US 2016/0101357 A1 · CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN ASYNCHRONOUS MULTIPLAYER GAMES

Abstract

A method and system to host a computer-implemented multiplayer game includes functionality to identify and resolve conflicts resulting from asynchronous game play. Client system game state information that changes responsive to in-game actions performed on a client system is intermittently synchronized with authoritative game state information, during which the in-game actions may be validated. Actions that fail a prerequisite check based on the authoritative game state information are analyzed in automated fashion to determine whether they are redundant actions that fail the prerequisite check owing to their having been performed with respect to outdated client system game state information. One or more remedial actions are performed for respective redundant actions, e.g., by allowing the redundant action and modifying the game state, by restoring spent resources to affected players, or by disallowing both the redundant action and an associated preempting action.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method to host an asynchronous computer-implemented multiplayer game, the method comprising:

receiving an action identifier that indicates a first action executed on a first client system responsive to player inputs received from a first player, the first action being an in-game action that was a executed based at least in part on client system game state information;
accessing authoritative game state information that indicates a validated game state prior to execution of the first action, the authoritative game state information having been validated by a game management system;
automatically determining, using one or more processors, that the first action fails a prerequisite check which establishes satisfaction by the first action of at least one predefined game state prerequisite with respect to the validated game state;
and
responsive to determining failure of the prerequisite check, determining that the first action is a redundant action which was permitted by the first client system owing to its being performed with respect to outdated client system game state information.

2 more elements

A system to host an asynchronous computer-implemented multiplayer game, the system comprising:

a receiving module to receive an action identifier that indicates a first action executed on a first client system responsive to player inputs received from a first player, the first action being an in-game action that was executed based at least in part on client system game state information;
a validation engine to perform a prerequisite check for the first action based at least in part on authoritative game state information that indicates a validated game state prior to execution of the first action, to automatically determine that the first action fails a prerequisite check which establishes satisfaction by the first action of at least one predefined game state prerequisite with respect to the validated game state;
and
a redundancy determination module to determine, responsive to failure of the prerequisite check, that the first action is a redundant action which was permitted by the first client system owing to its being performed with respect to outdated client system game state information.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Conflict resolution in asynchronous multiplayer games

Life of this patent

Conflict resolution in asynchronous multiplayer games

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20