Reporting and crowdsourcing checking whether game activity is appropriate for user

Abstract

A method performed for evaluating an activity in a video game includes performing a multi-player session of the video game; during the multi-player session, receiving, from a first player device, tagged event data indicating that the first player has tagged a game amusement small event occurring during the multi-player session as possibly improper; in response to receiving the tagged event data, a request is then sent to a plurality of second player devices, each second player device of the plurality of second player devices renders a voting interface to obtain voting inputs from each second player of the plurality of second players regarding whether the game amusement events are inappropriate; the voting input is received from the plurality of second player devices, and in response to the voting input, it is identified that a threshold amount of the plurality of second players consider that the game amusement events are inappropriate, and then penalty for the game amusement events is performed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to reporting and crowdsourcing review of whether gaming activity is appropriate for users of video games. Background Art

[0002] Description of related technologies

[0003] The video game industry has gone through many changes over the years. As technology advances, video games continue to enable greater immersion through sophisticated graphics, realistic sounds, engaging soundtracks, haptics, and more. Players are able to enjoy immersive gaming experiences where they engage and become part of the virtual environment, and seek out new ways to interact.

[0004] It is in this context that the implementation of the present disclosure is proposed. Summary of the invention

[0005] Implementations of the present disclosure include methods, systems, and apparatus related to reporting and crowdsourcing review of whether gaming activity is appropriate for users of a video game.

[0006] In some implementations, a method for evaluating activities in a video game is provided and is performed by at least one server computer, comprising: executing a multi-player session of the video game; during the multi-player session, receiving marked event data from a first player device associated with a first player of the multi-player session, the marked event data indicating that the first player has marked a game play event that occurred during the multi-player session as potentially inappropriate; in response to receiving the marked event data, then sending a request to a plurality of second player devices respectively associated with a plurality of second players of the multi-player session, wherein in response to the request, each of the plurality of second player devices renders a voting interface to obtain voting input from each of the plurality of second players regarding whether the game play event is considered inappropriate; receiving the voting input from the plurality of second player devices, and in response to the voting input identifying that a threshold amount of the plurality of second players believe that the game play event is inappropriate, and then imposing penalties associated with the game play event.

[0007] In some implementations, the method further includes: recording a game play video rendered for the first player during the multi-player session; selecting a portion of the game play video based on the tagged event data; wherein the voting interface is configured to present the portion of the game play video for viewing by each of the plurality of second players.

[0008] In some implementations, the marked event data identifies a point in time in the multi-player session when the first player marked the game play event; wherein selecting the portion of the game play video is configured to identify a predefined amount of the game play video immediately preceding the point in time.

[0009] In some implementations, the method further includes: determining a location of the game play event in the virtual environment; and selecting the plurality of second player devices to receive the request based on proximity of the game play performed by the plurality of second players to the location of the game play event.

[0010] In some implementations, the proximity of the gameplay is defined by a location of the second player's respective avatar being within a predefined distance of the location of the gameplay event in the virtual environment.

[0011] In some implementations, the plurality of second player devices are selected to receive the request based on identifying that the plurality of second players have viewed the gaming event during the multi-player session.

[0012] In some implementations, identifying the plurality of second players includes determining a direction of vision of the plurality of second players that is substantially toward a location of the gaming event when the gaming event occurs.

[0013] In some implementations, the marked event data is configured to identify a third player of the multi-player session who performed the game play event.

[0014] In some implementations, a penalty is imposed on the third player.

[0015] In some implementations, the penalty is defined by one or more of losing resources in the video game, losing achievements in the video game, or being excluded from future multiplayer sessions of the video game.

[0016] In some implementations, a non-transitory computer-readable medium having program instructions embodied thereon is provided, the program instructions being configured to, when executed by at least one server computer, cause the at least one server computer to perform a method for evaluating activities in a video game, the method comprising the following operations: executing a multi-player session of a video game; during the multi-player session, receiving marked event data from a first player device associated with a first player of the multi-player session, the marked event data indicating that the first player has marked a game play event that occurred during the multi-player session as potentially inappropriate; in response to receiving the marked event data, then sending a request to a plurality of second player devices respectively associated with a plurality of second players of the multi-player session, wherein in response to the request, each of the plurality of second player devices renders a voting interface to obtain voting input from each of the plurality of second players regarding whether the game play event is considered inappropriate; receiving the voting input from the plurality of second player devices, and in response to the voting input identifying that a threshold amount of the plurality of second players consider the game play event to be inappropriate, and then imposing a penalty associated with the game play event.

[0017] Other aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The present disclosure may be better understood with reference to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019] Figure 1 A system for evaluating activity in a video game according to implementations of the present disclosure is conceptually illustrated.

[0020] Figure 2 A voting interface for enabling players to vote on tagging a small event according to an implementation of the present disclosure is conceptually illustrated.

[0021] Figure 3 Identifying players eligible to participate in voting regarding a tagged gaming activity is conceptually illustrated in accordance with implementations of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 4 Identifying players eligible to participate in voting regarding tagged gaming activities based on player horizons in accordance with implementations of the present disclosure is conceptually illustrated.

[0023] Figure 5 A method for evaluating activity in a video game according to implementations of the present disclosure is conceptually illustrated.

[0024] Figure 6Components of an example device that may be used to perform aspects of various embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The following implementations of the present disclosure provide methods, systems, and apparatus for reporting and crowdsourcing review of whether gaming activity is appropriate for users of a video game.

[0026] Broadly speaking, implementations of the present disclosure relate to methods and systems for enabling players in a multiplayer video game to handle inappropriate behavior in a self-guided manner. In some implementations, one user initiates a flag for some perceived inappropriate activity, and other users who witnessed the game activity can vote to confirm whether the game activity is inappropriate. Further, a certain amount of previous game play (e.g., the last 30 seconds) prior to the time the flag was initiated can be identified to provide evidence of inappropriate game activity.

[0027] In this way, players participating in multiplayer gaming can collectively control behaviors that are considered inappropriate for their particular game. For a given marked event, a degree of fairness is provided because players other than those involved in the minor event vote to determine whether there is inappropriate activity. Further, it should be understood that a group of players in one session may vote differently from a group of players in another session, and therefore different sessions may actually have different standards for what constitutes inappropriate gaming activity. Therefore, the method and system of the present disclosure achieves improved game fairness while allowing changes in behavioral standards from one session to another.

[0028] With the above overview in mind, several example figures are provided below to facilitate an understanding of example embodiments.

[0029] Figure 1 A system for evaluating activity in a video game according to implementations of the present disclosure is conceptually illustrated.

[0030] In the illustrated implementation, a server computer 100 executes a multiplayer session 102 of a video game that implements multiplayer game play of the video game. Players 106, 108, 110, 112, and 114 participate in the game play of the multiplayer session via respective player devices 116, 118, 120, 122, and 124. Broadly speaking, a given player device is a computer or other device capable of communicating with the server computer 100 over a network such as the Internet to transmit data to and receive data from the multiplayer session 102. By way of example and not limitation, the player device may be a personal computer, a game console, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a cellular phone, a mobile device, a head-mounted display (HMD, or a virtual reality (VR) headset), a set-top box, a portable gaming device, and the like. A given player device may be connected to a display (e.g., a television, an LCD / LED display, a monitor, a projector, and the like) to present game play video content thereon. A given player device may also be connected to a controller device operated by a respective player to provide player input / commands for the video game.

[0031] In some implementations, the video game is executed by a server computer through the cloud, for example, such that the multi-player session 102 performs execution of the game engine and rendering of a game play video for each of the player devices, which is streamed to the player devices over a network. In other implementations, the video game is executed at least in part by the player devices, with the multi-player session 102 handling coordination of events and game state data across the various player devices to ensure proper synchronization.

[0032] To address game play behavior issues and / or inappropriate activities, the server computer 100 further implements a marking logic 104, which in some implementations may be executed as part of the session 102. Generally speaking, a player who deems a certain game play or game activity inappropriate may mark the activity as inappropriate, such as by pressing a button on their controller device or by some other selection / input mechanism (e.g., upon or immediately after the occurrence of such activity or recognition of such activity). For example, in the illustrated implementation, when marking a game play incident, marked event data 126 is generated at the player device 116 and transmitted to the marking logic 104. The marked event data indicates that the player 106 has marked the game play incident that occurred during the multiplayer session 102 as potentially inappropriate.

[0033] It should be understood that in order to enable the marking of game play events, the player device 116 may present a marking interface that enables the player 106 to set a mark and provide details about the content marked as potentially inappropriate. For example, in some implementations, the player 106 may identify one or more specific players to be marked as causing or performing suspected inappropriate game activities. For example, in the implementation shown, the player 106 may identify that the player 114 has implemented suspected inappropriate game activities. In some implementations, an interface for entering text such as via a keyboard or voice recognition is provided, whereby the player 106 can enter a description of the suspected inappropriate activity. In some implementations, a menu of possible types of inappropriate activities that the player 106 can select from to be associated with the mark is provided. In some implementations, the player 106 may select a portion of his game play video to be associated with the mark, such as selecting a certain amount of time before setting or triggering the mark.

[0034] It should be understood that various kinds of game play activities may be tagged including, by way of example but not limited to, player actions, player speech, player text input, game play input / commands / actions, etc.

[0035] In some implementations, the marking event data identifies or includes a time point in a multiplayer session that is triggered or marked by a player 106. It should be understood that such a time point can identify the time of the game play of the multiplayer session of the video game when the mark is triggered or the progress time of the game state. Therefore, the game play video of each player can be recorded, and the time point can be used to identify the relevant part of the game play video of each player, such as a part immediately before the time of the trigger mark. In a cloud game implementation, the game play video can be recorded by the cloud, and in a locally executed implementation, the game play video can be recorded by the player device, and uploaded and distributed to other player devices according to the implementation method of utilizing such game play video described herein on demand. In some implementations, the game state progress is recorded, and the recorded game state can be used to re-render the small event of the mark from a new angle or from a perspective controlled by a given player viewing the small event of the mark. This video can be presented in a voting interface as described below.

[0036] In response to receiving the marking event data 126, the marking logic 104 starts a process by which players vote to determine whether the small events marked are actually inappropriate. In some implementations, requests are sent to players who are eligible to vote to obtain their voting input on whether they think the small events marked are actually inappropriate. For example, in some implementations, if a player has participated in a session and is neither the player who initiated the marking nor the player who is accused of performing the marked activity, they are eligible to vote. In other implementations, all players are eligible to vote. The request is made to the player device of the eligible player. For example, in the implementation shown, players 108, 110 and 112 are eligible to vote, and therefore requests are sent to corresponding player devices 118, 120 and 122.

[0037] Upon receiving a request for voting input, the player devices 118, 120, and 122 present a voting interface to their respective players 108, 110, and 112 to obtain the voting input of the players. For example, the voting interface may include a message asking the players whether they believe the marked game activity is inappropriate and / or whether they believe the accused player has engaged in inappropriate behavior / activity. In some implementations, the voting interface presents a video of the suspected inappropriate activity. For example, the voting interface may present a predefined amount of game play video, such as the first 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 45 seconds, or 60 seconds of game play video before the mark is set, by way of example only and not limitation.

[0038] In some implementations, the game play video presented is the game play video of the player who set the mark. In some implementations, the game play video presented is the game play video of the player receiving the request for voting input. In some implementations, if a particular player is accused or otherwise involved in suspected inappropriate gaming activities, the game play video of the accused or involved player is presented. In some implementations, game play videos from multiple players are presented, such as game play videos of the player who set the mark and game play videos of the accused / involved player. In this way, voting players can evaluate small events from multiple angles.

[0039] In some implementations, the recorded video may also have a transcription of the chat that is taking place. This may be particularly important in situations where many people are speaking at the same time. It should be understood that since each player's audio may be recorded separately, it is likely that each player will be able to determine what each player is saying before mixing each player's audio, and thus perform a better transcription than would be possible when all player audios are mixed together, because there may be many people talking to each other, which will make transcription more difficult. Therefore, in some implementations, player audio is recorded separately / individually and transcribed based on personal circumstances. Transcription can help determine whether behavior is inappropriate. For example, a player may say something that suggests inappropriate behavior before performing inappropriate behavior, such as "look at this, I can cheat here", so transcription can help identify inappropriate behavior. In some implementations, transcription can also be translated into the language of each voting player so that they can understand.

[0040] The voting interface may include instructions on how to vote to provide voting input, such as by instructing the voting player to press certain buttons on the controller device to indicate whether they believe the flagged activity is in fact inappropriate. For example, a first button may be pressed to indicate yes, and a second button may be pressed to indicate no.

[0041] Upon receiving voting input from a player device that received a request for voting input, it is determined whether a threshold amount of voting players believe that the game play event is inappropriate. For example, in some implementations, if a majority of voting players provide voting input indicating that they believe the game play event is inappropriate, then the game play event is deemed inappropriate. In some implementations, if half or more of the voting players provide such voting input, then the event is deemed inappropriate.

[0042] In some implementations, if a game play incident is deemed to constitute inappropriate behavior, a penalty may be assessed. For example, if a player is accused of inappropriate behavior, such as player 114 in the illustrated implementation, a penalty may be assessed specifically for player 114. In some implementations, a penalty is assessed for a team or other group of players. Examples of penalties may include loss of game resources (e.g., energy, ammunition, health, endurance, currency, etc.), loss of game achievement progress / level (e.g., points, badges, medals, ranking, status, etc.), exclusion from future sessions, being handicapped in future sessions, etc.

[0043] It should be understood that in some implementations, when the flag is triggered, the voting process is performed at the end of the session to avoid interrupting the game play. However, in other implementations, the voting process is performed substantially immediately when the flag is triggered, pausing the game while the voting process is performed. In some implementations, game play activity is monitored and the voting process is performed when an interruption in game play is detected (e.g., when the player activity level drops below a predefined threshold, such as defined by avatar movement, combat / weapon activity, player communication, reaching the end of a stage / chapter / section / level / boss fight, etc.).

[0044] In some implementations, the concept of tagging can be extended to the tagging of game content itself (rather than any specific user-performed actions). Thus, players can evaluate the appropriateness of game content, and this evaluation can be provided to game developers as feedback on the appropriateness of video game content. In some implementations, the tagging logic described above is configured to provide such results of the tagged game content to the game developer.

[0045] In some implementations, the markings may be age specific. For example, an activity / content may be marked as inappropriate for children, but appropriate for adults, and players may vote on whether this is a correct assessment. In some implementations, voting may be configured to enable differentiation of appropriateness for adults and children. For example, a voting interface may allow players to indicate whether a marked activity / content is appropriate for adults and separately for children.

[0046] It should be understood that the tagging and reporting system itself can be a cheating mechanism. For example, an opponent who is asked to vote may see a person's video game play and know their location in the game's virtual environment. In addition, players can use it to share information that teammates should not know. Therefore, in various implementations, the reporting and voting process can be configured to mitigate such problems.

[0047] For example, in some implementations, in a multiplayer game play scenario between multiple teams, only teammates from one team are selected to vote, so as not to give opponents too much information. In some implementations, voting may result in terminating the game play session because the shared record may provide a tip to a friend or an enemy. In some implementations, the frequency with which a person can initiate a tag / vote is limited. For example, there may be a cool-down period after a tag / vote instance, so that a threshold amount of time is required before another tag / vote instance is allowed. In some implementations, players cannot initiate a tag / vote every game session, but are limited to a certain number of reports per period of time.

[0048] In some implementations, the voting process is performed by a device other than the player's gaming device. For example, in some implementations, the voting request is sent to the player's mobile phone, tablet, laptop, etc., so as not to interrupt the main game play function of the primary gaming device.

[0049] In some implementations, a player's vote may be weighted disproportionately based on factors such as experience or reputation. For example, in some implementations, a player with a higher experience level or a higher reputation may have a vote weighted higher than a player with a lower experience level or a lower reputation. For example, reputation may be determined through a reputation point system that players can give to each other. Thus, for example, a player who shows a tendency to harass due to voting would be expected to have a lower reputation than a player who has earned a reputation for reliable voting, and accordingly, the vote of the player with the lower reputation would be assigned a lower weight.

[0050] Figure 2 A voting interface for enabling players to vote on tagging a small event according to an implementation of the present disclosure is conceptually illustrated.

[0051] In the illustrated implementation, a game screen 200 is shown on which a voting interface 202 is presented. For example, game screen 200 may be a paused game play of a current session while voting interface 202 is presented to enable voting to occur. In some implementations, voting interface 202 is presented as an overlay on game screen 200.

[0052] As shown, voting interface 202 presents a message to the viewing players indicating that a certain player has marked a certain gaming activity as inappropriate, and asks the viewing players to indicate whether they think the marked activity is inappropriate. The message of voting interface 202 further indicates how to vote, in this case by pressing a button to vote yes, and pressing another button to vote no.

[0053] In the illustrated implementation, the voting interface 202 further includes a presentation of a video 204. As noted above, this video 204 can be a video of the player who set the tag, or a video of another player as previously described. In some implementations, the video 204 is a re-rendering of the game play that shows the tagged mini-event from a new angle or that can be controlled by the viewing player as described above.

[0054] Figure 3 Identifying players eligible to participate in voting regarding a tagged gaming activity is conceptually illustrated in accordance with implementations of the present disclosure.

[0055] In the illustrated implementation, a virtual environment 300 of a multiplayer session of a video game is conceptually illustrated. Within the virtual environment 300, a player marks a certain game play activity 302 as inappropriate. It should be understood that the marked game play activity 302 occurs at a certain location within the virtual environment 300, as conceptually illustrated.

[0056] In order to determine which players are eligible to vote on whether the marked activity is in fact inappropriate, in some implementations, the proximity of the players to the marked game play activity 302 is taken into account. For example, in some implementations, players whose locations are within an area 304 close to the marked game play activity 302 (e.g., the location of the player's avatar or representative entity or a location controlled by the player, or the location of the player's game play within a virtual environment) are eligible to vote, while players who are outside the proximity area 304 are not eligible to vote. Therefore, in the illustrated implementation, there are players with locations 306, 308, 310, and 312 that are within the proximity area 304 at the time of the marked game play activity 302, and these players are eligible to vote. Players with locations 314 that are outside the proximity area 304 at the time of the marked game play activity 302 are not eligible to vote. As described above, it should be understood that eligible players will receive a request to vote or provide feedback on whether they think the marked activity is inappropriate.

[0057] In some implementations, the proximity zone 304 is defined at least in part by a predefined distance / radius from the marked game play activity 302. For example, players who fall within the predefined distance / radius are eligible to vote.

[0058] To support the presently described embodiments, in some implementations, when a tag is triggered, the positions of the players at the time of the tag and / or during a time period prior to the tag are captured and / or analyzed to enable a determination of which players are eligible to vote.

[0059] Figure 4 Identifying players eligible to participate in voting regarding tagged gaming activities based on player horizons in accordance with implementations of the present disclosure is conceptually illustrated.

[0060] It should be appreciated that it may be desirable to determine which players viewed a particular tagged gaming activity and have those players vote on the inappropriateness of the tagged gaming activity. In the illustrated implementation, a virtual environment 400 of a multiplayer session of a video game is conceptually illustrated. Within the virtual environment 400, tagged gaming activity 402 involving players having positions 404 and 406 as shown is illustrated.

[0061] In some implementations, a player's field of view at the time of the marked game play activity 402 is considered when determining voting eligibility. For example, in the illustrated implementation, players with positions 408, 410, and 412 have player fields of view and / or field of view directions 416, 418, and 420, respectively, that are generally toward and / or include the marked game play activity 402, and are therefore eligible to vote. While the player with position 414 has a field of view or field of view direction 422 that is away from and / or does not include the marked game play activity 402, and is therefore ineligible to vote.

[0062] In some implementations, a player's field of view is determined / captured in response to triggering of a tag and used to determine, at least in part, eligibility for a vote on whether participation in gaming activity regarding the tag should be deemed inappropriate.

[0063] Figure 5 A method for evaluating activity in a video game according to implementations of the present disclosure is conceptually illustrated.

[0064] At method operation 500, a multiplayer session of a video game is performed. At method operation 502, a marking event data is received, and the marking event data indicates that the game entertainment event that occurred during the session has been marked as possibly inappropriate by the first player. At method operation 504, in response to receiving the marking event data, a request is sent to a plurality of second player devices associated with a plurality of second players of the multiplayer session, and in response to the request, each second player device in the plurality of second player devices renders a voting interface to obtain a voting input from each second player in the plurality of second players about whether the game entertainment event is considered inappropriate. At method operation 506, a voting input is received from a plurality of second player devices. At method operation 508, it is determined whether the received voting input identifies a threshold amount of a plurality of second players that the game entertainment event is inappropriate. And if so, at method operation 510, a penalty associated with the game entertainment event is implemented.

[0065] Figure 6Components of an example device 600 that can be used to perform aspects of various embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated. This block diagram illustrates a device 600 that can be combined with or can be a personal computer, video game console, personal digital assistant, server, or other digital device suitable for practicing embodiments of the present disclosure. Device 600 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 602 for running software applications and optionally an operating system. CPU 602 can be composed of one or more homogeneous or heterogeneous processing cores. For example, CPU 602 is one or more general-purpose microprocessors with one or more processing cores. Further embodiments can be implemented using one or more CPUs with a microprocessor architecture that is particularly suitable for highly parallel and computationally intensive applications such as processing operations for interpreting queries, which identify context-related resources and immediately implement and render context-related resources in a video game. Device 600 can be localized to a player playing a game segment (e.g., a game console), or remote from the player (e.g., a back-end server processor), or one of many servers that use virtualization in a game cloud system to remotely stream game play to a client.

[0066] Memory 604 stores applications and data for use by CPU 602. Storage 606 provides non-volatile storage and other computer-readable media for applications and data, and may include fixed disk drives, removable disk drives, flash memory devices, and CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, Blu-ray, HD-DVD or other optical storage devices, as well as signal transmission and storage media. User input device 608 transmits user input from one or more users to device 600, examples of which may include keyboards, mice, joysticks, touch pads, touch screens, static or video recorders / cameras, tracking devices for identifying gestures, and / or microphones. Network interface 614 allows device 600 to communicate with other computer systems via an electronic communication network, and may include wired or wireless communications through local area networks and wide area networks (such as the Internet). Audio processor 612 is suitable for generating analog or digital audio output from instructions and / or data provided by CPU 602, memory 604 and / or storage 606. The components of device 600 , including CPU 602 , memory 604 , data storage device 606 , user input device 608 , network interface 610 , and audio processor 612 , are connected via one or more data buses 622 .

[0067] The graphics subsystem 620 is further connected to the data bus 622 and the components of the device 600. The graphics subsystem 620 includes a graphics processing unit (GPU) 616 and a graphics memory 618. The graphics memory 618 includes a display memory (e.g., a frame buffer) for storing pixel data for each pixel of an output image. The graphics memory 618 may be integrated into the same device as the GPU 608, connected to the GPU 616 as a separate device, and / or implemented in the memory 604. The pixel data may be provided directly from the CPU 602 to the graphics memory 618. Alternatively, the CPU 602 provides the GPU 616 with data and / or instructions defining the desired output image, and the GPU 616 generates pixel data for one or more output images based on the data and / or instructions. The data and / or instructions defining the desired output image may be stored in the memory 604 and / or the graphics memory 618. In one embodiment, GPU 616 includes 3D rendering capabilities that generate pixel data for output images from instructions and data defining the geometry, lighting, shading, textures, motion, and / or camera parameters of a scene. GPU 616 may further include one or more programmable execution units capable of executing shader programs.

[0068] Graphics subsystem 614 periodically outputs pixel data of an image from graphics memory 618 for display on display device 610. Display device 610 may be any device capable of displaying visual information in response to a signal from device 600, including CRT, LCD, plasma, and OLED displays. For example, device 600 may provide analog or digital signals to display device 610.

[0069] It should be noted that access services delivered over a wide geographic area (such as providing access to games of the current embodiment) often use cloud computing. Cloud computing is a computing method in which dynamically scalable and usually virtualized resources are provided as services over the Internet. Users do not need to be experts in the technical infrastructure in the "cloud" that supports them. Cloud computing can be divided into different services, such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Cloud computing services typically provide common applications (such as video games) accessed from a web browser online, while the software and data are stored on servers in the cloud. Based on the way the Internet is depicted in computer network diagrams, the term cloud is used as a metaphor for the Internet and is an abstraction of the complex infrastructure that it hides.

[0070] In some embodiments, a game server can be used to perform the operation of a duration information platform for video game players. Most video games played through the Internet are operated by connecting to a game server. Typically, games use a dedicated server application that collects data from players and distributes it to other players. In other embodiments, video games can be performed by a distributed game engine. In these embodiments, a distributed game engine can be performed on multiple processing entities (PEs) so that each PE performs a functional fragment of a given game engine on which a video game runs. The game engine simply regards each processing entity as a computing node. The game engine typically performs a series of operations with diverse functions to perform video game applications and additional services for user experience. For example, the game engine implements game logic, performs game calculations, physical effects, geometric transformations, rendering, lighting, shading, audio, and additional in-game or game-related services. Additional services may include, for example, messaging, social utilities, audio communications, game entertainment replay functions, help functions, etc. Although the game engine can sometimes be performed on an operating system virtualized by a hypervisor of a specific server, in other embodiments, the game engine itself is distributed among multiple processing entities, and each of the multiple processing entities can reside on different server units in a data center.

[0071] According to this embodiment, the corresponding processing entity used to perform the operation can be a server unit, a virtual machine, or a container, depending on the needs of each game engine fragment. For example, if a game engine fragment is responsible for camera transformations, a virtual machine associated with a graphics processing unit (GPU) can be provided to this particular game engine fragment because it will perform a large number of relatively simple mathematical operations (e.g., matrix transformations). Other game engine fragments that require fewer but more complex operations can be provided with processing entities associated with one or more higher-powered central processing units (CPUs).

[0072] By distributing the game engine, the game engine is provided with elastic computing properties that are not constrained by the capabilities of the physical server units. Instead, more or fewer computing nodes are provided to the game engine as needed to meet the needs of the video game. From the perspective of the video game and the video game player, a game engine distributed across multiple computing nodes is no different than a non-distributed game engine executed on a single processing entity, because the game engine manager or supervisor distributes the workload and seamlessly integrates the results to provide the video game output components to the end user.

[0073] The user uses a client device to access the remote service, and the client device includes at least a CPU, a display, and an I / O. The client device can be a PC, a mobile phone, a notebook computer, a PDA, etc. In one embodiment, the network identification client used on the game server performs the device type and adjusts the communication method adopted. In other cases, the client device uses a standard communication method such as html to access the application on the game server through the Internet. It should be understood that a given video game or game application can be developed for a specific platform and a specifically associated controller device. However, when such a game is made available via a game cloud system as presented herein, the user may access the video game with different controller devices. For example, a game may have been developed for a game console and its associated controller, and the user may use a keyboard and mouse to access the cloud-based version of the game from a personal computer. In such a scene, the input parameter configuration can define the mapping of the input generated from the user's available controller device (in this case, i.e., keyboard and mouse) to the execution of the video game acceptable input.

[0074] In another example, the user can access the cloud gaming system via a tablet computing device, a touch screen smart phone or other touch screen driven device. In this case, the client device and the controller device are integrally formed in the same device, wherein input is provided by means of a detected touch screen input / gesture. For such devices, the input parameter configuration may define a specific touch screen input corresponding to the game input of the video game. For example, during the running of the video game, buttons, direction pads or other types of input elements may be displayed or overlaid to indicate the position on the touch screen where the user can touch to generate the game input. Gestures (such as swipes or specific touch movements in a specific direction) may also be detected as game inputs. In one embodiment, guidance may be provided to the user, indicating, for example, how to provide input for the game play via the touch screen before starting the game play of the video game, so as to adapt the user to the operation of the controls on the touch screen.

[0075] In some embodiments, the client device is used as a connection point for the controller device. That is, the controller device communicates with the client device via a wireless or wired connection to transmit input from the controller device to the client device. The client device can process these inputs in turn, and then transmit the input data to the cloud game server via a network (e.g., accessed via a local networking device such as a router). However, in other embodiments, the controller itself can be a networked device with the ability to directly transmit input to the cloud game server via a network without first transmitting such input through a client device. For example, the controller can be connected to a local networking device (such as the above-mentioned router) to send data to and receive data from the cloud game server. Therefore, although the client device may still be required to receive video output from a cloud-based video game and render it on a local display, input latency can be reduced by allowing the controller to send input directly to the game cloud server over the network, thereby bypassing the client device.

[0076] In one embodiment, the networked controller and client device may be configured to send certain types of input directly from the controller to the cloud gaming server, and to send other types of input via the client device. For example, inputs whose detection does not rely on any additional hardware or processing other than the controller itself can be sent directly from the controller to the cloud gaming server via the network, thereby bypassing the client device. Such inputs may include button inputs, joystick inputs, embedded motion detection inputs (e.g., accelerometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes), etc. However, inputs that utilize additional hardware or require processing by the client device may be sent by the client device to the cloud gaming server. These may include video or audio captured from the gaming environment, which may be processed by the client device before being sent to the cloud gaming server. In addition, inputs from the motion detection hardware of the controller may be processed by the client device in conjunction with the captured video to detect the position and motion of the controller, which is then transmitted to the cloud gaming server by the client device. It should be understood that the controller device according to various embodiments may also receive data (e.g., feedback data) from the client device or directly from the cloud gaming server.

[0077] In one embodiment, various technical examples can be implemented using a virtual environment via a head-mounted display (HMD). The HMD may also be referred to as a virtual reality (VR) head-mounted device. As used herein, the term "virtual reality" (VR) generally refers to the interaction of a user with a virtual space / environment, which involves viewing the virtual space in a real-time response to the movement of the HMD (controlled by the user) through the HMD (or VR head-mounted device) to provide the user with a feeling in a virtual space or metaverse. For example, a user can see a three-dimensional (3D) view of the virtual space when facing a given direction, and when the user turns to one side and thus turns the HMD in the same manner, the view of the side in the virtual space is then rendered on the HMD. The HMD can be worn in a manner similar to glasses, goggles, or a helmet, and is configured to display video games or other metaverse content to the user. The HMD can provide a very immersive experience to the user by means of its display mechanism being close to the user's eyes. Therefore, the HMD can provide a display area that occupies most of the user's or even the entire field of view to each eye of the user, and can also provide viewing with three-dimensional depth and perspective.

[0078] In one embodiment, the HMD may include a gaze tracking camera configured to capture images of the user's eyes as the user interacts with the VR scene. The gaze information captured by the gaze tracking camera may include information related to the user's gaze direction and specific virtual objects and content items in the VR scene that the user is paying attention to or interested in interacting with. Thus, based on the user's gaze direction, the system can detect specific virtual objects and content items that may be of potential attention to the user (where the user is interested in interacting with and engaging with them), such as game characters, game objects, game props, etc.

[0079] In some embodiments, the HMD may include an outward-facing camera configured to capture images of the user's real-world space, such as the user's body movements and any real-world objects that may be located in the real-world space. In some embodiments, the images captured by the external camera may be analyzed to determine the position / orientation of the real-world objects relative to the HMD. Using the known position / orientation of the HMD, real-world objects, and inertial sensor data from the user's posture and movement, the user's posture and movement during the user interaction with the VR scene can be continuously monitored and tracked. For example, when interacting with a scene in a game, a user may make various gestures, such as pointing and walking toward a specific content item in the scene. In one embodiment, the system may track and process gestures to generate predictions of interactions with specific content items in the game scene. In some embodiments, machine learning may be used to facilitate or assist the predictions.

[0080] During the use of the HMD, various single-handed and two-handed controllers can be used. In some implementations, the controller itself can be tracked by tracking lights included in the controller or tracking shapes, sensors, and inertial data associated with the controller. Using these different types of controllers or even just using gestures made and captured by one or more cameras, the virtual reality environment or metaverse rendered on the HMD can be docked, controlled, manipulated, interacted with, and participated in the virtual reality environment or metaverse. In some cases, the HMD can be wirelessly connected to the cloud computing and gaming system through a network. In one embodiment, the cloud computing and gaming system maintain and execute the video game played by the user. In some embodiments, the cloud computing and gaming system is configured to receive input from the HMD and interface objects through the network. The cloud computing and gaming system is configured to process input to affect the game state of the video game being executed. Output (such as video data, audio data, and tactile feedback data) from the video game being executed is transmitted to the HMD and the interface object. In other implementations, the HMD can communicate wirelessly with the cloud computing and gaming system through alternative mechanisms or channels such as cellular networks.

[0081] In addition, although the implementations in the present disclosure may be described with reference to a head-mounted display, it should be understood that in other implementations, a non-head-mounted display may be substituted, including but not limited to a portable device screen (e.g., a tablet, a smart phone, a laptop computer, etc.) or any other type of display that can be configured to render video and / or provide a display of an interactive scene or virtual environment according to the present implementation. It should be understood that the various embodiments defined herein may be combined or assembled into a specific implementation using the various features disclosed herein. Therefore, the examples provided are only some possible examples and are not limited to various implementations that can define more implementations by combining various elements. In some examples, some implementations may include fewer elements without departing from the spirit of the disclosed or equivalent implementations.

[0082] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced with various computer system configurations including handheld devices, microprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, etc. Embodiments of the present disclosure may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through wired or wireless networks.

[0083] Although the method operations are described in a particular order, it should be understood that other housekeeping operations may be performed between the operations, or the operations may be adjusted so that they occur at slightly different times, or the operations may be distributed in a system that allows processing operations to occur at various intervals associated with the processing as long as the processing of telemetry and game state data used to generate the modified game state is performed in the desired manner.

[0084] One or more embodiments may also be manufactured as computer readable code on a computer readable medium. A computer readable medium is any data storage device that can store data that can then be read by a computer system. Examples of computer readable media include hard drives, network attached storage (NAS), read-only memory, random access memory, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, magnetic tape, and other optical and non-optical data storage devices. A computer readable medium may include a computer readable tangible medium distributed on a network coupled computer system so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed manner.

[0085] In one embodiment, the video game is executed locally on a game console, a personal computer, or on a server. In some cases, the video game is executed by one or more servers in a data center. When executing the video game, some instances of the video game may be simulations of the video game. For example, the video game may be executed by an environment or server that generates a simulation of the video game. In some embodiments, the simulation is an instance of the video game. In other embodiments, the simulation may be produced by an emulator. In either case, if the video game is represented as a simulation, the simulation may be executed to render interactive content that may be interactively streamed, executed, and / or controlled by a user input.

[0086] Although the foregoing embodiments have been described in some detail for purposes of clarity of understanding, it is apparent that certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the scope of the appended claims. Therefore, the present embodiments are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive, and the embodiments are not to be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for evaluating activity in a video game performed by at least one server computer, comprising: executing multi-player sessions of video games; receiving, during the multi-player session, flagged event data from a first player device associated with a first player of the multi-player session, the flagged event data indicating that the first player has flagged a gaming mini-event occurring during the multi-player session as potentially inappropriate; In response to receiving the flagged event data, a request is then sent to a plurality of second player devices respectively associated with a plurality of second players of the multi-player session, wherein in response to the request, each second player device of the plurality of second player devices renders a voting interface to obtain voting input from each second player of the plurality of second players regarding whether the game play event is deemed inappropriate; The voting input is received from the plurality of second player devices, and in response to the voting input, a threshold amount of the plurality of second players are identified as deeming the gaming incident inappropriate, and then a penalty associated with the gaming incident is imposed.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: recording a game play video rendered for the first player during the multi-player session; Based on the marked event data, selecting a portion of the game play video; The voting interface is configured to present the portion of the game play video for viewing by each of the plurality of second players.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the marked event data identifies a point in time in the multi-player session when the first player marked the game play event; Wherein selecting the portion of the game play video is configured to identify a predefined amount of the game play video immediately before the time point.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: Determining the location of the game play event in the virtual environment; The plurality of second player devices are selected to receive the request based on proximity of gameplay by the plurality of second players to the location of the gameplay event.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the proximity of the gameplay is defined by a location of the second player's respective avatar being within a predefined distance of the location of the gameplay event in the virtual environment.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of second player devices are selected to receive the request based on identifying that the plurality of second players have viewed the gaming event during the multi-player session.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the plurality of second players comprises determining a direction of vision of the plurality of second players that is substantially toward a location of the gaming event when the gaming event occurs.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the marker event data is configured to identify a third player of the multi-player session who performs the game play event.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein a penalty is imposed on the third player.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the penalty is defined by one or more of losing resources in the video game, losing achievements in the video game, or being excluded from future multiplayer sessions of the video game.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having program instructions embodied thereon, the program instructions being configured to, when executed by at least one server computer, cause the at least one server computer to perform a method for evaluating activity in a video game, the method comprising the following operations: executing multi-player sessions of video games; receiving, during the multi-player session, flagged event data from a first player device associated with a first player of the multi-player session, the flagged event data indicating that the first player has flagged a gaming mini-event occurring during the multi-player session as potentially inappropriate; In response to receiving the flagged event data, a request is then sent to a plurality of second player devices respectively associated with a plurality of second players of the multi-player session, wherein in response to the request, each second player device of the plurality of second player devices renders a voting interface to obtain voting input from each second player of the plurality of second players regarding whether the game play event is deemed inappropriate; The voting input is received from the plurality of second player devices, and in response to the voting input, a threshold amount of the plurality of second players are identified as deeming the gaming incident inappropriate, and then a penalty associated with the gaming incident is imposed.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise: recording a game play video rendered for the first player during the multi-player session; Based on the marked event data, selecting a portion of the game play video; The voting interface is configured to present the portion of the game play video for viewing by each of the plurality of second players.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the marked event data identifies a point in time in the multi-player session when the first player marked the game play event; Wherein selecting the portion of the game play video is configured to identify a predefined amount of the game play video immediately before the time point.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise: Determining the location of the game play event in the virtual environment; The plurality of second player devices are selected to receive the request based on proximity of gameplay by the plurality of second players to the location of the gameplay event.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the proximity of the gameplay is defined by a location of the second player's respective avatar being within a predefined distance of the location of the gameplay event in the virtual environment.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the plurality of second player devices are selected to receive the request based on identifying that the plurality of second players have viewed the game play event during the multi-player session.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein identifying the plurality of second players comprises determining a viewing direction of the plurality of second players that is substantially toward a location of the gaming gameplay event when the gaming gameplay event occurs.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the marker event data is configured to identify a third player of the multi-player session who performs the game play event.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein a penalty is imposed on the third player.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the penalty is defined by one or more of losing resources in the video game, losing achievements in the video game, or being excluded from future multiplayer sessions of the video game.

Images