spectators' audio and / or text chat inputs 465 or profile information for individual spectators And may be analyzed separately according to groups to determine group-specific information for games in the specification system. For example, the group-specific information may indicate which group of spectators is currently cheering or hating, which group is the most noisy and / or quietest, and so on. The group-specific information may include inputs to the gaming system engine via the gaming system APIs of the gaming system, for example, two or more spectator groups, and a specific gaming system ≪ / RTI > The gaming system may provide this input in a variety of ways, for example visual and / or audio feedback to players and / or spectators in the game specification system, e.g., Can be used to provide visual and / or audio feedback representing current levels. For example, imaginary representations of spectators on one side of a stadium or arena in an online sports game may be determined by spectators determined to be fans of a particular team and / or player, for example, as shown in Figure 22, You can make them stand up when you hoot, shake flags, or otherwise respond visually or audibly.

As another example of sensing and applying broadcast-related analysis information 427 in the game specification system, the spectator audio output may be used to identify specific groups of spectators, spectators (e.g., (E.g., to specific fans), and / or to the broadcaster (s) via the audio channel (s) of the broadcast. For example, when the spectators determined to be fans of a particular team and / or player are determined to be highly cheering or booing based on an analysis of the spectators' audio and / or text chat inputs 465, The spectator audio output of the humor can be provided by the game specification system to spectators (e.g., fans of a particular team) and / or at least a portion of the players via the audio channel (s) of the broadcast . As another example, the analysis of the spectators' audio and / or text chat inputs 465 may be performed by analyzing interest inputs (e.g., from a group of individual spectators or spectators) A spectator or group, a pounding loudspeaker, etc.), and the spectator audio output of the audio inputs of interest may be provided by the game specification system through the audio channel of the broadcast. In some embodiments, the spectator audio output may be generated from the spectator audio input (s) or as a mixture thereof. In some embodiments, the spectator audio output may be "canned" in response to analysis information 427, or " canned " (pre-recorded), and synthesized (synthesized). In some embodiments, the analysis information 427 indicating different groups' current responses to the game, such as cheers, enthusiasm, or disappointment, may include inputs to the game system engine via the game system API of the specification system, May be used to generate inputs for a particular game system that indicate how many of the spectators are currently responding. The gaming system may provide this input in various ways, for example boosts, gears, or other in-game advantages to the in-game characters or avatars of players based on their fan base's current enthusiastic level, By compensating for at least a portion or by providing visual and / or audio representations of the groups' current responses, for example, as illustrated in FIG.

As another example of sensing and applying broadcast-related analysis information 427 in the game specification system, the spectator's audio and / or text chat inputs 465 for a game or broadcast may include a current interest spectator May be analyzed to detect, for example, certain spectators who cheer or lament or booer the player, or specially happy, angry, or spooky spectators. The spectator's audio input of interest may be provided to other participants (spectators and / or broadcasters) by the game specification system through the audio channel of the broadcast. In addition, in some embodiments, their video or images identified as causing the current interest based on the audio input of the spectators may be transmitted to the spectators and / or broadcasters, for example, a picture overlaid on the broadcast video And may be provided in a picture-on-picture window. The video may be a video of the avatars representing the spectator (s) and simulating their sensed emotional state or a video of the spectator (s) of interest captured by the video cameras in the spectator's environment Lt; / RTI >

FIG. 6A provides non-limiting examples of a user-facing specification for a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments. The specification UI 602 may be, for example, a web page of a game specification system web site via a web browser, as an interface to a game specification web application or a mobile application, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > applications. ≪ / RTI > The Specification UI 602 includes, but is not limited to, controls 610, current broadcast pane 630, games 650, channels 660, and video on demand. Or one or more panes or regions that include one or more of the following: Controls 610 may include one or more UI elements that interact with the game presentation system, such as by navigating or otherwise. Games 650 may display UI elements corresponding to one or more online games 652 currently supported or supported by the game specification system. This example illustrates a racing (652A) game, a football (652B) game, and a space explorer (652C) game. Channels 660 may correspond to one or more currently active (or upcoming) broadcasts or channels 662, e.g., channels 662 corresponding to broadcasters for the currently selected game 652 UI elements can be displayed. In this example, a space explorer 652C game is selected, and channels 662 show three broadcasters 662A, 662B, and 662C for the currently selected game 652C. The on-demand video 670 may display UI elements corresponding to one or more videos 672, including, for example, but not limited to, pre-recorded broadcasts and / or highlight reels available for viewing, can do. In this example, video on demand 670 shows example pre-recorded videos 672A-672C and highlight reel 672D for the currently selected game 652C. Although not shown, in some embodiments, the Specification UI 602 may include recommended games 652, channels 662 (broadcasters), and recorded videos, including, but not limited to, And a recommendation pane that can display UI elements corresponding to one or more of the UI elements 672.

In some embodiments, the content of recommendation content, channels 660 and / or video on demand 670 may be determined, at least in part, according to the currently selected game 652. For example, in some embodiments, the spectator may play a game (e.g., a game) to view the current active channels 662 for the selected game 652C and to view recordings of the broadcasts for the selected game 652 652C). Although not shown, in some embodiments, the UI 602 may allow the spectator to select particular broadcasters, and the content of the recommendations, channels 660 and / or video on demand 670 May be determined at least partially according to the currently selected broadcaster.

The current broadcast pane 630 may include a video stream for the currently selected live broadcast or channel 662 (in this example, channel 662A), or the currently selected video 672 being played on an individual spectator device Video controls 632 that display A / V controls (shown as a cast 634). The broadcast 634 may include, for example, a broadcaster / player, a window 635 showing the live view of the broadcaster / player A in this example, and a viewpoint or perspective view of the broadcaster / Play video viewed from the bird's eye view. Video player 632 may also typically include one or more of in-game audio, broadcaster audio, and audio live commentary or " crowd noise " from the spectators Play the audio stream also. In some embodiments, the audio may also include play-by-play calls from the commentator or live broadcast. In some embodiments, the current broadcast pane 630 may also include a chat 636 pane through which the broadcaster and / or spectator text chat may be displayed. In some embodiments, the current broadcast pane 630 may also include a highlight 635 pane that displays highlights, e.g., highlights from the currently active or selected highlight reel, or highlights from the broadcast. In some embodiments, the current broadcast pane 630 may also include one or more UI elements through which the spectator can control the highlight 635 display.

In some embodiments, the current broadcast pane 630 may or may not include UI elements capable of displaying broadcast content based, at least in part, on the game metadata for the game being broadcast 634 . At least some of the UI elements may or may not be active UI elements that initiate or perform some action when selected. In this example, the game content in the Space Explorer 652C game is currently being broadcasted, so that the broadcast content includes content related to the Space Explorer 652C game.

As shown in this example, in some embodiments, the current broadcast pane 630 may include a broadcast content 640 pane where spectators may view information about different categories of game content . For example, the broadcast content 640 pane may include tabs where spectators can view information about the players, items, places, events, or other categories of game content described in the game metadata ). For a category of content, the spectators may select and view information about specific instances of the content, e.g., specific players. For a particular instance of the content, the spectators can view additional details.

As shown in this example, the information about the player A in the space explorer 652C game being broadcasted is shown. The player information may include, for example, the player's name and affiliation (e.g., team), the player's skills or powers, the player's skill or experience levels, the player's ratings, And other statistics, a player's gears such as tools, outfits / clothing, and weapons, or any other information the game may keep or track with respect to the players. In this example, the viewer interacts with the broadcast content 640 to watch the player ' s gear and additionally selects to watch the player's weapons. In the list of displayed weapons currently owned by Player A, the viewer has selected a Disrupter Pistol to view the descriptive information for this particular item of the player's in-game gear. The description information may include, for example, the image (s) of the item (" DP9000 ") and a character description. For example, for a weapon, explanatory information may indicate the range, capacity, and effectiveness of the weapon. In some embodiments, the description information may include usage information for a particular item or type of item. For example, a list of all players using items, such as specific swords or other weapons, may be provided. In some embodiments, the description information may include statistical data for in-game content. For example, popularity or ratings may be provided based on player usage and / or participant voting for other parts of the game or weaponry.

In some embodiments, the broadcast content 640 pane may include UI elements that a viewer may order, purchase, or otherwise acquire game-related content. The game-related content may include virtual game items or objects (e.g., digital representations of physical objects) that may be obtained for use within games, such as gears, garments, weapons, characters, (E.g., physical representations of weapons in the game, e.g., swords, action figures, toys, etc.), such as physical representations of virtual objects ), Etc.), and / or game-related physical items such as t-shirts or hats. In some embodiments, the rendering system may provide or provide access to a " print-on-demand " service so that the 3D printing technology may be able to provide game-related objects or items Characters, weapons, vehicles, monsters, etc.), or input designs. The designs or documentation for the objects may be obtained from game systems in the game metadata, or otherwise. For example, in the broadcast content 640 pane shown in FIG. 6A, a viewer may use a virtual environment to obtain a virtual DP9000 pistol for use in a Space Explorer game and / or to obtain a virtual DP9000 pistol for a game system provider, online merchant, To get or buy a physical model of a DP9000 pistol from another entity, you can use the " Get It ! "You can select a UI element.

In some embodiments, the broadcast content based at least in part on the game metadata for the game being broadcast 634 may be overlay, blend, or composite to the video stream content to be displayed in the broadcast 634. In some embodiments, ). This broadcast content may be referred to in the present application as an overlay content. In some embodiments, the overlay content may be added to the video stream by the spectating service 100 illustrated in Figures 1a and 1b. In some embodiments, the overlay content may be added in place of, or in addition to, the video stream by the broadcast content service 113 between the sampling service 100 and at least some of the spectator devices 160 . The overlay content may include textual and / or graphical content. As a non-limiting example, text tags or captions may be added to objects or scenes in a video stream. For example, name tags (shown as A, B, C, D, and E in FIG. 6A) shown in FIG. 6A may be added to characters in the video stream such that the spectators can identify players in the game . As another example, objects of interest or characters may be identified from game metadata and / or broadcast metadata, and the objects or characters may be visually displayed using overlay content in the video stream. For example, the game metadata and / or the broadcast metadata may indicate one or more emotional or emotional states (e.g., stress, excitement, anger, sadness, happiness, frustration, etc.) , The avatars or online characters of the players displayed in the game universe can be visually transformed using colors, for example to indicate emotions or emotional states of the individual players. For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, the character E in the broadcast 634 has been highlighted using overlay content that changes the visual appearance of the character in the video stream.

As another example of using overlay content, in some embodiments, objects or regions in the broadcast 634 may be made to interact using overlays. For example, in some embodiments, at least some of the objects displayed in the broadcast 634 may be interactive so that the spectator may use the broadcaster 638 to open an overlay window 638 that provides information about the object. Cast 634 may be selected. For example, in Figure 6a, the spectator used a cursor to select a spacecraft and opened a window 638 showing the name, type, and capabilities of the ship. In some embodiments, the overlay content on the broadcast 634 may include UI elements that a viewer may order, purchase, or otherwise acquire game-related content. For example, in FIG. 6A, a viewer may choose to obtain a virtual Harpoon XL ship for use in a " Space Explorer " game and / or order a physical model of a Harpoon XL ship from a merchant or manufacturer & Quot ; GET IT ! & Quot; in the overlay window 638 for purchase . "You can select a UI element.

FIG. 6B provides other non-limiting examples of a Specification UI for a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the Specification UI 652 may include metadata for the game being broadcast 634 (in this example, the Space Explorer game), e.g., an individual game system illustrated in Figure 1C, Or may provide UI elements capable of displaying broadcast content based at least in part on game meta-data received from the user. At least some of the UI elements may or may not be active UI elements that initiate or perform some action when selected. FIG. 6B provides examples of the formatting user interface elements and methods for exploring pre-recorded broadcast replay or broadcasted games based, at least in part, on the game metadata. The Specification UI 652 is, for example, a web page of a game specification system web site via a web browser, as an interface to a game specification web application or a mobile application, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > applications. ≪ / RTI > The specification UI 652 includes, but is not limited to, controls 610, a video player 632 with A / V controls 633, broadcast content 640, a world map 696 ), Broadcasts 690, and a chant window 636. In one embodiment,

Controls 610 may include one or more UI elements that interact with the game specification system, such as by navigation or otherwise. Video player 632 displays a video stream (shown as broadcast 634) for a replay of the previously selected broadcast or for the currently selected broadcast 692 (in this example, broadcast 692A) . The broadcast 634 may include, for example, a broadcast 635 showing a live view of a broadcaster / player, in this example a broadcaster / player A, and a game play video 635 shown from a broadcaster / player viewpoint or perspective or buzzey view. . ≪ / RTI > Video player 632 also typically plays an audio stream that may include one or more of in-game audio, broadcaster audio, and audio live broadcast or " people noise " from the spectators. In some embodiments, the audio may also include play-by-play calls from the narrator or live broadcast. In some embodiments, the Specifying UI 652 may also include a Chat 636 pane through which the broadcaster and / or spectator text chat may be displayed. Broadcasts 690 pane may display UI elements corresponding to one or more players in the current game that are broadcasting for a game or broadcast for a game being replayed. In this example, the broadcast 692A of player A is currently selected. In some embodiments, the viewer or spectator may switch to a live or pre-recorded broadcast 692 of a different player by selecting individual UI elements in the broadcasts 690. [

As shown in this example, in some embodiments, the Specification UI 652 may include a broadcast content 640 pane where spectators can view information about different categories of game content . For example, the broadcast content 640 pane includes taps where the spectators can view information about the players, items, places, events, or other categories of game content described in the game metadata can do. For a category of content, the spectators may select and view information about specific instances of the content, e.g., specific players or game-related content or items. For a particular instance of the content, the spectators can acquire or view additional details.

As shown in this example, a tab is displayed that displays information about selected in-game items in the broadcast content 640 that are broadcasted. The tab pane may include control or navigation UI elements such as a scroll bar. In this example, the displayed list of items includes a disrupter pistol ("DP9000") and a laser rifle ("LR20C"). In some embodiments, for at least some of the displayed items, a list of players that own or use the individual items may be provided. In some embodiments, the spectator may select a player in the list to switch to the player's live or pre-recorded broadcast 692. Previously, in a broadcast 692 of another player, the viewer views the player-used item, views statistics on the player, advises on the use of the item or requests the player's opinion or information about it, , Copying or cloning, and the like. This example describes switching from the Items tab in the Broadcast Content 640 pane to the broadcasts of other players, but in some embodiments, the viewers can select broadcasts on the other Pains by selecting the players Can switch. For example, the " places " pane and the " Events " pane can provide lists of players at or associated with various locations and events, and viewers can switch to a broadcast of a selected player You can select a player from the list.

In some embodiments, the player in the list for the item may not be a broadcaster. In this case, selecting a player in the list may be accomplished by switching to another player that may be associated with the first player, e.g., at the same approximate local location within the game being broadcast or replayed, or with another player's broadcast to the same team Can be provided.

As shown in FIG. 6B, UI elements may also be provided in the Broadcast Content 640 Items tab where information about individual items can be viewed or obtained. In some embodiments, the information may include statistical data for the item. For example, popularity or ratings may be provided based on player usage and / or participant voting for other parts of the game or weaponry. In some embodiments, the broadcast content 640 pane may include UI elements that a viewer may order, purchase, or otherwise acquire an individual item. For example, in the broadcast content 640 pane shown in FIG. 6B, a viewer may use a virtual environment to obtain a virtual DP9000 pistol for use within a Space Explorer game and / or to provide a game system provider, Individual " Get It " to order or purchase physical models of the DP9000 pistol from other entities ! "You can select a UI element.

In some embodiments, the specification system includes a location for various game content in the game universe, including at least in part the location of players that are broadcasters for the game from game metadata received from the various sources illustrated in Fig. Lt; / RTI > In some embodiments, a world map 696 or a portion of the game world map may be displayed on the UI 652. [ In some embodiments, players, teams, areas, events, locations of locations, or locations may be visually displayed, or otherwise highlighted, or otherwise, on a map 696. In some embodiments, the players' locations, which are broadcasters for the game, can be visually displayed on a world map 696, highlighted or otherwise. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6B, players A, B, G, and F are shown as broadcasters. In some embodiments, the viewer or spectator may switch to a live or pre-recorded broadcast 692 of a different player by selecting an individual broadcaster / player within the map 696. [ In some embodiments, analysis of the game metadata and / or broadcast metadata described in the present application (e.g., analysis of text chat 636 and / or audio chat or people noise) may be active or exciting exciting broadcasts, and the indicator of the broadcaster / player's location on the map 696 can be highlighted. For example, in Figure 6B, the broadcast of broadcaster / player A is a broadcast on which the player's indicator on map 696 is displayed by a circle and viewed in video player 632. However, the broadcast of the broadcaster / player E draws a lot of attention from the spectators, so that the player's markers are highlighted on the map 696 separately. The viewer can select broadcaster / player E on map 696 to switch to that broadcast.

Figures 7a and 7b provide non-limiting examples of a customizing user interface for a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments. The designing UI 702 may be, for example, a web page of a game specification system web site via a web browser, as an interface to a game specification web application or a mobile application, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > applications. ≪ / RTI > The specification UI 702 includes, but is not limited to, controls 710, a video player 732 with A / V controls 733, game metadata for a game in which the spectator is broadcast 734, And a broadcast content pane 740 that is capable of viewing and interacting with the broadcast content based at least in part on the broadcast content pane 740. The broadcast content pane 740 may include one or more panes or regions. Controls 710 may include one or more UI elements that interact with the game presentation system, such as by navigation or otherwise. Video player 732 displays a replay or live broadcast of pre-recorded broadcasts or a video stream (shown as broadcast 734) for the channel. In some embodiments, the spectating UI 702 may include a spectator UI 702 that may include broadcaster and / or spectator text chat, for example, game information, such as in-game gear displayed in a broadcast content pane 740, It may also include a chat 736 pane where the chat may be displayed.

The broadcast content pane 740 may include, for example, game information 744 pane that displays information about a game that is broadcast based at least in part on game metadata received from an individual game system, View and interact with detailed information about game content (objects, gears, characters, players, locations, events, etc.) based at least in part on the game metadata for the game And may include game content details 746 pane that may be provided.

As shown in FIG. 7A, in some embodiments, the game content details 746 pane may be used to view various game content and to allow the spectator to interact to obtain more information about the game content UI elements. For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, the game content details 746 pane can be selected by the spectator to view a list of players; And a " Select a player " UI element through which the spectator can select one of the players to view additional information about the player. For example, in FIG. 7A, a viewer may view game content details 746 pane (DP9000 Debuter Pistol, LR20c Laser Rifle, Harpoon XL Ship, Helmet, Survival Pack, etc.) ) &Quot; Player E " in the list to view current items in the gear set of my player E. Note that players in the list may be in-game players that are currently broadcasted or replayed, but not necessarily.

In some embodiments, the spectator system 100 and / or the broadcast content service 113 may add content to the content of the broadcast content pane 740 in response to detected events in the broadcast 734 Alternatively, the content can be changed. Events may be detected, for example, by one or more methods illustrated in figures 3a-3d. For example, information about game content, game events, players, etc. may be added to or changed in the broadcast content pane 740 based at least in part on the game metadata. For example, in FIG. 7A, information about a player or other game content may be stored in response to an event in a broadcast event, such as an event involving player E, such as a first appearance of player E in the current on- Details 746 may be added to the pane or may be changed.

As shown in FIG. 7A, in some embodiments, the broadcast content may include overlays 738 on broadcast 734. FIG. In some embodiments, the spectator system 100 and / or the broadcast content service 113 may add overlays 738 to the broadcast 734 in response to detected events in the broadcast 734 . Events may be detected, for example, by one or more methods illustrated in figures 3a-3d. The overlay window 738 may provide additional information about game content, game events, players, etc. based at least in part on the game metadata obtained from the gaming system. For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, an overlay window 738A may be added to broadcast 734 in response to an event, such as a first appearance of player E, . The example overlay window 738A can be used to display the attributes of a player (name, team, level, skills, etc.), statistics (rating, skill, kills, experience, Vehicles, etc.). The content of the overlay windows 738 may be obtained from a spectating system, a game system, a game developer, game servers, broadcaster devices, third parties such as online merchants, or any source illustrated generally in FIG. . In addition to overlay windows 738 that show additional information about information game content, game events, etc., overlay windows 738 may include images, video clips, advertisements, titles or labels, Links to sites, or generally any type of content. In some embodiments, the overlay window 738 may include active UI elements with which the viewer can interact to display additional information about the selected game content in the broadcast content 740 pane. For example, in FIG. 7A, the viewer selects a " see gear " UI element in the overlay window 738A to view current items in the gear set of player E in the game content details 746 pane .

7B, in some embodiments, the broadcast 734 includes an overlay window 738B that provides additional information about the content based, at least in part, on, for example, game metadata obtained from the gaming system, To allow the viewer to interact with the broadcast 734 to open the < RTI ID = 0.0 > broadcast 734. < / RTI > For example, as shown in FIG. 7B, the spectating UI 702 is displayed on a touch-enabled device, the spectator uses touch gestures to select player E, An overlay window 738B showing the names (team, level, skills, etc.), statistics (rating, skill, kills, experience, etc.) and gears (weapons, clothing, tools, vehicles, Open. In some embodiments, the overlay window 738B may include active UI elements with which the viewer can interact to display additional information about the selected game content in the broadcast content 740 pane. For example, in FIG. 7B, a viewer may view current item (s) in the gear set of player E in game content details 746 pane (DP9000 Debuter pistol, LR20c laser rifle, Harpoon XL shoe, helmet, UI " within the overlay window 738B to view the " View Gear "

In some embodiments, at least some of the displayed UI elements in the broadcast content (740) pane may include, for example, a viewer adds to the game or game content based at least in part on the game metadata obtained from the gaming system Or interactive elements that allow the user to obtain information, or to acquire, purchase, or otherwise acquire game or game content. For example, in some embodiments, a viewer may use a virtual item to obtain additional details about the items, to obtain a virtual item for use in a " Space Explorer " game, and / And interact with displayed UI elements in the game content details 746 pane to order or purchase a physical model. As another example, the viewer may interact with the UI elements displayed in the game information 744 pane to obtain more information about the game, or to acquire or purchase games from the game system provider or from some other source have.

Figure 8 provides non-limiting examples of a broadcaster user interface for a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments. The broadcaster device 800 may implement the game and broadcasting UI 802 and may be coupled to an A / V device 808 (e.g., a microphone) to collect broadcaster / player 820 audio and video inputs And / or to speakers 804 (including spectator audio and / or people noise) for outputting game audio. The broadcaster's device 800 may also include a keyboard 809 or other input device (s) from which the broadcaster / player 820 may write text input, such as player chat or broadcast chat, Lt; / RTI > In some embodiments, the broadcaster device 800 may also include input devices and techniques such as controllers or joysticks, motion tracking systems, gesture-based input systems, or the like, .

In some embodiments, the broadcasting UI 802 may include a game play window 810 that displays a current view of the game universe for the broadcaster / player 820. Note that the broadcaster 'view of the game universe shown in window 810 may be viewed and included in the broadcast, for example, as shown in FIG. 9. In some embodiments, the UI 802 may also include game controls 814 through which the broadcaster / player 820 may interact with the gaming system. In some embodiments, the UI 802 may include in-game chat 814 through which the broadcaster / player 820 can communicate to other players in the game via text. In some embodiments, the UI 802 may also include broadcast controls 818 that the broadcaster / player 820 may interact with the specification system to control the broadcast. In some embodiments, the UI 802 may include a broadcaster / player 820 and a broadcast chat 818 through which the spectators can communicate via text.

In some embodiments, the world map 812 or a portion of the map of the online game world may be displayed on the UI 802, for example, in the game play window 810 or as an overlaid window. The team position of broadcaster / player A is shown as being oval marked with " A ". In some embodiments, locations corresponding to players, teams, areas, areas, or current or potential events identified by one or more of the methods described in this application are marked on the map 812 Or may be highlighted or otherwise visually displayed. The broadcaster / player and his team may, in some cases, take action based on the visual indications of the events displayed on the map 812.

As shown in Figures 1a and 1b, in some embodiments, the specification system is based at least in part on spectator interactions with the game content and / or the broadcast content generated from the broadcast metadata And provide broadcast feedback to the broadcast device 800. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the broadcast feedback may be provided to the broadcaster 820 through a window of broadcasting feedback 817 pane or broadcasting UI 802. [

FIG. 9 provides other, non-limiting examples of a user-facing specification for a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments. The spectator 'device 900 may implement the spectating UI 902 and may include microphone 906 and game audio (spectator audio and / or human noise, broadcaster audio live broadcast, Etc.) for outputting the output signal (s). The spectator's device 900 may also include or be coupled to a keyboard 909 or other input device (s) through which the spectator 960 can write textual input, such as a broadcast chute 918, . In some embodiments, the spectator's device 900 may also include input devices and techniques such as controllers or joysticks, motion tracking systems, gesture-based input systems, or the like, .

In some embodiments, the UI 902 may include a game specification window 910 that displays the current view of the game universe in terms of the broadcaster / player. In this example, spectator 960 is currently viewing a group of players B, C, and D in terms of player A (broadcaster) in the spectral window 910. In some embodiments, the UI 902 may also include spectator controls 916 that can interact with the specification system to allow the spectator 960 to control the broadcast, select other broadcasts, and so on. . In some embodiments, the UI 902 may include a broadcast chat 918 window through which the spectator 960 can communicate with the broadcaster / player and other spectators via text.

In some embodiments, the UI 902 may include a window 914 showing a broadcaster / player, in this example, a live view of broadcaster / player A. The window 914 may be displayed, for example, in the game specification window 910 or as an overlaid window. In some embodiments, a world map 912 or a portion of a map of an online game world may be displayed on the UI 902, for example, in the game specification window 910 or as an overlaid window. And the team position of broadcaster / player A is shown as " A "

In some embodiments, the UI 902 may be configured to display broadcast content (e.g., broadcast content) that may be accessed by the spectator 960 or displayed to the spectator based, at least in part, on the game metadata received from the individual game system 940) panes or regions. The broadcast content 940 pane may, for example, display information about games, game players, game objects or items, game events, etc. provided by the game system in the game metadata. In some embodiments, UI 902 may replace or overlay an overlay window 938 that displays broadcast content based, at least in part, on game metadata received from an individual game system. The overlay window 938 can be overlaid, for example, in the game specification window 910 or displayed as a window within it. In this example, the overlay window 938 shows details (gear, health, statistics, etc.) for the currently selected player B.

In some embodiments, players, teams, areas, areas identified by one or more methods described in the present application, or locations corresponding to current or potential events are marked on the world map 912 Or otherwise highlighted, or otherwise visually displayed. For example, an " H! &Quot; marked with an oval may indicate a location for an event that will occur in the past, present, or future. In some embodiments, spectator 960 may display events displayed in world map 912 to view or replay events within game presentation window 910 or other windows displayed on UI 902 You can choose.

Game merchandising interface

In some embodiments, the spectating system may allow a spectator to view, select, and otherwise order game-related content from a game-related content on a spectating user interface (UI) And leverage the game metadata provided by the gaming system (s) to provide a virtual storefront for related content. The game-related content may include virtual or digital game-related items or objects (e.g., digital representations of physical objects) that may be obtained for use within games, such as gears, clothing, weapons, (E.g., physical swords, action figures, toys, etc.), such as characters, characters, avatars, powers, etc., physical representations of virtual objects from within games, and / Or game-related physical items such as t-shirts, or hats.

In some embodiments, the SP system provider may provide at least a portion of the game-related content to the requesting spectators. In some embodiments, the virtual storefront of the < Desc / Clms Page number 11 > sampling system may include, but is not limited to, one or more entities including game systems or game system providers and online merchants to provide the requested game- Can be interfaced. In some embodiments, the rendering system may provide or provide access to a " print-on-demand " service such that the 3D printing technology may be able to provide game-related objects or items Characters, weapons, vehicles, monsters, etc.), or input designs. The designs or documentation for the objects may be obtained from game systems in the game metadata, or otherwise.

In some embodiments, the virtual store front may provide UI elements so that the spectators can view information about the in-game content, e.g., which characters / players use the item or object, how they use it History, or success of the item, and / or statistics. The specification system may provide text and / or voice chat channels that allow spectators and broadcasters to discuss game-related items or objects available through the virtual storefront. In some embodiments, the broadcaster may specify or select specific game-related items or objects provided via the virtual store front UI on the channel of the broadcaster.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example virtual store front module in a game specification system 100 that provides game-related goods to spectators via a sampling interface according to some embodiments. The game specification system 100, for example, the game specification system 100 illustrated and described in Figures 1a and 1b, is coupled to the spectators via the spectral UI 116 on the individual spectator devices 160 One or more components or modules 1010 capable of providing broadcast content 126 may be implemented. The broadcast content 126 may be determined from game metadata 124 received from the gaming system (s) 120 at least in part in accordance with the gaming system API 114 provided by the specification system 100. In some embodiments, the broadcast content 126 may be determined, at least in part, from game-related data obtained from one or more other sources, e.g., online merchants. The spectators can view, search, discuss, select, order, purchase or otherwise acquire the game-related content via the SPECTATING UI 116 and receive spectator devices 160 (E. G., Broadcast content 126). ≪ / RTI > The storefront module (s) 1010 may acquire and process spectator interactions 164 with the broadcast content 126 provided on the spectator devices 160 so that the selected virtual and / or physical game- Related content 1091 (for example, to the game system 120 providers 1022A) by generating requests 1022 for ordering, purchasing, or otherwise acquiring the related merchandise, (Requests 1022C), and / or virtual (1023) and / or physical (1072) items or objects (requests 1022B) Merchants or other sources of 3D print-on-demand services 1070 and may send individual spectator devices 160 the virtual items 1023A, 1023B, or 1023C requested as virtual items 1023D ), Or individual spectra And consequently, to the physical 1076 game - it can enable the delivery of related goods or provision. In some embodiments, virtual items 1023 may include game content (e.g., game characters, gears, avatars, etc.) downloaded or otherwise provided to game clients on separate spectator devices 160, Game states, etc.).

In some embodiments, the broadcaster may select or specify specific game-related items or objects to be supplied by the storefront module (s) 1010 via broadcast content 126 on a separate broadcast 142 channel (1003). The storefront module (s) 1010 may obtain and process spectator interactions 164 with the broadcaster-specific content 126 provided on the spectator devices 160 so that the selected game- (1022) for acquiring, ordering, purchasing, or otherwise sending to individual merchandise sources (120,1090, and / or 1070). In some embodiments, the system 100 may be configured to broadcast the broadcast (s) 140 to the broadcast device (s) 140 based, at least in part, on spectator interactions 164 with the broadcast content 126. In some embodiments, ) Can also be provided. In some embodiments, the broadcast feedback 103 includes a broadcast UI / API 112 that is provided to the broadcast devices 140 by the system 100, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 9, Lt; / RTI > to the broadcasters.

11 is a flow chart of a method for providing game-related goods through a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments. The method of FIG. 11 may be implemented by, for example, the sampling system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1A, 1B, or 10. As shown at 1100 in FIG. 11, the system may stream the broadcast of game play to spectator devices. The broadcast may include a video showing the game play of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in a game running on the gaming system.

As shown at 1110 in FIG. 11, the spectrating system allows the spectators to view, select, and order, purchase, or otherwise acquire game-related content, And may provide a game merchandising interface. Figure 12 provides a non-limiting example of a game sales interface or virtual storefront for a game specification system. In some embodiments, the broadcaster may select or specify specific game-related content to be provided through a game sales interface for the channel of the broadcaster.

As shown at 1120 in FIG. 11, the system may provide broadcast content corresponding to game-related content or goods through a game sales interface. The game-related content may include virtual or digital game-related items or objects (e.g., gears, clothing, weapons, characters, avatars, powers, etc., Physical items or objects (e.g., physical representations of weapons in the game, such as swords, game-related action figures, toys, etc.), and / or physical items such as physical representations of virtual objects from within games, and / Related content may include other game-related physical goods such as posters, books, t-shirts, or hats. The broadcast content may include a game received from a game system according to a game system API provided by the specification system May be based, at least in part, on metadata. In some embodiments, game metadata may be used to generate broadcast content Related data, and may include data describing or representing at least a portion of the content-related content. In some embodiments, the specification system may provide descriptive data on game-related content from one or more other sources, e.g., Can be obtained and used.

The broadcast content provided through the game sales interface may include one or more UI elements (e.g., buttons, dialogs, lists, taps, menus, images, video clips, links , Text, paylines, etc.). In some embodiments, the broadcast content may also include one or more overlays on the broadcast video. In some embodiments, the broadcast content may include UI elements that a viewer may obtain, purchase, or otherwise acquire game-related content via a game sales interface. In some embodiments, the broadcast content may include description information about game-related content, e.g., descriptions of game-related content, images, and / or video clips, Access can be provided. In some embodiments, the broadcast content may include history information or statistics for the game-related content, e.g., which characters / players use the item or object, how they use it, the history or success of the item, etc. And may provide access to or access to statistical data relating thereto. In some embodiments, the specification system may provide text and / or voice chat channels through which spectators and broadcasters can discuss game-related content provided through the game sales interface.

As shown at 1130 in FIG. 11, the system may receive input from a spectator device that requests or purchases a game-related product selected through the game sales interface of the system. As shown at 1140 in FIG. 11, the specification system may enable provisioning or delivery of the requested game-related goods to an individual spectator. In some embodiments, the broadcast content may include UI elements through which a viewer may obtain, purchase or otherwise acquire game-related content via a game sales interface and viewers / spectators may interact . The spectating system can acquire and process spectator interactions with the broadcast content provided on the spectator devices via the game sales interface to generate various virtual game-related and / or physical game-related product sources It is possible to create and dispatch requests for the selected game-related content and enable delivery or provisioning of the requested virtual or physical game-related goods to the individual spectators. In some embodiments, the SP system provider may provide at least a portion of the game-related content to the requesting spectators. In some embodiments, the specification system may include, but is not limited to, one or more entities including game systems or game system providers and online merchants to provide at least some of the requested game-related content to the spectators ≪ / RTI > In some embodiments, the rendering system may provide or provide access to a " print-on-demand " service such that the 3D printing technology may be able to provide game-related objects or items Characters, weapons, vehicles, monsters, etc.), or input designs. The designs or documentation for the objects may be obtained from game systems in the game metadata, or otherwise.

In some embodiments, the purchase of a game-related item through the game sales interface of the system may be reflected in the specification UI so that other spectators know what was purchased and who purchased it. In some embodiments, purchases may be reported back to the broadcaster (s) via the broadcaster client interface as broadcaster feedback. The broadcaster thus can see what is being purchased during the broadcaster. The broadcaster may, for example, give away virtual and / or physical goods as compensation based on how many goods are sold through the channel of the broadcaster. Similarly, purchases can be reported back to game systems, game developers, or third parties, such as online merchants, via individual feedback channels. The element 1237 of FIG. 12 may be, for example, an example "sales info" pane (FIG. 12) that can display history or statistics for sales of a broadcaster during an individual broadcast or over an individual channel 1237).

Figure 12 provides a non-limiting example of a game sales interface or virtual storefront for a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments. The Specification UI 1202 may be, for example, a web page of a game specification system web site via a web browser, as an interface to a game specification web application or a mobile application, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > applications. ≪ / RTI > The Specification UI 1202 may include, but is not limited to, controls 1210, a video player 1232 with A / V controls 1233, game-related content, (1234) to view and interact with broadcast content based, at least in part, on game metadata for the game in which the spectator is broadcast (1234) to acquire information and statistics about the game- (S) 1240, and / or one or more paylines or regions. Controls 1210 may include one or more UI elements that interact with the game presentation system, such as by navigation or otherwise. Video player 1232 displays a replay or live broadcast of pre-recorded broadcasts or a video stream (shown as broadcast 1234) for the channel. In some embodiments, the Specifying UI 1202 may include game information such as broadcaster and / or spectator text chat, e.g., game-related content displayed as broadcast content in the game sales interface 1240, And may also include a chat 1236 pane where chats that discuss related content may be displayed.

The game sales interface 1240 provides information about the game's content, for example, based on, at least in part, the game metadata received from the individual game system, and information about the game being broadcasted, View and interact with detailed information about game content (objects, gears, characters, players, locations, events, etc.) based at least in part on the game metadata for the game being played And may include broadcast content. At least some of the broadcast content displayed in the game sales interface 1240 allows the viewer to obtain additional information about the game or game content based at least in part on the game metadata obtained from the game system, And interactive UI elements that allow to acquire, purchase, or otherwise acquire game or game content. For example, in some embodiments, a viewer may order virtual items (in this example, a DP9000 disruptor pistol or a Harpoon XL ship) for in-game use, To obtain or otherwise obtain a physical model of a virtual item (in this example, a model of a DP9000 Disruptor pistol or Harpoon XL shoe) from a merchant or manufacturer, and / or to order or purchase a game- To interact with the UI elements displayed in the game sales interface 1240 to obtain information about and / or statistics about game-related content or goods in order to purchase, purchase or otherwise obtain shirts or hats As another example, a viewer may use the game to obtain more information or statistics about the game (in this example, "Space Explorers "), Im may interact deulwa the UI elements displayed in the game selling interface 1240 to the system from the provider or to obtain or purchase the game from some other source.

In some embodiments, game sales interface 1240 may include UI elements from which spectators may obtain more information from a broadcaster or other expert. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, an information box about the DP9000 di'm emitter Pistol (Disrupter Pistol) will ask for "professionals who can choose Spectator sends messages to the broadcaster for more info on this item Ask the Expert " UI element. The " Ask Expert " UI element selection can trigger a message to be displayed on the broadcaster's device requesting more information about a particular item. The broadcaster can then respond to an audio or text live broadcast to illustrate the item, or provide information via links or e-mails to other sources, e.g. pages containing descriptive information.

As shown in this example, the viewer has a specific game were to interact with the display in the broadcast content game sales interface 1240 to select the emitter pistol am DP9000 D to watch the descriptive information for the associated item. The description information may include, for example, the image (s) of the item and the character description. For example, for a weapon, explanatory information may indicate range, capacity, and efficacy of the weapon. In some embodiments, the description information may include usage information for a particular item or type of item. For example, a list of all players using items, such as specific swords or other weapons, may be provided. In some embodiments, the descriptive information may include statistical data for items in the game, e.g., which characters / players use the items, how they use them, statistics about the item's history or success, etc. . In some embodiments, popularity or ratings may be provided based on player usage and / or participant polls for other parts of the game or weaponry. In this example, a viewer may purchase or purchase a physical model of the DP9000 pistol from a game system provider, online merchant, manufacturer, or other entity to obtain a virtual DP9000 pistol for use in a Space Explorer game and / " Get it (GET IT) ! "You can select a UI element.

In some embodiments, the broadcast 1234 may include overlay content that allows the viewer to interact with the broadcast 1234, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 7B. For example, in some embodiments, a viewer may be able to broadcast (e.g., open) an overlay window to provide additional information about the content based at least in part on the game metadata obtained from the gaming system, 1234) can be selected. As another example, in some embodiments, a viewer may select game content in broadcast 1234 to display broadcast content related to selected game content within game sales interface 1240. [ For example, the spectator may select a specific in-game character to display broadcast content for the gear of the selected character within game sales interface 1240. [ 7B provides an example in which the viewer has selected player E in the overlay window to view current items in the gear set of player E in the game content details pane.

Game participation interface

A specification system capable of interacting with game systems to allow viewers or spectators to join or "step into " games that are broadcast through the specification system in a game specification environment In some embodiments, the sampling system may also enable provisioning and acquisition of game states or game records for pre-played game sessions that allow the spectators to replay the session The user interface (UI) allows the spectators to participate in trial or full versions of the game, as well as game records for previously played game sessions and games currently broadcasted UI client that can acquire game client software The game client software, game states, and / or game records may be downloaded to the spectator's devices in response to spectator requests via the Spectrating UI. The spectators can acquire characters, avatars, gears, and / or other game content for use in the games via the Specifying UI. The game client software and the spectating enabling the acquisition of game states With the system, spectators can join live game sessions of online games, start new game sessions, or replay pre-recorded game sessions. You can acquire a character in the game through " Quot; load out "or equip it, acquire an executable version of the game, acquire and" step-in-in "game states, and play clones of characters in step- ) Or characters.

In some embodiments, the specification system may leverage the game metadata to allow the spectators to join or "step in to " games that are broadcast through the specification system. In some embodiments, The broadcast content provided to spectators on the Specification UI allows the spectators to order, purchase, or otherwise acquire, or otherwise acquire, demos, trials, or full versions of the games In some embodiments, the game client software and game data may be stored in a computer-readable medium, such as a computer-readable storage medium, May be downloaded and obtained to the devices of the spectator through some implementation In the examples, the broadcast content provided to the spectators on the Specification UI may be ordered, purchased, purchased, or otherwise rendered by the spectators in order to participate in the games, such as characters, avatars, gears, In some embodiments, the acquired game content may be downloaded to the spectators' devices via the presentation system interfaces and broadcast streams. In the examples, using the Specifying UI to obtain game client software, game data, and game content via broadcast streams, spectators can join live game sessions of online games, / RTI > and / or < RTI ID = 0.0 > pre-recorded & Can.

In some embodiments, spectators can use the Spectating UI to acquire game client software, game data, and game content (e.g., game characters and gears) through broadcast streams, Game records of game sessions can be acquired, " step into ", and replayed. In some embodiments, game records and / or game states may be purchased or otherwise obtained via the presentation system interfaces and broadcast streams. In some embodiments, the broadcast content provided to the spectators on the Specifying UI may include user interface elements through which one or more game records and / or game states are advertised and obtained by the spectator And can be used to regenerate a game session universe and start or restart gameplay at a point in the game session timeline. In some embodiments, the spectator may step in on the game session universe and timeline using the player and step-in-their own in-game character or avatar, or by taking control of the character already in the game session and step- You can become a player. In some embodiments, the broadcast content provided to the spectators on the Specification UI may include, but is not limited to, other players including, but not limited to, broadcasters participating in games, Order, purchase, purchase, or otherwise acquire the game content including, for example, games, games, video games, avatars, and gears. Thus, in some embodiments, the spectator can acquire in-game characters through all of the sampling systems interfaces and broadcast streams, "load-out" or equip the character, Acquire and "step-in-in" game records or game states, and can be clones or characters of characters in step-in-play or game sessions.

In at least some embodiments, representations of the player inputs to the game for at least some players in the game may be received from the game systems in accordance with the game system APIs provided to the game systems by the specification system. The player input may be a single command or action input to the game from an individual player's game client or game controller. A combination of player input or player inputs may trigger a game event, be included in a game event, or be associated with a game event. In some embodiments, player inputs to the game may be used to form a record of a particular game session (referred to as a game record) that may be, for example, but not limited to, clients that include spectators May be stored as part of the game record along with one or more game states and other game information. A game record containing player inputs may be replayed, and in some embodiments a viewer of the replay may "step into " the replay as described later herein.

In some embodiments, a " ghosting " mode may be supported when joining game sessions from acquired game states or game records. In ghosting mode, the player may play the pre-recorded game session of the broadcaster / player via the Specification System interface or jump into the broadcasted game. The character / gear (e.g., racecar) of the original player may still be visible as a "ghost" to a new player. Thus, a new player can compare their performance to the performance of the original player by watching the original player's " ghost " during the replay. In addition, the broadcast live broadcast (video, audio, and / or text) of the original player may be played or displayed to the new player. As an example, the new player may be skilled or skilled and may use the ghosting mode as a training tool to learn how the broadcaster / player has played difficult levels or challenges in the game.

Figures 13a through 13e illustrate how to provision game client software and game states to a spectator device in a game presentation environment, e.g., in the game presentation environment illustrated in Figures 1a or 1b, in accordance with some embodiments For example. As shown in FIG. 13A, the game presentation environment may include a presentation system 100, a game system 120, a broadcaster device 140, and spectator devices 160.

Typically, the gaming system 120 rents a 2D or 3D representation of the game universe based on the current state of the universe, generates video and sound, and displays the broadcast device (s) 140 (A / V) output 121 to client devices that include a client device (not shown). The games supported by game engine 1322 may be a multi-player online game, a single-player online game, or a single-player online game where two or more players may participate in online game sessions remotely, Player or a multiplayer game.

Broadcaster device 140 may include input and output components for at least one game system 120 in which individual players may participate in game sessions currently being played by game system (s) 120 But not limited to, input devices and technologies such as controllers or joysticks, motion tracking systems, gesture based input systems, etc.) and game client 141A software and / or hardware, It does not. The broadcaster device 140 may be configured to allow input and output components (e.g., video cameras and microphones) and individual players to play live A / V streams (broadcasts 142) But not limited to, broadcasting client software for the specification system 100 capable of generating other broadcaster inputs including audio and text live broadcasts for broadcast to spectators via the system 100, and / RTI > and / or < / RTI >

The game system 100, for example, illustrated and described in Figures 1a and 1b, may be configured to send broadcasts (e. G., Video) to spectators via a spectral UI on individual spectator devices 160 142 and may provide one or more components or modules capable of providing broadcast content 126. [ Figure 14 provides a non-limiting example of a Specification UI in accordance with some embodiments. The broadcast content 126 may be determined at least in part from game metadata 124 received from the gaming system (s) 120 in accordance with the gaming system API provided by the specification system 100. In some embodiments, the broadcast content 126 is at least partially determined from game-related data obtained from one or more other sources, such as online merchants or data stores of game-related data .

The spectator device 160 may include input and output components (including but not limited to input devices and techniques such as controllers or joysticks, motion tracking systems, gesture based input systems, etc.) However, it is not so limited, and the individual spectators may use the formatting system (not shown) to select, receive and view broadcasts 142 from the broadcaster devices 140 or playbacks of pre- 100 and may be provided on the spectator device 160 at least partially via the Spectrating UI, and may be in communication with the game system (s) 120 Together with the broadcast content 126 containing the content generated from the game metadata 124 received from the game metadata 124 Spectator interaction software 164 that can provide spectator interactions 164 and spectator inputs 165 that include audio or text chat or " people noise " for broadcasts 142, And / or hardware. FIG. 14 provides a non-limiting example of a sampling UI that may be provided on the spectator device 160 by the sampling system 100 in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the spectator inputs and interactions also include inputs and interactions from input devices and techniques such as controllers or joysticks, motion tracking systems, gesture-based input systems, can do.

In some embodiments, the system 100 may include requests 105 for game system 140, for example requests for specific game metadata 124, or game client software, game states, And / or processes at least some of the spectator inputs 165 and / or interactions 164 to generate requests to obtain game content. As shown in FIG. 14, the Specification UI includes UI elements that a spectator can interact with to generate various requests for game client software, game states, and game content to provide broadcast content And may include a game participation interface.

Figures 13b and 13c illustrate providing access to the game through a streaming system 1300 and a game streaming interface 1341. [ In some embodiments, full game play may be provided to the spectator device 160 via the streaming service or system 1300 and the game streaming interface 1341 as illustrated in FIG. 13B. In some embodiments, demo or trial access to the game may be provided through the streaming system 1300 and the game streaming interface 1341. 13B, a spectator watching broadcast 142 via spectator device 160 may be used to generate a request 1364 to participate in a trial version of a game running on game system 120, And interacts with the game participation interface of the Specification UI illustrated in FIG. A trial version of the game may be provided through the streaming system 1300 and the game streaming interface 1341 for a specified period of time and may be provided for a fee or for free. In response to the request 1364, a trial streaming version of the game may be launched on the game streaming interface 1341 (e.g., a web page) on the spectator device 160 via the streaming system 1300. The game stream I / O 1342 from the spectator device 160 to the gaming system 120 may include, but is not limited to, player inputs for the game. Game stream I / O 1342 to spectator device 160 may include streamed video of at least partially rendered game graphics provided on game streaming interface 1341, But is not limited to. In addition, game software, game data, game records, game states, and / or game content may be included in game stream I / O 1342 to spectator device 160.

13C illustrates downloading a native game client to specter device 160 with game stream I / O 1342 in accordance with some embodiments. Background " download 1350 of the native game client 141B software for the spectator device 160 is initiated by the spectator device 160 in response to the game trial request 1364. In some embodiments, Or alternatively may be initiated in response to additional or other spectator interactions with the game streaming interface 1341. In some embodiments, native game client 141B software may be downloaded in stream 1342 from game system 120. [ In some embodiments, the native game client 141B software may instead be downloaded within the broadcast 142 stream from the specification system 100. The download 1350 of the game client 141B software may typically take a substantial amount of time (e.g., 15-20 minutes or longer) so that during the game trial period or in response to the game trial request 1364 Initiating download 1350 may be initiated when the spectator decides to purchase a full version of the game through the game participation interface of the Specification UI, as illustrated, for example, in Figure 14, May allow a seamless switch from the trial version provided by the game streaming interface 1341. [ Note that the downloaded game client 141B software may not be activated until the spectator purchases a full version of the game.

13D illustrates switching from the game client streaming interface to the native game client 141B on the spectator device 160 according to some embodiments. At some point during or after the trial period, the spectator may select, for example, a request to create a request 1366 for purchasing a full version of the game to run on game system 120, You can interact with the game participation interface. In response, the game client 141B downloaded along with the stream 1342 during the trial period may be activated. In some embodiments, the current game state 1324 for the game may be obtained from the game streaming interface 1341 on the spectator device 160, or from some other source, including but not limited to the gaming system 140, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 141B. ≪ / RTI > Thus, the spectator can play seamlessly while participating in a game that was played through a streaming system 1300 and a game streaming interface 1341. In some embodiments, game state 1324 may be provided to the broadcast 142 stream from the specification system 100.

The games supported by the game client 141B may be a multiplayer online game, a single-player online game, or a single-player or multi-player game played locally / offline, in which two or more players participate in online game sessions remotely Lt; / RTI > For online games, game I / O 1344A may include at least player inputs for the game running on game system 140 for display on the spectator device, as well as graphics data or rendered graphics Game data, game records, game states, and / or game data acquired by the spectator / player from other sources including, but not limited to, the game system 140, via the system 100, Or game content. For offline games, there is no game I / O 1344A for the remote game system 160 or the game I / O 1344A may be played through the game system 140 Game data, game records, game states, and / or game content obtained by the spectator / player from other sources including,

FIG. 13E illustrates step in-game and game state acquisition from a game client 141B to a game on a spectator device 160 in accordance with some embodiments. The spectator can be used, for example, to create a request 1368 for purchasing or otherwise acquiring a game record or game state for a game running on game system 120, In response, the requested game state or game record 1325 (and possibly other game metadata) may be communicated from the game system 140 or from some other source, such as the specification system 100, A third party merchant, or a data store of the third party storage system to the spectator device 160. In some embodiments, a game state or record 1325 may be provided to the broadcast 142 stream from the specification system.

In some embodiments, for online games, the spectator / player joins the current game running on the specification system 120 as a new character, or " step in to " with the control of the character ahead of the game The game client 141B and the game state or record 1325 can be used. In some embodiments, the spectator / player may use game client 141B and game state or record 1325 to replay a portion of the pre-recorded game or game. In at least some embodiments, the game record is not a simple video recording of the game play, but instead is a limited number of games that allow a pre-recorded game session to be replayed or re-executed by the game client 141B or engine 1322 But is game play executable code that may contain data and information including original player inputs. In some embodiments, the spectator / player may "step in" with the control of the character ahead of the game replay, or "jump into" the replay as a new character.

Figure 14 provides non-limiting examples of game participation interfaces for a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments. The Specification UI 1402 may be, for example, a web page of a game specification system web site via a web browser, as an interface to a game specification web application or a mobile application, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > applications. ≪ / RTI > The Specification UI 1402 may include one or more of one or more of, but not limited to, controls 1410, a video player 1432 with A / V controls 1433, and a game participation interface 1440. [ ≪ / RTI > Controls 1410 may include one or more UI elements that interact with the game presentation system, such as by navigation or otherwise. Video player 1432 may display a replay or live broadcast of pre-recorded broadcasts or a video stream (shown as broadcast 1434) for the channel.

Although not shown, in some embodiments, the Specification UI 1402 may include a broadcaster and / or spectator text chat, for example, game information and game-related content displayed as broadcast content in the game participation interface 1440 But may also include a chat pane through which chats may be displayed that discuss game software, game states, game records, and / or game content, for example. In addition, in some embodiments, the game entry interface 1440 may allow the spectators to access UI elements, such as " Ask the Expert ", which can obtain more information about the game or game content from the broadcaster or other specialist expert " UI element. The "Ask the Expert" UI element selection may trigger a message to be displayed on the broadcaster's device requesting more information about the game or specific game content. The broadcaster can then respond to audio or text live broadcasts or provide information through other sources.

The Specification UI 1402 may include game software, game states, games, games, and the like that may allow the spectator to join the game, for example, to join or "step-in-the- (1434) in which spectators are broadcast (1434) to acquire information, statistics, and / or information about games, games, and / or game content, And a game participation interface 1440 that is capable of viewing and interacting with the broadcast content based at least in part on the game metadata for the game content. At least some of the broadcast content displayed in the game participation interface 1440 allows the viewer to obtain additional information about the game or game content based at least in part on the game metadata obtained from the game system, And interactive UI elements that allow to acquire, purchase, or otherwise acquire games, game states, game records or game content.

In the non-limiting example shown in FIG. 14, the game entry interface 1440 shows the broadcast content for an example " Space Explorer " (SE) game. Note that similar interfaces 1440 may be provided for other games at least in part according to the individual game metadata for the games. The viewer may interact with the UI elements displayed in the game participation interface 1440 to obtain SE game and game-related content, software, and descriptive information about the data and / or statistics. In addition, the viewer may select a "Demo SE game" UI element to acquire or access a demo or trial version of the SE game, for example, as described with reference to figures 13a-13e.

In some embodiments, the viewer may select a " Purchase SE game " UI element to purchase, download or activate a full version of the SE game client, e.g., as described with reference to Figures 13a-13e You can choose. In some embodiments, a viewer may view, through a demo or trial or full version of a game client, for example, as described with reference to Figures 13a-13e, Quot; Purchase SE game state " UI element to purchase or otherwise acquire game states and / or game records that may allow game titles and / or game characters that are allowed to perform step-in- You can choose. In some embodiments, a viewer may use the " Get SE game content " UI element to purchase or otherwise acquire game content, including but not limited to gears, avatars, maps, You can choose. For example, in some embodiments, selecting the "Get SE Game Content" UI element may take the viewer to the game sales interface 1240, as illustrated in FIG. In some embodiments, the viewer may select a " Clone SE character " UI element to purchase or otherwise acquire a clone of a particular game character (in this example, the character of Player F) have. Obtaining the clone may, for example, provision the viewer's game client or game account to the character / avatar of player F and also provide at least part of the gear belonging to player F to the viewer's game client or game account, You can "load-out" it.

In some embodiments, the viewer may select the " Step into SE game " UI element to step-in to the game session being broadcast 1434. The game session broadcasted 1434 may be a live game session running on the gaming system, or may be, for example, a replay of a session being replayed from a game record, or a replay of a previously played session. Step initoing a game session may start a local game client on the spectator device to run the game from an individual game state or game record, or alternatively the game may be initiated, for example, And can be played step-by-step and played using a streaming client as illustrated in FIG.

15A is a flow chart of a method for enabling game acquisition and participation through a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments. The method of FIG. 15A may be implemented by, for example, the sampling system 100 illustrated in FIGS. 1A, 1B or FIGS. 13A-13E. As shown at 1500 in FIG. 15A, the system can stream broadcasts of game play to spectator devices. As shown at 1502 in FIG. 15A, the SP system may provide a game participation interface on the spectator devices. Figure 14 illustrates an example game participation interface. As shown at 1504 in FIG. 15A, the sampling system may receive game software and / or game data from the game participation interface, based at least in part on game metadata received from the game, for example, as described with reference to FIG. And provide broadcast content that provides access to game data. As shown at 1506 in FIG. 15A, the sampling system may be a spectator system that accesses game software and / or game data via the game entry interface, for example, as described with reference to FIGS. 13a-13e and FIG. And receive input from the device. As shown at 1508 of FIG. 15A, the system may enable provisioning of game software and / or game data requested to the spectator device, for example, as described with reference to Figures 13a-13e. have. As indicated at 1510 in FIG. 15A, the spectator may begin to participate in the game as a player, for example, as described with reference to FIGS. 13a-13e.

15B is a flow chart of a method for step-in-touching a game through a game specification system according to some embodiments. The method of FIG. 15B may be implemented by, for example, the sampling system 100 illustrated in FIGS. 1A, 1B or FIGS. 13A-13E. As shown at 1520 in FIG. 15B, the system may be configured to allow the spectator to join a pre-recorded game or "step in to " a game that the spectator is currently performing as described with reference to FIG. Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > a < / RTI > spectator device. As indicated at 1522 in FIG. 15B, in response to the input, the system allows the provisioning of game software and / or game data to the spectator device, for example, as described with reference to Figures 13a-13e . Note that the spectator device may already include game client software, and in some cases game data (e.g., one or more game states) may be downloaded to the game client or otherwise provisioned. As shown at 1524 in FIG. 15B, the system may enable provisioning of game content to a spectator device or account in response to, for example, input to the game participation interface described with reference to FIGS. 14 have. As indicated at 1526 of FIG. 15B, the spectator may begin to participate as a player in the game, for example, as described with reference to Figures 13a-13e.

15C is a flowchart of a method for provisioning and cloning game character according to some embodiments. The method of FIG. 15c may be implemented by, for example, the sampling system 100 illustrated in FIGS. 1a, 1b or FIGS. 13a-13e. As shown at 1540 in Figure 15c, the system may receive input from a spectator device that acquires or clones a game character, e.g., input to the game entry interface described with reference to Figures 14 . As shown at 1542 in FIG. 15C, the specification system may enable the provisioning of the game character to the spectator device or account, for example, as described with reference to FIGS. As shown at 1544 in FIG. 15C, the sampling system may receive input from a spectator device that acquires a game gear for the character, for example, as described with reference to FIG. 14 or FIG. As shown at 1546 in FIG. 15C, the sampling system may enable the provisioning of the game gear to the character of the spectator, for example, as described with reference to FIG. 14 or 12.

15D is a flowchart of a method for provisioning game client software to a spectator device in a game presentation environment in accordance with some embodiments. The method of FIG. 15c may be implemented by, for example, the sampling system 100 illustrated in FIGS. 1a, 1b or FIGS. 13a-13e. As shown at 1560 in FIG. 15B, the sampling system may receive input from a spectator device indicating that the spectator wishes to try or demo the game, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 13B. have. As indicated at 1562 in FIG. 15d, in response to the request, the system may initiate a game client trial stream to the spectator's device, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 13B. As shown at 1564 in FIG. 15d, the system may download a native game client for the spectator device to the stream, as illustrated for example in FIGS. 13C and 13D. As shown at 1566 in FIG. 15d, the system may receive an input from a spectator device indicating that the spectator wishes to purchase or activate the game, for example as illustrated in FIG. 13D can do. As indicated at 1568 in FIG. 15d, the native game client may be activated on the spectator device in response to purchase of the spectator of the game. As shown at 1570 in FIG. 15d, the spectator may resume or continue the game to the native game client on the spectator device, for example, as illustrated in FIGS. 13D and 13E.

15E is a flowchart of a method for obtaining game data on a spectator device in accordance with some embodiments. The method of FIG. 15E may be implemented by, for example, the sampling system 100 illustrated in FIGS. 1A, 1B or FIGS. 13A-13E. As indicated at 1580 in FIG. 15E, the game client may be provided or provisioned to the spectator device, for example as illustrated in FIGS. 13a-13e. As shown at 1582 in FIG. 15E, the sampling system may receive input from a spectator device that obtains game data, for example as illustrated in FIGS. 12 or 14. The game data may include game state (s) that allow the spectator to join the game sessions, which allow the spectator to replay the game contents and / or various game contents that may be used in the game, However, it is not limited thereto. As shown at 1584 in FIG. 15E, the sampling system may provision the selected game data to the spectator device, for example, as illustrated in FIGS. 13a-13e, 12 or 14. As shown at 1586 in FIG. 15E, the spectator may initiate or step-in-play a game on the game client, for example, according to game data, as illustrated in FIGS. 13d-13e.

Participant achievements and rewards

In some embodiments, the system may be used to provide rewards to, or otherwise acknowledge, the receiving system participants (broadcaster / players, spectators, and / or commentators) And leverage metadata and / or broadcast metadata. In some embodiments, spectators may be compensated for participating in broadcasts or events in particular broadcasted or games. In some embodiments, the system may analyze the game metadata and / or broadcast metadata to detect big or significant events or highlights in the broadcast streams, view big events, or " There can be at least some spectators compensating for "being there". In some embodiments, the spectators may be compensated for interacting with broadcasters, e.g., actively participating in broadcast audio or text chat channels.

Examples of spectator compensation include acknowledgments or "badging" on the game specification system interface, virtual or digital items such as virtual gear in a game, Discounts, discounts or discounts, discounts or free access, physical items such as t-shirts or hats, and points that can be used and collected to buy images or items, It does not.

In some embodiments, the system may allow the broadcasters to compensate or promote specific spectators by selecting a spectator that shows a good knowledge of the game, for example, to become a narrator for the game . In some embodiments, the broadcaster / players may perform certain feats, such as in-game achievements, e.g., in front of a certain size of people, or perform some level of audience participation or support (audience size , Enthusiasm, voting, etc.) can be rewarded for performance. As a non-limiting example, the broadcaster / player may receive in-game health or strength boosts or may be based on audience size or audience craze growth expressed through audio and / or text specifier chat input And can be rewarded with in-game power, gear, weapons, or information. As another example, the broadcaster may obtain special or exclusive broadcast content added to their broadcast channel display based on their achievements. As another example, a broadcaster may receive monetary rewards or other compensation for bringing new followers or subscriber (s) to the specification system over their broadcast channel.

Figure 16 illustrates a participant rewards module in a game specification environment in accordance with some embodiments. Game presentation system 100, for example, illustrated and described in Figures 1a and 1b, may include one or more components capable of obtaining achievement inputs from one or more sources, Modules 1610 may be implemented or may have access thereto. Module 1610 may process inputs to determine groups of participants or participants receiving compensation and may also process inputs to determine events and / or performances as to which compensation is to be awarded. Module 1610 may also determine what compensation to be provided to the determined participants or groups of participants and generate the compensation outputs provided to one or more destinations. Figure 16 illustrates a participant compensation module 1610 as a component of the system 100. In some embodiments, however, the participant compensation module 1610 may include a game system 120 as illustrated in Figures 1a and 1b. Or as an external service.

Participant reward module inputs

In some embodiments, performance inputs to participant compensation module 1610 may include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: The various performance inputs to determine the rewards and / or achievements for groups of participants, what rewards will be awarded, and / or to groups of participants or groups of participants, Can be considered in combination.

Game metadata 1624 . In some embodiments, the system 100 may be configured to receive game metadata 1624 from the game systems where the broadcasts are being streamed, or from one or more other sources, e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 1C can do. In some embodiments, the game metadata 1624 for a game may include, but is not limited to, indications and descriptions of events in an individual game. Figures 1a, 1b, 3a, and 3b illustrate examples of processing and receiving game metadata 1624 including game event data in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the game metadata 1624 may include other information about the game and game players, such as identities of players in the game, player achievements, player statistics and history, player inputs for the game , ≪ / RTI > and the like. The game metadata 1624 may be used by the participant compensation module 1610 to determine which events or achievements, compensation, and compensation recipients can be acquired or provided to and compensated for.

Broadcast metadata 1630 . In some embodiments, the system 100 may be configured to allow the participants in the game presentation environment to determine and / or detect other information about the broadcasts and / or games running on the game systems (E.g., players, broadcasters, commentators, and / or spectators). Events and other information determined from participant inputs analysis may be collectively referred to as broadcast metadata 1630. [ Figures 3a, 3c, 3d, and 4 illustrate broadcast metadata 1630, which includes broadcast events 494 illustrated in Figure 3d and other broadcast-related analysis information 427 illustrated in Figure 4, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > and / or < / RTI > acquiring and analyzing the various inputs from the participants. Broadcast metadata 1630 may be used by the participant compensation module 1610 to determine which events or achievements, compensation, and compensation recipients may be obtained or provided to and compensated for.

Time and locations ( 1635) . In some embodiments, the time information (e.g., time of day, day or date, time zone, etc.) and / or geographic location information (e.g., city, state ), Region, country) can be obtained by the participant compensation module 1610 and used to determine the events or achievements to be compensated, compensation, and compensation recipients.

Broadcast statistics ( 1640) . In some embodiments, the system 100 may collect or determine the spectral statistics based on spectator participation in the broadcasts. For example, the system 100 may track the audience size of a particular broadcaster, or the combined size of audiences for all broadcasters of a particular game. As another example, the system may include subscribing spectators viewing specific broadcasts or games. You can track non-subscribing spectators. As another example, statistics may be collected for broadcasters' merchandise sales, audience retention, audience subscriptions, and other statistics for broadcasts or individual broadcaster channels. Various statistics may be used to determine the events or achievements, compensation and compensation recipients that may be provided to or obtained by the participant compensation module 1610 and compensated for.

Participant history ( 1645) . In some embodiments, the system 100 may maintain or acquire historical information for participants, e.g., players in broadcast games. As described above, in some embodiments, player and / or broadcaster history and statistical information may be obtained, for example, from the game system illustrated in FIG. 1C or from other sources. The participant history 1645 can be used to determine the events or achievements to be compensated, compensation, and compensation recipients that may be provided to or obtained by the participant compensation module 1610. [

Participant status, profile, and preferences ( 1650) . In some embodiments, the status information of the participants in the system 100 may be provided to the participant compensation module 1610 or may be obtained thereby and determine the events or achievements to be compensated, the compensation and the compensation recipients Can be used. The status information for the spectator may indicate, for example, whether the spectator is a viewer, a follower, a subscriber, a non-subscriber, and so on. The participant status may be maintained with or in conjunction with, for example, a participant account, subscription, or registration information. In some embodiments, the participant state may be replaced by an approval rating of the participant determined from other participants, e.g., a rating of broadcasters and / or players based on the spectator's inputs, . As another example of a status, the broadcaster may be ranked at different levels depending on audience size, number of followers, amount of sales, retention rate, and / or other metrics or broadcast statistics. have.

In some embodiments, the targeting system 100 and / or the game system (s) can be leveraged by the participant compensation module 1610 to determine the events or achievements to be compensated, Profile and / or account information for participants that may include information about participants such as various demographic and location information.

In some embodiments, participants' preferences, such as those specified by the spectators through the Specifying UI, determined from the spectator inputs and interactions, or obtained from other sources, The data viewer, game or game genre, broadcaster / channel, or other preferences may be used by the participant compensation module 1610 to determine the events or achievements to be compensated, compensation and compensation recipients.

Participant recommendation inputs ( 1655) . In some embodiments, the participants (broadcasters / players, spectators, narrators) may be associated with groups of participants or participants to receive recognition or rewards, and / To make recommendations or nominations for the compensation to be given to them. In some embodiments, participants may vote on entitlements or groups of participants or participants to be rewarded, or on a reward to be awarded. In some embodiments, participants may specify, nominate, and / or vote for specific events and / or achievements to be rewarded. In some embodiments, the system 100 may allow spectators and / or broadcasters, such as those illustrated in FIG. 18, to which the participants can nominate and vote for other participants to be recognized and / Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > and / or < / RTI > In some embodiments, a participant or group of participants may pay for the selected commodity individually or collectively to be awarded to the other participant (s) as compensation. In some embodiments, the participants may participate in a participant compensation module (e. G., ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 > 1610. < / RTI >

Gift participants entered (Participant gift inputs) (1660) . In some embodiments, the participants (spectators, broadcasters / players, narrators) may include, but are not limited to, game content such as health boost ), Or other participants or groups of participants receiving compensation, recognition, or gifts of game-related goods including information (e.g., maps), information (e.g., maps), or live events. In some embodiments, the system 100 may allow a participant to provide gifts to players or other participants, e.g., performers for spectators and / or broadcasters as illustrated in FIG. 18 And a compensation interface. In some embodiments, a participant or a group of participants may pay for the commodity given as a gift to the other participant (s) individually or collectively. In some embodiments, the participants may be provided with a participant compensation module (e. G., ≪ / RTI > to provide gifts to participants via other input channels, including but not limited to e-mail and social media channels such as " tweets & 1610. < / RTI >

Third-party inputs 1665 . In some embodiments, third parties including, but not limited to, game developers, online merchants, game fan sites, etc. may provide inputs 1665 to participant compensation module 1610. [ The inputs from the third parties may include indications of events and / or performances on which compensation is to be given, indications of the participants to be compensated, and / or indications of compensation to be given to the selected participants, .

Participant reward module outputs ( s)

In some embodiments, various performance inputs to the participant compensation module 1610 may be processed to determine the compensation outputs illustrated in FIG. The determined compensation outputs may indicate the rewards to provide to the events or performances to be compensated, the participants to be compensated or the groups of participants, and / or the groups of participants or participants. In some embodiments, the compensation outputs may include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following:

Game feedback ( 1670) . In some embodiments, contestant compensation module 1610 may provide pycback 1670 to game system (s) In some embodiments, the feedback 1670 may indicate the participants (e.g., players) to be compensated or recognized in the game and / or the specific compensation to be given to the designated participants in the game (e.g., In-game gear, health boosts, live, maps, etc.). In some embodiments, the game may provide auditory and / or visual effects in-game in response to game feedback 1670; These effects can be reflected in the broadcast streams to provide visual and / or auditory indications to broadcast viewers and / or receivers of in-game compensation.

Broadcast Content (1626) . In some embodiments, the participant compensation module 1610 may generate the broadcast content 1626 based on one or more performance inputs, and may generate the broadcast content 1626, for example, as illustrated in Figures 8, 9, May provide broadcast content (1626) to at least some participants via the viewing system user interface (s). In some embodiments, the system 100 may include a performance and compensation interface for spectators and / or broadcasters as exemplified in FIG. 18 for which broadcast content 1626 may be provided, for example. Can be provided. Broadcast content 1626 may be broadcast based on, for example, spectator's current selections, profiles, or preferences, or according to preferences or who has been rewarded, what they have been rewarded for, Spectators, or groups of spectators. For example, the broadcast content 1626 may include UI elements provided on the UI to indicate past events for which compensation or acknowledgments will be given. As another example, the broadcast content 1626 may include UI elements that indicate future or current events that may be given or given credits or credentials. As another example, the broadcast content 1626 may include UI elements indicating participants (broadcasters, spectators, etc.) that may be given or given rewards or credits. As another example, the broadcast content 1626 may include UI elements indicating particular rewards or credits that may be awarded or given, and states or achievements to which rewards or credits are awarded. As another example, the broadcast content 1626 may indicate to the particular participants or groups of participants that they have been compensated for and / or instructions and / or instructions for the participant (s) May provide active UI elements that provide a link to a web page from which compensation may be obtained.

In some embodiments, at least some compensation may be given or obtained free of charge. In some embodiments, at least some compensation may be awarded or obtained with a fee or fee. For example, discounts on certain items may be given as compensation. As another example, access to exclusive virtual and / or physical items or goods, game content or information for limited game events, participation or presentation privileges, or game-related benefits and content Other benefits and content may be provided to the paying participant (s), including < / RTI >

In some embodiments, the broadcast content 1626 may include overlays (e.g., overlay video, text, etc.) that may be added to the broadcast video. For example, overlay text may be provided that announces past, present, or future events where compensation may be given or given to participants. As another example, participants (players, broadcasters, and / or spectators) who have been rewarded, received gifts by other participants or rewarded by reward third parties, Or overlay text announcing the compensating participants or third parties may be provided.

Broadcaster / Player Reward ( 1680) . Broadcaster / player compensation 1680 may be a compensation provided to participate in particular events in the games or broadcasts to include, or to reach certain outcomes in games or broadcasts, But is not limited to. The broadcaster / player reward 1680 may also be awarded to other participants or may include a reward given, or a reward determined in various other ways. Broadcaster / player compensation 1680 may include, for example, but not limited to, game content, such as health boosts, information (e.g., maps), or live Related game-related physical and / or virtual items or goods. As another example, broadcaster / player compensation 1680 may include special content or authorizations provided on broadcasters' channels. As another example, the broadcaster / player compensation 1680 may include special content or credits, such as " badges " provided on the broadcaster's channels, temporarily or permanently. As another example, the broadcaster / player compensation 1680 may be applied to the "Broadcasters", "Channels", "Highlights", or "Custom Video" panes of the Specification UI illustrated, for example, And may include promoting or highlighting the channels, broadcasts, highlight reels, and / or recordings of the broadcasters of the provided broadcasts.

In some embodiments, the participant compensation module 1610 may provide its broadcaster / player compensation 1680 or notifications via the broadcast user interface (s). In some embodiments, the system 100 may include a broadcaster / player compensation 1680 of the module, or any of the spectators and / or broadcasters 1600 illustrated in FIG. 18, for example, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > and / or < / RTI > In some embodiments, the participant compensation module 1610 may be configured to provide feedback to the broadcaster / moderator of the module via one or more other channels, including but not limited to e-mail and social media channels such as " tweets " Player compensation 1680 or notifications.

In some embodiments, at least some broadcaster / player compensation 1680 may be given or obtained free of charge. In some embodiments, at least some broadcaster / player compensation 1680 compensation may be given free of charge or may be costed or obtained. In some embodiments, broadcaster / player compensation 1680 may include discounts, subscriptions, special offers, or similar to various goods, goods, or services.

In some embodiments, at least some broadcaster / player compensation 1680 includes, but is not limited to, a game system (s) 120, e.g., a rating system 100, a game system Or may be recorded by the system 100 or by other systems that include participants' profiles and / or history information maintained by a third party.

Spectator compensation ( 1685) . Spectator compensation 1685 may be used to indicate that certain achievements are to participate in special events in games or broadcasts when they arrive at games or broadcasts, or to provide compensation for " being there & But is not limited to this. Spectator compensation 1685 may also be awarded to other participants or may include a compensation given, or a compensation determined in various other ways. The spectator compensation 1685 may include, for example, free or discounted game-related physical and / or virtual items or goods, including, but not limited to, game content that may be used in the game. As another example, spectator compensation 1685 may include special content or acknowledgments provided on the Spectrating UI of the system 100; Special content or accreditations may be temporary or permanent. For example, the spectator compensation 1685 can be used to temporarily or permanently store special content or credits, such as " badges " ) &Quot; As another example, the spectator compensation 1685 may be applied to the broadcasters provided in the " broadcasters "," channels "," Broadcasts, highlight reels, and / or recordings of the casts of the casts.

In some embodiments, the participant compensation module 1610 may provide spectator compensation 1685 of the module or notifications via the broadcast user interface (s). In some embodiments, the spectating system 100 may be capable of receiving spectator compensation 1685 or notifications for spectators and / or broadcasters, for example as illustrated in FIG. 18, Performance and compensation interfaces. In some embodiments, the participant compensation module 1610 may be configured to receive the spectral data of the module via one or more other channels, including but not limited to e-mail and social media channels such as " tweets " Compensation 1685 or notifications may also be provided.

In some embodiments, at least some spectator compensation 1685 may be given or obtained free of charge. In some embodiments, at least some of the spectator compensation 1685 compensation may be given free or at a cost or may be obtained. In some embodiments, spectator compensation 1685 may include discounts, subscriptions, special offers, or similar to various goods, goods, or services.

In some embodiments, at least some of the spectator compensation 1685 may include, but is not limited to, the game system (s) 120, e.g., the sampling system 100, the game system (s) 120, May be recorded by the system 100 or by other systems, including the participants' profile and / or history information maintained by the three parties.

Participant feedback ( 1690) . In some embodiments, the participant compensation module 1610 may provide feedback to at least some participants for at least some of the broadcaster / player 1680 and spectator 1685 compensation. Feedback 1690 may include various visual and / or auditory effects provided to at least some participants via, for example, the sampling system user interface (s) as illustrated for example in Figures 8, 9, Lt; / RTI > Feedback may, for example, announce or display compensating and compensating recipients, may publish or promote future events that may be given a reward, or may generally be provided through auditory and / or visual channels to a participant May provide a variety of information on compensation, recipients, and compensation-related events. In some embodiments, the participant compensation module 1610 may provide feedback (1690) to participants via one or more other channels, including but not limited to e-mail and social media channels such as " tweets " ) Can also be provided.

Participant reward processing

Embodiments of the participant compensation module or service 1610 may obtain the various performance inputs described above from one or more sources and may determine which compensation is to be given and what compensation is made to the determined participants or groups of participants Compensate for being provided, events and / or inputs to determine the groups of participants or participants to receive the outcomes. The participant compensation module 1610 generates the compensation outputs described above and provides outputs to one or more destinations.

As a non-limiting example of a player compensation module 1610 that processes performance inputs to generate compensation outputs, game developers, a system designer, or other entity may be able to identify events Or specifications for performance. When the specifications are fulfilled (as a non-limiting example, a player may achieve a feat, overcome an obstacle, or acquire a level in a game; the audience of the broadcaster reaches a critical size; Perform a pit in front of the player, or the broadcaster may sell the amount of a prize in a specified time period, certain potential or upcoming events in the game or broadcast to which some players will be compensated, Data or spectator, etc.) to be compensated. The specifications may indicate other parameters, such as time, location, and demographic parameters. Specifications may include compensation and accreditations (eg, virtual or physical goods, speculative interface badges, coupons or discounts, special or exclusive offers, etc.) to be provided for specified events or outcomes It can also be displayed. The specifications may also indicate the destination (s) for the compensation outputs. The participant compensation module 1610 may include various receive inputs from the may receive specification system, the game system (s), or other sources, e.g., game metadata representing events in games and / or broadcasts And / or broadcast metadata, and compare it to those for specified events and achievements. When an event or achievement is identified, the participants compensation module 1610 may obtain or determine the participants (e.g., broadcaster, players, and spectators) who have achieved an achievement or have participated in the event. The designated compensation (s) can then be mapped to the recipients of the compensation. In some embodiments, the different recipients may be different for the same event or achievement based on, for example, recipients' profiles, preferences, or spectator grouping (e.g., viewer, follower or subscriber) Compensation can be received. The compensation outputs may then be provided to appropriate ones of the output destinations to enable provisioning of compensation to the recipients. Note that other methods may be used to process at least some of the performance inputs to determine and generate compensation inputs.

17A is a high-level flow chart of a method for acknowledging or compensating participants in a game specification environment in accordance with some embodiments. Various performance inputs or metrics may be obtained, as indicated at 1700 in FIG. 17A. As shown at 1702 in FIG. 17A, the performance inputs may be analyzed to determine the participants to be compensated for, e.g., by the participant compensation module 1610 illustrated in FIG. In some embodiments, for example, the participant compensation module 1610 may include performance inputs, including, but not limited to, broadcast metadata and game metadata, a history of games in which a reward may be given, , Analyze the performance inputs to determine what individual compensation may or may be to determine which compensation may be given, or to determine the participant (s) to be given, in order to determine current and / or future events. As indicated at 1704 in FIG. 17A, compensation may be provided to recognized participants, for example, as described with reference to FIG. As indicated at 1706 in FIG. 17A, content and feedback to indicate and / or announce compensation may be provided, for example, as described with reference to FIG. Indications and / or feedback may be provided to participants, game system (s), and one or more third parties, and may include one or more of, but not limited to, UIs, APIs, May be provided over one or more channels.

17B is a flow chart of a method for compensating participants for notable events in broadcast-in games according to some embodiments. As shown at 1750 in FIG. 17B, the system may send a broadcast of game play received from the broadcaster device, for example, as illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 18, to one or more of the plurality of spectator devices Streaming can be done. A broadcast can be a live session in an online game or a replay of a pre-recorded game. As indicated at 1752 in FIG. 17B, a significant event in the game and / or broadcast may be determined from game event data at least partially obtained from the game system. Other data, including but not limited to data representing broadcast and / or game events determined from analysis of broadcast audio, text, and / or other inputs, may also be used to determine significant events. Significant events can be determined, for example, by the participant compensation module 1610 illustrated in FIG. 16, which processes various performance inputs to determine compensation outputs. As shown at 1754 in FIG. 17B, compensation for participation in a prominent event may be determined, for example, by the participant compensation module 1610 illustrated in FIG. As indicated at 1756 in FIG. 17B, participants in a prominent event may be determined, for example, by the participant compensation module 1610 illustrated in FIG. As indicated at 1758 in FIG. 17B, compensation may be provided to participants by one or more channels or methods, for example, as described with reference to FIG.

Figure 18 provides non-limiting examples of performance and compensation interfaces for a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments. The participant UI 1802 may be, for example, an interface to a game specification web application or a mobile application, or as an interface to other network-based game specification applications, (E. G., Spectators and broadcasters) as web pages. ≪ / RTI > The participant UI 1802 may include one or more pane (s) including, but not limited to, controls 1810, a video player 1832 with A / V controls 1833, and a performance and compensation interface 1840 Or regions. Controls 1810 may include one or more UI elements that interact with the game specification system by navigation or otherwise. Video player 1832 may display a replay of pre-recorded broadcasts or a live broadcast or a video stream (shown as broadcast 1834) for the channel. Although not shown, in some embodiments, the participant UI 1802 allows the broadcaster and / or spectator text chat to discuss, for example, in-game games and players, and other game-related information, events, and content The chatting may also include other content or panes, such as chatpanes, for which the chat may be displayed.

The participant UI 1802 may include a performance and reward interface 1840 that allows participants to view and interact with broadcast content related to rewards and achievements for the game and / or broadcast. At least some of the broadcast content displayed in the performance and reward interface 1840 may include, for example, voting or naming other participants for recognition or compensation, broadcast or game events about what reward should be given Or voting or naming the rewards to be awarded to the user. As another example, the broadcast content may be presented in a "give player gifts" 1846 pane that allows participants to provide gifts to selected participants (e.g., players or broadcasters) Gt; UI elements < / RTI > For example, as shown in FIG. 18, the " Player Gifts Cycle " 1846 pane allows a participant to select to view a list of players or teams of players; (E. G., Info < / RTI > that is overlaid on the broadcast or provided in the performance and reward interface 1840) to allow the participant to select one of the players or teams to view additional information about the player or team (1836) window) " Choose a plyer " UI element. Note that the players or teams in the list may be, but not necessarily, in-game players that are currently broadcasted or replayed. For example, in FIG. 18, a participant has selected " Player E " from the list to view information about player E, including player's achievements, statistics, The participant can select a line gear for the selected player. In some embodiments, in addition to or instead of selecting players to receive gifts from the list as illustrated in FIG. 18, the rendering system may support drag and drop functionality The spectator can drag items shown in the Gifts 1846 pane to drop gifts onto the player's avatar or character on the broadcast 1834 pay-per-view to provide gifts to the selected players.

Figure 18 shows some non-limiting example gifts for a " space explorer " game, including gears, such as a DP9000 Defective Pistol or LR20C Laser Rifle, Boost, e.g., Health Boost, In some embodiments, the participant (s) may pay for the gift (s) via the " Pay here " UI element as illustrated for example in Fig. As another example of the active broadcast content, the broadcast content may include UI elements as shown in the " my rewards " 1848 pane, through which participants may receive rewards, To other pages or websites of third parties or game developers who are able to pay, reimbursement, or otherwise provide rewards or links to pages that may obtain rewards You can obtain links to them. In addition to the active broadcast content, the performance and reward interface 1840 may compensate and / or reward the participants as shown in the broadcast content of the participants, e.g., paylines 1844, 1836, and 1848 And may include content that publishes or publishes performance information.

Spectating  From community inputs Spectating  Games to the system Effects

Using the embodiments of the apparatus and methods for integrating the game specification system and the game systems in the game specification environment described in the present application, the games are played in the game specification environment, . For example, a game specification system may provide an application programming interface (API) for game systems (referred to in this application as a game system API). A software development kit (referred to in this application as a game system SDK) that can assist developers in developing and programming games to interface with and support game system APIs may be provided to game developers.

In some embodiments, the game system API and SDK may allow games running on the game systems to obtain various inputs from the game specification system. In some embodiments, the game specification system may generate various game inputs based on the community inputs. The spectating community inputs may include, but are not limited to, spectator participation statistical data or metrics, spectator text chat inputs, spectator audio inputs, and speculative UI inputs. In some embodiments, the game inputs may include random number inputs generated from one or more of the specification community inputs that may be used as an entropy source for in-game randomizing functions. For example, at a game level where enemies are spawned against a player (s) in a battle, a random input from the specification system based on the populating community inputs may include the number, type, and / Or < / RTI > intensity. In some embodiments, game inputs may include parameter inputs that provide values for in-game parameters based on the populating community inputs. For example, at a game level where enemies are multiplied against the player (s) in a battle, parameter input from the system can specify the number type and / or intensity of the enemies based on the popping community inputs have.

Thus, embodiments can be engaged in games that are broadcast by broadcast specifiers influencing game play through their various inputs, and at the same time, Thereby providing ways to enhance game play for players. For example, the spectator text and / or audio chat in the broadcast streamed through the specification system may be analyzed by the specification system to determine game inputs that affect certain decisions made by the game engine . The analysis can, for example, measure the metrics for the chat, such as volume or volume, and provide metrics as rendering or parametric inputs to the game engine. As another example, the analysis may determine content (e.g., keywords or phrases) from the chat and may collect and quantify the content to generate rendering or parametric inputs to the game engine. As another example, the analysis can determine metrics for people's emotions or excitations from the chat and provide metrics as rendering or parametric parameter inputs to the game engine. One or more of the various metrics may be determined and provided to the game engine as rendering or parametric inputs to be applied in real time or near-real time to make decisions or affect decisions on game play. Gameplay can thus be influenced in very realistic and visible ways by real-time or near-real-time spectator's inputs, allowing spectators to influence their influence on the game to detect their intervention in the game .

19A is a block diagram of a game presentation system that provides inputs for a game broadcast through a game specification system based on interactions with broadcasts in accordance with some embodiments and spectator inputs to a broadcast. (100), the example game illustrates a game effects module. The game specification system 100, for example the game specification system 100 described and illustrated in the Figures 1a and 1b, may be randomized 1992 to the game engine 1922 according to the game system API 114, And / or parametric (1994) game inputs. Randomizing (1992) and / or parametric (1994) game inputs include spectator inputs 165, such as text or audio chat inputs, at least partially broadcast content 126 determined from game metadata 124, Data interactions 164, aggregation statistics 1982 collected by the game specification system 100, and / or, but not limited to, social media such as " tweets " or IM Or from other inputs 167 including inputs from a plurality of input devices (not shown). In some embodiments, the system 100 may be configured to receive the broadcasts 124 from the game system (s) 120 where the broadcasts 124 are being streamed according to the gaming system API 114, Gaming metadata 1624 may be obtained from other sources.

In some embodiments, the spectating system 100 may enable spectator participation in broadcasts 142 to affect the game being played by the game engine 1922 in a variety of ways . In some embodiments, the system 100 may determine information based on spectator participation in the broadcasts 142 and may be provided to the gaming systems 140 by the spectating system 100 And may provide information as feedback to game systems 140 in accordance with the gaming system API 114. Spectator participation metrics that may be used include broadcasts or games, and spectator audio and / or video, for broadcasting " chat ", " crowd noise & / RTI > and / or audience sizes for the text inputs 165, < RTI ID = 0.0 > and / or < / RTI >

In some embodiments, the system 100 may collect or determine the spectral statistics 1982 based on spectator participation in the broadcasts. For example, in some embodiments, the system 100 may track the audience size of a particular broadcaster, or the combined size of audiences for all broadcasters of a particular game. As another example, the system may include subscribing spectators viewing specific broadcasts or games. You can track non-subscribing spectators. Statistical data 1982 may include randomization 1992 and / or parametric information provided by the game engine module 1910, which may be obtained or provided to the game effect module (s) 1910 and provided to the game engine 1922 in accordance with the game system API 114. [ (1994) can be used to determine game inputs.

In some embodiments, the system 100 may include, but is not limited to, broadcast chats of broadcasts 142, " people noise ", or spectator audio and / or text And may include inputs 165 to acquire and analyze spectator inputs. In some embodiments, the specification system 100 may include, but is not limited to, other input 167 sources including channels from a social media such as " tweets " or instant messaging (IM) And may also include or alternatively replace one or more interfaces that can acquire, process, and analyze inputs. The analysis may determine, for example, the quantities or volumes in the channels (e.g., chat channels) for the inputs 165 and / or 167 and the metrics as rendering inputs 1992 and / or parametric (1994) May be provided to the game engine 1922 according to the game system API 114. As another example, the analysis may determine content (e.g., keywords or phrases) from one or more audio and / or text chat channels or from a social media channel 167, (1992) and / or parametric (1994) game inputs. As another example, the analysis may determine metrics for human emotions or excitations from one or more of the spectator inputs 165 and / or other inputs 167, Or parametric (1994) game inputs. FIG. 4 illustrates a method for obtaining and analyzing inputs including, but not limited to, spectator audio and / or text inputs 165 or other inputs 167, such as social media inputs, for determining broadcast- Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 100 < / RTI > Broadcast-related analysis information may be provided to the game effect module (s) 1910 upon rendering (1992) to the game engine 1922 and / or parametric (1994) game inputs according to the gaming system API 114 Lt; / RTI > Figure 4 also provides some examples of sensing and applying broadcast-related analysis information in a game specification system to generate various randomizing (1992) and / or parametric (1994) game inputs.

In some embodiments, spectator participation in broadcasts can be used to determine rendering inputs (1992) to game engine 1922 that can be used as in-game rendering factors that are currently being executed and broadcast. For example, one or more aspects or metrics (audience or audience size, people noise, chat level or volume, emotion or excitement level, etc.) of spectator participation in broadcasts or broadcasts may be used as a game rendering factor May be measured or tracked and provided as feedback to game system 120 via game system API 114 for use in engine 1922. For example, at a game level where enemies are multiplied against a player (s) in a battle, a randomizing input (1992) is performed from the spectating system 100 based on spectator participation in one or more broadcasts 142 of the game ) Can be used to determine the number, type, and / or intensity of the proliferated enemies.

In some embodiments, spectator participation in broadcasts may be performed in various ways and may include parametric inputs to game engines 1922 that are non-randomly influenced by broadcasted players and / (1994). ≪ / RTI > As a non-limiting example, the size of the audience or audience of the in-game broadcast 142 or the broadcasts 142 of the event may be fed back to the game engine 1922 and may be sent to the stadium, (S) 142 included in the broadcast (s) 142, the size or appearance of the audience, the size of the virtual people of the spectators shown to watch the event, and / May be used by the game engine 1922 to determine the volume. As another example, the level of people enthusiasm or support, as measured from the volume, amount, or content of audio and / or text chat channel inputs 165 in broadcast 142, May be fed back to the game engine 1922 to affect the number of " bad guys " or monsters appearing in the level, or may be provided to the broadcaster's in-game character or avatar access to certain weapons May be used to compensate the broadcaster at that level, or may have a variety of other in-game effects. As another example, the spectators' audio and / or character inputs 165 may be analyzed to detect content or emotions (keywords, cheers, boos, happiness, etc.); Analysis can be fed back into the game and used to influence players' in-game status, health, power, weapons, and so on.

In some embodiments, the spectator entries in the broadcasts used to determine the randomizing (1992) and / or parametric (1994) game inputs to the game engine 1922 are stored on the spectator devices 160 And spectator interactions 164 with the broadcast content 126 provided via the Specification UI 116 to the user. For example, the broadcast content 126 may be used by the contenting community to determine whether the game elements or events, such as what type and how many enemies will appear at the level, what type of weapons or other gears the players will receive, Quot ;, < / RTI > and / or the like.

In some games, as shown in FIG. 22, the spectators may be different teams for different teams, for example, different teams with two or more different game engine instances running to support different teams and / or players May be fans of. Different teams and / or players, and thus different game engines, can be influenced by interactions with the same broadcast and their inputs to them (or with different broadcasts of the same game). Figure 19A shows the game effect module (s) 1910 of the SP system 100 communicating with the game engine 1922 of the gaming system 120 via the gaming system API 114, The game effect module (s) 1910 of the specification system 100 are instead connected to one of the gaming systems 120 to provide inputs (1992 and 1994) to a plurality of game engine (s) And can communicate with the above-mentioned game servers. The game server (s) can in turn deliver inputs (1992 and 1994) to one, two, or more game engine instances as shown in FIG. 1d. Game engine instances may be instantiated on one or more servers of game system 120, or alternatively, at least some of the game engine instances may be run on broadcaster devices 140 as illustrated in FIG. have. In some embodiments, inputs (1992) and (1994) received from the game effect module (s) 1910 of the specification system 100 may include at least some data assigned to particular game engines (E.g., assignments to different teams and / or players), the game server (s) may handle the distribution of data to the target engines.

FIG. 19B illustrates an example game input module on a game system that processes the presentation data received from the presentation system to generate inputs for the game to be broadcast through the game presentation system according to some embodiments. For example. In some embodiments, the game effect module (s) of the specification system generating values for parametric inputs 1994 for game engine (s) 1922 and / or rendering inputs 1992, Game effects module (s) 1910 may include various inputs and interactions (164,165, 167, and 1982) as shown in Figure 19A to generate the spectral data 1996, ) And may provide the presentation data 1996 to one or more game input module (s) 1930 of the gaming system (s) 120 according to the gaming system API 114. [ The game input module (s) 1930 may then generate values for the parametric inputs 1994 and / or the rendering inputs 1992 for the game engine (s) 1922. In some embodiments, instead of processing various inputs and interactions 164,165,167, and 1982, game effect module (s) 1910 may include one or more inputs and / or interactions (e.g., audio Or text chat inputs) and may be able to collect inputs and / or interactions (e. G. With little or no processing) into the game input module (s) 1930 of the gaming system (s) 120 according to the gaming system API 114 Lt; / RTI >

Figures 20a-20d are flow charts of methods for generating inputs to the game system from inputs from the game specification system to the broadcasts and spectator's interactions with them in accordance with some embodiments. admit. The methods of FIGS. 20a-20d may be used to generate randomized game data, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 19a to generate randomizing (1992) and / or parametric (1994) game inputs to game engine 1922 Can be implemented.

20A is a high-level flow chart of a method for generating inputs to a game system from inputs to it and spectator's interactions with a game specification system according to some embodiments. As shown at (2000) in FIG. 20A, the sampling system may collect the sampling information and inputs for a game that is broadcast from one or more of the sampling sources. The spectrating information and inputs may include, but are not limited to, spectator participation statistical data or metrics, spectator text chat inputs, spectator audio inputs, and speculative UI inputs.

As shown at (2002) in FIG. 20A, the sampling system may generate game parametric inputs and / or rendering inputs from collected spectral information and inputs. Figures 20b-20d illustrate exemplary methods for generating parametric inputs and / or rendering inputs from the collected spectral information and inputs in accordance with embodiments.

As shown at (2004) in FIG. 20A, the specification system may provide parametric and / or rendering inputs to the game via the game interface. In some embodiments, the specification system may provide a game system API for game systems in which game engines can specify and obtain parametric and / or rendering inputs. In some embodiments, a game system SDK may be provided to game developers that can assist developers in developing and programming games to interface with and support game system APIs. Gaming system APIs and SDKs may allow games running on gaming systems to specify and obtain parametric and / or rendering inputs from the gaming specification system.

As shown at (2006) in Figure 20a, the inputs can affect game execution and / or game play in a variety of ways. For example, at a game level where enemies are multiplied against a player (s) in a battle, a random input from the specification system based on the specifics of the community inputs or the specification of the statistics, Type, and / or intensity. As another example, at a game level where enemies are multiplied against the player (s) in a battle, a parametric input from the specification system may be applied to the opponent's enemies based on their interaction with the speculative community inputs or the broadcast content Number type, and / or intensity.

20B is a high-level flow chart of a method for generating inputs to a game system from spectator inputs to a broadcast to a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments. As shown at (2010) in Figure 20b, the spectrating system can collect and process spectator inputs to generate spectator input data. Spectator inputs may include, but are not limited to, broadcast chats of broadcasts, " people noise ", or spectator audio and / or text inputs to other audio and text channels. As shown at (2012) in Figure 20b, the sampling system may generate game parameter inputs and / or rendering inputs based at least in part on the spectator input data. For example, analysis of inputs may determine, for example, the amount or volume of metrics for inputs, e.g., spectator chats in the chat channels, and generate rendering and / or parametric game inputs according to the metrics . As another example, the analysis may determine content (e.g., keywords or phrases) from one or more audio and / or text chat channels, and may collect content to generate rendering and / or parametric game inputs And can be quantified. As another example, the analysis may determine metrics for people emotion or excitement from one or more spectator inputs and may provide metrics as rendering and / or parametric game inputs to the game.

In some embodiments, in order to generate a randomization input to the gaming system, the specification system may send the spectator audio and / or text data to the gaming engine as a randomization input via the gaming system API, Collect and process the chat inputs. In some embodiments, the sampling system may continuously receive and process spectator text and / or audio inputs to generate or change values for the rendering inputs. In some embodiments, the specification system may generate a value for the rendering input in response to a request for a random number received from the game engine via a game system API.

In some embodiments, generating random values based on an analysis of spectator inputs may be leveraged to generate some interesting behavior in games. For example, rendering the input may be weighted to have a greater impact on the game as the number of spectators watching a particular game's broadcasts crosses or increases. As another example, when rendering enemies or challenges to a game based on an analysis of spectator chat inputs, the more interesting the game, the more spectator chat can be increased, or more frequently or larger. This change in the spectator chat can be used, for example, to increase the impact of the rendering input, thereby increasing the level of difficulty that can be set, or by making the game more difficult by increasing the number of enemies being multiplied. Thus, using the spectator 'inputs to randomize gameplay may provide a feedback loop in which changes to the spectator' s inputs result in corresponding changes in gameplay. For example, when players are playing games, more enemies can multiply. The increased action will make viewers more excited, which will be reflected in the text and / or audio chat channels. The viewers' text and / or audio chat inputs are analyzed to provide rendering inputs for the game engine that may be affected by the viewer's level of excitement. So when viewers' excitement levels rise, more enemies multiply, games become more challenging and more interesting, and so on.

20C is a high-level flow chart of a method for generating inputs to a game system from spectator statistics to a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments. As shown at 2020 in FIG. 20C, the system can collect and process spectator data to generate the spectral statistics. For example, in some embodiments, the system may track the audience size of a particular broadcaster, or the combined size of audiences for all broadcasters of a particular game. As shown at 2022 of Figure 20c, the sampling system may generate game parameter inputs and / or rendering inputs based at least in part on the spectator statistics. For example, the random value may be generated based on the number of spectators currently viewing particular broadcasts or the number of spectators watching all broadcasts of a particular game. As another example, a parametric input value may be generated based on the current number of spectators. In some embodiments, the magnitude of the statistical value being monitored can be used to apply a weight to render the in-game effects.

20D is a high-level flow chart of a method for generating inputs to a game system from spectator interactions with broadcast content in a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, spectator participation in broadcasts used to determine rendering and / or parametric game inputs to the game engine may include interacting with UI elements in the specification UI on the spectator devices and spectator interaction Lt; / RTI > As shown at 2030 of FIG. 20D, the SP system may provide game effect broadcast content to spectator devices. For example, the broadcast content may include one or more UI elements provided through the Specification UI on the spectator devices that allow the specification community to specify, select, or vote on game elements or events can do. As shown at 2032 in FIG. 20D, the system can receive and process spectator interactions with broadcast content to generate game parameter inputs. As a non-limiting example, the UI elements may be used by the spectators to specify, select, or vote on what type and how many enemies will appear at the level, what type of weapons or other gear the players will receive, difficulty levels, . The specification system may include parametric inputs to the game engine representing the spectator's specifications or spectators to the UI elements to generate selections for the game elements or events as indicated by the broadcast content &Quot; inputs. ≪ / RTI >

Figure 21 provides a non-limiting example of a game specification system interface that allows spectators according to some embodiments to collectively affect a game broadcast through a game specification system. The designing UI 2102 may be, for example, a web page of a game specification system web site via a web browser, as an interface to a game specification web application or a mobile application, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > applications. ≪ / RTI > The specification UI 2102 includes, but is not limited to, controls 2110, a video player 2132 with A / V controls 2133, game metadata for a game whose spectator is broadcast 2134, And a spectator effect pane 2140 that can at least partially view and interact with the broadcast content based on at least one of the panes or regions. Controls 2110 may include one or more UI elements that interact with the game presentation system, such as by navigation or otherwise. Video player 2132 displays a replay or live broadcast of pre-recorded broadcasts or a video stream (shown as broadcast 2134) for the channel.

Spectator effect pane 2140 may include broadcast content based at least in part on game metadata for the game being broadcast. For example, the broadcast content displayed in the spectator effect pane 2140 allows the spectators to determine, for example, what type and how many enemies will appear on the game content, game elements, or game events, Or interactive UI elements that can specify, select, or vote with respect to whether players receive other gear, difficulty levels, when or where enemies or other game content appears, and so on. 19A, the broadcast content and spectator 'interactions 164 displayed in the Spectator Effects pane 2140 of the Specification UI 2102 are shown as parametric (e.g., May be collected and analyzed by the game specification system 100 to determine values for inputs (e.g., 1994) and / or rendering (1992). In the non-limiting example specification 2102 of FIG. 21, the broadcast content may be viewed by any of the types of adversaries based on community votes, as shown in the " Votes & (E.g., " Bugeyes ", " Androids ", or " Cyborgs "). The spectating system 100 collects, analyzes spectator votes and provides results to the game engine 1922 as a parametric input. In addition, spectators can specify how many opponents will appear; The spectator 'inputs to the' How many 'UI elements are collected, analyzed (e.g., averaged), and the results are provided to the game engine 1922 as parametric inputs. The spectating community can thus influence gameplay in very realistic and visible ways in real-time or near-real-time, via the spectating UI 2102 provided by the spectruming service 100, The Ting community allows their influence to be watched in the game and thus detecting their intervention in the game. In addition, the game can be augmented against players by providing variants of interest to the gameplay affected by their spectating audience.

Figure 22 provides a non-limiting example of inputs to spectators' inputs for broadcast to a game specification system that collectively impacts the game being broadcast through the game specification system according to some embodiments. 22 illustrates a configuration of a user interface (UI) 2202 for a game specification system 2202 on a device 2200 that may result in in-game visual and / or auditory effects in which spectator's inputs are broadcast ). 22, the spectator's device 2200 may implement the spectating UI 2202 and may include microphone 2206 and game audio (spectator audio and / or audio) to collect the spectator 2220 audio, Or speakers for outputting audio (e.g., audio, video, audio, or human noise, broadcaster audio live broadcast, etc.). Spectator's device 2200 may also include a keyboard 2209 or other input device (s) from which the broadcaster / player 820 may write textual inputs, such as broadcast chats 2218, Lt; / RTI > In some embodiments, the spectator's device 2200 may also include or be coupled to input devices and techniques such as controllers or joysticks, motion tracking systems, gesture-based input systems, .

In some embodiments, the spectating UI 2202 may be configured to broadcast content based on, at least in part, gaming metadata received from an individual gaming system, such that broadcast content may be accessed by a spectator 2260, Cast content 2240 pane or area. The broadcast content 2240 pane may, for example, display information about games, game players, game objects or items, game events, etc. provided by the game system in the game metadata. In some embodiments, the spectating UI 2202 includes spectator controls 2216 that can interact with the spectating system to allow the spectator 2260 to control the broadcast, select other broadcasts, ). In some embodiments, the Specifying UI 2202 may include a broadcast chat 2218 window through which the spectator 2260 can communicate with the broadcaster / player and other spectators via text.

4, participant input processing components of the specification system may include, but are not limited to, rendering (1992) and / or rendering (i. E. And / or spectator inputs including spectator audio and / or text inputs to determine broadcast-related analysis information that may be used to generate parametric (1994) game inputs. For example, as shown in FIG. 22, virtual representations 2222 of the spectators (e.g., spectator avatars) may correspond to the spectators' affiliations or preferences (1994) game inputs in response to parametric (1994) game inputs based on analysis of profile information for individual spectators 2220 and / or spectators' audio and / For example fans of particular players or teams, fans of teams A and B in this example). As shown in the example of FIG. 22, the virtual representations 2222 of the spectators on one side of the football stadium or basketball arena in an online sports game (in Team B fans, in this example) When the spectators 2220, which are fans of a particular team and / or player, respond to parametric (1994) game inputs determined from analysis of audio and / or character inputs, Or it may be made to respond visually. In some embodiments, instead of or in addition to visual indications, a spectator audio output representing the sounds or noises generated by the spectators or by specific groups of spectators may be generated May be provided to spectators 2220 via spectators' devices 2200 in response to parametric (1994) game inputs determined from analysis of audio and / or character inputs.

The content of the Specification UI 2202 may include, for example, profile information, preferences, and / or UI options and configuration information for individual spectators 2220, or group profile information for groups of spectators 2220 Gt; 2220 < / RTI > may vary based on different spectators 2220 based on different spectators. For example, the view of the displayed game in the UI 2202 may change based on the affiliation of the spectator 2220. In addition, the audio output by the game specification system via device 2200, for example, may include profile information, preferences, and / or UI options and configuration information for individual spectators 2220 or spectators (e.g., 2220 based on the group profile information for the groups of groups 2220. [ For example, in the example of FIG. 22, fans of team A can hear fans of team B and others.

Spectating  With the games through the system Spectator  Interactions

Using the embodiments of the apparatus and methods for integrating the game specification system and the game systems in the game specification environment described in the present application, the games are played in the game specification environment, . For example, a game specification system may provide an application programming interface (API) for game systems (referred to in this application as a game system API). A software development kit (referred to in this application as a game system SDK) that can assist developers in developing and programming games to interface with and support game system APIs may be provided to game developers.

In some embodiments, the game system APIs and SDKs allow games running on the game systems to interact with the Spectating UI from the Spectating System according to the game system APIs and to receive various spectator inputs to it. To provide the game metadata to a specification system that may be used to generate game-related broadcast content provided to the user interface (UI). In some embodiments, the specification system may generate various game inputs based on the specification UI and interactions and the specification of the community inputs to it. In some embodiments, the specification system may allow spectators to interact with broadcasters and players in games in various ways and / or with games that are broadcast through the Specification UI Can influence the effect. In some embodiments, the individual spectators may interact with the games through the Specifying UI to produce in-game effects. In some embodiments, the groups of spectators may cause in-game effects via the Specifying UI, for example, based on votes, or otherwise affect the game. In some embodiments, the spectating system may include game metadata to provide spectating UI elements with which the spectators can interact to influence individual games and provide inputs that interact with individual games You can leverage it. In some embodiments, the specification system may provide spectator interactions as feedback or game inputs to the game systems in accordance with the game system APIs provided to the game systems by the specification system. have.

In some embodiments, the spectators may influence or influence in-game players or in-game events, objects in the game universe, games through UI elements on the Specification UI. By way of non-limiting example, spectators may build buildings, hide weapons, set difficult levels, select weather or other environmental factors, or otherwise, through UI elements provided on the Specification UI, Content and events. In some embodiments, the spectators may be targeted to specific players in the game via the Specifying UI with, for example, objects, boosts, weapons, drugs, health points, intensity levels, The game content may be provided to the players' teams or may be "gifted " to them. In some embodiments, the spectators may provide information, e.g., maps, warnings, or advice, to the in-game players or teams of players via the Specification UI. In some embodiments, the spectators can increase the difficulty of game levels, tasks, or challenges by, for example, causing a storm or other disaster, thereby taking objects from the players, By restricting the powers, etc., challenges and difficulties can be introduced for players or games in the games through the Specifying UI. Gameplay can thus interact with the Specifying UI in real-time or near-real-time and be influenced by the Spectator's inputs in very realistic and visible ways, Allowing them to detect and increase their involvement in the game. In some embodiments, the UI elements provide the spectator with ways to purchase or otherwise pay for in-game content or information to be braked to players, and / or other effects on games provided via UI elements Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > UI < / RTI >

In some embodiments, in addition to providing UI elements on a specifying UI that may affect or affect the game on which the spectators are running on the gaming system, Game inputs may be determined from analysis of spectator inputs to spectator devices including, but not limited to, text or audio inputs to spectator devices. For example, keywords or key phrases that display spectator instructions in the game system may be determined from analysis of text, audio, and / or other inputs, such as social media inputs, as illustrated in FIG. In some embodiments, the spectator inputs for which game inputs may be determined may also include inputs from devices and techniques such as controllers or joysticks, motion tracking systems, gesture-based input systems, and so on .

In some embodiments, in addition to allowing the spectators to influence or influence the game running on the gaming system through the Specification UI and the interactions and inputs thereto, The spectators may provide one or more UI elements that can individually or collectively provide information to the broadcaster. For example, as shown in Figures 25 and 26a, the Community Inputs pane allows the spectator to provide information to the broadcaster, such as " Look at: " "Contains UI elements. The inputs to the UI elements on the inputs to spectator device may be, for example, as text in the community inputs 2666 pane and / or as graphics in the map overlay window 2662 as shown in Figure 26B. And generate input information to be displayed on the device. The information may, but need not be, displayed on other spectators' devices. The spectator devices and the broadcast device may also include broadcast chat windows with which the spectators and broadcaster can communicate, and the sampling system may include audio Note that audio chat can be supported through the chat channel.

In some embodiments, the specification system includes one or more components or modules referred to in this application as game interaction modules capable of providing game inputs to game engines executing on game systems in accordance with the game system API . In some embodiments, at least some of the game interaction modules may be provided by the specification system. However, in some embodiments, at least some of the game interaction modules may be developed in accordance with the gaming system SDK and may be provided to the system by the third parties, including, but not limited to, game developers. The game interaction modules may define UI elements for interacting with the game, for example, define game inputs for the game, and include interactions with UI elements and values Lt; / RTI > In some embodiments, the game metadata received and attached to the gaming system in accordance with the gaming system API includes game content for the game and U (i) defined by the game interaction module (s) Includes information describing or representing at least a portion of the elements.

Figure 23 illustrates an example game interaction module in a game specification system that allows spectators according to some embodiments to provide inputs that affect games that are broadcast through a game specification system. The game specification system 100, for example the game specification system 100 described and illustrated in the Figures 1a and 1b, provides game inputs 2396 to the game engine 2322 in accordance with the game system API 114 Or may include one or more components or modules 2310 that can do so. At least a portion of the game inputs 2396 are determined at least in part from the game metadata 124 and provided to the spectators via the game interaction UI (s) 2362 on the spectator device (s) Based on or from spectator interactions 164 with the broadcast content 126 that is being broadcast. In some embodiments, the system 100 may be configured to receive the broadcasts 124 from the game system (s) 120 where the broadcasts 124 are being streamed according to the gaming system API 114, Gaming metadata 1624 may be obtained from other sources. In some embodiments, at least some of the game inputs 2396 may be determined from spectator inputs 165 to the spectator device (s) 160, e.g., text or audio chat inputs. In some embodiments, the values for game inputs 2396 include, but are not limited to, spectator device (s) 160 (see, for example, Figure 2) including inputs from a social media such as " tweets " ) Or from other inputs to the specification system 100. [ In some embodiments, the sampling system may acquire video or image inputs of spectator eye motion, body motion, or facial expression from spectator devices 160, Process video or image inputs to determine metrics that specify games and interactions, and generate values for one or more game inputs 2396 according to the determined metrics.

In some embodiments, the system 100 may allow spectators to influence the game played by the broadcast 142 and the game engine 2322 to the spectator device (s) 160 in a variety of ways It can make it possible to go crazy and interact with it. In some embodiments, the game interaction module (s) 2310 of the specification system 100 is coupled to the game inputs 2396 based on the spectator interactions 164 and / And provides game inputs 2396 for game systems 140 in accordance with game system API 114 provided to game systems 140 by the specification system 100 can do.

In some embodiments, the spectator inputs and interactions determining the values for the game inputs 2396 to the game engine 2322 may be performed on the spectator devices 160, for example, And spectator interactions 164 with the broadcast content 126 provided on the user interface 2362 via the Specification UI 116. Figure 25 illustrates an example specification UI including a game interaction user interface. In some embodiments, game system API 114 and SDK may include game-related broadcast content 126 in which games running on game systems 120 are provided on game interaction UI (s) 2362 Providing the game metadata 124 for the specification system 100 that can be used to create the game interaction UI (s) from the specification system 100 in accordance with the game system API 114, May be allowed to obtain game inputs 2396 determined in accordance with interactions with the broadcast content of player 2362 and various spectator inputs thereto. In some embodiments, the specification system 100 includes various game inputs 2396 based on the interaction with the game interaction UI (s) 2362 and the spectating community inputs and spectators thereto, Can be generated. In some embodiments, the system 100 may allow spectators to interact with broadcasters and players in the games in various ways and / or through the game interaction UI (s) 2362 May be able to interact with and influence the games being broadcast 142. In some embodiments, the individual spectators may interact with the games through the game interaction UI (s) 2362 to produce in-game effects. In some embodiments, groups of spectators may cause in-game effects via game interaction UI (s) 2362 based on, for example, voting, or otherwise affect the game have.

In some embodiments, the individual spectators and / or groups of spectators may communicate through the UI elements on the game interaction UI (s) 2362 with in-game players or in-game events, objects in the game universe, It can affect or affect the game. As a non-limiting example, the spectators may build buildings, hide weapons, set difficult levels, or select weather or other environmental factors through the UI elements provided on the game interaction UI (s) 2362 Or otherwise affect game content and events. In some embodiments, the spectators may be associated with a particular player (e.g., a player) in the game via game interaction UI (s) 2362 having for example objects, boosts, weapons, drugs, health points, intensity levels, Or may "gift" game content to the teams of players or players. In some embodiments, the spectators may provide information, e.g., maps, alerts, or advice, to game players or teams of players via game interaction UI (s) 2362. [ In some embodiments, the spectators can increase the difficulty of game levels, tasks, or challenges by, for example, causing a storm or other disaster, thereby taking objects from the players, (S) 2362 by, for example, limiting the powers, etc., to challenge or difficulties for players or games in the games. The gameplay thus interacts with the game interaction UI (s) 2362 in real time or near-real time and can be influenced by the spectator's inputs in very realistic and visible ways, Allowing their influence on the game to detect and increase their involvement in the game.

In some embodiments, the system 100 may include, but is not limited to, spectator audio and / or text inputs 165 for broadcast chats of broadcasts 142 or other audio and character channels Spectator inputs can also be acquired and analyzed, including. In some embodiments, the specification system 100 may include, but is not limited to, other input 167 sources including channels from a social media such as " tweets " or instant messaging (IM) And may also include or alternatively replace one or more interfaces that can acquire, process, and analyze inputs. The analysis may determine content (e.g., keywords or phrases) from one or more audio and / or text chat channels or from the social media channel 167 and may include game inputs 2396 for game engine 2322, The content may be collected and quantified to generate the content. FIG. 4 illustrates a method for obtaining and analyzing inputs including, but not limited to, spectator audio and / or text inputs 165 or other inputs 167, such as social media inputs, for determining broadcast- Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 100 < / RTI > In some embodiments, the broadcast-related analysis information may be used by game interaction module (s) 2310 in generating game inputs 2396 for game engine 2322 in accordance with game system API 114 .

In some embodiments, the system 100 may provide one or more UI elements that spectators may individually or collectively provide information 2364 to the broadcaster. For example, as shown in Figures 25 and 26a, the Community Inputs pane includes UI elements that the spectator can provide information 2364 to the broadcaster. The inputs to the UI elements on the spectator device 160 may generate input information 2364 to be displayed on the broadcaster device 140 at the community inputs pane, for example, as shown in Figure 26B . In some embodiments, information 2364 may, but need not be, displayed on other spectators' devices 140. Spectator devices 160 and broadcast device 140 may also include broadcast chat windows with which the spectators and broadcaster can communicate and the spectruming system 100 may include graphical user interface ≪ / RTI > and 26b, as well as audio chat channels.

In some games, as shown in FIG. 22, the spectators may be different teams for different teams, for example, different teams with two or more different game engine instances running to support different teams and / or players May be fans of. Different teams and / or players, and thus different game engines, can be influenced by interactions with the same broadcast and their inputs to them (or with different broadcasts of the same game). 23A illustrates the game interaction module (s) 2310 of the specification system 100 in communication with the game engine 2322 of the gaming system 120 via the gaming system API 114, 2310 of the game system 120 to provide inputs 2396 to a plurality of game engine (s) 2322. The game interaction module (s) And can communicate with the above-mentioned game servers. The game server (s) may in turn communicate game inputs 2396 to one, two, or more game engine instances as shown in FIG. 1d. The game engine instances may be instantiated on one or more servers of game system 120, or alternatively, at least some of the game engine instances may be run on broadcaster devices 140 as illustrated in FIG. have. In some embodiments, game inputs 2396 received from the game interaction module (s) 2310 of the specification system 100 may include at least some data specified in particular game engines (e.g., (E.g., designations for different teams and / or players), the game server (s) may handle the distribution of data to the target engines.

24A is a flow chart of a method that allows a spectator according to some embodiments to provide inputs affecting a game being broadcast to a game specification system. The method of FIG. 24A may be implemented by, for example, the sampling system 100 illustrated in FIGS. 1A, 1B, or 23. As shown at 2400 in FIG. 24A, the sampling system may provide game interaction broadcast content to the game interaction UI on the spectator devices, for example, as illustrated in FIGS. 23 and 25 have. The broadcast content may be based at least in part on one or more of the other sources illustrated in FIG. 1C, or on game metadata received from the game system. As shown at 2402 of FIG. 24A, the system may receive and process spectator's interactions with broadcast content to generate game inputs, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 23 . As shown at (2404) in FIG. 24A, the specification system may provide game inputs to the game through, for example, the game system API, game interface illustrated in FIG. As indicated at (2406) in FIG. 24A, game inputs may affect the game in various ways, for example, as described with reference to Figures 23 and 25.

24B is a flowchart of a method for analyzing spectator audio or text inputs that affect a game broadcast to a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments. The method of FIG. 24B may be implemented by, for example, the sampling system 100 illustrated in FIGS. 1A, 1B, or 23. As shown at 2450 in FIG. 24B, the sampling system may obtain audio and / or text inputs from the spectators of the broadcast, for example as illustrated with reference to FIGS. 26a and 26b. In some embodiments, other inputs may be provided to the input of a specification system, such as, for example, social media inputs and inputs from devices and technologies such as controllers or joysticks, motion tracking systems, gesture based input systems, ≪ / RTI > As shown at 2452 in FIG. 24B, the system may analyze the inputs to determine the spectator inputs directed to affect the game. For example, keywords or key phrases indicating spectator instructions for the gaming system may be determined from analysis of text, audio, and / or other inputs, e.g., social media inputs, as illustrated in FIG. 4, Examples of a specification system capable of acquiring and analyzing inputs including but not limited to spectator audio and / or text inputs or other inputs such as social media inputs for determining cast-related analysis information. Participant input processing Components. As shown at 2454 in FIG. 24B, the sampling system may generate game inputs from the spectator inputs, for example, as illustrated in FIG. As shown at 2456 in FIG. 24B, the specification system may provide game inputs to the game via, for example, the game system API, game interface illustrated in FIG. As indicated at 2458 in FIG. 24B, game inputs may affect the game in various ways, for example, as described with reference to FIGS. 23 and 25.

Figure 25 illustrates a non-limiting example of a spectating user interface for a game specification system that allows spectators according to some embodiments to provide inputs that affect games that are broadcast through a game specification system An example is provided. The Specification UI 2502 is, for example, a web page of a game specification system web site via a web browser, as an interface to a game specification web application or a mobile application, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > applications. ≪ / RTI > The Specification UI 2502 includes, but is not limited to, controls 2510, a video player 2532 with A / V controls 2533, a chat window 2536, A game interaction pane 2540 that is capable of viewing and interacting with broadcast content based at least in part on game metadata for a game that is broadcast 2534 to influence, And may include one or more panes or regions including community inputs 2516 pane that can be displayed. Controls 2510 may include one or more UI elements that interact with the game presentation system, such as by navigation or otherwise. Video player 2532 displays a replay or live broadcast of pre-recorded broadcasts or a video stream (shown as broadcast 2534) for the channel.

The game interaction pane 2540 may include broadcast content based at least in part on game metadata for the game being broadcast. The broadcast content displayed in the game interaction pane 2540 may include interactive UI elements that may affect the game in which the spectators are broadcast 2534. [ As shown in this example for a game, the game interaction pane 2540 allows spectators to place objects (e.g., buildings, terrain, weapons, other objects UI elements that can add, build or hide (e.g., scroll, information such as maps, etc.), UI elements that may affect the game environment (e.g., weather) UI elements that allow spectators to provide gear, information, or other game content to selected players, and UI elements that allow spectators to set game parameters such as difficulty level, number of enemies, etc., But is not limited thereto. 25, the game interaction pane 2540 may include a "Choose a player" UI element that the spectator may use to select players or players to provide gear or other game content . In some embodiments, the spectator (s) may pay for the gear or other game content via the " Pay here " UI element, e.g., as illustrated in FIG. In some embodiments, the game interaction pane 2540 may provide UI elements with which the spectators can vote on one or more game-changing options provided through the game interaction pane 2540. [

In some embodiments, the spectating UI 2502, in addition to the broadcast content in the game interaction pane 2540, allows the spectators to influence games in various ways and interact with the games, May provide one or more UI elements from which the spectators may individually or collectively provide information to the broadcaster. For example, as shown in FIGS. 25A and 25B, the community inputs 2516 pane allows a spectator to "look at" (look at) information that can provide information to the broadcaster, "Contains UI elements. The inputs to the UI elements on the spectator device may generate input information to be displayed on the broadcaster's device in the community inputs pane, for example, as shown in Figure 26B. The information may, but need not be, displayed on other spectators' devices. The spectator devices and the broadcast device may also include broadcast chat windows with which the spectators and broadcaster can communicate, and the sampling system may include audio Note that audio chat can be supported through the chat channel.

 23, the broadcast content and spectator 'interactions 164 displayed in the game interaction pane 2540 of the Specification UI 2502 may include game inputs for the game engine 2322 (S) 2310 of the sampling system 100 to determine the values for the game interaction module (s) 2396. The game interaction module (s) The game interaction module (s) 2310 collects and analyzes spectator interactions 164 and provides results to game engine 2322 as game inputs 2396. In addition, the chat 2536 window, text inputs via audio chat, and other inputs may be analyzed, for example, as illustrated with reference to FIG. 4, to generate game inputs 2396. The specification community can thus influence the gameplay in very realistic and visible ways in real-time or near-real-time, via the Specification UI 2502 provided by the specification service 100, The Ting community allows their influence to be watched in the game and thus detecting their intervention in the game. In addition, the game can be augmented against players by providing variants of interest to the gameplay affected by their spectating audience.

26A is a graphical representation of a spectral user interface for a game specification system that allows spectators and spectating community inputs according to some embodiments to affect games that are broadcast through a game specification system Other non-limiting examples are provided. The spectator 'device 2600 may implement the spectating UI 2602 and may include a microphone 2606 and game audio (spectator audio and / or human noise, broadcaster audio live broadcast, And the like). Spectator's device 2600 can also include or be coupled to a keyboard 2609 or other input device (s) that spectator 2660 can write textual inputs, such as broadcast chats 2618, . In some embodiments, the spectator's device 2600 may also include or be coupled to input devices and techniques such as controllers or joysticks, motion tracking systems, gesture-based input systems, .

In some embodiments, the UI 2602 may include a game specification window 2610 that displays a current view of the game universe, for example, from a broadcaster / player's perspective. In some embodiments, the UI 2602 includes a spectator control 2619 that can interact with the specification system to allow the spectator 2660 to control the broadcast, select other broadcasts, May also be included. In some embodiments, UI 2602 may be configured to display broadcast content (e.g., video content) that broadcast content may be accessed by spectator 2660 or displayed to a spectator based at least in part on game metadata received from an individual game system 2640) panes or regions. The broadcast content 2640 pane may, for example, display information about games, game players, game objects or items, game events, etc. provided by the game system in the game metadata. In some embodiments, the UI 2602 may include a broadcast chat 2618 window through which the spectator 2660 can communicate with the broadcaster / player and other spectators via text.

In some embodiments, the UI 2602 may include a window 2614 that displays, for example, a live view of the broadcaster / player as a window overlaying or within the game specification window 2610 . In some embodiments, a world map 2612 or a portion of a map of the online game world may be displayed on the UI 2602, for example, in the game specification window 2610 or as an overlaid window. In some embodiments, window 2615 may show different views of the game selected by the spectator, or alternatively may display replay of custom video content such as highlight reels or pre-recorded game sessions.

In some embodiments, the UI 2602 includes a game interaction interface 2644, which can interact with UI elements that affect the game in various ways, for example, as described with reference to Figure 25, . ≪ / RTI > In some embodiments, the UI 2602 also includes community inputs (2616) interfaces through which the spectators can interact with the UI elements to communicate with the broadcaster, for example, as described with reference to Figure 25 can do.

Figure 26B illustrates the ratio of the broadcast user interface for the game specification system allowing spectators and the populating community inputs to influence the game being broadcast through the game specification system according to some embodiments. Provides a limited example. The broadcaster's device 2650 may implement the game and broadcasting UI 2652 and may include an A / V device 2656 (e.g., a microphone) for collecting the broadcaster / player 2670 audio and video inputs And / or may include speakers 2654 (including spectator audio and / or people noise) for outputting game audio. The broadcaster's device 2650 may also include a keyboard 2659 or other input device (s) from which the broadcaster / player 2670 may write text inputs such as player chat or broadcast chat, Lt; / RTI > In some embodiments, the broadcaster's device 2650 may also include or be coupled to input devices and techniques such as controllers or joysticks, motion tracking systems, gesture-based input systems, .

In some embodiments, the broadcasting UI 2652 may include a game play window 2660 that displays a current view of the game universe for the broadcaster / player 2670. Note that the broadcaster 'view of the game universe shown in window 2660 may be shown to spectators and included in the broadcast, for example, as shown in FIG. In some embodiments, the UI 2652 may also include game controls 2669 through which the broadcaster / player 2670 may interact with the gaming system. In some embodiments, UI 2652 may include in-game chat 2665 through which the broadcaster / player 2670 can communicate to other players in the game via text. In some embodiments, the UI 2652 may also include broadcast controls 2667 through which the broadcaster / player 2670 can interact with the specification system to control the broadcast. In some embodiments, the UI 2652 may include a broadcast chatter 2668 through which the broadcaster / player 2670 and the spectators can communicate via text. In some embodiments, the UI 2652 includes community inputs 2666 through which information provided to specific broadcasters by the spectators over the specification interfaces, as illustrated in Figures 25 and 26a, ) ≪ / RTI > In some embodiments, the provided information may be provided graphically instead or as graphics within the world map overlay window 2662, for example, as shown in Figure 26B.

game Spectating  Data collection and games for consumers Spectating  Provide data

Broadcasts Gather and store data from broadcasts in a game-specific environment, and bend the collected data to consumers, including but not limited to game developers, online merchants, and broadcasters Embodiments of a vendor-specific specification system are described. In some embodiments, the specification system may obtain broadcasts containing A / V content from, but not limited to, broadcast devices. In some embodiments, the specification system may also obtain game metadata from game systems where broadcasts are being streamed, or from one or more other sources as illustrated in FIG. 1C. The sampling system stores audiovisual (A / V) content for broadcasts and collects and stores the spectral data including, but not limited to, game metadata and broadcasts and broadcast content and spectator interactions do. The specification system exposes the data to the consumers through, for example, a user interface (UI), a query interface, and / or an application programming interface (API). The specification system can provide the data to consumers in raw or unprocessed form, for example via APIs. Alternatively or additionally, the specification system may perform processing and analysis with respect to at least some of the sampling data and may include, without limitation, query interfaces and UIs, such as through one or more interfaces including web pages And provide access to the processed data and / or analysis data.

In some embodiments, the sampling data stored by the sampling system may also include broadcast or sampling statistics. The system may collect or determine statistics based on spectator participation in broadcasts and may store statistical data with game metadata, spectator interaction data, and other spectation data. For example, in some embodiments, the system may track the audience size of a particular broadcaster, or the combined size of audiences for all broadcasters of a particular game. As another example, the spectating system may be a subscribe spectator viewing a particular broadcast or games. You can track non-subscribing spectators.

In some embodiments, the audience or people state or emotion may be tracked by the system and stored as additional data. As another example, the spectators' video, audio and / or text inputs may be analyzed as illustrated in FIG. 4 to sense content or emotion (keywords, cheers, boos, happiness, etc.); The analysis information may be used to determine audience status or emotion metrics during the broadcasts, and the metrics may be stored with the presentation data.

In some embodiments, the speech recognition technique may be applied to one or more audio inputs to broadcasts to recognize and transform the spoken words into text, and the text may be stored as additional spectation data. For example, the audio channel of the broadcaster can be converted into text and stored as the presentation data. As another example, the audio channel of the narrator may be converted to text and stored as the specification data. The text may then be exposed to consumers via an API, UI, and / or query interface, and may also be provided to events in the game stream or to other presentation data, for example, Lt; / RTI >

The system can correlate the sampling data and the A / V content using, for example, time stamps, so that the consumers are able to correlate specific spectator behaviors, broadcast statistics (e.g., audience size) Or portions of text and / or video, audio from broadcasts that may be associated with the spectating events displayed by the individual spectation data. The specification data may also be spatially mapped to a specification interface so that consumers can determine the spectator interest with the various broadcast content and interactions with it. The specification data may include data for single broadcasts, broadcasters, or games, or for multiple broadcasts, broadcasters, or games.

In some embodiments, the presentation system may include at least a portion of broadcast metadata and game metadata for broadcasted, including, but not limited to, individualized broadcast content as well as spectator interactions as game presentation data Can be stored. The specification system may also record audio-visual (A / V) content for at least some broadcasts. The game specification system allows consumers (e.g., game developers) to create separate broadcasts, game specification data for broadcasters, or broadcasts, broadcasters, One or more UIs, query interfaces, and / or APIs that can acquire or view the sampling data. The sampling data may be analyzed, provided and viewed in various ways and analyzed for online game usage and performance for applications for various purposes, e.g., game development, advertising, and / or marketing May be applied by consumers for use in analyzing game-related content and product bending for use or through a specification interface. It should be noted that the SP system provider may also leverage the SP data to evaluate, for example, the SP system UIs and UI content. For example, the specification system provider may use the heat maps as illustrated in Figure 30 to evaluate the content layout of the specification interfaces.

In some embodiments, the sampling system may perform at least some processing and analysis of the sampling data, and may include interface methods (e. G., ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 > UIs). In some embodiments, the sampling system may be implemented on behalf of an interface, e.g., a query interface that allows consumers to acquire, process, and analyze the sampling data according to their own usual purposes Or in addition thereto. The query interface may be, for example, a query language that allows consumers to create requests or queries for information in a database or data store that stores, for example, query language).

Figure 27 illustrates collecting and storing game data in a game specification system in accordance with some embodiments. 27, the game sampling system 100, for example, the sampling system 100 illustrated and described in Figures 1a, 1b, and 10, may include video, audio, and text (e.g., V content 2798, broadcast metadata for broadcasts 142 and at least some of the game metadata 124 from broadcasts 142 that include broadcast channels 142, Which may collect and store data 2794 describing broadcast data 2796 and broadcasts 142 and broadcast content 126 and spectator interactions 164. In one embodiment, Gt; 2700 < / RTI > The sampling-related data may be stored in a specification data store 2810. The specification data store 2810 may be accessed by one or more storage devices, systems, or services, for example, by provider network services 4192 in the provider network 4190 as illustrated in Figure 32, And may be implemented by the storage service (s) implemented thereby.

The game specification system 100 may include one or more components or modules capable of providing broadcast content 126 to spectators via the Specification UI 116 on the individual spectator devices 160 2700). The broadcast content 126 may be determined from game metadata 124 received from the gaming system (s) 120 at least in part in accordance with the gaming system API 114 provided by the specification system 100. In some embodiments, the broadcast content 126 may be determined, at least in part, from game-related data obtained from one or more other sources, e.g., online merchants. The spectators can view, search, discuss, select, order, purchase or otherwise acquire the game-related content via the SPECTATING UI 116 and receive spectator devices 160 (E. G., Broadcast content 126). ≪ / RTI > Module (s) 2700 acquires and processes spectator interactions 164 with the broadcast content 126 provided on the spectator devices 160 to generate spectator interaction data 2794 .

In some embodiments, broadcasts 142 and broadcast content 126 and spectator interactions are tracked, processed, and / or displayed as spectator interaction data 2794 in a presentation data store 2810, Can be recorded. The spectator interactions may include UI element selection, UI element manipulation (e.g., by scrolling, clicking, sliding, turning, etc.), on or near the UI element For example, hovering (e.g., with a cursor), inputting to a UI element (e.g., text entry into a text box), and focusing on one or more UI elements , ≪ / RTI > sensed through a technique). ≪ / RTI >

In some embodiments, the acquisition and recording of broadcasts 142 and broadcast content 126 and spectator interactions includes tracking spectator navigation from the Specification UI to other pages or sites . For example, in some embodiments, the Specification UI may be a web page provided on a web browser, and the broadcasts 142 and broadcast content 126 and the acquisition and recording of spectator interactions And tracking the spectator navigation from one or more other web pages to the presentation UI.

In some embodiments, the broadcasts 142 and the broadcast content 126 and the acquisition and recording of spectator interactions are related to the specification UI, broadcasts 142, and broadcast content 126 And tracking and recording one or both of eye motion or heat motion.

28 illustrates an example game presentation module or service that exposes game presentation data to consumers in a game presentation system according to some embodiments. 27, the game sampling system 100, for example, the sampling system 100 illustrated and described in Figures 1a, 1b, and 10, may include video, audio, and text (e.g., V content 2798, broadcast metadata for broadcasts 142 and at least some of the game metadata 124 from broadcasts 142 that include broadcast channels 142, Which may collect and store data 2794 describing broadcast data 2796 and broadcasts 142 and broadcast content 126 and spectator interactions 164. In one embodiment, Gt; 2700 < / RTI > The sampling-related data may be stored in a specification data store 2810. The specification data store 2810 may be accessed by one or more storage devices, systems, or services, for example, by provider network services 4192 in the provider network 4190 as illustrated in Figure 32, And may be implemented by the storage service (s) implemented thereby.

28, the game specification module 2800 may provide broadcast A / V content 2798 to one or more of the programming data consumers 2880 via one or more of the programming data interfaces 2802. [ ), Broadcast data 2796, and spectator interaction data 2794. [ The game specification module 2800 may be a module or service of the system 100 as illustrated in Figures 1a, 1b, or 27, or alternatively may be a separate module or service, e.g., May be services implemented as or as provider network services 4192 in provider network 4190 as illustrated in FIG.

The specification data interfaces 2802 may include, but are not limited to, user interfaces (UIs) such as web pages, query interfaces, and / or application programming interfaces (APIs). Through the interface (s) 2802, the consumers 2890 can receive data from the data 2810 (including data from the broadcast data 2796 and / or the spectator interaction data 2794) and / And generate requests 2822 for the cast A / V 2836.

In some embodiments, the game specification module 2800 may temporarily correlate the broadcast A / V 2836 data and the presentation data 2832 using, for example, time stamps, And / or text (correlation) data from broadcasts that may be associated with specific spectator activities or spectral events displayed by individual (correlated) ≪ / RTI > broadcast A / V 2846). FIG. 31 shows an example of temporarily correlating the sampling data to the broadcast A / V. In some embodiments, the presentation data 2844 may also be spatially mapped to the presentation and broadcast content of the given presentation UIs so that the consumers 2890 may be able to receive the broadcast content, As such, various broadcast content and interactions and spectator interest can be determined therefrom. The requested formatting data 2844 and correlated broadcast A / V 2846 may be used for single broadcasts, broadcasters, or games, or for multiple broadcasts, broadcasters, RTI ID = 0.0 > A / V < / RTI >

Figure 29 is a flow chart of a method for collecting game presentation data according to some embodiments and exposing data to consumers in a presentation system. The method of FIG. 29 may be implemented by, for example, the sampling system 100 illustrated in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 27. As indicated at 2900 in FIG. 29, the system may determine broadcast content for individual broadcasts, at least in part from the game metadata, for example, as described with reference to FIG. 1A, 1B, . As indicated at 2910 in FIG. 29, the system may stream broadcasts and broadcast content to the spectator devices, for example, as described with reference to FIG. 1A, 1B, or 27 .

As indicated at 2920 of FIG. 29, the system may record broadcast A / V content, for example, as described with reference to FIGS. 27 and 28. As indicated at 2930 in FIG. 29, the system may determine and record broadcast data as the data, for example, as described with reference to FIGS. 27 and 28. As indicated at 2940 in Figure 29, the sampling system may capture and record spectator interactions with broadcasts as the sampling data, for example, as described with reference to Figures 27 and 28 can do.

As shown at 2950 in FIG. 29, the broadcast A / V content may be correlated with the presentation data according to time stamps provided, for example, as metadata with A / V content and game metadata . In some embodiments, the game specification module or service illustrated in FIG. 28 may perform a correlation in response to, for example, consumer requests for the presentation data. As shown at 2960 in FIG. 29, the sampling data may be exposed to the consumer (s) through the UI, API, and / or query interface, for example via interface (s) . As shown at 2970 in Figure 29, the specification system may communicate with the consumer (s) in response to requests for the interface (s) illustrated in Figure 28, for example, via a UI, an API, and / To provide broadcast A / V content correlated with the presentation data.

As indicated by the arrows returning from the element 2950 to the element 2900, in at least some embodiments, the method of FIG. 29 is directed to the consumer (s) The A / V content may be an iterative process that is acquired, stored, and correlated.

FIGURE 30 is a layout or presentation interface 3002 showing broadcast content and spectator interactions during at least a portion of a broadcast according to some embodiments. The game specification 3002 depicts an overlayed heat map on a template. This is a non-limiting example of a data consumer interface. 30 shows an example. Video player 3032 and broadcast 3034 pane, highlight pane 3034 pane, and chat pane 3036 pane with controls 3033 illustrated in FIG. 6A, for example. An example of what you can do is a template or layout of the Specification UI 3002. The spectating UI 3032 includes channels 3050 showing one or more games 3052, channels 3060 showing one or more broadcasters 3062, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 6A, And video 3070, such as pre-recorded broadcasts and highlight reels, that show one or more videos 3072. [ The Specification UI 3032 may also include a game sales interface 3040 that includes UI elements for obtaining game-related content and merchandise, e.g., as illustrated in FIG. The Specification UI 3032 may also include UI elements for acquiring, joining, or step-in-touching other broadcast content 3037, e.g., as illustrated in Figure 14, as described in the present application . The broadcast content for the individual broadcast from which this heat map was generated may be broadcast 3034 by one or more overlays 3037, e.g., by the specification system illustrated in Figures 1a and 27, May also include text or banner advertisements added to the broadcast stream by the broadcast content service illustrated in FIG.

A heat map showing the spectator activity on interface 3002 as illustrated by the shaded areas is overlaid on the specification interface 3002. [ A heat map may indicate activity during a portion of a broadcast or broadcast, or during two or more broadcasts. Darker shades represent areas of more activity, and in fact the shadows may be in color, e.g., "hotter" colors that represent more activity have. One or more, or more than one broadcast, determined by analysis of the spectral data 2834 illustrated in FIG. 28, during a portion of a broadcast or broadcast, or during two or more broadcasts, The shaded areas that tend to interact with or concentrate on the collected spectator interaction data 2794 correspond to the content or areas of the specification interface 3002. [ The specification interface 3002 and the spectator interactions that are analyzed and tracked to generate the heat map are displayed on the UI element by UI element selection, UI element manipulation (e.g., scrolling, clicking, sliding, turning, etc.) (E. G., Cursor), hovering (e. G., By cursor) in the vicinity, typing in a UI element (e. G. Text input in a text box), and focusing , ≪ / RTI > detected through an eye tracking technique).

The heat map may be used for example when the spectators tend not to purchase but tend to focus on it (e.g., Items 2 and 3), or tend to buy more often than other items (e.g., Item 1) Items in the sales interface 3040 may be displayed. As another example, the heat map may display games 3052, broadcasters 3062, and / or videos 3072 that tend to produce more or less activity. The heat map may also display areas within the broadcast 3034 that tend to generate more activity. Consumers may use this information, for example, to evaluate the content, including the content of the specification 3002, and the layout including, but not limited to, products, product placement, advertisements, By way of non-limiting example, broadcasters may use a heat map to evaluate the content they choose to place on their channels, and game developers and / or online merchants may bend through the specification interface 3002, You can use a heat map to evaluate game-related content and products.

Figure 30 shows a static heat map, but in some embodiments the heat map may be dynamic; Recorded spectator interactions can be replayed, and the heat map can change to reflect changes in focus. In addition, the generated formatted data may be temporally correlated with the A / V content for the broadcast (s), and the A / V content may be reproduced again as a heat map display , Which may allow, for example, the consumer to see and hear what has happened during periods of high and / or low activity during the broadcast (s).

FIG. 31 is a block diagram of a game specification data consumer interface 3102 (FIG. 31) provided to a device 3100 of a consumer 3160 'showing game specification metrics correlated with broadcast A / V content in accordance with some embodiments. ) Is a non-limiting example. The formatting data controls 3140 may include various UI elements that allow the consumer 3160 to control the display and content of the interface 3102, for example, 3160) to query the specification data module or service. Metric graph panes 3110A and 3110B individually plot plots of the specification metrics A and B over time. The specification metrics A and B may be any of a variety of metrics determined from the specification data 2834 as illustrated in FIG. By way of non-limiting example, metric A may represent the audience size and metric B may represent the audience excitement or activity metric plotted against time. A spike 3111 represents the high point in the metrics plotted at 3110A and 3110B. The sampling data metrics 3116 may include one or more metrics determined from the sampling data 2834 obtained from the sampling data repository 2834 via the sampling data module or service , ≪ / RTI > X, Y, and Z). The pane 3112 may be plotted at 3110A and 3110B and replayed from the broadcast corresponding to the metrics shown in the specification data metrics 3116. [ The broadcast text chat 3118 may replay the text chat from the broadcast displayed in the pane 3112. In addition, the broadcast audio corresponding to the broadcast may be replayed via the speaker (s) 3104. Some or all of the data or information visually or auditorily provided through the data or information elements 3110A and 3110B, 3112, 3118, 3116 and 3104 may be used by the consumer 3160 during the broadcast 3112 and / Or at a particular instant in the broadcast 3112, for example, to hear and see what has happened in the spike 3111. [ For example, the consumer 3160 correlates certain events in the broadcast A / V content with other activities from audience activities, spectator interactions and inputs, the presentation statistics, and the presentation data You can use this example interface.

Example Network based games Spectating  Environments

32 illustrates an example network based game and game specification environment in accordance with some embodiments. Embodiments of game systems, game presentation systems, and other systems and services in the game presentation environments described in the present application with reference to the figures 1a to 29 are described, for example, (E. G., Virtualized computing resources, virtualized storage resources, virtualized database (DB) resources, etc.) on the provider network 4190 to the clients of the service provider, May be implemented in the context of the service provider. The virtualized resource instances may be provisioned through one or more provider network services 4192 and may be provided to the clerks of the service providers via the provider networks 4190 and services 4192, Or leased or leased to developers 4170 clients who provide and develop other systems or services.

In at least some embodiments, one or more developers 4170 may provide application programming 4142 to services 4192 to configure game system 4100 and / or game specification services 4130 on provider network 4190. [ May access one or more services 4192 of the provider network 4190 via interfaces (APIs). Game system 4100 or game presentation service 4130 may include a plurality of virtualized resource instances (e.g., computing resources, storage resources, DB resources, etc.).

At least some of the resource instances (e.g., computing resources) on the provider network 4190 may be accessed by hardware virtualization techniques, or virtual machines (VMs) on the host, that enable multiple operating systems to run concurrently on the host computer . The provider network 4190 through services 4192 may enable provisioning of logically isolated sections of the provider network 4190 to specific clients as client private networks on the provider network 4190 have. At least some of the client's resources instances on the provider network 4190 may be provisioned to the client's private network. For example, in FIG. 32, one or more gaming systems 4100 may be connected to private networks of individual developers 4170 provisioned on provider network 4190 via one or more of services 4192, . ≪ / RTI > As another example, the game specification service 4130 may be provisioned on the provider networks 4190 via one or more of the services 4192 to the private networks.

Through the services 4192, the provider network 4190 can be automatically added to or removed from the configuration on the provider network 4190 in response to changes in demand or usage, To provide clients with flexible provisioning of resource instances that enable the automatic scaling of client implementations on provider network 4190 to handle operations and / or storage needs. For example, one or more additional computing and / or storage resources may be automatically added to game play, broadcast, and / or game specifications from player / broadcaster devices 4120 and / or spectator devices 4180 Or may be automatically added to the game system 4100 and / or to the game specification service 4130 in response to an increase in the game. Conversely, when the usage falls below the threshold and falls, the resources may be removed from the game system 4100 and / or the game specification service 4130.

Illustrative system

In at least some embodiments, a computing device that implements some or all of the methods and apparatus for integrating the game specification system with the game system in the game specification environment described in the present application may be implemented as a computer May include one or more computer-accessible media, such as system 4300, or a general purpose computer system configured to access media. In the illustrated embodiment, the computer system 4300 includes one or more processors 4310 coupled to the system memory 4320 via an input / output (I / O) interface 4330. The computer system 4300 further includes a network interface 4340 coupled to the I / O interface 4330.

In various embodiments, the computer system 4300 includes a uniprocessor system including one processor 4310, or some processor 4310 (e.g., two, four, eight, or other suitable number) Processor system. Processors 4310 may be any suitable processor capable of executing instructions. For example, in various embodiments, processors 4310 may implement any of a variety of instruction set architectures (ISAs), such as x86, PowerPC, SPARC, or MIPS ISAs, or any other suitable ISA It can be one general purpose or built-in processors. In multiprocessor systems, each of the processors 4310 may, generally, but not necessarily, implement the same ISA.

System memory 4320 may be configured to store instructions and data accessible by processor (s) 4310. [ In various embodiments, the system memory 4320 may be any suitable memory technology, such as static random access memory (SRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), non-volatile / flash-like memory, or any other type of memory . ≪ / RTI > In the illustrated embodiment, program instructions that implement one or more desired functions, such as those methods, techniques, and data described in this application to integrate the game specification system and game systems in a game specification environment And data are stored and shown in system memory 4320 as code 4325 and data 4326. [

In one embodiment, I / O interface 4330 includes a processor 4310, a system memory 4320 and a network interface 4340, a device 4300 including input / output (I / O) devices or other peripheral interfaces Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > I / O < / RTI > In some embodiments, the I / O interface 4330 is coupled to the data signal (s) in a format suitable for use by another component (e.g., processor 4310) in a component (e.g., system memory 4320) Timing, or other data transformations to transform the received data. In some embodiments, I / O interface 4330 is coupled to various types of peripheral buses, such as, for example, a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus standard or a variant of a universal serial bus Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > devices. ≪ / RTI > In some embodiments, the I / O interface 4330 includes one or more input / output peripheral devices or components 4370 of the system 4300, such as a cursor control, keyboard, display, video, and / O devices 4370 or components, and / or input devices such as controllers or joysticks, motion tracking systems, and gesture based input systems. In some embodiments, the functionality of the I / O interface 4330 may be separated into two or more distinct components, such as, for example, Northbridge and Southbridge. Also, in some embodiments, some or all of the functionality of I / O interface 4330, such as an interface to system memory 4320, may be integrated directly into at least one processor 4310. [

The network interface 4340 may include a computer system 4300 and other devices (e. G., Computers) connected to a network or networks 4350, such as, for example, other computer systems or devices as illustrated in Figures IA- 4360 may be configured to allow data to be exchanged. In various embodiments, the network interface 4340 can support communication over any suitable wired or wireless common data networks, such as, for example, types of Ethernet networks. In addition, the network interface 4340 may be coupled to a network such as analog voice networks or digital fiber communications networks, via storage area networks, such as Fiber Channel SANs, or via any other suitable type of network and / And may support communications over telecommunication / telephone networks.

In some embodiments, the system memory 4320 may be implemented in a computer-readable medium as described above with reference to FIGS. ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 > 1A-30 < / RTI > to implement embodiments of methods and apparatus for integrating game- Accessible medium that is configured to store program instructions and data as is known in the art. However, in other embodiments, program instructions and / or data may be received, transmitted, or stored on different types of computer-accessible media. Generally speaking, the computer-accessible medium may be a non-transitory storage medium, such as a disk or DVD / CD coupled to a computer system 4300 via a magnetic or optical media, e.g., I / O interface 4330, . ≪ / RTI > The non-transient computer-accessible storage medium may also include other types of memory, such as RAM (e.g., SDRAM, DDR SDRAM, RDRAM, SRAM), which may be included in some embodiments of computing device 4300 as system memory 4320 or other type of memory. Etc.), ROM, and the like. In addition, the computer-accessible medium may be a transmission medium, such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals, communicated over a communication medium, such as a network and / or a wireless link, Signals.

The foregoing can be better understood by considering the following set of items:

One. The system comprises:

At least one computing device configured to implement a spectating system, the system comprising:

Broadcasting a video received from a broadcaster device to a plurality of spectator devices, the video comprising a game play of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in a game running on the gaming system;

The method includes acquiring game metadata for the game from the game system according to an application programming interface (API) of the specification system, the game metadata including game states for the game, game event data for the game, Player input to the game, or data describing or representing the game content;

Generating broadcast content at least partially in accordance with the game metadata;

Providing at least a portion of the broadcast content to the plurality of spectator devices in accordance with a specification user interface (UI);

Obtaining spectator interactions with the broadcast content according to the specification UI; And

And provide the game system with displays of at least some of the spectator interactions in accordance with the API.

2. In the system listed in item 1, the game state is a point-in-time record of game data and game information representing a particular game at a particular point on the game timeline in the game universe to be.

3. In the system recited in item 1, the game event data includes game event records indicating notable events in the game determined by the game system.

4. In the system recited in item 1, the game content includes at least one of objects, items, or characters in the game.

5. In the system enumerated in item 1, the player input displays command or action input for the game by an individual player via the game client or game controller.

6. 10. A system as recited in item 1,

Acquiring a preference for a plurality of spectators associated with the plurality of spectator devices according to the specification UI; And

And determine target broadcast content for a particular one of the plurality of spectators in accordance with the individual spectrating preferences of the spectators.

7. 10. A system as recited in item 1,

Obtaining spectator inputs from a plurality of spectators associated with the plurality of spectator devices in accordance with the specification UI, the spectator inputs comprising at least one of an audio chat or a text chat;

Generate one or more game inputs according to analysis of the spectator inputs; And

And to provide the one or more game inputs to the gaming system in accordance with the API, wherein the gaming inputs affect the execution of the game on the gaming system.

8. A system as recited in clause 1, wherein the broadcast content comprises UI elements provided to the plurality of spectator devices for display in accordance with the Specification UI, or overlay video images received from the broadcaster device And overlaid content.

9. In the method,

By a specification system implemented on one or more computing devices:

Streaming one or more broadcasts received from one or more broadcaster devices to a plurality of spectator devices, wherein each broadcast is a game of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in the game running on the gaming system Showing the play, the streaming step;

Generating content for the broadcasts in accordance with game metadata for the game received at least in part according to an application programming interface (API) of the programming system; And

And providing the game system with indications of the broadcast content and spectator interactions in accordance with the API.

10. The method as recited in clause 9, wherein the game metadata includes metadata received from at least one of the game system, the one or more broadcaster devices, the game developer system, or a third party system.

11. The method as recited in clause 9, further comprising receiving the one or more broadcasts from the broadcast devices as broadcast streams, wherein at least a portion of the game metadata is received with the broadcast streams .

12. In the method listed in item 9,

Obtaining, by the game system, indications of the broadcast content and spectator interactions according to the API; And

And influencing the execution of the game on the game system in accordance with the broadcast content and the displayed spectator interactions.

13. The method as recited in clause 12, further comprising: transmitting one or more of the effects of the broadcast content and the displayed spectator interactions to the plurality of spectator devices via the one or more broadcasts, The one or more indications comprising one or both of visual indications or audio indications.

14. In the method listed in item 9,

Providing at least a portion of the broadcast content to the plurality of spectator devices according to a specification user interface (UI); And

And acquiring spectator interactions with the broadcast content according to the specification UI.

15. The method as recited in clause 9, wherein the broadcast content comprises one or more overlays on the game video received from the one or more broadcaster devices.

16. 9. The method as recited in clause 9, wherein the broadcast content comprises one or more user interface (UI) elements provided to the plurality of spectator devices for display according to a specification UI.

17.  The method according to item 9, wherein the game metadata includes at least one of the game states for the game, game event data for the game, player inputs to the game, or data describing or representing the game content .

18.  In the method listed in item 17, the game state is a point-in-time record of game data and game information representing a particular game at a particular point on the game timeline in the game universe to be.

19.  17. The method as recited in clause 17, wherein the game event data includes game event records indicating notable events in the game determined by the game system.

20.  17. The method as recited in clause 17, wherein the game content includes one or more of objects, items, or characters in the game.

21.  In the method enumerated in item 17, the player input displays command or action input for the game by an individual player via the game client or game controller.

22. In the method listed in item 9,

Obtaining spectator inputs from the plurality of spectator devices, wherein the spectator inputs comprise at least one of audio inputs or text inputs from spectators associated with the spectator devices; ;

Analyzing the spectator inputs to determine one or more game inputs; And

And providing the one or more game inputs to the gaming system in accordance with the API, wherein the gaming inputs affect the execution of the game on the gaming system.

23. The method as recited in clause 22, wherein the spectator inputs further include inputs to one or more of the spectator devices' controller devices, joystick devices, motion tracking input devices, or gesture based input devices do.

24. In the method recited in item 9, at least a portion of at least some of the game metadata is provided by the game system in response to requests from the specification system in accordance with the programming system API.

25. 17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having program instructions stored thereon, the program instructions being executed on one or more computers,

Obtaining one or more broadcasts from one or more broadcaster devices, each broadcast showing a game play of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in a game running on the gaming system;

The method includes acquiring game metadata for the game from the game system according to an application programming interface (API) of the specification system, the game metadata including game states for the game, game event data for the game, Player input to the game, or data describing or representing the game content;

Generate broadcast content for the one or more broadcasts in accordance with the game metadata at least partially received from the gaming system;

Streaming the one or more broadcasts and the broadcast content to a plurality of spectator devices;

Obtain spectator interactions with the broadcast content from the plurality of spectator devices; And

And to implement a broadcast content module for a specification system configured to provide displays of at least some of the spectator interactions to the gaming system in accordance with the Specification System API.

26. 25. A non-transitory computer-accessible storage medium as recited in clause 25, wherein the broadcast content comprises user interface (UI) elements provided to the plurality of spectator devices for display in accordance with a specification UI, And one or more content overlaid on the game video played on the broadcasts from one or more broadcaster devices.

The foregoing may be further understood in light of the following set of items:

One. The system comprises:

At least one computing device configured to implement a spectating system, the system comprising:

Broadcasting a video received from a broadcaster device to a plurality of spectator devices, the video comprising a game play of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in a game running on the gaming system;

Generating broadcast content in accordance with game metadata for the game at least partially obtained from the game system, the game metadata including data describing or representing the game content, User interface (UI) elements for obtaining objects corresponding to game content;

Providing the broadcast content to the plurality of spectator devices according to a specification UI;

Obtaining spectator interactions with the broadcast content in accordance with the specification UI, the spectator interactions comprising inputs to the UI elements indicating requests for individual objects; And

And to generate one or more orders for objects corresponding to the game content in response to the requests.

2. In the system recited in item 1, at least a part of the game metadata is obtained from the game system according to an application programming interface (API) of the specification system.

3. In the system recited in item 1, the game content includes at least one of in-game items or characters, and the objects are one of virtual objects or physical objects corresponding to individual game contents Or more.

4. A system as recited in clause 1, wherein the objects comprise virtual objects configured for use in the game, and wherein the specification system is operable to cause each of the plurality of spectator devices And is further configured to send at least a portion thereof.

5. In the system listed in item 4, at least one of the plurality of spectator devices includes a game client, and at least one virtual object is downloaded to the game client on an individual spectator device.

6. In the system listed in item 1, the objects include physical objects that model individual game contents.

7. In the system recited in item 1, the broadcast content further includes at least one of descriptions, images, or video of the game content.

8. In the system recited in item 1, the broadcast contents further include at least one of history information or statistics about in-game use of the game contents.

9. A system as recited in item 1, wherein the system for simultaneously streaming a plurality of broadcasts on a plurality of broadcast channels, each broadcast channel corresponding to one of a plurality of broadcasters, The sampling system is:

Obtaining broadcast specifications from the broadcaster device, the specifications including indicia of specific game content to be provided via a broadcast channel of the individual broadcaster; And

And to determine at least a portion of the broadcast content to be provided to the plurality of spectator devices according to the broadcast specifications.

10. In the method,

By a specification system implemented on one or more computing devices:

Streaming one or more broadcasts received from one or more broadcaster devices to a plurality of spectator devices, wherein each broadcast is a game of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in the game running on the gaming system Showing the play, the streaming step;

Generating broadcast content for the broadcasts in accordance with game metadata that at least partially describes or represents the game content;

Obtaining indicia of the broadcast content and spectator interactions comprising interactions representing requests for objects corresponding to game content represented by the broadcast content; And

And enabling the ordering or delivery of the requested objects in response to the requests.

11. The method as recited in clause 10, wherein requests to the objects include purchases of one or more objects, and enabling orders or delivery of the requested objects comprises creating purchase orders for the requested objects .

12. The method as recited in clause 10, wherein feedback indicating requests for the objects to one or more of the following: the spectating devices, the game system, the one or more broadcaster devices, the game developer system, .

13. The method as recited in clause 10, further comprising, by the specification system, obtaining at least a portion of the game metadata from the game system in accordance with an application programming interface (API).

14. 10. The method as recited in clause 10, wherein the broadcast content comprises one or more user interface (UI) elements provided to the plurality of spectator devices for display according to a specification UI.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the UI elements include at least one UI element for requesting additional information about specific game content from the broadcaster, and selecting the at least one UI element comprises: Message to the individual broadcaster device with a request for additional information about the content.

16. 10. The method as recited in clause 10, wherein the broadcast content includes one or more overlays on game video received from the one or more broadcaster devices.

17. 10. The method as recited in clause 10, wherein the game content includes at least one of in-game items or characters, wherein the objects are one of virtual objects or physical objects corresponding to individual game contents Or more.

18. 10. The method as recited in clause 10, wherein the objects comprise virtual objects configured for use in the game, the method comprising the steps of: providing at least some of the virtual objects to individual ones of the plurality of spectator devices Further comprising the step of sending.

19. The method as recited in clause 18, wherein at least one of the spectator devices includes a game client for participating in the game, and the virtual objects are downloaded to the game client on the individual spectator device.

20. In the method enumerated in Item 10, the objects include physical objects that model individual game content.

21. In the method enumerated in Item 10, the broadcast content further includes at least one of descriptions, images, or video of the game content.

22. In the method as recited in item 10, the broadcast contents further include at least one of history information or statistics about in-game use of the game contents.

23. 10. The method as recited in clause 10, wherein the system is adapted to stream a plurality of broadcasts on a plurality of broadcast channels, each broadcast channel corresponding to one of a plurality of broadcasters, The method comprising:

Obtaining broadcast specifications for at least one of the broadcaster channels, wherein the broadcast specifications include indications of specific game content to be provided via the broadcast channel; And

Determining at least a portion of the broadcast content to be provided to the plurality of spectator devices according to the broadcast specifications.

24. 17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon program instructions for causing one or more computing devices to cause, when the program instructions are executed on one or more computers,

Generating broadcast content for a broadcast received from a broadcaster device, wherein the broadcast shows a game play of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in a game running on a gaming system, the broadcast content being at least partially The game metadata being generated according to game metadata received from the game system according to an application programming interface (API), the game metadata including data describing or representing the game content;

Providing the broadcast content to a plurality of spectator devices according to a specification user interface (UI), the broadcast content including UI elements for obtaining objects corresponding to individual game content; And

Obtains the broadcast content and spectator interactions according to the specification UI, the spectator interactions include inputs to the specification UI that represent requests for individual objects; And

And to enable the creation of one or more orders for objects corresponding to the game content in response to the requests to implement a storefront for the system.

25. 20. A non-transitory computer-accessible storage medium as recited in clause 24, wherein the broadcast content comprises:

At least one of descriptions, images, or video of the game content; And

And further includes at least one of history information or statistics about in-game use of the game contents.

The foregoing may be further understood in light of the following set of items:

One. The system comprises:

At least one computing device configured to implement a spectating system, the system comprising:

Broadcasting a video received from a broadcaster device to a plurality of spectator devices, the video comprising a game play of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in a game running on the gaming system;

Obtain spectator inputs from the plurality of spectator devices;

Analyze the spectator inputs to generate spectral data for the broadcast;

Generate values for one or more game inputs in accordance with the specification data; And

And expose the one or more game inputs to the gaming system according to an application programming interface (API) of the specification system.

2. 10. A system as recited in item 1,

Repeatedly performing the acquisition, analysis, generation and exposure during the broadcast;

Sensing changes in the spectator inputs while iteratively performing the acquisition and analysis; And

And to change a value of at least one of the one or more game inputs in response to the detection.

3. The system of item 1, wherein the game inputs comprise one or more of parametric inputs providing an entropy source for the in-game rendering functions and providing values for the game or rendering inputs, Includes both.

4. In the system listed in item 1, the spectator inputs include a spectral statistical data based on spectator participation in the broadcast.

5. In the system listed in item 1, the spectator inputs include one or both of audio inputs or text inputs for a plurality of spectators associated with the plurality of spectator devices.

6. In the system enumerated in item 1, the spectator inputs include spectator interactions with one or more user interface (UI) elements of the Specification UI on the plurality of spectator devices.

7. In the method,

By a specification system implemented on one or more computing devices:

Streaming one or more broadcasts received from one or more broadcaster devices to a plurality of spectator devices, wherein each broadcast is a game of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in the game running on the gaming system Showing the play, the streaming step;

Obtaining spectator inputs from the plurality of spectator devices;

Analyzing the spectator inputs to generate spectral data for the game;

And exposing the presentation data to the game system according to an application programming interface (API) of the programming system.

8. In the method listed in item 7,

Acquiring, by the game system, the specification data according to the API;

Generating values for one or more game inputs in accordance with the obtained spectrating data by the game system; And

And influencing the execution of the game on the game system according to the generated values.

9. 7. The method as recited in clause 7, wherein exposing the presentation data to the game system in accordance with an API of the presentation system comprises:

Generating values for one or more game inputs in accordance with the specification data; And

And exposing the one or more game inputs to the gaming system in accordance with the API of the specification system.

10. The method as recited in clause 9, wherein exposing the one or more game inputs to the gaming system in accordance with the API of the specification system comprises transmitting the one or more game inputs to a game server of the gaming system Wherein the game server is configured to distribute the one or more game inputs to one or more game engine instances of the game system.

11. In the method listed in item 9,

Acquiring, by the game system, a value for at least one of the one or more game inputs in accordance with the API; And

And influencing the execution of the game on the game system according to the obtained values.

12. The method as recited in clause 11, further comprising providing to the plurality of spectator devices through the one or more broadcasts one or more indications of an effect of the obtained value at the time of execution of the game The one or more indications comprising one or both of visual indications or audio indications.

13. The method as recited in clause 9, wherein the game inputs include one or more parametric inputs that provide values for the in-game parameters based on the spectator inputs, Lt; / RTI >

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the game inputs include one or more rendering inputs that provide an entropy source for rendering one or more aspects of the game, the generated values being based on the spectator inputs ≪ / RTI >

15. In the method listed in item 7, the spectator inputs include a spectral statistical data based on spectator participation in the broadcast.

16. In the method enumerated in Item 15, the spectators are segmented into two or more groups, and the spectator statistics include statistics indicating the percentage of spectators who are in each of the two or more groups.

17. 16. The method as recited in clause 16, wherein the two or more groups comprise subscriber and non-subscriber to the specification system.

18. The method as recited in clause 7, wherein the spectator inputs comprise one or both of audio inputs or text inputs for a plurality of spectators associated with the plurality of spectator devices.

19. The method as recited in clause 7, wherein the spectator inputs comprise inputs to one or more of controller devices, joystick devices, motion tracking input devices, or gesture based input devices.

20. In the method recited in item 7, the spectator inputs comprise text inputs from one or more social media channels.

21. A method as recited in clause 7, wherein the spectator inputs comprise audio inputs for a plurality of spectators associated with the plurality of spectator devices, Analyzing the data inputs comprises analyzing the audio inputs to generate audio analysis data for the one or more broadcasts.

22. A method as recited in clause 7, wherein the spectator inputs comprise text chat inputs for a plurality of spectators associated with the plurality of spectator devices, Analyzing the spectator inputs includes analyzing the text chat to generate chat analysis data for the one or more broadcasts.

23. The method as recited in clause 7, wherein the spectator inputs comprise spectator interactions with one or more user interface (UI) elements of a Specification UI on the plurality of spectator devices.

24. The method as recited in clause 23, wherein the spectator interactions include selecting content or events for the game to interact with the one or more UI elements and a plurality of spectators, Analyzing the spectator inputs to generate data comprises determining specific content or events for the game in accordance with the selections of the plurality of spectators.

25. 17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon program instructions for causing one or more computing devices to cause, when the program instructions are executed on one or more computers,

Obtaining spectator inputs for a plurality of spectators viewing one or more broadcasts from a spectator system on respective client devices, each broadcast being associated with an individual broadcaster participating as a player in a game session of an online game Show game play;

Analyze the spectator inputs to generate spectral data for the game;

Generate values for one or more game inputs in accordance with the specification data; And

And to provide the one or more game inputs to the game system in accordance with an application programming interface (API) of the specification system to implement a game effect module for the specification system.

26. 25. A non-transitory computer-accessible storage medium enumerated in item 25, wherein the game inputs provide an entropy source for the in-game rendering functions and provide values for the game or rendering inputs And / or < / RTI >

27. 25. A non-transitory computer-accessible storage medium as recited in clause 25, wherein the spectator inputs comprise spectator participation in the broadcasts, audio chat inputs for the plurality of spectators, Or one or more of the user interface (UI) elements of the Specification UI on the plurality of client devices and the spectator statistics based on the spectator interactions .

The foregoing may be further understood in light of the following set of items:

One. The system comprises:

At least one computing device configured to implement a spectating system, the system comprising:

Obtaining one or more broadcasts from one or more broadcaster devices, each broadcast showing a game play of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in a game running on the gaming system;

Generate broadcast content for the one or more broadcasts in accordance with metadata for the game at least partially received from the gaming system;

Streaming the one or more broadcasts and the broadcast content to a plurality of spectator devices;

Record audio-visual (A / V) content for the broadcasts;

Acquiring and storing broadcast content as spectral data and spectator interactions with the broadcasts;

Determining and storing correlations between the sampling data and the A / V content; And

And to expose the sampling data and the A / V content to one or more of the sampling data consumer devices in accordance with a sampling data interface.

2. A system as recited in clause 1, wherein the system is further configured to store at least a portion of the game metadata for the broadcasts as the presentation data, Conditions, game event data for the game, or data describing or representing the game content.

3. The system as recited in clause 1, wherein the broadcast content comprises UI elements provided to the plurality of spectator devices for display in accordance with the Specification UI, or on UI elements provided on the game video received from the broadcaster devices And overlaid content, wherein the spectator interactions with the broadcast content represent selections or spectator interest of the individual broadcast content.

4. A system as recited in clause 1, wherein the broadcast content includes user interface (UI) elements for viewing and purchasing virtual or physical objects comprising objects related to the game, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > UI < / RTI >

5. In the system enumerated in item 1, the A / V content for the broadcast includes one or more of broadcast video, broadcast audio, or broadcast text chat.

6. 10. A system as recited in item 1,

Receive an indication of a particular presentation data from a consumer device according to the presentation data interface;

Determining a portion of the A / V content correlated to the particular spectating data; And

And to provide the correlated portion of the A / V content to the consumer device according to the specification data interface.

7. In the system enumerated in item 1, the specification data interface comprises at least one of an application programming interface (API) user interface (UI) or a query interface.

8. In the method,

By a specification system implemented on one or more computing devices:

Streaming one or more broadcasts received from one or more broadcaster devices to a plurality of spectator devices, wherein each broadcast is a game of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in the game running on the gaming system The stream including the play;

Providing broadcast content to the spectator devices along with the broadcasts, wherein the broadcast content is determined at least in part according to metadata for the game received from the game system, ;

Acquiring and recording individual broadcast content and the broadcasts and spectator interactions as the specification data; And

And exposing the specification data to one or more of the data consumers in accordance with the data interface.

9. In the method listed in Item 8,

Recording audiovisual (A / V) content for the broadcasts; And

And determining and storing correlations between the sampling data and the A / V content.

10. Item 9 In the enumerated method, the A / V content for the broadcast includes one or more of broadcast video, broadcast audio, or broadcast text chat.

11. In the method listed in Item 8,

Recording audiovisual (A / V) content for the broadcasts;

Receiving an indication of a particular presentation data from a consumer device according to the presentation data interface;

Determining a portion of the A / V content correlated to the particular spectating data; And

And providing a correlated portion of the A / V content to the consumer device according to the specification data interface.

12. The method as recited in clause 8, further comprising storing at least a portion of the game metadata for the broadcasts as the specification data, wherein the game metadata includes game states for the game, Game event data for the game, or data representing or representing the game content.

13. In the method listed in Item 8,

Determining spectral statistics for the one or more broadcasts based on spectator participation in the broadcasts; And

And storing the sampling statistical data as the sampling data.

14. The method as recited in clause 8, wherein the broadcast content is displayed on UI elements provided to the plurality of spectator devices for display in accordance with the specification UI or on game video received from the broadcaster devices And overlaid content, wherein the spectator interactions with the broadcast content represent selections or spectator interest of the individual broadcast content.

15. The method as recited in clause 8, wherein the broadcast content includes user interface (UI) elements for viewing and purchasing virtual or physical objects comprising objects related to the game, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > UI < / RTI >

16. In the method listed in Item 8,

Analyzing the presentation data to determine the presentation information for at least one of the broadcasts; And

And providing the sampling information to at least one of the sampling data consumers according to the sampling data interface.

17. The method as recited in clause 16, wherein the spectralizing information is indicative of spectator interest in the broadcast and individual broadcast content based on the individual broadcast content and the broadcast and the spectator interactions Which includes a heat map.

18, In the method enumerated in Item 8, the above-mentioned data-for-data consumers include at least one of game developers, broadcasters, or online merchants.

19. The method as recited in clause 8, wherein the providing data interface comprises one or more of an application programming interface (API), a user interface (UI), or a query interface.

20. The method as recited in clause 8, wherein the step of acquiring and recording broadcast content and spectator interactions with the broadcasts comprises generating a spectral user interface (UI) of the spectating system on individual spectator devices, And tracking and recording interactions.

21. The method as recited in clause 20, wherein the Specifying UI is a web page provided on a web browser and the step of acquiring and recording the broadcasts and broadcast content and spectator interactions comprises: And tracking the spectator navigation with one or more other web pages.

22. The method as recited in clause 20, wherein the step of tracking and recording the spectating UI and interactions on at least one spectator device comprises the steps of: generating an eye motion or head motion for the SP motion and / or the like.

23. The method as recited in clause 8, wherein the specification data includes broadcast, a plurality of broadcasts, a game, or specific data for a plurality of games.

24. 17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon program instructions for causing one or more computing devices to cause, when the program instructions are executed on one or more computers,

A plurality of broadcasts, and individual broadcaster content and representations of spectator interactions, each broadcast being associated with a game play of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in a game running on the gaming system Wherein the broadcast content is determined at least in part according to game metadata for the game received from the game system;

Wherein the A / V content for the broadcast comprises one or more of broadcast video, broadcast audio, or broadcast text chat; and wherein the A / V content for the broadcast comprises one or more of broadcast video, broadcast audio, or broadcast text chat;

Exposing the specification data and the A / V content to one or more of the data-gathering data consumers according to a specification data interface;

Receive a request for particular specification data from a data collection consumer according to the data collection interface;

Determining a portion of the A / V content correlated to the particular spectating data; And

And to implement a specification data service for a specification system configured to provide the customer with the requested specification data and a correlated portion of the A / V content according to the specification data interface.

25. The non-transitory computer-accessible storage medium as recited in clause 24, wherein the data-bearing data service comprises:

Analyzing the presentation data to determine a particular presentation information for a broadcast, a plurality of broadcasts, a game, or a plurality of games; And

And to provide the spectralizing information to at least one of the spectral data consumers according to the spectral data interface.

The foregoing may be further understood in light of the following set of items:

One. The system comprises:

At least one computing device configured to implement a spectating system, the system comprising:

Streaming a broadcast received from a broadcaster device to one or more of a plurality of spectator devices, the broadcast showing a game play of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in a game running on the gaming system;

And acquires game event data for the game from the game system according to an application programming interface (API) of the specification system, and the game event data includes a notable event in the game included in the broadcast Display;

Determine a reward for participating in the prominent event;

Determining one or more participants for the prominent event from participation data for the broadcast, the participation data indicating the one or more spectator devices to which the broadcast containing the prominent event is to be streamed, The spectators associated with one or more spectator devices; And

And to provide access to compensation for participating in the prominent event via a specification user interface (UI) on the one or more spectator devices associated with the one or more participants.

2. The system as recited in clause 1, wherein the broadcaster is a participant in the remarkable event, the system comprising:

Determine a broadcaster compensation for the prominent event; And

And to provide access to the broadcaster compensation via a broadcasting UI on the broadcaster device.

3. The system as recited in item 2, wherein the broadcaster compensation comprises game content for the game, the system is further configured to enable delivery of the game content to the broadcaster device.

4. The system as recited in clause 1, wherein the participation data comprises spectating statistics based on participation in the broadcast, the spectating system comprising:

Determine a broadcaster achievement based on the spectating statistics for the broadcast; And

And to provide access to compensation for the broadcaster performance over the broadcasting UI on the broadcaster device.

5. In the system recited in item 1, the compensation is a virtual object or a physical object corresponding to the in-game contents.

6. A system as recited in clause 1, wherein said compensation comprises a virtual object configured for use in said game, said system for delivering said virtual objects to at least one of said one or more spectator devices Lt; / RTI >

7. The system as recited in clause 1, wherein the system is adapted to transmit, via the one or more broadcasts, to the plurality of spectator devices and to the broadcaster devices one or more indications Wherein the one or more indications include one or both of visual indications or audio indications.

8. The system as recited in clause 1, wherein the Specification UI comprises one or more UI elements for specifying compensation for the selected participants and for selecting participants to be compensated, the system comprising:

Obtain spectator inputs for the UI elements;

Determine one or more participants to be compensated for according to the spectator inputs;

Determine one or more compensations for one or more selected participants according to the spectator inputs; And

And to provide access to the one or more compensations to the one or more selected participants via the Specification UI.

9. The system as recited in clause 1, wherein the Specification UI includes one or more UI elements for specifying a reward for the selected players and for selecting players for the game running on the game system to be rewarded, Wherein the compensation comprises virtual objects configured for use in the game, the system comprising:

Obtain spectator inputs for the UI elements;

Determine one or more players to be compensated for according to the spectator inputs;

Determine one or more virtual objects for one or more selected players according to the spectator inputs; And

And to enable provisioning of the one or more virtual objects for one or more selected players in the game.

10. In the system recited in item 1, the compensation is provided by the specification system, the game system, the broadcaster system, the game developer system, or a third party system.

11. In the system enumerated in item 1, the system is further configured to pay a fee and to provide the compensation to the one or more participants.

12. In the method,

By a specification system implemented on one or more computing devices:

Streaming one or more broadcasts received from one or more broadcaster devices to a plurality of spectator devices, wherein each broadcast is a game of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in the game running on the gaming system Showing the play, the streaming step;

Determine a significant event in at least one of the one or more broadcasts in accordance with game event data for the game received from the gaming system at least partially, the game event data indicating one or more events in the game;

Determining one or more participants in the prominent event from participation data for the broadcast, the participants including a spectator associated with the one or more spectator devices to which the at least one broadcast including the prominent event is streamed, Said determining step comprising: And

And providing compensation to the one or more spectator devices associated with the one or more spectators to participate in the salient event.

13. 12. The method as recited in clause 12, further comprising receiving the game event data from the game system in accordance with an application programming interface (API) of the specification system.

14. The method as recited in clause 12, wherein said at least one participant in said prominent event comprises at least one broadcaster, said method further comprising: sending, to said broadcaster device of said at least one broadcaster, And providing broadcaster compensation.

15. The method as recited in clause 14, wherein the broadcaster compensation comprises game content for the game, the method further comprising delivering the game content to the broadcaster device.

16. 12. The method as recited in clause 12, wherein the participation data comprises spectating statistics based on participation in the broadcast, the method comprising:

Determining a particular broadcaster performance based on the spectating statistics for the broadcast; And

And providing at least the return or compensation for the performance to the broadcaster device of the particular broadcaster.

17. In the method listed in item 12, the compensation is a virtual object or a physical object corresponding to the in-game contents.

18. The method as recited in clause 12, wherein said compensation comprises a virtual object configured for use in said game, said method further comprising the step of delivering said virtual objects to at least one of said one or more spectator devices .

19. The method as recited in clause 12, further comprising: providing the plurality of spectator devices through the one or more broadcasts with one or more indications of the compensation for participating in the remarkable event, Lt; / RTI > include one or both of visual indications or audio indications.

20. The method of item 19, wherein the one or more indications comprise one or both of persistent indications or temporary indications.

21. The method as recited in clause 12 further comprising providing at least one of the one or more broadcaster devices with one or more indications of the compensation for participating in the remarkable event, Or audio indications.

22. In the method listed in item 12,

Providing one or more user interface (UI) elements for specifying rewards for the selected participants on the spectator devices via a specification UI and selecting participants to be rewarded;

Obtaining spectator inputs for the UI elements;

Determining one or more participants to be compensated for according to the spectator inputs;

Determining one or more compensations for one or more selected participants according to the spectator inputs; And

And providing the one or more rewards to the one or more selected participants.

23. In the method listed in item 12,

Providing one or more user interface (UI) elements for specifying rewards for the selected players on the spectator devices via the Specifying UI and for selecting players in a game running on the game system to be rewarded ;

Obtaining spectator inputs for the UI elements;

Determining one or more players to be compensated according to the spectator inputs;

Determining one or more virtual objects for one or more selected players according to the spectator inputs; And

Enabling provisioning of the one or more virtual objects for one or more selected players in the game.

24. In the method listed in item 12,

Providing one or more user interface (UI) elements for specifying rewards for the selected participants on a broadcasting UI over the broadcaster devices and for selecting participants to be rewarded;

Obtaining broadcaster inputs for the UI elements;

Determining one or more participants to be compensated for according to the broadcaster inputs;

Determining one or more compensation for one or more selected participants according to the broadcaster inputs; And

And providing the one or more rewards to the one or more selected participants.

25. The method as recited in clause 12, wherein said compensation is provided by said specification system, said game system, said broadcaster system, game developer system, or third party system.

26. The method as recited in clause 12, wherein the spectators are segmented into two or more groups, the method further comprising: determining and providing different compensation for joining the remarkable event to the two or more groups .

27. 25. The method as recited in clause 25, wherein the two or more groups include subscriber and non-subscriber to the specification system.

28. 17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon program instructions for causing one or more computing devices to cause, when the program instructions are executed on one or more computers,

Wherein the game event data is acquired from a game system in accordance with an application programming interface (API) of the system, the game event data being streamed to one or more of a plurality of spectator devices and received from a broadcaster device Wherein the broadcast shows a game play of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in a game running on the gaming system;

Determine a reward to participate in the remarkable event;

Determining one or more participants for the prominent event from participation data for the broadcast, the participation data indicating the one or more spectator devices to which the broadcast containing the prominent event is to be streamed, The spectators associated with one or more spectator devices; And

And cause the one or more participants to implement a participant compensation module for the spectating system configured to provide compensation for participating in the prominent event.

29. 28. A non-transitory computer-accessible storage medium enumerated in item 28, wherein the at least one participant is provided with compensation for participating in the remarkable event, wherein the participant compensation module comprises one or more devices associated with the one or more participants (UI) element for acquiring compensation for the user interface (UI) element.

30. Item 28: A non-transitory computer-accessible storage medium, wherein the broadcaster is a participant in the remarkable event, the participant compensation module comprising:

Determine a broadcaster compensation for the prominent event, the broadcaster compensation comprising a virtual object configured for use in the game; And

And to enable delivery of the virtual object to the broadcaster device.

The foregoing may be further understood in light of the following set of items:

One. The system comprises:

At least one computing device configured to implement a spectating system, the system comprising:

Broadcasting a video received from a broadcaster device to a plurality of spectator devices, the video comprising a game play of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in a game running on the gaming system;

Generating broadcast content in accordance with the game metadata for the game at least partially obtained from the game system;

Providing the broadcast content to the plurality of spectator devices according to a specification user interface (UI), the broadcast content including UI elements for acquiring or joining the game;

Acquire spectator interactions with the broadcast content in accordance with the Specification UI, and the spectator interactions include inputs to the UI elements indicating requests to acquire or join the game Include; And

And configured to enable provisioning of one or both of a game client or a game state to individual spectator devices in response to the requests, wherein the provisioning configures the individual spectator devices for participation in the game.

2. In the system recited in item 1, at least a portion of the game metadata is obtained from the game system according to an application programming interface (API) of the specification system.

3. The system as recited in clause 1, wherein in response to the requests, it enables provisioning of one or both of a game client or a game state to individual spectator devices, Further configured to generate inputs to the game system in accordance with an application programming interface (API) of the system, the inputs requesting downloading of the game client or one or both of the game state and the game state to the individual spectator devices .

4. In the system recited in item 1, the game state is a point-in-time of game data and game information representing a particular game at a specific point on a game timeline in a game universe, Record and the game client on the spectator device is configured to start or resume game play in the game at the individual point in the game timeline in the game universe according to the game state.

5. The system as recited in item 1, wherein the game metadata includes data describing or representing in-game virtual content, the broadcast content further comprising UI elements for acquiring the in-game content, The tating system is further configured to enable provisioning of individual game content to respective spectator devices in response to the UI elements and spectator interactions to obtain the in-game content.

6. In the system listed in item 5, the in-game virtual content includes one or both of game gear and game characters for the game characters.

7. The system as recited in clause 1, wherein enabling the provisioning of one or both of a game client or a game state to individual spectator devices, said spectating system comprising, for at least one spectator device, Wherein the game stream and the game streaming interface are configured to initiate a game stream with a game streaming interface on the device, wherein the game stream and game streaming interface allow trial participation from the individual spectator device to the game running on the game system.

8. In the system recited in item 7, the game stream includes downloading of the game client, the game state, or both to the individual spectator device.

9. The system as recited in clause 8, wherein the system is adapted to enable the game client on the individual spectator device in response to receiving input for a UI element on the spectator device, wherein the game client enabling allows full participation in the game running on the game system from the individual spectator device.

10. In the method recited in item 7, the game stream includes downloading of the virtual content in play to the individual spectator device.

11. In the method,

By a specification system implemented on one or more computing devices:

Streaming one or more broadcasts received from one or more broadcaster devices to a plurality of spectator devices, wherein each broadcast is a game of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in the game running on the gaming system Showing the play, the streaming step;

Generating broadcast content for the broadcasts in accordance with game metadata at least in part;

Obtaining indicia of the broadcast content and spectator interactions comprising interactions representing requests to join the game; And

And enabling provisioning of one or both of a game client or a game state to individual spectator devices in response to the requests, wherein the provisioning is to enable participation of the game from the individual spectator device , ≪ / RTI >

12. The method as recited in clause 11, further comprising, by the specification system, obtaining at least a portion of the game metadata from the game system according to an application programming interface (API) of the specification system .

13. 11. The method as recited in clause 11, wherein the broadcast content comprises one or more user interface (UI) elements provided to the plurality of spectator devices for display according to a specification UI.

14. The method as recited in clause 11, wherein the step of enabling the provisioning of one or both of the game client or the game state to the individual spectator devices is performed in the game system according to an application programming interface (API) Wherein the inputs request downloads of one or both of the game client or the game state to the individual spectator devices.

15. The method as recited in clause 11, wherein the game state is a point-in-time of game data and game information representing the game at a particular point on a game timeline in a game universe, It is a record.

16. The method as recited in clause 15, wherein the provisioning comprises downloading the game state to one or more of the spectator devices, the method comprising: downloading the game state to the game timeline in the game universe according to the downloaded game state And initiating game play on the game client executing on the one or more spectator devices at the respective point.

17. The method of item 16, wherein the game state is one of a game state of the game currently running on the game system or a game state of a pre-recorded game session.

18. The method as recited in clause 11, wherein the game metadata includes data describing or representing in-game virtual content, wherein the broadcast content further comprises UI elements for obtaining the in-game content, Further comprising enabling the downloading of individual game content to the individual spectator devices in response to the UI elements and the spectator interactions to obtain the in-game content.

19. In the method enumerated in Item 18, the in-game virtual content includes one or both of a game gear and game characters for the game characters.

20. The method as recited in clause 11, wherein enabling the provisioning of one or both of a game client or a game state to individual spectator devices comprises: providing at least one spectator device with a game streaming interface Wherein the game stream and the game streaming interface enable at least partial participation in the game running on the game system from the individual spectator device.

21. The method as recited in clause 20, further comprising downloading one or both of the game client and the game state to the individual spectator device in the game stream.

22. 21. The method as recited in clause 21, wherein enabling the game client on the individual spectator device in response to receiving input on a UI element on the spectator device indicative of purchase of the game Wherein the game client enabling enables full participation in the game running on the game system from the individual spectator device.

23. 21. The method as recited in clause 21, wherein the game stream includes downloading of virtual content in play to the individual spectator device.

24. 17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon program instructions for causing one or more computing devices to cause, when the program instructions are executed on one or more computers,

Generating broadcast content for a broadcast received from a broadcaster device, wherein the broadcast shows a game play of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in a game running on a gaming system, the broadcast content being at least partially Generated according to game metadata received from the game system according to an application programming interface (API);

Providing the broadcast content to a plurality of spectator devices according to a specification user interface (UI), the broadcast content including UI elements for joining the game;

Acquiring spectator interactions with the broadcast content in accordance with the specification UI, the spectator interactions including inputs to the UI elements indicating requests to join the game; And

And cause the individual spectator devices to implement a specification system configured to generate inputs to the gaming system in accordance with the API requesting provisioning of one or both of a game client or a game state in response to the requests.

25. 24. A non-transitory computer-accessible storage medium enumerated in item 24, wherein the game metadata includes data describing or representing in-game virtual content including game characters and game gears for game characters, Wherein the broadcast content further comprises UI elements for acquiring the in-game content, wherein the specification system is further adapted to receive the in-game content in response to the UI elements and spectator interactions to acquire the in- Lt; / RTI > to enable provisioning of individual game content to the user.

The foregoing may be further understood in light of the following set of items:

One. The system comprises:

At least one computing device configured to implement a spectating system, the system comprising:

Broadcasting a video received from a broadcaster device to a plurality of spectator devices, the video comprising a game play of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in a game running on the gaming system;

Generating broadcast content in accordance with the game metadata for the game at least partially obtained from the game system in accordance with an application programming interface (API) of the programming system;

Providing the broadcast content to the plurality of spectator devices according to a specification user interface (UI), the broadcast content including UI elements for interacting with the game running on the game system;

And acquire spectator interactions with the broadcast content in accordance with the Specification UI, the spectator interactions being performed on the UI elements representing interactions with the game running on the game system Inputs;

Generate game inputs in accordance with the inputs to the UI elements representing at least in part the game and interactions executing on the gaming system; And

And to provide the game inputs to the gaming system in accordance with the API.

2. 10. A system as recited in item 1,

Repeatedly performing the acquisition, generation, and provisioning during the broadcast;

Sensing changes in the inputs to the UI elements while iteratively performing the acquisition and generation; And

And change at least one value of the game inputs in response to the detection.

3. 10. A system as recited in item 1,

Wherein the spectator chat inputs obtain spectator chat inputs from the plurality of spectator devices, wherein the spectator chat inputs include one or more of audio chat inputs or text chat inputs for a plurality of spectators associated with the plurality of spectator devices, Both;

Process the spectator chat inputs to determine chat content that specifies interactions with the game running on the gaming system;

Generate additional game inputs in accordance with the determined chat content indicating interactions with the game running on the gaming system; And

And to provide the additional game inputs to the gaming system in accordance with the API.

4. The system as recited in clause 1, wherein the broadcast content comprises one or more UI elements for delivering game information to broadcasters, the spectator interactions specifying game information to be provided to the broadcaster And the spectator system is further configured to provide the specified game information to the broadcaster device for display on the broadcaster.

5. The system of item 1, wherein the broadcast content comprises:

One or more UI elements for adding content to a game world of the game, the game inputs comprising inputs specifying content to be added to the game world;

One or more UI elements for influencing the environment of the game world of the game, the game inputs comprising inputs specifying one or more effects in the environment of the game world;

One or more UI elements for influencing events in the game, the game inputs comprising inputs specifying one or more effects on events in the game; or

One or more of the one or more UI elements for specifying parameters of the game, the game inputs comprising inputs specifying the values of one or more parameters of the game.

6. The system as recited in item 1, wherein the broadcast content comprises one or more UI elements for providing in-game content or information to players in the game, the game inputs comprising in-game content Or information from one or more spectator devices that specify information.

7. 11. A system as recited in item 1, wherein the broadcast content comprises one or more UI elements for searching for objects in the game world of the game, the game inputs comprising input for specifying locations to be searched in the game world .

8. In the method recited in item 1, the spectator interactions include interactions with one or more of the spectator devices' controller devices, joystick devices, motion tracking input devices, or gesture based input devices Wherein the system is further configured to generate additional game inputs based at least in part upon the interactions.

9. 11. A system as recited in item 1, wherein the specification system comprises a game interaction module for the game running on the game system, the game interaction module comprising:

Define the UI elements for interacting with the game;

Define the game inputs for the game; And

And to map inputs to the UI elements for interacting with the game to values for the game inputs.

10. In the system listed in item 9, the game metadata includes information describing or representing game contents for the game, and at least some of the UI elements represent the game contents corresponding to the game contents.

11. In the method,

By a specification system implemented on one or more computing devices:

Streaming one or more broadcasts received from one or more broadcaster devices to a plurality of spectator devices, wherein each broadcast is a game of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in the game running on the gaming system Showing the play, the streaming step;

Generating broadcast content for the broadcasts in accordance with game metadata that at least partially describes or represents game content, the broadcast content comprising a user interface for interacting with the game running on the game system, (UI) elements;

Wherein the spectator interactions include inputs to the UI elements representing interactions with the game running on the game system, wherein the spectator interactions include: Obtaining;

Generating game inputs based at least in part on the inputs to the UI elements; And

And exposing the game inputs to the game system in accordance with an application programming interface (API) of the specification system.

12. 11. The method as recited in clause 11, further comprising, by the specification system, obtaining at least a portion of the game metadata from the game system in accordance with the API of the specification system.

13. In the method listed in item 11,

Obtaining, by the game system, a value for the game inputs according to the API; And

And influencing the execution of the game on the game system according to the obtained values.

14. In the method listed in item 11,

Obtaining spectator chat inputs from the plurality of spectator devices;

Processing the spectator chat inputs to determine chat content that specifies interactions with the game running on the gaming system;

Generating additional game inputs in accordance with the determined chat content representing interactions with the game running on the gaming system; And

And providing the additional game inputs to the game system in accordance with the API.

15. In the method listed in item 14, the spectator chat inputs include one or both of audio chat inputs or text chat inputs for a plurality of spectators associated with the plurality of spectator devices.

16. In the method listed in item 11,

Obtaining video or image inputs of a spectator eye motion, body motion, or facial expression from the plurality of spectator devices;

Processing the video or image inputs to determine metrics that specify interactions with the game running on the gaming system;

Generating additional game inputs in accordance with the determined metrics representing interactions with the game running on the gaming system; And

And providing the additional game inputs to the game system in accordance with the API.

17. The method as recited in clause 11, wherein the broadcast content includes one or more UI elements for delivering game information to broadcasters, the spectator interactions specifying game information to be provided to the broadcaster And spectator inputs for one or more UI elements, the method further comprising providing the specified game information to the broadcaster device for display on the broadcaster.

18. The method as recited in clause 11, wherein the broadcast content includes one or more UI elements for adding content to a game world of the game, the game inputs including inputs specifying content to be added to the game world do.

19. The method as recited in clause 11, wherein the broadcast content comprises one or more UI elements for influencing the environment of the game world of the game, the game inputs specifying one or more effects in the environment of the game world Lt; / RTI >

20. The method as recited in clause 11, wherein the broadcast content comprises one or more of one or more UI elements for specifying parameters of the game, the game inputs comprising an input for specifying values of one or more parameters of the game .

21. The method as recited in clause 11, wherein the broadcast content comprises one or more UI elements for providing in-game content or information to players in the game, wherein the game inputs include in-game content Or information from one or more spectator devices that specify information.

22. 21. The method as recited in clause 21, wherein the broadcast content comprises one or more UI elements for purchasing in-game content or information for players, wherein the game inputs include in-game content or information for designated players And includes inputs from one or more spectator devices to be purchased.

23. 11. The method as recited in clause 11, wherein the broadcast content comprises one or more UI elements for searching for objects in the game world of the game, the game inputs comprising input for specifying locations to be searched in the game world .

24. 11. The method as recited in clause 11, wherein the broadcast content includes one or more UI elements for influencing events or causing events in the game, One or more effects, or inputs that cause one or more events in the game.

25. In the method listed in item 11, the spectator interactions include interactions with one or more of the spectator devices' controller devices, joystick devices, motion tracking input devices, or gesture based input devices The method further includes generating additional game inputs based at least in part on the interactions.

26. 17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon program instructions for causing one or more computing devices to cause, when the program instructions are executed on one or more computers,

Generating broadcast content for a broadcast received from a broadcaster device, wherein the broadcast shows a game play of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in a game running on a gaming system, User interface (UI) elements for interacting with the game running on the computer;

Providing the broadcast content to a plurality of spectator devices according to a specification UI;

Acquiring spectator interactions with the broadcast content, the spectator interactions comprising inputs to the UI elements representing interactions with the game executing on the game system; And

Implement a game interaction module for a specification system configured to generate values for game inputs according to the inputs to the UI elements representing the game and interactions executing on the game system; And

The game inputs are exposed to the game system in accordance with an application programming interface (API) of the specification system.

27. 20. A non-transitory computer-accessible storage medium as recited in item 26, wherein the game interaction module comprises:

Wherein the spectator chat inputs obtain spectator chat inputs from the plurality of spectator devices, wherein the spectator chat inputs include one or more of audio chat inputs or text chat inputs for a plurality of spectators associated with the plurality of spectator devices, Both;

Process the spectator chat inputs to determine chat content that specifies interactions with the game running on the gaming system; And

And generate additional game inputs in accordance with the determined chat content representing interactions with the game executing on the gaming system.

Conclusion

The various embodiments may further comprise receiving, transmitting, or storing instructions and / or data implemented in accordance with the foregoing description of a computer-accessible medium. Generally speaking, a computer-accessible medium may include, for example, magnetic or optical media such as a disk or DVD / CD-ROM, volatile or non-volatile (e.g., SDRAM, DDR, RDRAM, SRAM, Such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals carried over a communication medium such as a network and / or a wireless link, as well as storage media or memory media, such as media.

The various methods illustrated in the Figures and described herein represent exemplary embodiments of the methods. The methods may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof. The order of the methods may vary and various elements may be added, reordered, combined, omitted, and modified.

Various modifications and variations can be made as will be apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. Are intended to cover all such modifications and changes, which are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and accordingly the foregoing description.

Claims (15)

In the system,
The system comprising one or more computing devices configured to implement a spectating system,
Broadcasting video received from a broadcaster device to a plurality of spectator devices, the video including gameplay of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in a game running on the gaming system;
Wherein the game metadata for the game is obtained from the game system according to an application programming interface (API) of the specification system, the game metadata including game states for the game, game event data for the game, Player input to the game, or data describing or representing the game content;
Generating broadcast content at least partially in accordance with the game metadata;
Providing at least a portion of the broadcast content to the plurality of spectator devices in accordance with a specification user interface (UI);
Obtaining spectator interactions with the broadcast content according to the specification UI; And
To provide at least some of the spectator interactions with the game system in accordance with the API
Configured. The system of claim 1, wherein the game state is a point-in-time record of game data and game information representing a particular game at a particular point on a game timeline in the game universe. The system of claim 1, wherein the game event data comprises game event records representing notable events in the game determined by the game system. The system of claim 1, wherein the game content comprises one or more of objects, items, or characters within the game. The system of claim 1, wherein the player input displays a command or action input for the game by an individual player via a game client or game controller. 2. The system of claim 1,
Acquiring a preference for a plurality of spectators associated with the plurality of spectator devices according to the specification UI; And
To determine the targeted broadcast content for a particular one of the plurality of spectators in accordance with the individual spectrating preferences of the spectators
Configured. 2. The system of claim 1,
Obtaining spectator inputs from a plurality of spectators associated with the plurality of spectator devices in accordance with the specification UI, the spectator inputs including at least one of an audio chat or a text chat;
Generate one or more game inputs according to analysis of the spectator inputs; And
Providing the one or more game inputs to the gaming system in accordance with the API, the gaming inputs affecting execution of the game on the gaming system;
The system to be configured. The method of claim 1, wherein the broadcast content is overlaid on UI elements provided to the plurality of spectator devices for display or game video received from the broadcaster device according to the specification UI. Content. ≪ / RTI > In the method,
By a specification system implemented on one or more computing devices:
Streaming one or more broadcasts received from one or more broadcaster devices to a plurality of spectator devices, wherein each broadcast is associated with a game play of an individual broadcaster participating as a player in the game running on the gaming system -;
Generating content for the broadcasts in accordance with game metadata for the game received at least in part according to an application programming interface (API) of the programming system; And
Providing indicia of the broadcast content and spectator interactions to the gaming system in accordance with the API
≪ / RTI > The method of claim 9, wherein the game metadata comprises metadata received from one or more of the game system, the one or more broadcaster devices, the game developer system, or a third party system. The method of claim 9,
Obtaining, by the game system, indications of the broadcast content and spectator interactions according to the API; And
Effecting the execution of the game on the game system in accordance with the broadcast content and the displayed spectator interactions
≪ / RTI > The method of claim 9,
Providing at least a portion of the broadcast content to the plurality of spectator devices according to a specification user interface (UI); And
Obtaining spectator interactions with the broadcast content according to the specification UI;
≪ / RTI > The method of claim 9, wherein the game metadata includes at least one of game states for the game, game event data for the game, player inputs to the game, or data describing or representing the game content. Way. The method of claim 9,
Obtaining spectator inputs from the plurality of spectator devices, wherein the spectator inputs comprise at least one of audio inputs or text inputs from spectators associated with the spectator devices;
Analyzing the spectator inputs to determine one or more game inputs; And
Providing the one or more game inputs to the gaming system in accordance with the API, the gaming inputs affecting execution of the game on the gaming system,
≪ / RTI > 10. The method of claim 9, wherein at least a portion of the game metadata is provided by the gaming system in response to requests from the specification system in accordance with the programming system API.

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