U.S. Pat. No. 9,704,346

It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like features are identified by like reference numerals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

There is described herein an online video game for incorporating a news network therein and providing news from the game to the outside world. The news presented in the news network of the game may be related to the virtual world, the real world, or a combination thereof. The news presented outside of the game may be related to the game itself, or the virtual world existing within the game.FIG. 1illustrates an exemplary system for executing and hosting the online video game. In the embodiment illustrated, the online video game has lotterized and wagering components embedded therein. A lotterized component refers to the incorporation of lottery-type contests directly into the online video game, such as draws for cash and/or other types of prizes allocated to winners that are redeemable in the real world. A wagering component refers to the ability for a player of the online video game to place a wager against other players inside the game, the winner collecting the wagered amounts. The wagers may have to do with virtual world challenges or real world events. The winnings may be redeemable as cash or prizes in the real world. Other embodiments without these components are also applicable.

One or more server(s)100are provided remotely and accessible via a network108. For example, a series of servers corresponding to a web server, an application server, a database server, and a lottery server may be used. These servers are all represented by server100inFIG. 1. The server100is accessed by a client device110, such as a smartphone, a computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), etc, via any type of network408, such as the Internet, the Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN), a cellular network, or others known to those skilled in the art.

The server100comprises, amongst other things, a plurality of applications106a. . .106nrunning on a processor104, the processor being coupled to a memory102. It should be understood that while the applications106a. . .106npresented herein are illustrated and described as separate entities, they may be combined or separated in a variety of ways.

One or more databases (not shown) may be integrated directly into memory102or may be provided separately therefrom and remotely from the server100. In the case of a remote access to the databases, access may occur via any type of network108, as indicated above. The various databases described herein may be provided as collections of data or information organized for rapid search and retrieval by a computer. They may be structured to facilitate storage, retrieval, modification, and deletion of data in conjunction with various data-processing operations. They may consist of a file or sets of files that can be broken down into records, each of which consists of one or more fields. Database information may be retrieved through queries using keywords and sorting commands, in order to rapidly search, rearrange, group, and select the field. The databases may be any organization of data on a data storage medium, such as one or more servers.

In one embodiment, the databases are secure web servers and Hypertext Transport Protocol Secure (HTTPS) capable of supporting Transport Layer Security (TLS), which is a protocol used for access to the data. Communications to and from the secure web servers may be secured using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). An SSL session may be started by sending a request to the Web server with an HTTPS prefix in the URL, which causes port number “443” to be placed into the packets. Port “4432 is the number assigned to the SSL application on the server. Identity verification of a user may be performed using usernames and passwords for all users. Various levels of access rights may be provided to multiple levels of users.

Any known communication protocols that enable devices within a computer network to exchange information may be used. Examples of protocols are as follows: IP (Internet Protocol), UDP (User Datagram Protocol), TCP (Transmission Control Protocol), DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol), FTP (File Transfer Protocol), Telnet (Telnet Remote Protocol), SSH (Secure Shell Remote Protocol), POP3 (Post Office Protocol 3), SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol), SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol), PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol), RFB (Remote Frame buffer) Protocol.

The memory102accessible by the processor104receives and stores data. The memory102may be a main memory, such as a high speed Random Access Memory (RAM), or an auxiliary storage unit, such as a hard disk, a floppy disk, or a magnetic tape drive. The memory may be any other type of memory, such as a Read-Only Memory (ROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), flash memory (e.g. memory sticks or Secure Digital (SD) cards), or optical storage media such as a videodisc and a compact disc.

The processor104may access the memory102to retrieve data. The processor104may be any device that can perform operations on data. Examples are a central processing unit (CPU), a front-end processor, a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU/VPU), a physics processing unit (PPU), a digital signal processor, and a network processor. The applications106a. . .106nare coupled to the processor104and configured to perform various tasks as explained below in more detail. An output may be transmitted to a client device110.

The Applications106a. . .106nmay access various social media sources112via a network such as network108. The social media sources may be used to pull real world information therefrom and/or push virtual world information thereto. Real world information originating from social media sources may be related to activities of various users on the social media source, such as news posted on Facebook™ or Twitter™. Such information may be incorporated directly into a news feed inside the virtual world of the online video game. The news feed may be displayed in various ways to the players of the online video game, such as on-demand (via the appropriate links or buttons) or without request. In some embodiments, the news feed may be integrated directly into the game by being displayed on an output device, e.g. a screen or monitor, in various environments of the virtual world such as a television in a gym; in a restaurant, bar, or cafë; in a virtual goods store; or any other environment where a television/monitor/screen may be found in the context of the virtual world. Alternatively, or in addition to the visual news feed, the news feed may be an audio news feed that is played either on-demand or not. In some embodiments, the audio news feed may be available only in reserved spaces, such as coffee shops or news stores, while in other embodiments, the player may access the audio news feed at any time and from anywhere within the virtual world.

The virtual world news feed may also be supplemented with other external news sources114, which may also be accessed via a network such as network108. The external news sources may comprise any source of news from the real world, such as newspapers, magazines, television, radio, Internet, news agencies, and alternative media sources. Other examples of online sources include news networks such as CNN and the BBC, blogs, government websites, corporate websites, weather networks, etc. The news may be related to various topics, such as politics, business, arts, entertainment, fashion, sports, technology, traffic, weather, local news, national news, international news, etc. The news genre may include advocacy, analytic, broadcast, investigative, opinion, photojournalism, scientific, etc. Real world news taken from any one of the above listed sources may be integrated into the online video game. In addition, virtual world news may also be provided via a visual and/or audio news feed inside the game, separately from or combined with the real world news feed.

FIG. 2illustrates an exemplary application106arunning on the processor104. In the illustrated embodiment, the application106acomprises at least a gaming unit200and a news network module212. The gaming unit200comprises a gaming engine module202, a lottery services module204, and a wagering module206. These three modules interact together in order to provide the online video game that is executable by the processor104over the network108. The online video game can conduct a lottery transaction within the game by issuing a real lottery ticket from a government sanctioned lottery authority. It can also stake a wager between two players competing against each other in the game play instance, the winner collecting the wagered amount, the winnings being deposited into the winning player's account such that it may later be converted to real world currency. Winnings and/or wagers via the lottery services module204and the wagering module206are examples of sources of virtual news provided to a news network module212for incorporation into a news feed in the virtual world. Such virtual news may also be provided in a news feed in the real world.

A transaction module210is involved in the real world transactional aspects of the game. Real world transactions may occur when players purchase virtual currencies and when players redeem virtual winnings or currencies for cash or other real world prizes via the integrated lotteries and wagering. Alternatively, redeeming of virtual winnings for real world cash or prizes may be handled externally to the transaction module210, such as in the player account manager208. The transaction module210may interact with the lottery services module204and the wagering module206to manage the transactions. The transaction module210may also interact with a player account manager208.

The gaming engine module202is a flexible and reusable software platform which provides all the core functionality needed to execute a game application. This module may be responsible for all aspects of the lotterized game.FIG. 3is a simplified block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the gaming engine module202. A game specs module302contains specific gaming logic and instructs a rendering and simulation engine304to create the virtual world and render images in accordance with this logic. For example, if a player finishes a first level and wishes to continue to a second level, the game specs module302will instruct the rendering and simulation engine304to display the second level of the game. In another example, when a given action occurs in a game, such as the player launching a given weapon, the game specs module302will instruct the rendering and simulation engine304to render the appropriate graphics and display these graphics within the simulated gaming environment. For simplicity, other features of the gaming engine module202typically present in such a software platform are not illustrated. Examples of these other features relate to functionalities such as collision detection (and collision response), sound, scripting, animation, artificial intelligence, networking, streaming, memory management, threading, localization support, and a scene graph. These functionalities will be readily understood to be included in the present description by a person skilled in the art.

In some embodiments, the game specs module302may receive instructions from the news network module212to incorporate virtual and/or real world news into the game. The rendering and simulation engine304will then render the appropriate images in accordance with the received instructions in order to integrate the news feed into the game. The rendering and simulation engine304may also render the appropriate sounds for audio news feeds, as required. In some embodiments, the gaming engine module202may also send virtual world news to the new network module212for pushing out to external sources, such as social media sources112and other external news sources114. Examples of virtual world news provided by the gaming engine module202include milestones and/or achievements related to the game itself, such as points gathered, levels reached, records broken, etc. This news may be broadcast outside of the game to users of social media or via other news sources.

Referring back toFIG. 2, the lottery services module204is responsible for all aspects of the lotterized video game that relate directly to lotterized features incorporated into the video game.FIG. 4is a simplified exemplary embodiment of the lottery services module204. A lottery triggering module202manages the real world lotteries run during the online video game and cooperates with a lottery engine204, which is responsible for the actual draws and validating of wins. Alternatively, only virtual lotteries are managed by the lottery services module204and real world lotteries are managed externally to the present system by a government regulated organization. In such a case, the lottery services module204may act as an interface between the present system and the external government regulated organization for real world lotteries, without exercising direct control on such lotteries.

The lottery services module204feeds into the news network module212in order to provide up-to-date or real time information regarding lottery winners, jackpots, prizes, etc. In some embodiments, this information is integrated into the virtual news feed of the virtual world such that players of the virtual world may be informed of winners, jackpots, prizes, etc on an on-going basis. In some embodiments, the information is pushed to external and social media news sources for distribution outside of the virtual world. In some embodiments, the information is provided to both the virtual world and the real world.

FIG. 5is a simplified exemplary embodiment of the wagering module206. A wagering game triggering module502manages the wagers that are placed by players with other players in the virtual world. A wager engine504is responsible for locking in the wager once the challenge has been accepted and allocating the winnings to the winner of the battle. The wagering module206may also feed into the news network module212in order to provide up-to-date or real time information regarding wagers and outcomes. In some embodiments, this information is integrated into the virtual news feed of the virtual world such that players of the virtual world may be informed of wagers and outcomes on an on-going basis. In some embodiments, the information is pushed to external and social media news sources for distribution outside of the virtual world. In some embodiments, the information is provided to both the virtual world and the real world.

FIG. 6illustrates in more detail the player account manager208ofFIG. 2. An accounts creator602handles the creation of the account, acquisition of personal information of the player, acquisition of financial information of the player, and the general creation of a player profile. The player accounts/profiles are maintained in a database606and updated by a profile manager604. The profile manager604will update the player accounts606whenever new information is available for a player. The new information may have to do with game statistics, updated personal information, updated financial information, leader board data, prizes won, etc. The player account manager208may interact with the news network module212in the case of particular settings for individual player accounts for news feeds, as will be explained in more detail below. In some embodiments, the player account manager208may be responsible for managing player account functions, such as creating a player account, validating an existing player's login and password or a new player's eligibility to play the game, suspending a player's account, activating a player account, creating a player profile, viewing a player profile, viewing a current balance of a player's real money in a player account, updating a current balance of a player's real money account, and updating a player's virtual ranking/status.

Reference is now made toFIG. 7, which illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the news network module212. A virtual news module702receives information from the various modules participating in the implementation and operation of the virtual world. A real world news module704receives information from outside of the virtual world of the video game. Virtual news and/or real world news may be stored in one or more news databases706, for future use or reference. A news feed generation module708receives the real world news and the virtual world news and generates the news feeds for the real world and the virtual world in accordance with a set of parameters. The parameters may be predetermined or they may be set and/or modified by a game operator. As per the exemplary embodiment illustrated inFIG. 8, the news feeds intended for outside of the game, such as social media and other media, may be formatted separately from news feeds intended for the virtual world. An outside news feed formatting unit802receives the virtual world news from the various game sources and generates an appropriate news feed for any given outside news source. A game news feed formatting unit804receives both virtual world news and real world news and generates an appropriate news feed for any given virtual world news source.

In some embodiments, the outside news feed formatting unit802and game news feed formatting unit804may interact to share data and provide uniform formats to their news feeds. In some embodiments, the outside news feed and/or the game news feed may be activated/deactivated as per game settings by a game operator and/or the player(s).

In one exemplary embodiment, the outside news feed is provided to Facebook™ and uploaded to the Facebook™ page of the online video game player. In this embodiment, any achievements, winnings, prizes, records, etc, of players are directly broadcast on a given player's Facebook™ page. In an alternative embodiment, the outside news feed is broadcast on a Facebook™ page of the online video game, or directly to authorized Facebook™ members for any given player of the online video game. For example, a player may set his playing account to broadcast the news feed to all of his Facebook™ “friends”, or a subset thereof. In another exemplary embodiment, the outside news feed is broadcast on a Twitter™ feed associated to a given player or a general Twitter™ feed for the online video game.

In some embodiments, the outside news feed is personalized for each player and the broadcast settings are also personalized. For example, player A may choose to have news related only to cash winnings broadcast, and the player A personalized news feed may be set to broadcast only on Twitter™. Player B may choose to have news related to himself and a limited number of other players broadcast, and the player B personalized news feed may be set to broadcast on a personal website of Player B. Player C may choose to have any news related to himself as a player in the game broadcast to any available outside news sources. Various other embodiments for personalizing news feeds and broadcast settings will be readily understood.

In one exemplary embodiment, the game news feed seamlessly incorporates virtual world news and real world news together. For example, a fake evening news segment may include real world news of the day, such as the outcome of an election or the local traffic report, as well as the most recent jackpot winners of virtual lotteries and leaders of the game. This integration is provided by the game news feed formatting unit804which formats the news feed as per given settings. In an alternative embodiment, the virtual world news and real world news are provided separately as a function of settings such as environment, player request, news source, and other criteria that may be used to determine which one of real world news and virtual world news is to be broadcast at any given time. In one exemplary embodiment, the player is asked to choose between real world news and virtual world news. In another exemplary embodiment, real world news and virtual world news are provided in different formats. For example, real world news is displayed in a streaming feed across the bottom of a screen while virtual world news is broadcast audibly. In another example, real world news is provided via virtual newspapers or television programming while virtual world news is provided as a permanent feature displayed to all players. In yet another embodiment, real world news and virtual world news are provided side by side or in parallel. Various other embodiments for distinguishing between real world news and virtual world news will be readily understood.

In some embodiments, the settings for news feeds inside the virtual world are the same for all players, while in other embodiments, game news feeds may also be personalized. For example, Player A may choose to have his virtual news seamlessly integrated with real world news. Player B may choose to obtain real world news related exclusively to sports and weather reports. Player C may choose to have virtual world news related to predetermined players provided to him, in a streaming feed across the bottom of his screen, and no real world news.

The news feed generation module708may therefore be adapted to personalize outside news feeds and/or inside news feeds with regards to the type of news being broadcast, the format in which it is broadcast, and to whom it may be broadcast. Players may be allowed to customize their news feeds when setting up their accounts, and modify these settings at any time.

Referring now toFIG. 9a, a method900for executing the online video game with an integrated news network will now be described. The method900illustratively comprises generating at step902an interactive game play instance for the online video game, generating at step904a game news feed for broadcast inside the game, and generating at step906an outside world news feed for broadcast to external sources, e.g. social media sources. As discussed above, the generated feeds may be customized according to player settings or other parameters.

Referring toFIG. 9b, the step902of generating an interactive game play instance for the online video game illustratively comprises executing at step908a game application to generate the game play instance. A lottery transaction may then be conducted within the game at step910. The next step912may comprise optionally staking a wager within the game.

Referring toFIG. 9c, the step904of generating a game news feed for broadcast inside the game illustratively comprises using at step914information about the game play instance, the lottery winnings, and/or the wager as a source of virtual world news. The virtual world news relating to the game may then be integrated at step916into the game news feed. Real world news from external sources may further be integrated at step918into the game news feed.

Referring toFIG. 9d, the step906of generating an outside world news feed for broadcast to external sources illustratively comprises integrating at step920the virtual world news relating to the game into the outside world news feed.

While illustrated in the block diagrams as groups of discrete components communicating with each other via distinct data signal connections, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present embodiments are provided by a combination of hardware and software components, with some components being implemented by a given function or operation of a hardware or software system, and many of the data paths illustrated being implemented by data communication within a computer application or operating system. The structure illustrated is thus provided for efficiency of teaching the present embodiment.

It should be noted that the present invention can be carried out as a method, can be embodied in a system, a computer readable medium or an electrical or electro-magnetic signal. The embodiments of the invention described above are intended to be exemplary only. The scope of the invention is therefore intended to be limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.