U.S. patent application number 13/309237 was filed with the patent office on 2012-06-07 for systems and methods for online, real-time, social gaming.
This patent application is currently assigned to TAKTAK LABS, LLC. Invention is credited to Christopher Adams, William DuPont, Gregory Haygood, Matthew R. Ledom, Chris L. Wilson.
Application Number | 20120142428 13/309237 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46162724 |
Filed Date | 2012-06-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120142428 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wilson; Chris L. ; et
al. |
June 7, 2012 |
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ONLINE, REAL-TIME, SOCIAL GAMING
Abstract
Systems and methods for designing a social gaming platform in
which participants compete to determine who best predicts the
outcomes of conditions relating to activities at sporting events,
TV shows, or other types of events. In a game, players compete with
other players in the same group or in different groups via a gaming
platform that employs a live digitized information feed from a
contemporaneous event (while an event is currently in-progress) in
addition to historical information relating to the event available
from third party sources. Such information allow players (and also
the system) to predict outcomes of conditions relating to
activities at events, wherein such conditions are either
user-contemplated, pre-stored in the system, or generated live (by
the system or users). Additionally, embodiments of the present
system utilize geo-location information to enable creation of
user-groups based on the physical location of system users and
social network affiliation of users.
Inventors: |
Wilson; Chris L.; (Atlanta,
GA) ; DuPont; William; (Atlanta, GA) ; Adams;
Christopher; (Holly Springs, GA) ; Haygood;
Gregory; (Smyrna, GA) ; Ledom; Matthew R.;
(Decatur, GA) |
Assignee: |
TAKTAK LABS, LLC
Atlanta
GA
|
Family ID: |
46162724 |
Appl. No.: |
13/309237 |
Filed: |
December 1, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61418590 |
Dec 1, 2010 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
463/42 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63F 13/332 20140902;
A63F 2300/5573 20130101; A63F 13/79 20140902; A63F 13/216 20140902;
A63F 13/335 20140902; A63F 2300/407 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/42 |
International
Class: |
A63F 9/24 20060101
A63F009/24 |
Claims
1. A method for conducting an online game via an Online Gaming
System (OGS) involving a plurality of participants that participate
in the online game via software operating on respective electronic
devices of the plurality of participants, wherein the online game
corresponds to a physical event happening in real-time, and wherein
participants of the online game are associated with a specific
geographic location, comprising the steps of: receiving
game-related information at the OGS corresponding to one or more
characteristics that define a particular online game, wherein the
game-related information includes location information defining a
particular geographic location associated with the particular
online game; generating an entry in an OGS database for the
particular online game based on the received game-related
information, and storing the received game-related information in
the OGS database in association with the entry for the particular
online game; receiving participant information at the OGS from one
or more participants indicating an interest by the one or more
participants in participating in the particular online game,
wherein the participant information includes participant location
information corresponding to a specific geographic location of an
electronic device associated with each respective participant;
determining if the participant location information for each
respective participant satisfies the location information defining
the particular geographic location associated with the particular
online game; for each participant whose participant location
information satisfies the location information defining the
particular geographic location associated with the particular
online game, associating the participant information for each
respective participant with the entry in the OGS database for the
particular online game; and initiating the particular online game
via the OGS involving each participant associated with the
particular online game.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the game-related information is
defined by an administrator of the particular online game.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the game-related information is
generated automatically by the OGS based on pre-stored game-related
information.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more characteristics
that define the particular online game are selected from the group
comprising: game type, game name, game duration, physical event
type, particular physical event, participant information, settings,
scoring settings, game questions, game answers.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic devices associated
with participants are selected from the group comprising: mobile
devices, cellular phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants
(PDAs), computers, tablet computers.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the location information defining
the particular geographic location associated with the particular
online game comprises information defining a geographic boundary
within which participants must be physically located to participate
in the particular online game.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the location information defining
the particular geographic location associated with the particular
online game comprises one or more of the following: latitude and
longitude coordinates, zip code information, neighborhood
information, city information, state information, information
relating to venues, information relating to arenas, information
relating to restaurants, information relating to retail
establishments, geographic area information, information defining a
radii around a geographic location.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the participant location
information comprises latitude and longitude coordinates.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the participant location
information is received from one or more of the following: a
wireless carrier, a global positioning system (GPS), a satellite
triangulation system, a location-based service (LBS) provider, a
social media check-in feature.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the physical event is selected
from the group comprising: a sporting event, sporting events, an
entertainment event, a television broadcast, an awards show, a
political event, a newsworthy event.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular online game
comprises one or more questions and answers that relate to the
physical event happening in real-time.
12. A method for conducting an online game via an Online Gaming
System (OGS) involving a plurality of participants that participate
in the online game via software operating on respective electronic
devices of the plurality of participants, wherein the online game
corresponds to a physical event happening in real-time, comprising
the steps of: receiving an indication at the OGS during a
particular online game for an in-game question corresponding to a
particular physical event to be presented to participants of the
particular online game as the particular online game is happening;
retrieving question information corresponding to specifics of the
in-game question; displaying the in-game question to the
participants of the particular online game based on the question
information; receiving answer information at the OGS from the
participants of the particular online game indicating answer
selections to the in-game question by the participants; storing the
received answer information from each respective participant in an
OGS database corresponding to each respective participant;
receiving live event information corresponding to the particular
physical event occurring in real-time; and generating a ranking of
the participants of the particular online game based on the answer
information and the live event information, and displaying the
ranking to the participants during the particular online game.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the indication comprises
satisfaction of one or more predefined rules associated with
activities occurring with respect to the particular physical
event.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein the indication comprises a
question submitted to the OGS by one of the participants of the
particular online game.
15. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of retrieving question
information corresponding to specifics of the in-game question
comprises retrieving predefined question information from the OGS
database.
16. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of retrieving question
information corresponding to specifics of the in-game question
comprises receiving question information from a participant of the
particular online game.
17. The method of claim 12, wherein the live event information
comprises information corresponding to one or more activities
occurring with respect to the particular physical event.
18. The method of claim 12, wherein the electronic devices
associated with participants are selected from the group
comprising: mobile devices, cellular phones, smartphones, personal
digital assistants (PDAs), computers, tablet computers.
19. The method of claim 12, wherein the particular physical event
is selected from the group comprising: a sporting event, sporting
events, an entertainment event, a television broadcast, an awards
show, a political event, a newsworthy event.
20. The method of claim 12 wherein the particular online game
comprises one or more questions and answers that relate to the
particular physical event happening in real-time.
21. The method of claim 12, further comprising the steps of:
retrieving historical information relating to aspects associated
with the particular physical event; generating predictive
information corresponding to one or more answers associated with
the in-game question; and displaying the predictive information in
conjunction with the in-game question to the participants of the
particular online game.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.119(e)
of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/418,590, filed Dec.
1, 2010, and entitled "Systems and Methods for Online, Real-time,
Social Gaming", which is incorporated herein by reference as if set
forth herein in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present systems and methods relate generally to online,
real-time social gaming, and more particularly to systems and
methods involved in the design of a mobile and web-based social
gaming platform for players to interact and play online games,
wherein aspects of the online game are determined by live digitized
data feeds from happenings at contemporaneous events (while events
are currently in progress) in addition to historical data gathered
from such types of events. The disclosed systems and methods allow
user interactions in real-time or almost real-time including the
ability to pose questions, predict outcomes, answer questions, and
perform other activities relating to sports events, TV shows,
political debates, or any event that is capable of providing a
digitized data feed of the happenings at the event, wherein such a
feed is typically available from third party sources.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Most persons interested in entertaining events such as
sports and current affairs prefer to play online games with other
persons who also have similar interests via a mobile and/or a
web-based online gaming platform to get involved, be social, be
competitive, and for added excitement while watching sports or a
current affairs event. Examples of such events include, but are not
limited to sporting events like NFL, football, NCAA football,
basketball, baseball, etc. and/or current events such as The
Academy Awards, reality TV shows, political debates, etc. A common
feature of such online games is for participants to predict
outcomes of certain conditions or characteristics of the event. For
example, for an avid football fan, such a condition can be "who
will score more points in the first half", or "how many
three-pointers will the winning team have", and various others.
Typically, persons who play or participate in the online game
(players) predict the outcome of such conditions apriori, i.e.,
before the actual occurrence of the outcome. The player with the
most correct number of outcomes usually wins.
[0004] In many scenarios, to add a new level of excitement, online
gaming platforms creates pools (groups) of players by matching
users with similar background, affiliations or interests so that
they can be a part of the same pool. Sometimes, users of the gaming
platform can create their own pools and invite other users (or
even, non-users of the gaming platform) to join one or more
user-created pools. Subsequently, players in the same pool can
compete with each other, or even, players from different pools can
also choose to compete with each other in predicting outcomes of
certain conditions or characteristics of the event. As will be
understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, pools can be set up
for a specific event, game, a series, or an entire season, and can
further be customized (depending on the underlying technology of
the gaming platform) according to players' preferences.
[0005] However, conventional systems do not enable participants in
an online game to have access to a data teed of the happenings at
the event in real-time. The data feed can be used in the form of
analytics for helping in predicting outcomes of certain conditions,
in one manifestation this could mean users (players) providing
answers to questions as a part of an online social game, wherein
users have the option to play in inter- or intra-pool games.
Questions that are presented in a pool, in one instance, can be
either selected from a pre-existing set of questions available via
a gaming platform, or in another instance, pool creators have the
ability to generate custom questions (e.g., in sporting events,
"will Team X score on this drive?") while an event is unfolding in
real-time. These questions are likely to be distributed to the
appropriate participants via email, mobile push notifications,
mobile text alerts, MMS by the gaming platform while an event is
in-process. Participants of pools can then respond via mobile or
web back to the gaming platform that then scores these questions,
adjusts pool scoring and displays rankings of users in near-real
time. As will be understood and appreciated, gaming platforms
constructed using the above-mentioned elements will create
unprecedented levels of user-engagement and excitement.
[0006] Again, most traditional online gaming platforms do not
provide real-time sporting and event data feeds. Even further,
historical data relating to sports events (e.g., from past seasons,
or tournaments), or other any other form of historical
event-related data are not provided to users of online gaming
platforms. Moreover, most online gaming platforms are not
technologically sophisticated because they lack statistical
decision making tools that are usually helpful in most online
games, e.g., they lack the ability of predictive outcome modeling
of certain conditions or characteristics of events. Additionally,
they are also not easily customizable to according to players'
preferences.
[0007] Therefore, there is a long-felt but unresolved need for a
system or method for designing a social gaming platform that solves
the aforementioned problems. Aspects of the present disclosure are
aimed at solving the aforementioned problems and provide a unique
social gaming and networking experience to users
(players/participants) of the system. The disclosed system is
highly interactive and easily configurable by users having minimal
technical skills, and easily operable by system administrators.
Further, the system is easily accessible online by a plurality of
users' electronic devices, either via a website, or mobile
application programs running on users' mobile devices so that users
can play along while an event is happening (in-process). Users
(players) of the system have access to analytics extracted from
live event data feed, and also (previous) historical event-related
data. Even further, aspects of the present system are responsive to
users' current geographical location and allows users located in
the same vicinity (e.g., at a venue, at a bar, at a stadium, at the
event, etc.) to play with each other seamlessly in real-time.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0008] Briefly described, and according to one embodiment, aspects
of the present disclosure generally relate to systems and methods
for designing a social gaming platform that allows users to create
online games in which participants compete to predicts the outcomes
of specific conditions relating to activities at sporting events,
TV award shows, or other types of events. For example, in one
aspect and as will be understood from the discussions that follow,
conditions can be in the form of multiple-choice questions,
free-form questions that have answers comprising a few lines,
tournament brackets, and the like. Therefore, in such examples, a
game involves participants (OGS users) predicting the answers of
questions. In an exemplary aspect, questions (or, more generally,
conditions) comprise real-time in-event questions created by the
OGS or by system users, or even, pre-stored in the system.
[0009] According to one aspect and described in greater detail
herein, an Online Gaming System (OGS) receives digitized live event
data feed from on or more third party sources. Additionally, the
OGS also stores historical information relating to an event (e.g.,
sporting events, TV award shows, etc.), or generally, accesses
historical information relating to an event from third party
sources. It will be understood that such live-feed and historical
information are presented to players (participants) as analytics
for their guidance in predicting the outcomes of specific
conditions relating to the activities at the event. and extracts
analytics from such data feed. Such analytics are then utilized by
the OGS to computationally generate answers (a\k\a a closes
proximate answer) to the questions.
[0010] Typically, in an online game (also referred to as an OGS
game, or even simply, a game) players compete with other players in
the same (user group) pool or different pools, wherein the pools
can be created by the OGS or by system users. According to another
aspect, the OGS evaluates the answers predicted by game
participants against computationally generated answers to the
questions, the results of such evaluation being used to rank
participants in an OGS game.
[0011] These and other aspects, features, and benefits of the
claimed invention(s) will become apparent from the following
detailed written description of the preferred embodiments and
aspects taken in conjunction with the following drawings, although
variations and modifications thereto may be effected without
departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the
disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The accompanying drawings illustrate one or more embodiments
and/or aspects of the disclosure and, together with the written
description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used throughout
the drawings to refer to the same or like elements of an
embodiment, and wherein:
[0013] FIG. 1 is a high-level overview of an embodiment of the
disclosed online gaming system (OGS) in an exemplary operating
environment.
[0014] FIG. 1A shows an exemplary OGS architecture comprising
various software modules, engines, data tables and other similar
elements, according to one embodiment of the present system.
[0015] FIG. 2 shows an exemplary OGS architecture comprising
various software modules, engines, data tables, and other similar
elements, according to another embodiment of the present
system.
[0016] FIG. 2A shows exemplary records stored in a profile data
table comprising profile information of system users, according to
one embodiment of the present system.
[0017] FIG. 2B shows exemplary records stored in a score data table
comprising information relating to participants (and their
responses) in various online games played by system users,
according to one embodiment of the present system.
[0018] FIG. 2C shows exemplary records stored in a pool data table
comprising information relating to user-created or system-created
groups (pools) of participants, according to one embodiment of the
present system.
[0019] FIG. 2D shows exemplary records stored in a statistics data
table comprising information relating to user-created or
system-created groups (pools) of participants, according to one
embodiment of the present system.
[0020] FIG. 2E shows exemplary records stored in a content data
table comprising miscellaneous information, according to one
embodiment of the present system.
[0021] FIG. 3 is a flowchart that outlines an exemplary embodiment
of the steps to create a profile/become a member.
[0022] FIG. 3A is a flowchart that outlines an exemplary embodiment
of the steps involved in validating user credentials.
[0023] FIG. 4 is a flowchart that outlines an exemplary embodiment
of the steps for creating a user-created group (pool).
[0024] FIG. 5 is a flowchart that outlines an exemplary embodiment
of the steps for joining a user-created group (pool) via an OGS
user interface.
[0025] FIG. 5A is a flowchart that outlines an exemplary embodiment
of the steps for joining a pool from an email invite link
transmitted by the OGS to potential system users.
[0026] FIG. 6 is a flowchart that outlines an exemplary embodiment
of the OGS steps involved prior to the start of an event (e.g., a
game).
[0027] FIG. 6A is a flowchart that outlines an exemplary embodiment
of the OGS steps involved while an event (e.g., a game) is
in-process.
[0028] FIG. 7 is a flowchart that outlines an exemplary embodiment
of the processing steps in an embodiment of the OGS.
[0029] FIG. 8 is an exemplary embodiment of a summary table
displaying characteristics/roles of various users of the
system.
[0030] FIG. 8A is an exemplary embodiment of a summary chart of the
population and personas that may play the game.
[0031] FIG. 9 is an exemplary embodiment of the flowchart that
outlines a venue pool workflow.
[0032] FIG. 10A illustrates an exemplary screenshot of the user web
interface for the OGS dashboard as seen by the user upon login.
[0033] FIG. 10B illustrates an exemplary screenshot of the user web
interface for viewing and managing user pools.
[0034] FIG. 10C illustrates an exemplary screenshot of the user web
interface for answering pool questions.
[0035] FIG. 10D illustrates an exemplary screenshot of the user web
interface that provides the functionality of playing a game while a
sporting event is in-process.
[0036] FIG. 11A illustrates an exemplary screenshot of the user
mobile interface for the OGS dashboard as seen by the user upon
login.
[0037] FIG. 11B illustrates an exemplary screenshot of the user
mobile interface for viewing and managing user pools.
[0038] FIG. 11C illustrates an exemplary screenshot of the user
mobile interface for answering pool questions.
[0039] FIG. 11D illustrates an exemplary screenshot of the user web
interface that provides the functionality of playing a game while a
sporting event is in-process.
[0040] FIG. 12 (consisting of FIG. 12A, FIG. 12B, and FIG. 12C) is
a flowchart that shows an exemplary OGS process involved in
creation of user-groups (pools), including a user joining one or
more pre-created pools, for purposes of playing OGS games.
[0041] FIG. 13 is a flowchart that shows an exemplary front-end OGS
process illustrating interactions triggered by the OGS as well as
by system users, as part of an exemplary OGS game played between an
embodiment of the OGS and system users.
[0042] FIG. 14 is a flowchart that shows an exemplary back-end OGS
process involved in playing OGS games, including extraction of
analytics from a live event data feed and historical event data,
wherein such analytics are provided to system users and also
utilized by an embodiment of the OGS.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0043] For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the
principles of the present disclosure, reference will now be made to
the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language
will be used to describe the same. It will, nevertheless, be
understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is
thereby intended; any alterations and further modifications of the
described or illustrated embodiments, and any further applications
of the principles of the disclosure as illustrated therein are
contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to
which the disclosure relates. All limitations of scope should be
determined in accordance with and as expressed in the claims.
[0044] In the following text, references to items in the singular
should be understood to include items in the plural, and vice
versa, unless explicitly stated otherwise or clear from the text.
Grammatical conjunctions are intended to express any and all
disjunctive and conjunctive combinations of conjoined clauses,
sentences, words, and the like, unless otherwise stated or clear
from the context.
Overview
[0045] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to
systems and methods for designing a social gaming platform,
referred to in this disclosure as an Online Gaming System (OGS).
According to one aspect, the OGS allows users to create online
games in which participants compete to predicts the outcomes of
specific conditions relating to activities at sporting events, TV
award shows, or other types of contemporaneous events. For example,
in one aspect and as will be understood from the discussions that
follow, conditions can be in the form of multiple-choice questions,
free-form questions that have answers comprising a few lines,
tournament brackets, and the like. Therefore, in such examples, a
game involves participants (OGS users) predicting the answers of
questions. In an exemplary aspect, questions (or, more generally,
conditions) comprise real-time in-event questions created by the
OGS or by system users, or even pre-stored in the system
[0046] According to one aspect, in an online game (also referred to
as an OGS game, or even simply, a game) players compete with other
players in the same pool or different pools, via an online gaming
platform administered by the OGS to predict outcomes of specific
conditions relating to activities at various contemporaneous
events.
[0047] According to another aspect, the OGS receives live digitized
information feed from a contemporaneous event (while an event is
currently in-progress) from third party sources. Additionally, the
OGS also stores historical information relating to an event (e.g.,
sporting events, TV award shows, etc.), or generally, accesses
historical information relating to an event from third party
sources. It will be understood that such live-feed and historical
information are presented to players (participants) as analytics
for their guidance in predicting the outcomes of specific
conditions relating to the activities at the event. Yet, in another
aspect, the live-feed and historical information are also utilized
by the OGS to extract analytics in predicting outcomes of specific
conditions relating to activities at events. In one exemplary
embodiment, pre-defined rules are used in conjunction with the
analytics to formulate OGS-generated questions which are presented
to players. A player who is able to predict answers with the
greatest accuracy scores. Consequently, as the event progresses in
real-time, more questions are presented to participants by the OGS,
responses (answers) of the participants are received by the OGS,
scored in near real-time based on analytics extracted from live
digitized information feed from the event, and finally the players
are ranked by the OGS.
[0048] Additionally, embodiments of the present system utilize
geo-location information to enable creation of user-groups (pools)
based on the physical location of system users and social network
affiliation of users. As will be understood, in one embodiment an
OGS game is played (via the OGS platform) in pools both before as
well as during an event, e.g. football game, baseball game, etc.
Nevertheless, it will be understood that a "game" as referred to
herein may generally refer to an OGS-administered game, or a
sporting event (such as a football game or a baseball game), and
will be assumed that such a distinction will be implicit based on
the associated context wherever applicable. Additionally,
distinctions between the terms "user", "member", "player", and
"participant" as referred to herein will also be considered to be
clear based on the associated context wherever applicable. Various
specifics, details, and system embodiments will be better
understood in the description provided in greater detail below.
Exemplary Embodiment
[0049] Referring now to the figures, FIG. 1 illustrates a
conceptual overview one embodiment of the present Online Gaming
System (OGS) in an exemplary environment, constructed and operated
in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.
Specifically and according to one embodiment, the OGS comprises a
processor 1 that is connected to a web interface 4 for system users
(not shown in FIG. 1) to access the OGS. In on embodiment, the OGS
comprises a processor 1, an archive database 7, a content library
6, an analytics engine 5, a web interface 4, and a live database 3.
Details of functions performed by the aforementioned components
will be better understood with the help of the discussions provided
in connection with FIG. 1, FIG. 1A, and FIG. 2.
[0050] As shown in FIG. 1, processor 1 communicates (typically
through one or more communications networks, not shown) with an
external data feed 2 that provides live digitized information feed
at a periodic time interval (e.g., every thirty seconds) from an
event, while an event is currently in-progress. Examples of sources
that provides a live event data feed include STATS.TM. LLC,
SPORTS.TM. DIRECT.TM. INC., among several others. Typically, in one
embodiment, system users register with the OGS, and the user data
is saved in an OGS database, exemplarily called the live database
3. Historical data relating to previous events (e.g., previous
season's data) is usually stored in another OGS database,
exemplarily called archive database 7. All generic contents
(non-pool specific data), such as resources, "about us"
information, event schedules, FAQs, etc. are stored in the content
library 6 (also referred to in the accompanying drawings as content
data table 6, or simply, content 6). Further, an analytics engine 5
is used to track user activity and collect user interaction data
for OGS games. In one embodiment, the live database 3 and the
archive database 7 are a conglomeration of several different
databases and web servers (e.g., a database hierarchy), as will
occur to one skilled in the art. As will be further understood and
appreciated by one skilled in the art, a hierarchical database
scheme enables greater flexibility when storing data and also
provides for greater scalability.
[0051] FIG. 1A shows the various architectural components (and
their associated interactions) included in one embodiment of the
present system. In one OGS embodiment, the data feed 2 interacts
only with the processor 1. Both the live database 3 and the archive
database 7 interact with the processor 1. In one aspect, the
processor 1 transfers data from the live database 3 to the archive
database 7, in addition to processing various kinds of data.
[0052] Data from the live database 3 is stored and organized in
several tables; including the content library 6 (also referred to
in the accompanying drawings as content data table 6, or simply,
content 6), a profile table 8, a score table 9 and a pool table 10.
These tables are linked together by the live database 3 and provide
the basis for all data in connection with an online OGS game. As
will be understood, in one embodiment an OGS game is played both
before as well as during an event. In another embodiment,
game-related data is published to participants via a web interface
4 which can be accessed by participants 90 (not shown in FIG. 1A)
who are typically connected via a computer 12, or a mobile device
11.
[0053] In yet another embodiment, the entire system is managed by a
system administrator 13. The system administrator 13 has several
duties and permissions that allow for smooth operation of the
system as will occur to one skilled in the art. The system
administrator 13 manages user accounts, core system questions and
responds to feedback (from OGS users and non-users) and participant
90 questions. The system manager 13 is also responsible for general
code updates and OGS platform maintenance. As will be understood
and appreciated, according to various embodiments, many of the
system administrator's functions and responsibilities are performed
as human intervention-less automated processes. Details of
exemplary OGS processes will be discussed later in connection with
FIGS. 12, 13, and 14.
[0054] As will be understood by one skilled in the art, OGS
communications proceed over networks (such as, but not limited to
the Internet) and typically involve the usage of one or the other
services, e.g., a Web-deployed service with client/service
architecture, a corporate Local Area Network (LAN) or Wide Area
Network (WAN), or through a cloud-based system. Moreover, as will
be understood and appreciated, various networking components like
routers, switches, hubs etc., are typically involved in the
communications. Although not shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 1A, it can
also be further understood that such communications may include one
or more secure networks, gateways/firewalls that provide
information security from unwarranted intrusions and cyber
attacks.
[0055] FIG. 2 further demonstrates an exemplary aspect of
relationships between data and OGS components. The data feed 2
provides information to the processor 1. In one OGS embodiment,
this data is then sent to a live database 3, organized (by the OGS)
into various tables (e.g., profile data table 8, score data table 9
and pool data table 10) based on the type of the data, then
processed for OGS games to extract analytics, and subsequently the
analytics are published to the web interface 4. After the game or
event has concluded, this data may be stored as historical data 110
in the archive database 7. This historical data 110 can be used by
participants 90 in answering pool questions. In one exemplary
embodiment, the system also generates occurrence probabilities 111
based on the past results of similar scenarios. Exemplary OGS
processes that make use of data feed 2 and historical data 110 will
be explained in connection with FIGS. 13 and 14.
[0056] FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B, FIG. 2C, FIG. 2D, and FIG. 2E display
unique components contained in the data tables referenced by the
live database 3. The profile table 8 shown in FIG. 2A contains the
typical information utilized to create a profile 8. In one
embodiment, the user ID 14 is included in each table and serves as
the unique identifier used to relate the tables to each other and
provide accurate data for the individual participant 90. The
profile table 8 stores each member's 89 first name 15, last name
16, email address 17, password 18, zip code 19 and mobile phone
number 20, and other information as will occur to one of ordinary
skill in the art which are generally used to create a profile. The
member 89 may also create a list of contacts 21 from other OGS
members 89, which is stored in the profile table 8. Typically, in
one aspect, the OGS allows OGS members to invite other OGS members
or non-members to join one or more pools or user groups. (An
exemplary pool creation process is described in connection with
FIG. 12.) In another aspect persons listed under contacts 21
comprise such OGS members and non members. One embodiment of the
present system records a member's 89 social media (e.g.,
FACEBOOK.TM., TWITTER.TM., LINKEDIN.TM., etc.) account information
112 in order to integrate with these social media networks and
allow members 89 to add contacts 21 and automatically post updates
to those social media networks. An exemplary OGS process to include
a user's social media information is discussed in connection with
FIG. 12.
[0057] The global rankings 22 are determined by comparing the
individual participant's 90 total score (the aggregate total of the
score fields 28 in a participant's score tables 9) to the scores of
other participants 90. There are two global ranking 22
measurements. In one exemplary OGS game, a first ranking is the
total ranking against every other participant 90 on OGS, while a
second ranking compares players playing in the same pool or pool
type 31.
[0058] FIG. 2B outlines the fields contained in one exemplary
embodiment of the score table 9. The user ID 14 joins this table to
the profile table, while pool ID 23 and participant 90 link this
table to the pool table 10. In one OGS embodiment, an OGS game
involves a participant 90 as well as the OGS asking questions to
other game participants 90. When participants 90 submit responses
to each question, each response will be recorded as the selection
25 corresponding to that question 27. After the game is complete,
the correct answers 27 will be published to the web interface 4.
The system will then compare each participant's 90 selections 25
with the actual answer 27 for each question 26 to create the
participant's 90 score 28 and global ranking 22.
[0059] In regard to FIG. 2C, this diagram outlines the fields
contained in one embodiment of the pool table 10. This table, like
the score table 9, contains user ID 14, pool ID 23 and participant
90. Also contained in this table is participant type 24, which is
either participant 90 or manager. The manager creates the pool,
sets the pool type 31 and sends out invitations 30 for others to
join the pool. An exemplary OGS process involved in a pool manager
(pool creator) sending out invitations is described in connection
with FIG. 12. As shown in FIG. 2C, standings 32 compare the scores
of all participants 90 in the pool, while the pool listing 33
indicates whether the pool is public or private.
[0060] FIG. 2D shows the contents of one embodiment of the
statistics data table group 116, which is used during game play to
provide in-depth analysis of past and future results to questions.
This table stores the question to be asked 26 and the teams 117
involved and queries the historical database 7 to find historical
results. These results include, but are not limited to: head to
head results 118, how the teams have fared against each other with
respect to the specific question at issue; league results 119, how
the league as a whole has succeeded with respect to the specific
question at issue; team results 120, how the teams involved have
historically succeeded with respect to the specific question at
issue; player results 123, how individual players succeeded against
player-based questions; and in-game results 121, what has occurred
in the game thus far, relative to the question. The statistics
table 116 also contains a predicted result 122, with the
probability of each outcome based on the historical data contained
in the table.
[0061] One embodiment of the content table 6, shown in FIG. 2E,
contains information from the live database 3 that may not be
necessary for the game-play functionality. For example, the data
table 6 contains "about us" 34 information, "resources" 35, "search
metadata" 36 and "demos" 40, "FAQs" 107 and "event schedules" 108.
It also assists the system in communicating with members 89 through
mobile alerts 37, notifications 38 and messages 39. As will be
understood and appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, the
specific servers, data tables, or any system components shown and
described herein, as well as the exemplary data fields provided in
each table, are shown for illustrative purposes only, and
embodiments of the present systems and methods are not intended to
be limited by those described herein. Various other types of data,
tables, and system components are contemplated for inclusion in
aspects of the present system as will occur to one of ordinary
skill in the art.
[0062] FIG. 3 is a flowchart detailing the steps associated with
registering and creating a user profile with the system according
to one embodiment of the present system. A visitor to on online OGS
platform typically (in one aspect) first either navigates to the
OGS homepage 41 or clicks on an email invitation link 59. If the
user enters through the homepage 41, and they have already
registered 42, they can simply proceed to login 50 (the process of
which is defined in FIG. 3A). If the user is not already
registered, they can click the "Create a Profile" link 43 on a OGS
user interface (web or mobile). After entering the required member
89 and account 45 information, the user may select favorite teams
or leagues 46 (or other events or information). The member 89
information 44 and account information 45 generally includes user
ID 14, first name 15 and last name 16, email address 17, password
18, zip code 19 and mobile phone number 20. Alternatively, a user
clicking on an email link 59 is automatically sent to the pool
page. At this point, the user submits answers to all the questions
in a pool 76 and proceeds through the registration process as
outlined above. According to a potential embodiment, the user may
also register and log in to the OGS through a social media system,
thereby linking a user's OGS and social media system accounts.
[0063] Upon clicking the "Register" button 47, at least two
possible scenarios may occur 48. If there are errors in the
required member 89 information 44 or account information 45, or if
information is not complete, the system displays an error message
and prompts the user to correct the errors and re-submit 51. Upon
successful registration and profile creation, the member 89 is
redirected to the "Join a Pool" section 49 and all member 89 data
is stored in the profile table 8 (unless the member 89 entered
through an email link 59 and is already entered into a pool).
[0064] FIG. 3A outlines one embodiment of the login process 50 for
returning system members 89. The user typically either navigates to
the homepage 41 login via a native mobile device application where
userID 14 and password 18 are required, or enters via an email link
59 and login as outlined in FIG. 3. If the credentials are
validated 53, the member 89 is directed to the "Pools" content area
of the OGS interface. If responding to an invite, the member 89 is
routed to the specific pool's detail page. If already a participant
90, member 89 is routed to the "My Pools" page. If not yet a
participant 90, the member 89 is shown public pool and
recommendation content. If the credentials are not validated, the
user may re-enter credentials and attempt to log in again 54.
Unsuccessful login attempts are generally governed by a security
policy.
[0065] If the member 89 has forgotten login credentials, he/she can
click the "Forgot Password" link 55. This link will open a modal
via which the member 89 will enter his/her email address 56. This
email address will be verified in the profile table 8, and upon
verification, the system will send a message to that email address
containing the corresponding user ID and password 58. At this
stage, the user will retrieve his/her credentials and login 50.
[0066] FIG. 4 is a flow chart that outlines one embodiment of the
process for creating a new pool. Pools can be created by any
member, and the system (in one embodiment) automatically generates
public pools for all sports, leagues, teams and games. Assuming
that a member 89 has registered and logged in (as outlined in FIG.
3 and FIG. 3A), the member 89 may create a pool (exemplarily shown
in FIG. 12) by navigating to the "Create a Pool" section 66 and
thus assumes the role of pool manager 91. To create a pool, there
are several steps required. The pool manager 91 must name the pool
67 (stored in the pool table 10 as pool ID 23) and set the pool as
either public or private. If the pool manager 91 makes the pool
private, a password will be required to join and the pool will not
be searchable. If the pool is public, it will be searchable by all
web visitors to the OGS portal and also any member 89 will be able
to join. The system then guides the pool manager 91 to select a
pool type31 through a multi-step process. The pool manager 91
selects the pool's sport 68 (college football, NFL, etc.),
game-play style 69 and conference or team 70.
[0067] According to various embodiments, there are a variety of
game-play types supported by this system. For example, one
game-play type is a classic "pick `em" format. In this type of
game-play, the pool manager 91 selects a division or conference in
his/her chosen sport and pool members 89 simply pick the winners of
all games in that division or conference, respectively. The scores
will be compiled throughout the season, with the winner being the
participant 90 who has picked the most games correctly at the end
of the season.
[0068] Another example of a type of play is a single game pool. In
this type of pool, the pool manager 91 selects one game and
participants 90 are required to answer a series of questions
regarding outcomes and events of that game. This game play type is
modeled after proposition bets offered by sports books and
proposition pools that are popular during the NFL Super Bowl.
Participants 90 answer a pre-defined list of questions about game
events such as "Which team will gain the most rushing yards?" or
"Will there be a fumble in the first half?" The participant 90 who
accumulates the most points wins the pool. Points are generally
awarded at the rate of one point per question answered correctly,
but this may vary based on time remaining, question difficulty, or
other factors.
[0069] In another example, the game-play type comprises a team
and/or conference pool. In this pool, the pool manager 91 picks
either a single team and/or a conference. Similar to the single
game pool, participants 90 are required to answer questions about
the game(s) which that team or conference is playing. The main
differentiator between a team pool and a game pool is that the team
pool follows a team for an entire season, while the game pool is
only active for a single game. Participants will be ranked over the
entire season on both total points and percentage of questions
answered correctly, allowing those who join after the season has
started to play without being at a significant disadvantage.
[0070] A specific variation of the team/conference pool is the
tournament pool, which can be used for tournaments such as the NCAA
Men's Basketball Tournament. In this pool format, the tournament is
treated as a `team`, each round represents a `game` and the
`season` is the duration of the tournament. In order to make each
round worth the same number of points as the number of games per
round decreases, additional questions may be added for each game
and/or the point values for each question may increase. Using the
NCAA basketball tournament as an example, the first round (with 32
games) would require participants 90 to predict the winners of each
game for one point each. The final round (only one game) would ask
8 questions about the game, worth 4 points each. Each question will
include statistics showing how teams have fared in each question
topic throughout the tournament. Participants 90 will then be
ranked on total points and percentage of correct answers. This is
unique compared to most other tournament pools in that the
participant 90 makes new selections each round, rather than making
all picks before the tournament starts, thus increasing engagement
throughout the tournament. Another aspect of the present system is
the ability to combine multiple pool types to create a custom pool.
In this case, a pool manager 91 who wants to create a pool that
closely follows an NFL team while also tracking scores from a
football conference can do so by creating a pool to include both an
NFL team pool and a college conference pick `em pool. If at some
point during the season the pool manager 91 may introduce
additional games to the pool, he/she can create a game pool and add
the scores from that game pool into the overall pool scores and
standings.
[0071] As will be understood and appreciated, there is a virtually
unlimited number of game-play types that may be incorporated by
aspects of the present system, and each of these types is
contemplated by various system embodiments, as will occur to those
of ordinary skill in the art.
[0072] Still referring to FIG. 4, once the pool manager 91 has
determined the pool type, he/she is allowed to review pool info 71
before proceeding to any other steps. The next step in the process
is to invite participants 90 to join the pool. Participants 90 may
be invited 72 either by email, through the pool manager's 91
contacts 21 already signed up for the system, or via social network
(social media system) invitations. After inviting participants 90,
the pool manager 91 has the option to either create custom
questions 73 or confirm and submit pool info 74. The pool manager
91 may return and invite more participants 90 at any time.
[0073] The pool manager 91 may add custom questions 73 upon
creation of the pool and prior to each game. He/she may choose from
a variety of different statistics and time periods that may not be
set as the system-generated questions. The pool manager may also
create non-statistical questions, for which the answer will be
provided by the pool manager rather than the system. These
questions may be non-statistical in nature and could include
questions such as "How many players will lose a helmet during the
game?" or "Who will win the coin toss?"
[0074] According to one embodiment, potential participants may join
pools by navigating to a OGS web interface (on the WWW) or clicking
on an email link. FIG. 5 refers to one embodiment of the process of
joining a pool by navigating an OGS platform. Generally, a visitor
to the platform enters through general navigation 41. If the
visitor is not a registered user 42 and entered via the homepage
41, he/she must first register using the process demonstrated in
FIG. 3, or enter his/her credentials and login 50. Once the member
89 has logged in, the system will display the "My Pools" page 57
(as with any member login). This page will display if the member 89
has any open pool invitations. If the user has been invited to a
private pool 60, they will click on the email link 59 and proceed
to answer pool questions 76. If the member 89 does not have any
open invitations, he/she may search available pools 62 and view
pool listings 63. Only public pools will be visible and available
to join. After viewing the pool details page 64, the member 89 can
click to join the pool 65 and change roles to become a participant
90.
[0075] FIG. 5A outlines one embodiment of the process of joining a
pool from an email link. After the pool manager has sent an
invitation to the potential participant's email address 72, that
person clicks the invitation link in the email. The participant
then is redirected to the pool screen to answer the current week's
questions. After the answers have been submitted 76, the
participant is asked to login 50. The user is then redirected back
to the pool details 64 page and the score table 9 and pool table 10
are updated with the participant's answer data.
[0076] FIG. 6 outlines one embodiment of the basic pool play
workflow. Prior to the game (e.g., an underlying event, sports
game, etc.), the system will send notification of new questions to
all participants 90. The participant 90 then navigates to the OGS
homepage 41, logs in 52 and submits answers 76, or may click on the
link in the notification email 59, submit answers 76 and then login
52. The pool manager 91 or system can also generate custom
questions 73 which would trigger additional notifications 75 to be
sent. While answering questions, the user will have the opportunity
to view historical data and see predicted outcomes 115 via the
statistics table 116. This data will be displayed in a user
friendly view to assist the user in answering the questions. In one
embodiment, this predictive data and suggestions are generated by
the system based on predefined system parameters and identification
of historical trends in similar types of data. The historical
information may be obtained directly from the data feed or may be
calculated from the raw data this feed provides.
[0077] In one embodiment, the participant 90 may return to the OGS
platform after having submitting answers so as to edit the
previously submitted answers until the game starts. During
game-play, participants 90 can review in-play progress, post and
view user-generated content 77, etc. Generally, participants 90
receive in-game updates 99 while games are in progress and the
participants' 90 scores and rankings will be tallied upon
conclusion of the game 100.
[0078] One aspect of embodiments of the present system is the
interface and game-play during live games, as demonstrated in FIG.
6A. At the start of the game 101, the participant's 90 answers to
the original questions lock and the participant 90 is no longer
allowed to edit those responses. At this point, the participant 90
will be able to view real-time updates of events occurring in the
game, as well as the effect those events are having on standings in
the pool. Whenever an event occurs in the game 102 that is related
to one of the questions, the system updates the participant's 90
score and victory odds 103. It also shows what events must occur in
the game from that point on for the participant 90 to earn the
highest possible ranking available. According to one potential
embodiment, the system will also include a predictive engine, which
will show the odds that a participant's answer will be correct,
based on an algorithm derived from historical data, previous
in-game events, and game pacing. This predictive engine may also
show how the participant's odds changed during the course of the
game.
[0079] Another aspect of embodiments of the present system is an
in-game or in-event functionality that enables a pool manager 91 or
the system itself (running on predetermined algorithms) to create
questions as the game (or an event) progresses 105. These questions
are then sent to the participants 90, who should respond 106 before
the question outcome is resolved. For example, the manager could
create a question about whether or not a team will make a field
goal as the game goes into a commercial break and the participants
90 will have until the break ends and the kick is attempted to
respond with their answer to earn points. This functionality is
particularly desirable in locations where sports fans gather to
watch games (e.g., at a sports venue, at a pool manager's home,
etc.). Details of OGS processes involved in OGS games are explained
with flowchart steps in FIG. 13 and FIG. 14.
[0080] FIG. 7 is an outline of one embodiment of the overall system
data flow. As shown, the system communicates with a third-party
application to retrieve data feed for game updates 78. As will be
understood and appreciated, data and information relating to events
need not be collected from a third-party application, but may be
obtained from other sources. If an update is available 79, the
system retrieves the data 80, but if not, the system will alert the
administrator 87 and continue to display the most recent
information available 88. After the data is received 80, it is
downloaded and stored locally 81 then parsed 82. The data is
processed 83 and related score 84 and pool 85 data tables are
updated. Updates are continuously published to the interface
86.
[0081] FIG. 8 shows one illustrative embodiment of user
characteristics from a system-perspective. There are generally at
least four user roles: member 89, participant 90, pool manager 91
and system administrator 92. Members 89 are not involved in any
game-play on the OGS platform but have created a profile and have
full access to search, join or create pools. Participants 90 have
joined one or more pools and may view the pools they have entered
and respond to questions. They may also search additional pools and
create pools, but are not allowed to create questions or perform
other management tasks for pools. Pool managers 91 may perform all
activities a participant 90 or member 89 can, but may also create
custom questions and perform management tasks. The system
administrator 92 has access to all areas of the OGS gaming platform
and may perform other tasks such as edit pools or remove members 89
from the OGS gaming platform. The administrator also has the
ability to create in-game questions for a large group of
participants 90 as was mentioned when discussing FIG. 6A. As will
be understood, various system users may comprise one or all of the
roles defined in FIG. 8.
[0082] FIG. 8A represents some of the personas that may engage with
the present system, at least according to a sports-related
embodiment. There is a very broad group of sports fans 94 of
varying levels of interest and engagement who may visit this OGS
platform 95. Participants 90 may be divided up into three main
personas: the fantasy freaks 97 participate in fantasy leagues,
tracking the statistics of players across different teams in order
to create the best "fantasy team;" the diehard fanatics 96 have a
specific team or teams that they follow intently and they live and
die with the success of that team; the office casuals join the pool
because their friends or co-workers are playing, and they may only
have a minor interest in sports. Most participants 90 will be a
combination of these three personas and the pool play featured in
this system is designed to enable all personas to have an enjoyable
gaming experience.
[0083] FIG. 9 is a flow chart outlining one embodiment of the
process for creating and participating in a location-based venue
pool. These venue pools can be generated by system users (members)
acting as the pool manager 91, by the venue 107 itself or be
automatically generated by the system processor 1 (especially at
large venues such as stadiums). People congregating at a specific
venue (e.g. bars, stadiums, etc.) 107 or viewing the same event
from a variety of locations can access the OGS gaming platform
through either a computer 12 or mobile device 11. In the embodiment
shown, the member 89 logs into the OGS gaming platform and "checks
in" to the venue using a location-aware check-in application 108.
This application identifies the location the member 89 is checking
in from and identifies other members 89 who have logged in to the
same location. After logging in 108, a member may create a venue
pool 109 for the location. In one embodiment, this type of pool
will automatically invite any other members who check in to that
location to join. Once the venue pool has been created 109, the
pool manager 91 may create custom questions 73 both before and
during the game. Participants 90 who have checked into the location
108 then answer these questions 105 and victory odds are updated
103 at the conclusion of each in-game event 102. At the end of the
game 106, each participant's final scores are added to the rankings
100.
[0084] FIG. 10A illustrates one embodiment of a user interface for
accessing embodiments of the present system. Upon logging into the
system, the system displays this interface, which is customized for
the individual participant. As shown, the user interface exhibits
various data display fields and entry fields, such as a player
rankings field, pool status fields, messages field, and various
other fields as will occur to one of ordinary skill in the art. The
header bar 1110 will be displayed on all pages within the logged in
area of the OGS platform, and will allow the user to navigate
between the various sections of the OGS platform, e.g., Pools,
Create a Pool, Rankings, Resources, and others. As shown in FIG.
10A, the screenshot displays the user's global ranking in region
1120, pool ranking and status in region 1130, and messages in
region 1140. The user is also able to view details about the status
of any upcoming sporting events in region 1150 and view/edit
answers for these sporting events in region 1160 of FIG. 10A.
[0085] FIG. 10B illustrates an exemplary screenshot of a user
interface for pool participation within the present system. Within
this interface, the system will display the user's ranking and
status within the pool as outlined in region 1200. Additionally,
the system, in one embodiment also displays various actions taken
by the user, with respect to the displayed pool. Examples of such
actions include, but are not limited to, viewing pool rankings and
messaging the pool manager. For each specific game that is a part
of the pool, the user will be able to complete certain actions
depending on a current status of the game. For example, prior to
the start of a game, the user may view and edit picks and answers,
(e.g., in region 1170). During the sporting event, the user may
participate while a sporting event is in process (as shown in
region 1180), or after the sporting event is over, the user may
view the results of a game (e.g. in region 1190). At all times, the
user's game rank and possible points will be displayed for each
game shown.
[0086] FIG. 10C illustrates an exemplary screenshot of the web
interface for answering or editing sports events-related questions
prior to the start of the event. This screen displays the user's
pool status in region 1200 as well as the status of the individual
game in region 1210. For each question related to the game, the
user may select an answer (e.g., as shown in region 1240) and save
selections by clicking on button 1220. A collapsible interface
showing statistics 1250 relevant to each question may also be
displayed.
[0087] FIG. 10D illustrates an exemplary screenshot of the web
interface for the Live Play functionality. This view will display
the status of questions answered prior to the game 1270, as well as
any questions that may be available to answer during the game. As
questions are resolved during the game, the system will award and
display points to participants who were correct 1280. The system
will display the results of rival pool members and live standings
within the game status header 1260. A live game feed 1300 will be
provided to inform players about events occurring within the
game.
[0088] FIGS. 11A-11D illustrate exemplary screenshots of the mobile
interface corresponding to the web interface described above. The
mobile interface will maintain the functionality available in the
web interface, but the display will be optimized for mobile
devices. In some cases, such as when answering game questions as
displayed in region 1290, this may require the user to make an
extra click to display more information. As will be understood and
appreciated, the exemplary user interface embodiment shown in FIGS.
10A-10D and FIGS. 11A-11D are presented for illustrative purposes
only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present
disclosure in any way. In alternate system embodiments, aspects of
the OGS can be integrated as an application program (e.g., as a
part of a social media system, or as a stand-alone mobile device
application program). Details of such embodiments follow next
herein.
[0089] From the above discussions, it will be apparent embodiments
of the disclosed system (referred to herein as the OGS) are
involved in the design of a mobile and web-based social gaming
platform in which a game (also referred to as an OGS game, or an
online game, or an online social game) involves players compete
with each other (or with the OGS) to predict outcomes of specific
conditions relating to activities at various events (e.g., sporting
events such as basketball games, football games, TV shows,
entertainment events, etc.). In one aspect, and as will be
understood from the discussions that follow, conditions can be in
the form of multiple-choice questions, free-form questions that
have answers comprising a few lines, tournament brackets, and the
like. Exemplarily, this could mean users (players) providing
answers (i.e. predicting outcomes) to questions (e.g., in a
football game, "will Team X score a touchdown in the first half?")
as a part of an online social game, wherein questions depend on one
or more activities (e.g., touchdown) at the event (football game).
In one embodiment, questions presented in an online game can be
pre-event and stored in the OGS, and in another embodiment, such
questions can be in-event questions, i.e., formulated by the OGS
and users while an event is unfolding in real-time.
[0090] Typically, in one embodiment, participants receive the
questions via email, mobile push notifications, mobile text alerts,
MMS, computer interfaces, from the OGS as pre-event questions (i.e.
prior to an event), or even, in-event (i.e. while an event is
in-process). Participants of pools can then respond via mobile or
web back to the OGS that then scores these questions, adjusts pool
scoring, and displays rankings of users in near-real time. In one
aspect, users are arranged in pools (groups) and wherein users
compete with other users within the same, or sometimes, different
pools, via an online gaming platform administered by the OGS. In
what follows next, an exemplary OGS process involved in pool
creation, including a user joining one or more pre-created pools
will be described.
[0091] Referring to FIG. 12 (consisting of FIG. 12A, FIG. 12B, and
FIG. 12C), an exemplary OGS process 2000 is shown, including steps
involved in creation of user-groups (pools) for purposes of playing
OGS games. Starting at step 2002 (in FIG. 12A), the OGS receives
user credentials by a web or a mobile interface. Examples of user
credentials include username, password, user's memberships with
various social media systems (e.g., FACEBOOK.TM., TWITTER.TM.,
LINKEDIN.TM. etc.) and various location based social networks
(LBSNs), such as LOOPT.TM., FOURSQUARE.TM., BRIGHKITE.TM.,
FACEBOOK.TM. PLACES.TM., GOOGLE.TM. LATITUDE.TM., GOWALLA.TM. to
name a few. As will be understood by one of ordinary skill, a
social media system provides information relating to social
affiliations (high school, college, work, memberships with various
social, political, non-profit organizations, etc.).
[0092] A LBSN, on the other hand, provides information relating to
a user's location. For example, when a LBSN user is at a venue such
as a restaurant, a bar, or a football game, then the user "checks
in" with one or more respective LBSNs. The respective LBSNs then
broadcast the LBSN-user's current venue (or related information) to
various location-responsive system (e.g., the present OGS) and
social media systems, thereby allowing friends and connections of
the user to be aware of the user's social activity in connection
with a venue.
[0093] Thereafter, at step 2004, the OGS communicates with the
user-specified social media systems and LBSNs to extract
information relating to a user's social affiliations (friends,
family, work connections, contacts, current location, etc.) and/or
current location. As will be understood and appreciated, this
allows users having similar background, affiliations or interests
to be a part of the same pool. At step 2006, the respective social
media systems and LBSNs respond with information relating to a
user's social affiliations and/or current location. Information
received from various disparate (heterogeneous) social media
systems and LBSNs is typically in different data fields/header,
different file formats, etc. Thus, at step 2008, the OGS normalizes
such disparate information into a common format that would allow in
storage, accumulation, and utilization.
[0094] According to one aspect, the system can also create user
groups (pools) based on pool-related information (e.g., NFL games,
NCAA games, entire season games for a team, weekend-specific games,
etc.). It will be understood that creating a pool involves creating
an entry in a database with various pool-related information and
fields, e.g., as shown in FIG. 2B, 2D and other drawings.
[0095] Next, at step 2010, the OGS applies normalized information
(corresponding to a user's social affiliations and/or location)
against information pertaining to pre-created pools, wherein the
pools can be either pre-created by system users, and/or the OGS. It
will be understood that step 2010 is performed in order to
establish a match between a user and one or more pre-created pools.
Further, it will be understood that step 2010 involves
computer-implemented aspects of data mining, data comparison, and
several other computer methodologies as will occur to one skilled
in the art. Eventually, at step 2012, the OGS displays one or more
pre-created pools to the user based on the match established in
step 2010. Although not shown in FIG. 12A, it will be understood
that if a match is established and the user selects to join one or
more displayed pre-created pools, then in one embodiment, the OGS
creates a database association between the user and the one or more
displayed pre-created pools that the user selects to join.
Subsequently, and also in the event that no match is established at
step 2010, the process moves to a next step 2014.
[0096] At step 2014, the OGS determines whether or not the user
wishes to create a new pool. If the OGS determines that the user
does not wish to create a new pool, then the OGS process provides
(at step 2016 as shown in FIG. 12B) a search option to the user so
that he or she can search for available pools in the database. In
turn, the user searches for available (pre-created) pools in the
OGS database. If, at next step 2018, the OGS determines that the
user's search resulted in the user selecting one or more
pre-created pools, then at step 2020, the OGS creates a database
association between the user and the one or more displayed
pre-created pools that the user selects to join. Consequently, the
OGS process ends thereafter. Although not shown in FIG. 12B, in one
embodiment, prior to creating the database association, the OGS
also displays to the user additional information (e.g., name of the
pool, participants in the pool, and various other details) relating
to the one or more pre-created pools that the user has selected to
join.
[0097] Referring back to FIG. 12A, if at step 2014, the OGS
determines that the user indeed wishes to create a new pool, then
the process moves to step 2022 as shown in FIG. 12C. At step 2022,
the OGS receives pool-related information from the user. Examples
of pool-related information include name of a pool, a type of a
pool (public/private), one or more events corresponding to the pool
and accompanying details (NCAA tournament, NFL game, NBA postseason
game, reality TV episode/season, etc.) of the event, names/emails
of persons (users as well as non-users of OGS) whom the user
intends to invite in the pool, time duration for which the pool
will be active, location-specific details such as whether the pool
is in a certain geographical area, and various other pool-related
information.
[0098] Then, at step 2024, the OGS creates a database entry
corresponding to the user's newly created pool. Next, the OGS
retrieves information relevant to the newly created pool from the
database, such information comprising historical information,
system-created and user-created questions pre-stored in the
database, and other attributes. As will be understood from the
previous discussions, in one aspect, the OGS collects historical
information (e.g., previous statistics and performance of teams,
players, awards, winners, MVPs, etc.) about events. For example,
such information is stored in an archive database, as shown in FIG.
1, FIG. 1A, FIG. 2, and FIG. 2D. Thus, such historical information
is retrieved at step 2026. Additionally, in another aspect, the OGS
also retrieves at step 2026 system-created and user-created
questions pre-stored in the database, as part of information
relevant to the newly created pool.
[0099] Subsequently, at step 2028, the system creates a database
association between the entry (created at step 2024) and
information relevant to the newly created pool (retrieved at step
2026). In one alternate embodiment, the OGS also allows users to
invite other OGS users and non-users to join a user's pool. In such
a scenario, at step 2030, the OGS transmits invitations to the
invitees based on the pool-related information provided by the user
at earlier step 2022. Finally, the OGS process exits thereafter. It
will be understood that the steps discussed in connection with the
above flowchart are for illustrative purposes only, and not
intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Alternate
embodiments of the CMS can involve variations of the steps
discussed herein. In one OGS embodiment, users typically play OGS
games interactively with other users in the same pool or with users
in different pools via the OGS platform. Such an embodiment will be
explained in greater detail in what follows next.
[0100] Now referring to FIG. 13, an exemplary OGS process 3000 is
shown that illustrates aspects of the OGS steps performed as part
of an OGS game involving users and the OGS. From our previous
discussions, it will be generally understood that in one aspect,
the OGS games involve players predicting outcomes of specific
conditions relating to activities at various contemporaneous events
(e.g., sporting events such as basketball games, football games, TV
shows, entertainment events, etc.). In one aspect, and as will be
understood from the discussions that follow, conditions can be in
the form of multiple-choice questions, free-form questions that
have answers comprising a few lines, tournament brackets, and the
like. Exemplarily, this could mean users (players) providing
answers (i.e. predicting outcomes) to questions (e.g., in a
football game, "will Team X score a touchdown in the first half?")
as a part of an online social game, wherein questions depend on one
or more activities (e.g., touchdown) at the event (football game).
In one embodiment, questions presented in an online game can be
pre-event and stored in the OGS, and in another embodiment, such
questions can be in-event questions, i.e., formulated by the OGS
and/or users while an event is unfolding in real-time. For the
purposes of example and explanation, in the discussions (and
accompanying flowchart) that follow, predicting outcomes of
activities at events is considered to be conceptually synonymous
with providing answers to questions. However, such a consideration
will be considered to be non-limiting and non-exhaustive, without
limiting the scope of the disclosure.
[0101] Starting at step 3002, in one OGS embodiment, one or more
pre-event questions stored in the OGS database are displayed to
users. As will be understood, such questions can be user-created or
OGS-created beforehand in time. In one aspect, answers to the
pre-event questions depend on an event that has not yet started,
and the OGS starts the game by allowing users to guess most likely
answers to the questions. In another aspect, the pre-event
questions are based on trivia (past statistics and team performance
etc.) of the event.
[0102] Next, the OGS receives (at step 3004) answers for the
questions from users as entered by users via their electronic
device, and stores them in an exemplary OGS database. Typically, as
will be understood, the event corresponding to the game has not yet
started, and hence steps 3002, 3004, and 3006 are pre-event steps.
It will be understood that in alternate embodiments, pre-event
questions are neither created by the OGS, nor by OGS users.
Further, as recited previously, in one exemplary aspect, players
join pools in order to play OGS games. In such scenarios, OGS games
can be played by inter-pool or intra-pool players. Steps involved
in a pool creation and/or users joining pre-created pools were
described earlier in connection with FIG. 12 (consisting of FIGS.
12A, 12B, and 12C).
[0103] As shown in FIG. 13, at step 3008, the OGS receives an
indication corresponding to start of an event. Consequently, the
OGS process jumps into an in-event mode with an exemplarily backend
OGS process 4000 (workings of which are described in FIG. 14) being
engaged in computing answers to pre-event questions and in-event
questions. In one aspect, in-event questions are formulated by the
OGS as well as the players (system users). In another aspect, the
backend OGS process 4000 computationally generates a closest
proximate answer to the questions based on analyzing live event
data and past historical data relating to the event, and further
stores the closest proximate answer in a database. Such an answer
is retrieved (at step 3010) by the OGS and used to rank (at step
3012) participants (players) who have been involved in answering
the question whose answer is retrieved at step 3010. It will be
further understood that typically the ranking is performed based on
a degree of closeness between the participant-provided answer and
the closest proximate answer retrieved at step 3012. As will occur
to those skilled in the art, in many scenarios, for providing
answers to certain pre-event questions, the OGS may be required to
wait for a time duration that could be known or even, sometimes
unknown for an activity (e.g., a touchdown, a field goal, and
various others) to occur at an event. Further examples of activity
include a number of rushing yards, a number of catches, a number of
quarterback sacks, a number of wickets, a number of home runs, etc.
In some scenarios, activities can involve persons involved in an
event (a name of a person who has possession of the football, a
name of a person who wins an award etc.).
[0104] Rankings (as determined from step 3012) of the players
playing the OGS game are displayed (at step 3014) to the players.
In alternative aspects, the OGS uses the rankings to tabulate
players' scores (based on a pre-determined point system). Then, as
shown at step 3016 in FIG. 13, the OGS determines whether or not
the event (that was indicated as having started at step 3008) has
ended. If the event has ended, the OGS determines and displays the
final rankings of the players, and thereafter the OGS process
exits.
[0105] If, on the other hand, the OGS determines that the event has
not yet ended, then the OGS waits for a trigger for an in-event
question. If no such trigger is received, and the event has not yet
ended, the OGS reverts back to process 4000 and returns from
therein at step 3010 as discussed earlier.
[0106] Next, in the event of a trigger, the OGS determines (at step
3020) whether or not, the trigger was created by a user or the OGS
itself. If the trigger determines that the trigger was
user-created, then at next step 3024, the OGS receives an in-event
question from the user who created the trigger. Alternately, if the
trigger was system-created, then the OGS retrieves (at step 3022)
an in-event question from the database. In one exemplary
embodiment, an OGS process formulates in-event questions with or
without the help of a digitized live event feed (e.g., as shown in
FIG. 1, FIG. 1A, and FIG. 2).
[0107] Regardless of whether the trigger was user-created or
system-created, the OGS displays (at step 3026) to players of the
OGS game the in-event question relating to this trigger.
Subsequently, the answers from the players are received (at step
3028) by the OGS and stored (at step 3030) in a database.
Subsequently, the OGS reverts back to the backend process 4000 for
computing a closest proximate answer, the OGS operation performing
in a loop from step 3010 onwards, as discussed earlier, until the
event has ended.
[0108] As will be understood, the steps of the process 3000 shown
in FIG. 13 are not necessarily completed in the order shown, and
various steps of the OGS may operate concurrently and continuously.
Accordingly, the steps shown in FIG. 13 are generally asynchronous
and independent, computer-implemented, tied to particular machines
(including various modules/engines of the OGS, coupled to
databases), and not necessarily performed in the order shown.
Details of a OGS backend process will now be provided below.
[0109] Referring to FIG. 14, an exemplary backend OGS process 4000
involved in computation of answers to pre-event and in-event
questions as a part of a OGS game, will now be described. Starting
at step 4002, the OGS receives digitized live event feed (e.g., as
shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 1A and FIG. 2) from multiple third party
sources. Examples of such sources include STATS.TM. LLC, SPORTS.TM.
DIRECT.TM. INC., among several others. Communication between the
OGS and third party sources proceed typically via Application
Programming Interfaces (APIs). Digitized live event feed received
from third party sources are exemplarily in the form of formatted
XML files, although other file formats can be possible in alternate
embodiments. Next, at step 4004, the OGS parses the received feed
according to keywords corresponding to activities at the events.
For example, keywords in a sports event can include (but are not
limited to) running yards, rushing yards, throws, passes, wickets,
downs, etc. Then, at step 4006, the OGS applies pre-defined rules
on parsed live data feed to extract analytics that will be used in
a subsequent step (e.g., step 4012) to compute a closest proximate
answer. Thus, the OGS saves the extracted analytics at step 4008 in
an exemplary OGS database.
[0110] At step 4010, the OGS retrieves a question (in-event and
pre-event) from the database, and then identifies (at step 4012) a
closest proximate answer to the question based on the extracted
analytics. In an exemplary OGS embodiment, in-event and pre-event
questions are received and processed as described earlier in
connection with FIG. 13. Further, it will be understood that step
4012 involves computer-implemented aspects of data mining, data
comparison, and several other computer methodologies as will occur
to one skilled in the art. Finally, at step 4014, the OGS stores a
closest proximate answer (to the question retrieved at earlier step
4010) in an OGS database, and then loops back to step 4002 in order
to receive the digitized live event data feed.
[0111] Although not shown herein, it will be understood that in
alternate embodiments, steps involved in a backend OGS process
(e.g., as shown in FIG. 14) can be integrated with other OGS
processes, as will occur to those skilled in the art. Even further,
various other information can be stored in the OGS database(s), and
are not limited to the ones described herein. Also, functionalities
of various modules/software components and hardware components can
be combined into a single or even multiple module(s), possibly with
other functionalities as will occur to one of ordinary skill in the
art.
[0112] As described in detail above, aspects of the present
disclosure generally relate to systems and methods involved in the
design of a online gaming platform in which participants compete to
determine who best predicts the outcomes of conditions relating to
activities at sporting events, TV shows, or other types of
contemporaneous events. As described herein, such a system has been
referred to as an Online Gaming System (OGS). System users (OGS
users, or simply users) can access an OGS user interface (UI) over
a computer network, such as the World Wide Web (WWW), using varying
types of electronic devices such as mobile devices and computers.
Accordingly, it will be understood from the foregoing description
that various embodiments of the present system described herein are
generally implemented as a special purpose or general-purpose
computer including various computer hardware as discussed in
greater detail below. Embodiments within the scope of the present
disclosure also include computer-readable media for carrying or
having computer-executable instructions or data structures stored
thereon. Such computer-readable media can be any available media
which can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose
computer, or downloadable through communication networks. By way of
example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can
comprise physical storage media such as RAM, ROM, flash memory,
EEPROM, CD-ROM, DVD, or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk
storage or other magnetic storage devices, any type of removable
non-volatile memories such as secure digital (SD), flash memory,
memory stick etc., or any other medium which can be used to carry
or store computer program code in the form of computer-executable
instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by a
general purpose or special purpose computer, or a mobile
device.
[0113] When information is transferred or provided over a network
or another communications connection (either hardwired, wireless,
or a combination of hardwired or wireless) to a computer, the
computer properly views the connection as a computer-readable
medium. Thus, any such a connection is properly termed and
considered a computer-readable medium. Combinations of the above
should also be included within the scope of computer-readable
media. Computer-executable instructions comprise, for example,
instructions and data which cause a general purpose computer,
special purpose computer, or special purpose processing device such
as a mobile device processor to perform one specific function or a
group of functions.
[0114] Those skilled in the art will understand the features and
aspects of a suitable computing environment in which aspects of the
disclosure may be implemented. Although not required, the present
disclosure is described in the general context of
computer-executable instructions, such as program modules or
engines, as described earlier, being executed by computers in
networked environments. Such program modules are often reflected
and illustrated by flow charts, sequence diagrams, exemplary screen
displays, and other techniques used by those skilled in the art to
communicate how to make and use such computer program modules.
Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects,
components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or
implement particular abstract data types, within the computer.
Computer-executable instructions, associated data structures, and
program modules represent examples of the program code for
executing steps of the methods disclosed herein. The particular
sequence of such executable instructions or associated data
structures represent examples of corresponding acts for
implementing the functions described in such steps.
[0115] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the
present disclosure may be practiced in network computing
environments with many types of computer system configurations,
including personal computers, hand-held devices, multi-processor
systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,
networked PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like.
The present disclosure is practiced in distributed computing
environments where tasks are performed by local and remote
processing devices that are linked (either by hardwired links,
wireless links, or by a combination of hardwired or wireless links)
through a communications network. In a distributed computing
environment, program modules may be located in both local and
remote memory storage devices.
[0116] An exemplary system for implementing the present disclosure,
which is not illustrated, includes a general purpose computing
device in the form of a conventional computer, including a
processing unit, a system memory, and a system bus that couples
various system components including the system memory to the
processing unit. The computer will typically include one or more
magnetic hard disk drives (also called "data stores" or "data
storage" or other names) for reading from and writing to. The
drives and their associated computer-readable media provide
nonvolatile storage of computer-executable instructions, data
structures, program modules, and other data for the computer.
Although the exemplary environment described herein employs a
magnetic hard disk, a removable magnetic disk, removable optical
disks, other types of computer readable media for storing data can
be used, including magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital
video disks (DVDs), Bernoulli cartridges, RAMs, ROMs, and the
like.
[0117] Computer program code that implements most of the
functionality described herein typically comprises one or more
program modules may be stored on the hard disk or other storage
medium. This program code, as is known to those skilled in the art,
usually includes an operating system, one or more application
programs, other program modules, and program data. A user may enter
commands and information into the computer through keyboard,
pointing device, a script containing computer program code written
in a scripting language or other input devices (not shown), such as
a microphone, etc. These and other input devices are often
connected to the processing unit through known electrical, optical,
or wireless connections.
[0118] The main computer that effects many aspects of the present
disclosure will typically operate in a networked environment using
logical connections to one or more remote computers or data
sources, which are described further below. Remote computers may be
another personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer
device or other common network node, and typically include many or
all of the elements described above relative to the main computer
system in which aspects of the present disclosure are embodied. The
logical connections between computers include a local area network
(LAN), a wide area network (WAN), and wireless LANs (WLAN) that are
presented here by way of example and not limitation. Such
networking environments are commonplace in office-wide or
enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets and the Internet.
[0119] When used in a LAN or WLAN networking environment, the main
computer system implementing aspects of the present disclosure is
connected to the local network through a network interface or
adapter. When used in a WAN or WLAN networking environment, the
computer may include a modem, a wireless link, or other means for
establishing communications over the wide area network, such as the
Internet. In a networked environment, program modules depicted
relative to the computer, or portions thereof, may be stored in a
remote memory storage device. It will be appreciated that the
network connections described or shown are exemplary and other
means of establishing communications over wide area networks or the
Internet may be used.
[0120] In view of the foregoing detailed description of preferred
embodiments of the present disclosure, it readily will be
understood by those persons skilled in the art that the present
disclosure is susceptible to broad utility and application. While
various aspects have been described in the context of a preferred
embodiment, additional aspects, features, and methodologies of the
present disclosure will be readily discernable from the description
herein, by those of ordinary skill in the art. Many embodiments and
adaptations of the present disclosure other than those herein
described, as well as many variations, modifications, and
equivalent arrangements and methodologies, will be apparent from or
reasonably suggested by the present disclosure and the foregoing
description thereof, without departing from the substance or scope
of the present disclosure. Furthermore, any sequence(s) and/or
temporal order of steps of various processes described and claimed
herein are those considered to be the best mode contemplated for
carrying out the present disclosure. It should also be understood
that, although steps of various processes may be shown and
described as being in a preferred sequence or temporal order, the
steps of any such processes are not limited to being carried out in
any particular sequence or order, absent a specific indication of
such to achieve a particular intended result. In most cases, the
steps of such processes may be carried out in a variety of
different sequences and orders, while still falling within the
scope of the present disclosure. In addition, some steps may be
carried out simultaneously.
[0121] Accordingly, while the present disclosure has been described
herein in detail in relation to preferred embodiments, it is to be
understood that this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary
of the present disclosure and is made merely for purposes of
providing a full and enabling disclosure. The foregoing disclosure
is not intended nor is to be construed to limit the present
disclosure or otherwise to exclude any such other embodiments,
adaptations, variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements,
the present disclosure being limited only by the claims appended
hereto and the equivalents thereof.
* * * * *