U.S. patent application number 14/709330 was filed with the patent office on 2015-11-05 for implementing challenges in single-player games.
The applicant listed for this patent is Apple Inc.. Invention is credited to Samir Bajaj, Daniel T. Kurtz, Arnol Pattekar, Nathan D. Taylor, Christina E. Warren, Liam A. Weiner.
Application Number | 20150314197 14/709330 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 48428698 |
Filed Date | 2015-11-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150314197 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kurtz; Daniel T. ; et
al. |
November 5, 2015 |
IMPLEMENTING CHALLENGES IN SINGLE-PLAYER GAMES
Abstract
A method of implementing challenges in single-player games
starts with a server receiving a challenge from a first mobile
device and transmitting the challenge to a second mobile device.
The challenge may include a high score or an achievement of a
single-player game obtained on the first mobile device, The server
may determine that a new high score is obtained on the second
mobile device that is equal or greater than the high score included
in the challenge or that the achievement is completed on the second
mobile device. The server may then transmit a notification to the
first mobile device that the challenge has been completed. If the
server determines that the new high score is obtained, the
notification may include a new challenge from the second mobile
device to the first mobile device and the new challenge may include
the new high score. Other embodiments are also described.
Inventors: |
Kurtz; Daniel T.; (Campbell,
CA) ; Taylor; Nathan D.; (Scotts Valley, CA) ;
Bajaj; Samir; (Cupertino, CA) ; Pattekar; Arnol;
(San Jose, CA) ; Weiner; Liam A.; (San Francisco,
CA) ; Warren; Christina E.; (San Jose, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Apple Inc. |
Cupertino |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
48428698 |
Appl. No.: |
14/709330 |
Filed: |
May 11, 2015 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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13492697 |
Jun 8, 2012 |
9050535 |
|
|
14709330 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
463/42 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63F 13/26 20140902;
A63F 13/332 20140902; A63F 13/798 20140902; A63F 13/327 20140902;
A63F 13/803 20140902; A63F 13/92 20140902; A63F 2300/558 20130101;
A63F 2300/61 20130101; A63F 13/12 20130101; A63F 2300/556 20130101;
A63F 13/2145 20140902; A63F 13/533 20140902; A63F 13/30 20140902;
A63F 13/35 20140902; A63F 13/46 20140902 |
International
Class: |
A63F 13/46 20060101
A63F013/46; A63F 13/30 20060101 A63F013/30 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: receiving by a server a challenge from a
first mobile device, the challenge including a high score of a
single-player game obtained on the first mobile device or an
achievement of the single player game obtained on the first mobile
device; transmitting by the server the challenge to a second mobile
device; determining by the server that a new high score is obtained
on the second mobile device that is equal or greater than the high
score included in the challenge or that the achievement is
completed on the second mobile device; and transmitting by the
server a notification to the first mobile device that the challenge
has been completed, wherein if the server determines that the new
high score is obtained, the notification to the first mobile device
includes a new challenge from the second mobile device to the first
device, the new challenge including the new high score.
Description
[0001] This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S.
application Ser. No. 13/492,697 filed on Jun. 8, 2012.
FIELD
[0002] An embodiment of the invention relate generally to the
implementation of challenges in single-player games on mobile
devices.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Currently, in addition to desktop computers and video game
consoles, a wide range of portable consumer electronics may be used
to play video games. These portable consumer electronics may
include, for example, smart phones, laptops, notebooks, tablet
computers, and personal digital media players.
[0004] All types of video games are available to be played by users
on their portable consumer electronics including, for example,
racing games like Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2.TM., strategy puzzle
games such as Angry Birds.TM. and Chu Chu Rocket.TM., and trivia
games like You don't know Jack.TM.. Many of these video games are
games that can only be played by one player, known as single-player
games.
SUMMARY
[0005] In order to provide single-player games with the same
competitive aspect present in multi-player games, one embodiment of
the invention allows for a user that is playing a single-player
game on his mobile device to submit a challenge to another user
that is playing the same single-player game on another mobile
device. The challenge may be any objective to be accomplished in
the single-player game. The challenge may also be any objective to
be accomplished in a plurality of games (single or
multiplayer).
[0006] In one embodiment of the invention, a method of implementing
challenges in single-player games starts with a server receiving a
challenge from a first device and transmitting the challenge to a
second device. The challenge may include a high score of a
single-player game obtained on the first device or an achievement
of the single-player game obtained on the first device, The server
may determine that a new high score is obtained on the second
device that is equal or greater than the high score included in the
challenge or that the achievement is completed on the second
device. The server may then transmit a notification to the first
device that the challenge has been completed. In some embodiments,
if the server determines that the new high score is obtained, the
notification to the first device includes a new challenge from the
second device to the first device and the new challenge includes
the new high score.
[0007] In another embodiment of the invention, an apparatus that
implements challenges in single-player games includes a storage, a
communication interface, and a processor. The communication
interface may receive a challenge from a first device and transmit
the challenge to a second device. The challenge may include a high
score of a single-player game obtained on the first device or an
achievement of the single-player game obtained on the first device.
The processor that is coupled to the storage and the communication
interface may determine that the challenge has been completed by
determining that a new high score is obtained on the second device
that is equal or greater than the high score included in the
challenge or that the achievement is completed on the second
device. When the processor determines that the challenge is
completed on the second device, the communication interface may
transmit a notification to the first device to indicate that the
challenge has been completed. In some embodiments, if the processor
determines that the new high score is obtained, the notification to
the first device includes a new challenge from the second device to
the first device, the new challenge including the new high
score.
[0008] In yet another embodiment of the invention, a system that
implements challenges in single-player games comprises a plurality
of devices including a first and second device, and a server that
includes a storage, a communication interface, and a processor. The
communication interface may receive a challenge from the first
device and transmit the challenge to the second device. The
challenge may include a high score of a single-player game obtained
on the first device or an achievement of the single-player game
obtained on the first device. The processor may be coupled to the
storage and the communication interface and may determine that a
new high score is obtained on the second device that is equal or
greater than the high score included in the challenge or that the
achievement is completed on the second device. When the processor
makes this determination, the communication interface may transmit
a notification to the first device that the challenge has been
completed.
[0009] The above summary does not include an exhaustive list of all
aspects of the present invention. It is contemplated that the
invention includes all systems, apparatuses and methods that can be
practiced from all suitable combinations of the various aspects
summarized above, as well as those disclosed in the Detailed
Description below and particularly pointed out in the claims filed
with the application. Such combinations may have particular
advantages not specifically recited in the above summary.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] The embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of
example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the
accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar
elements. It should be noted that references to "an" or "one"
embodiment of the invention in this disclosure are not necessarily
to the same embodiment, and they mean at least one. In the
drawings:
[0011] FIG. 1 illustrates examples of portable consumer electronic
devices used in a network system according to one embodiment of the
invention.
[0012] FIG. 2 shows a network system according to one embodiment of
the invention.
[0013] FIG. 3 shows a server according to one embodiment of the
invention.
[0014] FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method of
implementing challenges by a server according to one embodiment of
the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] In the following description, numerous specific details are
set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the
invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other
instances, well-known circuits, structures, and techniques have not
been shown to avoid obscuring the understanding of this
description.
[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates examples of a portable consumer
electronic device (or "mobile device") that is used in a network
system according to one embodiment of the invention. As shown in
FIG. 1, the mobile device 1 may be a mobile telephone
communications device or a smartphone such as an iPhone.TM. device,
from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., or a tablet computer such as
an iPad.TM. device, from Apple Inc, of Cupertino, Calif., The
mobile device 1 may also be a personal digital media player such an
iPod.TM. device or a notebook computer such as a MacBook Air.TM.
device, which are all from Apple Inc, of Cupertino, Calif.
[0017] A device housing (also referred to as the external housing)
encloses a plurality of electronic components of the device 1. For
example, the device 1 may include electronic components such as a
processor, a data storage containing an operating system and
application software for execution by the processor, input-output
devices such as a display screen that may be a touch sensitive
screen ("touch screen"), a microphone port, and speaker ports, and
a plurality of sensors such as ambient light sensors, an
accelerometer, and a proximity sensor. Input-output devices may
also include wireless communications devices having communications
circuitry such as radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry,
antennas, etc. In one embodiment, the microphone port and the
speaker ports may be coupled to the communications circuitry to
enable the user to participate in wireless telephone or video
calls. A variety of different wireless communications networks and
protocols may be supported in the mobile device 1. These include: a
cellular mobile phone network (e.g. a Global System for Mobile
communications, GSM, network), including current 2G, 3G and 4G
networks and their associated call and data protocols; and an IEEE
802.11 data network (WiFi or Wireless Local Area Network,
WLAN).
[0018] The mobile device 1 may have video games installed therein.
When a video game is executed by the processor of the device 1, the
graphical user interface (GUI) of the game is displayed to the
user. The user may interact with the video game by using the
touch-screen of the device 1 or by manipulating the mobile device 1
in a manner that the sensors in the mobile device provide
corresponding inputs to the game. While FIG. 1 illustrates examples
of mobile device 1, it is understood that embodiments of the
invention may also be implemented in a non-mobile device such as a
compact desktop computer such as an iMac.TM., from Apple Inc. of
Cupertino, Calif.
[0019] FIG. 2 shows a network system according to one embodiment of
the invention The system 10 may be a networked system that includes
a plurality of mobile devices 1.sub.1-1.sub.n (n>1) coupled to a
server 3 via a trusted and/or un-trusted network 2. The network 2
may be physically located in a secure location to be trusted or may
be trusted according to secure connections based on cryptographic
protocols, e.g., SSL (Secure Socket Layer), PVN (Private Virtual
Networking), or other connections. The network 2 may be a cellular
mobile phone network (e.g. a Global System for Mobile
communications, GSM, network), including current 2G, 3G and 4G
networks and their associated call and data protocols; and an IEEE
802.11 data network (WiFi or Wireless Local Area Network,
WLAN).
[0020] In one embodiment, a first user using a mobile device
1.sub.1 and a second user using mobile device 1.sub.2 are playing a
single-player video game on their respective devices. The first
user may provide a challenge to the second user by inputting the
challenge on mobile device 1.sub.1. The challenge may be any
objective that is provided from the first user to the second user.
The challenge may be a leaderboard challenge (or score challenge)
or an achievement challenge.
[0021] In the case of a leaderboard challenge, the first user
obtains a personal high score on a game's ranked leaderboard and
the first user challenges the second user to obtain a score that is
equal or greater than the first user's personal high score. In some
single-player games, the score may be, for example, a number of
points accumulated in the course of playing the game. In other
single-player games, a higher score is obtained for quickest game
completion (e.g., a puzzle game or a maze game) or when the fastest
time is obtained (e.g., a car racing game).
[0022] In the case of an achievement challenge, the first user
completes an achievement in the game and challenges the second user
to complete that same achievement in the game, For example, in a
trivia game, the first user may have completed a first level of
questions without getting any answers wrong and now challenges the
second user to do the same. In another example, the first user may
have gotten a bull's eye in a day game and now challenges the
second user to obtain a bull's eye as well.
[0023] In the case of both the leaderboard challenge and the
achievement challenge, in some embodiments, the first user may also
challenge the second user to obtain a high score or an achievement
that the first user has not yet completed.
[0024] The challenge from the first user may be sent from mobile
device 1.sub.1 to the server 3 via the network 2 and the server 3
then transmits the challenge to the second mobile device 1.sub.1.
The second mobile device 1.sub.2 may display the challenge on the
display screen to notify the user of the challenge. In some
embodiments, the user is automatically opted-in to the challenge
such that the user must decline the challenge to opt-out. When the
server 3 determines that the second user completes the challenge,
the server 3 may transmit a notification to the first mobile device
1.sub.1 that the second user has completed the challenge. In one
embodiment, if the challenge is a leaderboard challenge, the
notification being sent to the first mobile device 1.sub.1 may
automatically include a new challenge from the second user to the
first user to obtain a score that is equal or higher than the new
score that the second user obtained to complete the original
challenge from the first user.
[0025] Referring to FIG. 3, the server 3 according to one
embodiment of the invention is further illustrated. The server 3
may include a storage 31, a communication interface 32, and a
processor 33.
[0026] The communication interface 32 may be an interface that is
coupled to the network 2 in order to receive a challenge from the
first device 1.sub.1 and transmit the challenge to the second
device 1.sub.2. The challenge may be a leaderboard challenge that
includes a high score of a single-player game obtained on the first
device or may be an achievement challenge that includes an
achievement of the single-player game obtained on the first device.
In some embodiments, the challenge may be include a high score or
an achievement that the first user has not yet obtained or
completed. As the users play the games on their respective devices,
the communication interface 32 may also receive scores obtained by
the users, respectively, from the first mobile device 1.sub.1 and
second mobile device 1.sub.2. The communication interface 32 may
also receive the status of completion of achievements by the users,
respectively, from the first and second devices. For instance, if
the first user obtained a bull's eye in dart game, this achievement
(i.e., the bull's eye) may be stored in the leaderboard.
[0027] As shown in FIG. 3, the storage 31 is coupled to the
communication interface 32 and stores, for example, the challenges,
the scores, and the status of completion of achievements received
by the communication interface 32. The storage 31 may include one
or more different types of storage such as hard disk drive storage,
nonvolatile memory, and volatile memory such as dynamic random
access memory. In some embodiments, the storage 31 stores a
leaderboard of the video game. The leaderboard of the video game is
a board that displays the rankings of a plurality of users that
have the highest scores or points in the game. The storage 31 may
also store a global leaderboard that aggregates points obtained in
a plurality of games (e.g., gamer scores). In some embodiments, in
addition to the points and the rankings of each of the users having
the highest scores, the leaderboard and the global leaderboard may
also include the status of completion of achievements for each
user.
[0028] Referring to FIG. 3, the processor 33 may be coupled to the
communication interface 32 and the storage 31. The processor 33 may
be a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor,
or a central processing unit. The term "processor" may refer to a
device having two or more processing units or elements, e.g. a CPU
with multiple processing cores. The processor 33 may be used to
control the operations of server 3 by executing software
instructions or code stored in the storage 31. In some embodiments,
the processor 33 may determine that the second user has completed
the challenge by reading the leaderboard or the global leaderboard
stored in the storage 31. For example, the challenge from the first
user to the second user is a leaderboard challenge to meet or beat
the first user's score of 100. The processor 33 may read the score
associated with the second user from the leaderboard of the game as
being 105 and determine that the second user has completed the
challenge. In another example, the challenge may include an
achievement challenge from the first user to the second user obtain
a bull's eye in the darts game. The processor 33 may read the
bull's eye achievement as a completed achievement associated with
the second user in the leaderboard for the darts game to determine
that the second user has completed the challenge from the first
user. When the processor 33 determines that the challenge is
completed by the second user, the processor 33 may signal to the
communication interface 32 to transmit the notification to the
first mobile device 1.sub.1 that the challenge has been completed.
The notification may be displayed on the display screen of the
first device 1.sub.1 for the first user. In one embodiment, the
notification is displayed as banner or a badge, The notification
may also be displayed on the display screen when the user activates
the single-player game in which the challenge was completed.
[0029] In one embodiment, if the challenge is a leaderboard
challenge, the processor 33 may automatically generate a new
challenge to be included in the notification being sent to the
first mobile device 1.sub.1. The new challenge may be a challenge
from the second user to the first Wei to obtain a score that is
equal or higher than the new score that the second user obtained to
complete the original challenge from the first user.
[0030] In other embodiments, the challenge from the first user to
the second user may include both a leaderboard challenge and an
achievement challenge. In this type of challenge, the processor 33
may signal to the communication interface 32 to transmit the
notification to the first device 1.sub.1 when the second user
completes both the leaderboard challenge and the achievement
challenge. The processor 33 may consult the leaderboard of the game
to determine when the second user completes both the leaderboard
challenge and the achievement challenge.
[0031] In one embodiment, the challenge is based on a user's gamer
score that appears in the global leaderboard. The gamer score is an
aggregated score obtained in a plurality of games. For instance,
the first user may have obtained 100 points in each three different
games: Game A, Game B, and Game C. This provides the first user
with a gamer score of 300 points. In this embodiment, the first
user may challenge the user obtain a gamer score of 300 points. In
order to complete this challenge, the second user does not
necessarily need to obtain over 100 points in each of the games,
Game A, B, and C, in order to complete the challenge. Instead, the
second user may obtain a gamer score of 300 points or more in these
three games (i.e., Games A, B, and C) or any other combination of
games that is installed on the second mobile device 1.sub.2. The
challenge that is based on the gamer score may also include a time
frame that the second user has to meet this challenge.
[0032] In some embodiments, the first user does not have to have
completed the challenge that he is presenting to the second user.
Instead, the first user may submit a racing challenge to the second
user. A racing challenge may include a score in a game ("racing
score") or an achievement a game ("racing achievement") that the
first and second users are going to race to complete. In this
embodiment, the communication interface 32 of the server 3 receives
the racing challenge including the racing score or the racing
achievement from the first device 1.sub.1 and transmits the racing
challenge to the second device 1.sub.2. In this embodiment, the
processor 33 determines when a score that is equal or greater than
the racing score is obtained by the first user or by the second
user or when the racing achievement is completed by the first user
or the second user. if the first user completes the racing
challenge first, the processor 33 may signal to the communication
interface 32 to transmit a notification to the second device
1.sub.2 that the first user completed the racing challenge
first.
[0033] In another embodiment, the storage 32 may also store a
challenge leaderboard that includes a percentage of completion of
challenges received by each user. For example, if the first user
received 100 challenges from various users on other mobile devices
1.sub.2-1.sub.n and has successfully completed 70 challenges out of
the 100 challenges received, the challenge leaderboard will
indicate that the first user has completed 70% of challenges
received. In this embodiment, the first user may also submit a
challenge to the second user that includes the 70% completion of
challenges received. With this challenge, the first user challenges
the second user to obtain a percentage of completion of challenges
that is equal or greater than 70%. This challenge may also include
a time frame that the second user has to meet this challenge.
[0034] In one embodiment, the first user may also include a wager
in the challenge to the second user. The wager may be a number of
points from the leaderboard of the game or a number of gamer points
from the global leaderboard. For example, the first user may wager
100 points that are associated with the first user on the
leaderboard of the game. In this example, if the second user is
able to complete the challenge from the first user, the second user
wins 100 of the first user's leaderboard points. Accordingly, if
the challenge is completed by the second user, the processor 33
subtracts the 100 points associated with the first user in the
leaderboard and adds the 100 points to the points associated with
the second user in the leaderboard. Conversely, if the second user
is not able to complete the challenge, the first user wins 100
points that are associated with the second user in the leaderboard
of the game. Accordingly, the processor 33 adds 100 points to the
points associated with the first user in the leaderboard and
subtracts the 100 points from the points associated with the second
user in the leaderboard.
[0035] The following embodiments of the invention may be described
as a process, which is usually depicted as a flowchart, a flow
diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a
flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many
of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In
addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process
is terminated when its operations are completed. A process may
correspond to a method, a procedure, etc.
[0036] FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method of
implementing challenges by a server according to one embodiment of
the invention. Method 100 begins with a server receiving a
challenge from a first device. The challenge may include a high
score of a single-player game obtained on the first device when the
challenge is a leaderboard challenge or an achievement of the
single-player game obtained on the first device when the challenge
is an achievement challenge (Block 101). At Block 102, the server
then transmits the challenge to the second device. At Block 103,
the server determines that the challenge has been completed on the
second device. The server may determine that a new high score is
obtained on the second device that is equal or greater than the
high score included in the challenge or the server may determine
that the achievement is completed on the second device. In some
embodiments, the server makes this determination by reading the
scores or the status of completion of achievements that are stored
in the leaderboard or the global leaderboard. At Block 104, the
server transmits to the first device a notification that the
challenge has been completed. In some embodiments, if the challenge
is a leaderboard challenge that includes the score of the first
user ("high score") and the second user completes the challenge by
obtaining a score ("new high score") that is equal or higher than
the score of the first user, the notification being transmitted to
the first device may further include a new leaderboard challenge
from the second user to the first user. This new leaderboard
challenge includes the new high score as the score that the first
user has to meet or beat to complete the new challenge.
[0037] While the invention has been described in terms of several
embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that
the invention is not limited to the embodiments described, but can
be practiced with modification and alteration within the spirit and
scope of the appended claims. The description is thus to be
regarded as illustrative instead of limiting. There are numerous
other variations to different aspects of the invention described
above, which in the interest of conciseness have not been provided
in detail. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of
the claims.
* * * * *