Remote networked service that provides context game guidance

Abstract

Described herein are computer-implemented systems and methods for providing contextual game guidance. An example method includes determining a user's goal based on contextual information about an application, automatically deriving contextual guidance to assist the user based on the contextual information and the goal, generating a user interface with the contextual guidance, and transmitting the user interface to a client device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Cross - Reference to Related Applications This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 748,988, filed Oct. 22, 2018.

[0002] This technology generally relates to remote networked game services, and more particularly to providing game guidance to users based on in - game context.

Background Art

[0003] While approaches described in this chapter are pursued, they are not necessarily approaches that have been previously recognized or pursued. Thus, unless otherwise indicated, none of the approaches described in this chapter should be presumed to be eligible as prior art merely by including them in this chapter.

[0004] Video games are becoming more complex, and the time allotted to play them is more restricted than before. Players desire to be involved and engaged in the video games they play from start to finish. However, those players often have questions about the games they are playing, and to obtain answers to those questions, players have to leave the game and interact with third - party sites. This is because in - game states and video game activities are not aggregated and analyzed across video games and video game players. It is a significant amount of work for game developers to implement all the features necessary to provide help to players within the context of a single game and reduce player frustration. Thus, a data model and developer - friendly API are needed to support multiple players and gaming environments across a uniform data platform.

[0005] In addition, when players are unable to complete their immediate goals, they may become stuck in the game, which can lead to frustration from the game and potentially from the game platform and ultimately abandonment of the game. Conventionally, players may search for text and video walkthroughs through online websites, but this process has several problems. In particular, searching online requires the player to put down the game controller to switch to another device such as a phone, tablet, or laptop, and requires multitasking between at least two screens (e.g., a video game on a TV screen and information associated with the video game on another screen). Moreover, it is not always clear what the player is searching for. Searching online for answers also requires the player to sift through guides that may result from the player's specific help needs (which may be buried in longer walkthroughs or videos), and exposes the player to the risk of spoilers. Online results may not be well-described, inaccurate, up-to-date, or relevant to the player's specific query or in-game situation. Conventionally, help has not always been readily available for the latest games or for older or niche games, and help guides do not always have the same context as the player with respect to character builds, statistics, weapons, loadouts, or difficulty settings. Unfortunately, players are increasingly spending more time searching online for answers instead of playing the game.

[0006] Therefore, there has long been an unmet need for an always-available, on-demand, spoiler-free system that provides high-context hints, guidance, and solutions based on the player's specific in-game state to enable the player to attempt a better approach immediately and painlessly and progress within the game. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that will be further described in the detailed description below. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0008] Generally, the present disclosure refers to a remote networked service that provides context game guidance. The remote networked service may be referred to herein as a "help service" or "help system" that provides real-time guidance instead of the conventional Internet for searching walkthroughs and videos. The guidance is based on the player's current activities, character build and statistics, inventory, abilities or movements, user-specific information such as, or statistical analysis of the user with respect to other users. As shown, the remote networked service simplifies and improves the process of obtaining help when the game gets stuck, so as to reduce player dropout and improve player play time, satisfaction, and retention.

[0009] According to an embodiment of an example of the present disclosure, a user requests game help via a client device such as a game console, personal computer, mobile device, etc. at various entry points or channels. The entry point may include a quick menu, game hub, voice interface, or other remote networked service. It will be appreciated that the user may request help regardless of whether the game is being played.

[0010] The remote networked service provides guidance based on the in-game context. In various embodiments, the remote networked service has access to a uniform data system that provides a methodology for the game client and game server to send data to the platform without requiring feature-by-feature or service-by-service integration. The remote networked service includes, for any progression and activity, a name, description, and state associated with each activity, and telemetry regarding a start timestamp and end timestamp for the activity, an estimated play time, an in-game location, and a reward; for any action and result, an initiator, timestamp, and location associated with each action, and an affected entity, timestamp, location, and associated action associated with each result; for any zone and location, a name, description, virtual coordinates, and events associated with each zone and location; for any character and attribute, character statistics, inventory, and capabilities, and telemetry regarding changes to character statistics, inventory, capabilities, and character statistics, inventory, capabilities, and telemetry; for any selection and branch, a dialog, route, options for each branching situation, and telemetry regarding the user encountering a particular branch and which option the user selected; and access to context information related to each game application for each user. Thus, the remote networked service of the present disclosure can provide guidance to each user for each available game based on the user-specific, real-time, in-game context.

[0011] According to an embodiment of another example of the present disclosure, a remote networked service determines a goal for which a user needs guidance based on context information, and derives guidance based on the context information and the goal. Examples of goals include location-based goals such as finding an item, character, or place to proceed to the next checkpoint, puzzle-based goals such as solving an in-game puzzle or decrypting a cipher, goals that require tactical knowledge such as knowing which in-game mechanisms to utilize to succeed in completing the goal (e.g., movement, abilities, items, weapons, etc.), and goals that require mechanical knowledge such as how to best execute in-game mechanisms to succeed in completing the goal (e.g., aiming, timing, positioning, etc.).

[0012] Generally, a remote networked service can provide guidance based on a user's current activity, which may include levels, quests, trophies, multiplayer modes, etc. Additionally, as discussed in more detail below, a remote networked service can provide guidance based on any context information accessible to the service, and any combination of context information, such as through a uniform data system.

[0013] In various embodiments, the remote networked service determines that the user needs location-based guidance to complete the user's current goal. For example, the remote networked service may determine that the user's current activity involves acquiring an item, interacting with a character, interacting with an object, or discovering a location. In response, the remote networked service derives guidance indicating the location the user needs to proceed to in order to progress in the current activity. The location may be based on a statistical analysis of the user relative to other users who have completed the current activity with the same character statistics, equipment, and skills, or similar character statistics, equipment, and skills.

[0014] In other embodiments, the remote networked service determines that the user needs tactical guidance to complete the user's current goal. For example, the remote networked service determines, based on context information, that a user who needs a particular in-game mechanism that will be used to defeat an enemy is fighting that enemy. The guidance indicates the use of particular game mechanisms to increase the likelihood of success. The guidance may include the use of particular abilities or movements (e.g., dodge, counter, attack, sprint) that may potentially relate to the abilities or movements of another entity, such as dodging an enemy's attack. In another example, the guidance may include the use of particular weapons, weapon types, ammunition types, items, characters, vehicles, damage types, etc. In a further example, the guidance includes recommendations to reach a particular character level, stat, or strategy. The guidance may be based on a statistical analysis of the user compared to other users who have completed the current activity with the same or similar character stats, equipment, and skills.

[0015] In some embodiments, the remote networked service determines that the user needs mechanical guidance to complete the user's current goal. For example, the remote networked service determines, based on context information, that the user is fighting a boss enemy. The guidance indicates the best execution of certain game mechanisms to increase the likelihood of success based on a statistical analysis of the user against other users who complete the current activity with the same character statistics, equipment, and skills, or character statistics, equipment, and skills close thereto. For example, the guidance may include positional information such as the best distance from the enemy to maintain, the best distance from the enemy to maintain when using a particular ability, movement, weapon, weapon type, or type of ammunition, the best in-game position to be located, or the best route to take through the in-game world. In another example, the guidance may include timing information such as an action, ability, or movement (which may or may not be related to the timing of the enemy's movement), or the best timing to exceed a first attack, a first kill, or some other threshold. Other examples include the best speed or movement pattern to use, the best position relative to the enemy to attack, and the best degree of ability to use (e.g., whether to shoot in short bursts or brake around corners while driving).

[0016] It will be appreciated that the various forms of guidance are not mutually exclusive. The remote networked service can provide one or more forms of guidance for any given context, as shown and described herein.

[0017] In accordance with aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, a remote networked service generates a user interface that provides context guidance to a user. Alternatively, a client device or a separate server may generate the user interface. For example, a client device running a game may generate a user interface that provides context guidance for the game. Alternatively or in combination, a separate device such as a mobile device may generate the user interface. The guidance may be in the form of text, images, video, audio, or a combination thereof. In certain embodiments, the remote networked service skips to a specific timestamp within the provided video, and the timestamp is associated with the in-game context. For example, if the user is at the 5th level in the game, the remote networked service may provide a video walkthrough of the game and automatically skip to the timestamp associated with the start of the 5th level, or some specific portion of the 5th level that the user is currently playing.

[0018] The remote networked service may determine the level of guidance (e.g., hints, tips, explicit videos, etc.) to provide to the user based on user preferences, the history of guidance provided to the user, or other appropriate information.

[0019] The user interface may be presented via several client devices such as a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a game console, a gaming device, a set-top box (STB), a television device, a mobile phone, a portable music player (e.g., a portable hard drive audio device), a web appliance, or any machine capable of presenting the user interface. The user interface may be presented as part of a quick menu, a game hub, another remote networked service, or an audio interface.

[0020] According to an embodiment of a further example of the present disclosure, the user interface is updated in real time. This enables the player to maintain the guidance "live" during gameplay. The remote networked service automatically refreshes the content presented via the user interface based on real-time updates to the user context and activities. This enables the user to play the game while watching a help video (either on a separate device or in snap mode), and automatically interrupts when the video shows the required help clip, and then resumes when the user progresses to the next goal to show help for that goal.

[0021] The user interface may sort the guidance by the likelihood of increasing the user's chance of success. The order in which the guidance is presented may be based on the positive and negative weights applied, and the positive and negative weights applied are based on help from at least one user with different skill levels or the same skill level, help from at least one user with different difficulty settings or the same difficulty setting, help from at least one user with different character statistics or equipment or the same character statistics or equipment, the source of the help (e.g., user or developer), developer votes, user feedback, the user success rate and speed of success after consuming the guidance, video producer tags, or the presence of offensive content.

[0022] According to an embodiment of yet a further example of the present disclosure, the remote networked service may request the user to publish user-generated content (UGC) that will be used as guidance. For example, for specific in-game activities for which the service does not have sufficiently applicable help videos or content, the remote networked service may send a request to publish videos of those gameplay sessions to users who have successfully completed the in-game activities.

[0023] In particular, the remote networked service may detect event metadata that a particular user has completed an in-game activity. In response to detecting the event metadata, the service may request that the user share a record of the play session. In certain embodiments, the user may opt in to the remote networked service associating a video with the event and activity metadata and providing the video as guidance to other users, and it may be enabled. The remote networked service may track several views or feedback per video, and in some embodiments, may provide a reward to the user who generated the video based on a predetermined threshold of views or feedback. In other embodiments, the remote networked service may request and receive feedback from the user as to whether the guidance provided was helpful.

[0024] Embodiments are shown by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like elements.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0025]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4a

Figure 4b

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0026] The following detailed description includes references to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the detailed description. The drawings illustrate an exemplification according to an embodiment of the example. The embodiments of those examples, also referred to herein as "examples," are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the subject matter. Embodiments may be combined, other embodiments may be utilized, or structural, logical, and electrical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the claims. Accordingly, the following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0027] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to providing a user with guidance based on user-specific, real-time, in-game context.

[0028] FIG. 1 is an exemplary system architecture 100 that provides context information regarding available game activities to a user, according to an embodiment of one example. In some embodiments, the exemplary system architecture 100 includes a game client 105, a Uniform Data System (UDS) software development kit (SDK) 110, console system software 115, a local rule engine 120, a UDS server 125, a game server 130, processed data 135, and one or more other remote networked services including a help service 140, a game plan 145, user-generated content (UGC) tagging 150, and other services (s) 155. The help service 140 may also receive information from other data source (s) 160.

[0029] The game client 105 and the game server 130 provide context information regarding multiple applications to the UDS server 125 via a UDS data model that describes the logical structure of UDS data used by a Uniform Data System (UDS) SDK 110. The UDS data model enables the platform to implement remote networked services such as the help service 140, the game plan 145, UGC tagging 150, and other services (s) 155 that require game data, without each game having to be patched separately to support each service. The UDS data model assigns context information to each part of the information in a unified manner across games. The context information from the game client 105 and the UDS SDK 110 is provided to the UDS server 125 via the console system software 115. It will be appreciated that the game client 105, the UDS SDK 110, the console system software 115, and the local rule engine 120 may operate on a computer or other suitable hardware for executing multiple applications.

[0030] The UDS server 125 receives and stores context information from the game clients 105 from multiple applications and the game servers 130. Indeed, the UDS server 125 may receive context information from multiple game clients and game servers for multiple users. The information may be processed uniformly (135) and then received by multiple remote networked services 140, 145, 150, and 155.

[0031] Figure 2 shows another exemplary embodiment of a system architecture in accordance with the present disclosure. The game client 205 transmits context information to the UDS server 210, and the UDS server 210 provides the context information in a unified data model to multiple remote networked services including profile statistics 215, game plan 220, session 225, tournament 230, presence 235, and help system 240.

[0032] FIG. 3 shows an exemplary system that provides a data model for a uniform data platform 300 according to an embodiment of the disclosed example. In an embodiment of one example, system 300 may include at least one device 330 configured to execute at least one of a plurality of applications 332, each application having an application data structure. The uniform data platform 310 may be executed on one or more servers. The uniform data platform 310 may include a data model that is uniform across a plurality of application data structures. The data model may include metadata 312 corresponding to at least one object shown in the data model, and events 314 corresponding to trigger conditions associated with at least one metadata entry. The values of the metadata 312 and events 314 may be associated with a user profile. The uniform data platform 310 may be configured to receive application data from at least one device 330 and store the application data within the data model. System 300 may also include a plurality of remote networked services 320 configured to access application data from the uniform data platform 310 using the data model.

[0033] In various embodiments, the metadata 312 may include a list of all activities that a user can perform in an application, activity names, descriptions of the activities, the status of the activities (whether available, started, or completed), whether the activity is required to complete a goal or campaign, a completion reward for the activity, an intro cutscene or outro cutscene, in-game locations, one or more conditions that must be met before the activity becomes available, and a parent activity that includes the activity as a sub-activity. The metadata 312 may further include a list of abilities that can be exercised by the user, the effects of each action, telemetry indicating when the action and effects occur, including the corresponding timestamps and locations, an in-game coordinate system, a list of in-game branching states, and telemetry indicating when a branching state is encountered and which options are selected by the user. In-game statistics, items, inheritances, in-game zones, and a corresponding list of attributes for each statistic, item, inheritance, or zone may similarly be included in the metadata 312. Additionally, the metadata 312 can indicate whether a particular activity, entity (character, item, ability, etc.), setting, result, action, effect, location, or attribute should be marked as hidden.

[0034] Event 314 may occur in response to several different trigger conditions. For example, such trigger conditions may include an activity becoming available that was not previously available, the user starting an activity, the user ending an activity, the opening cutscene or ending cutscene for an activity starting or ending, the user's in-game location or zone changing, in-game statistics changing, an item or heritage being acquired, an action being performed, an effect occurring, the user interacting with a character, item, or other in-game entity, and an activity, entity, setting, result, action, effect, location, or attribute being discovered. Event 314 may further include information regarding the state of the application when Event 314 was triggered, such as a timestamp when the user started or ended an activity, the difficulty setting, and character statistics, the success or failure of the activity, or a score or period associated with the completed activity.

[0035] Figures 4a - 4b show exemplary user interfaces 400a, 400b for a remote networked service that provides context game guidance in accordance with the present disclosure. Figure 4a represents a user interface 400a that shows a screenshot from a game application played by a user via a client device. In this example, the player's character is using a specific set of equipment (i.e., a green hunting bow and fire arrows) to fight an enemy (i.e., Sawtooth). The client device may automatically send real-time updates regarding the current activity and character information to a remote networked service, a UDS server, or other suitable medium. For example, the current activity (i.e., the quest for "Spear Point" with the goal of "defeating Sawtooth") is displayed on user interface 400a.

[0036] Figure 4b shows an overlaid user interface 400b with context game guidance. In response to receiving a request for guidance from the user, the remote networked service generates a user interface 400b that includes context-sensitive guidance and transmits the user interface 400b to the client device. Alternatively, the client device may generate the user interface 400b. The user interface 400b includes an indicator 405 that the remote networked system has determined the activity the user is currently performing (i.e., fighting Sawtooth). The user interface 400b displays one or more cards 410, 415, 420 that have relevant guidance information about the user's current goal. The remote networked service may determine that the use of a weapon, a particular mechanic or type of ammunition (ammo) (e.g., the "rope caster" shown in card 410 or a critical attack success with a fire arrow shown in card 420) statistically increases the user's likelihood of success in defeating Sawtooth. The user interface 400b displays cards 410, 420 to the user that can be selectable by the user to show more text or video about the guidance. By selecting card 410, the user interface 400b can show how to best use the rope caster.

[0037] Similarly, the remote networking service can provide text and video suggestions on how other players have successfully achieved their goals. For example, the remote networking service may have previously determined that a second user successfully defeated Sawtooth and used in-game mechanisms such as dodging Sawtooth's ranged attacks. This may be represented in the UDS data model as an event action, with an associated timestamp, executed by a user who successfully avoided a ranged action by Sawtooth's enemies. Here, the remote networking service may provide a video of the second user fighting Sawtooth at card 415 and may time skip to the moment just before the dodging action is executed.

[0038] Furthermore, in response to a user interacting with an in-game entity and receiving a request for guidance from the user, the remote networking service can provide, via the user interface 400b, any collected lore or other discovered game objects associated with the in-game entity. In one or more embodiments, the discovered information presented to the user is distinguished from other contextual guidance.

[0039] It will be understood that any form of text, image, video, audio, or other suitable medium or graphical user interface may be used to display and compose the contextual game guidance, as it is described as being presented by "cards".

[0040] FIG. 5 shows another exemplary embodiment of the user interfaces 500a, 500b of the present disclosure. In particular, the user interfaces 500a, 500b represent further examples of contextual game guidance that can be presented to the user. The guidance 505, 510, 515, and 520 provide information to the user based on the current or past in-game context.

[0041] In the first exemplary user interface 500a, guidance regarding a racing game is presented. The UDS server may store user metadata regarding the race in the racing game, such as the automobile model selected by the user and the virtual position where the user executed a braking action before the fourth turn of the circuit. The remote networked service may determine statistics across users regarding a particular race, automobile model, and level of success based on the UDS data, and may present that information to the user. For example, if the user finishes a race using an Audi A4 RS regarding the Sunrise Harbour track, the user interface 500 may notify the user via card 505 that 85% of the players driving an Audi A4 RS regarding Sunrise Harbour brake earlier on the fourth turn. If the user finishes a race regarding the Fraser Valley track, the user interface 500 may include a card 510 suggesting the use of a different vehicle, such as a Ferrari LaFerrari, whose fastest lap time was statistically set. It will be understood that each part of the contextual guidance may have one or more associated conditions that need to be met by the current context before being sent for display to the user.

[0042] In the second exemplary user interface 500b, guidance regarding a first-person perspective shooting game or a third-person perspective shooting game is presented. Here, the remote networked service may count the occurrence of events on the client device or the server, and may provide guidance in response to the count exceeding a predetermined threshold. For example, the remote networked service determines that the user has been knocked down 13 times by the enemy "Big Grunt" while using a rifle, and provides mechanical assistance regarding how other players equipped with weapons knocked down the enemy. Based on UDS data across multiple users, the remote networked service determines that 65% of the players using rifles knocked down the enemy with headshots from a statistically averaged distance. In addition, the remote networked service may record the start time of the activity and check the amount of elapsed time that the user has been attempting to complete the activity. In response to the amount of elapsed time exceeding a predetermined amount of time, the remote networked service may provide guidance associated with the activity. The guidance 515 is then presented to the user. The remote networked service may determine which players have performed the best and may present the user with specific statistics regarding those top players and their tactics. For example, the guidance 520 notifies the user that a particularly skilled player has recorded the highest number of kills during cover mode during the battle.

[0043] If contextual guidance is not available when the user requests help, the user interface may include a notification that the guidance is not available. For example, there may be no support for guidance for a part of the game or the game that the user is playing, or there may be no guidance for the game selection or context for which the user is currently requesting help. The notification may include an explanation of why the contextual guidance was not provided.

[0044] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a remote networked service may provide a web tool for developers as a user interface to enable developers to monitor chips and videos based on data that becomes visible to the system for each in-game activity. The user interface may include a list of in-game activities and a list of chips and videos based on data provided to the user when a request for guidance regarding that activity is sent for each activity. The list of data-based chips may be sorted by a determined reliability in the overall effectiveness of the chips. Developers may vote for or against specific chips or videos using the user interface so as to affect the ranking of the chips or videos in the results. Similarly, developers may mark chips or videos for removal from a set of context guidance that would be provided to the user. The remote networked service may additionally receive requests from developers via the user interface.

[0045] The user interface may also be able to enable the developer to provide guidance that would be sent to the user if there is a request for guidance regarding a particular activity. To facilitate this, the user interface may provide the developer with a system chip template that includes controls for specifying whether a chip is applicable to a particular game and how the chip should be presented to the user in the context of the game. In particular, the developer may include individualized chips and may set what metadata conditions need to be satisfied by the determined context of the game before the chip is shown to the user. The template may include a data-derived segment drawn from UDS data regarding the game, such as a list of weapons applicable in the game or available abilities.

[0046] Occasionally, game patches or updates may change the balance of weapons, characters, and abilities within the game, thus potentially changing the effectiveness or applicability of certain guidance content. While much of the context guidance system may not necessarily be affected by such game patches, the developer-facing user interface may include per-chip template controls indicating whether a subset of chips need to be updated or reset due to a particular game patch.

[0047] Each tip or portion of guidance may be associated with a help content identifier. The game engine may indicate that guidance associated with a help content identifier has been presented to a user within the game by updating metadata or event information at the UDS server. The remote networked service may check, based on the updated metadata and identifier information, whether the context guidance information has already been shown to the user before transmitting the context guidance information. In response to determining that the context guidance information has already been shown, the remote networked service may instead provide other new context guidance.

[0048] Figure 6 is a process flowchart showing a method 600 for providing a game plan remote networking service according to an embodiment of the example. The method 600 may be executed by processing logic including hardware (e.g., decision logic, dedicated logic, programmable logic, application specific integrated circuit), software (such as software running on a general purpose computer system or a dedicated machine), or a combination of both. In an embodiment of the example, the processing logic refers to one or more elements of the system architectures 100 and 200 of FIGS. 1 and 2. The operations of the method 600 described below may be implemented in an order different from the order illustrated and shown in the figures. Moreover, the method 600 may have additional operations that are not shown herein but may be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure. The method 600 may also have fewer operations than those shown in FIG. 6 and described below.

[0049] The method 600 begins at block 610 by determining the user's goal based on context information regarding the application. Optionally, the method 600 may begin by receiving a user request for guidance from the client device. The context information may be received and updated in real time while the application is being executed.

[0050] At block 620, the method 600 may include deriving context guidance for assisting the user based on the context information and the goal. The context guidance may be based on a statistical analysis of the user compared to other users who have completed the goal with one or more of the same character statistics, equipment, or skills as the user. The context guidance may be a determination of the level to be provided based on the level of guidance to be provided to the user and based on how much guidance the user may need or desire.

[0051] In block 630, method 600 may include generating a user interface with context guidance. The context guidance may include text, images, videos, audio, or other suitable media. The video presented via the user interface may include a start timestamp to start playing the video, and the method may further include determining the timestamp as being associated with the current goal.

[0052] The context guidance may be selected based on the likelihood of increasing the likelihood that a user will succeed in completing the goal. The selection may use weights based on one or more of data from users with different skill levels or the same skill level, data from users with different difficulty settings or the same difficulty setting, data from users with different character statistics or equipment or the same character statistics or equipment, the source of the data, developer votes, user feedback, the user success rate and speed of success after consuming the guidance. Data from users with similar skills, settings, and character attributes is more likely to help the current user achieve the goal than data from users with different contexts and may be presented with a higher priority in the selection. Thus, weighted selection increases the efficiency of providing context guidance to the user.

[0053] Optionally, method 600 may include sending the user interface to a client device. In certain embodiments, the user interface is updated in real time based on the current in-game context of the running application. The user interface may be sent to the same client device on which the application is being executed, or to a separate client device. The user interface may then be presented to the user such that the user can receive highly customized and individualized guidance for those specific in-game states and needs.

[0054] FIG. 7 shows a diagrammatic representation of a computing device in a machine of an example electronic form computer system 700 that can execute a set of instructions for causing a machine to execute any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. In an example embodiment, the machine may operate as a stand-alone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked arrangement, the machine may operate as a server, in the capacity of a client machine in a server-client network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The machine may be a personal computer (PC), tablet PC, game console, gaming device, set-top box (STB), television device, cellular phone, portable music player (e.g., portable hard drive audio device), web appliance, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequentially or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine is shown, the term "machine" shall also be construed to include any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set of instructions (or multiple sets) for executing any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. The computer system 700 may be, for example, at least an instance of a console (e.g., see FIG. 1), game server 130, or UDS server 125.

[0055] The computer system 700 of the embodiment includes a processor or processors 705 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or both) that communicate with each other via a bus 720, as well as a main memory 710 and a static memory 715. The computer system 700 may further include a video display unit 725 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD)). The computer system 700 also includes at least one input device 730, such as an alphanumeric input device (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device (e.g., a mouse), a microphone, a digital camera, and a video camera. The computer system 700 also includes a disk drive unit 735, a signal generation device 740 (e.g., a speaker), and a network interface device 745.

[0056] The drive unit 735 (also referred to as the disk drive unit 735) includes a machine-readable medium 750 (also referred to as a computer-readable medium) that stores one or more sets of instructions and data structures (e.g., instructions 755) that implement or are utilized by any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. The instructions 755 may also reside, in whole or in part, within the main memory 710 and / or within the processor(s) 705 during execution by the computer system 700. The main memory 710 and the processor(s) 705 also constitute a machine-readable medium.

[0057] Command 755 may further be transmitted or received through communication network 760 via a network interface device 745 that utilizes one of several known transfer protocols (e.g., Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), CAN, Serial, and Modbus). Communication network 760 includes the Internet, a local intranet, a personal area network (PAN), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a virtual private network (VPN), a storage area network (SAN), a frame relay connection, an advanced intelligent network (AIN) connection, a synchronous optical network (SONET) connection, digital T1, T3, E1, or E3 lines, a digital data service (DDS) connection, a digital subscriber line (DSL) connection, an Ethernet connection, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) line, a cable modem, an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) connection, or a fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) or copper distributed data interface (CDDI) connection. Further, communication network 760 may also include a link to any of a variety of wireless networks including a wireless application protocol (WAP), a general packet radio service (GPRS), a global system for mobile communications (GSM), code division multiple access (CDMA) or time division multiple access (TDMA), a cellular telephone network, a global positioning system (GPS), a cellular digital packet data (CDPD), a Research In Motion Limited (RIM) dual paging network, a Bluetooth radio, or a radio frequency network based on IEEE802.11.

[0058] The embodiment of the example is shown assuming that the machine-readable medium 750 is a single medium, and the term "computer-readable medium" should be construed to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized database or a distributed database, and / or associated caches and servers) storing a set of one or more instructions. The term "computer-readable medium" should also be construed to include any medium that can store, encode, or carry a set of instructions for execution by a machine, cause a machine to execute any one or more of the methodologies of this application, or be used by or associated with such a set of instructions to store, encode, or carry a data structure. Thus, the term "computer-readable medium" should be construed to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memory, optical and magnetic media. Such media may also include, but not be limited to, hard disks, floppy disks, flash memory cards, digital video disks, random access memory (RAM), and read-only memory (ROM). Additionally, the phrase "at least one of A and B" or "one or more of A and B" is to be understood as an alternative disjunctive list that is not mutually exclusive (i.e., A or B, or A and B).

[0059] The embodiments of the examples described herein may be implemented in an operating environment that includes computer-executable instructions (e.g., software) installed on a computer, in hardware, or in a combination of software and hardware. The computer-executable instructions may be described in a computer programming language or may be embodied in firmware logic. When described in a programming language that conforms to recognized standards, such instructions may be executed on various hardware platforms and may be executed against interfaces to various operating systems. By way of example and not limitation, computer software programs for implementing the methods may be described in, for example, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Dynamic HTML, XML, Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL), Document Style Semantic Specification Language (DSSSL), Cascading Stylesheets (CSS), Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL), Wireless Markup Language (WML), Java®, Jini®, C, C++, C#, .NET, Adobe Flash, Perl, UNIX® Shell, Visual Basic or Visual Basic Script, Virtual Reality Markup Language (VRML), ColdFusion®, or any number of other suitable programming languages, such as other compilers, assemblers, interpreters, or other computer languages or platforms.

[0060] Accordingly, techniques for a remote networked service that provides context game guidance are disclosed. Although embodiments have been described with reference to embodiments of specific examples, it will be apparent that various modifications and changes may be made to those embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the present application. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a limiting sense.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for providing context game guidance, comprising: determining a user's goal based on context information regarding an application; deriving context guidance for assisting the user based on the context information and the goal, the context guidance including recommendations for reaching a specific character level, statistics, or strategy; generating a user interface for displaying one or more types of the context guidance, the user interface being rendered on a client device; detecting event metadata indicating that the user has completed the goal; in response to the detecting, sending a request to share a record of the application, including success in completing the goal; A method comprising the above.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving a user request for guidance from a client device.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving the context information in real time while the application is running.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising updating the user interface in real time.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the context guidance is based on a statistical analysis of the user relative to other users who have completed the goal.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the other users who have completed the goal have one or more of the same character statistics, equipment, or skills as the user.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising selecting the context guidance based on a likelihood of increasing the probability of the user successfully completing the goal.

8. The selecting is based on weights using one or more of data sourced from at least one user with different skill levels, data sourced from at least one user with different difficulty settings, data sourced from at least one user with different character statistics or equipment, data source, developer voting, user feedback, user success rate and speed of success after consuming the guidance. The method according to claim 7.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the context guidance includes at least one of text, image, video, and audio.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the context guidance includes a video, and the method further comprises determining a time stamp of the video associated with the target and skipping to the determined time stamp.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising determining a level of guidance to be provided to the user, and deriving the context guidance is further based on the level of guidance to be provided.

12. A processor; A memory coupled to the processor and storing a program executable by the processor to execute a method for providing context guidance, the program comprising: Determining a user's goal based on context information about an application; Deriving context guidance for assisting the user based on the context information and the goal, the context guidance including recommendations for reaching a specific character level, statistics, or strategy; Generating a user interface for displaying one or more types of the context guidance, the user interface being rendered on a client device; Detecting event metadata that the user has completed the goal; In response to the detecting, sending a request to share a record of the application including success in completing the goal; A system comprising.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the program is further executable to receive a user request for guidance from a client device.

14. The system according to claim 12, wherein the program is further executable to receive the context information in real time while the application is being executed by a first client device.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the program is further executable to update the user interface in real time.

16. The system according to claim 14, wherein the user interface is transmitted to the first client device and configured to be displayed on an application window.

17. The system according to claim 14, wherein the user interface is transmitted to a second client device separate from the first client device.

18. The system according to claim 12, wherein the context guidance is based on a statistical analysis of the user with respect to other users who have completed the goal.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a program embodied thereon, the program comprising: determining a user's goal based on context information regarding an application; deriving context guidance for assisting the user based on the context information and the goal, the context guidance including recommendations for reaching a particular character level, statistic, or strategy; generating a user interface for displaying one or more of the context guidance, the user interface being rendered on a client device; detecting event metadata that the user has completed the goal; in response to the detecting, transmitting a request to share a record of the application including success in completing the goal; and being executable by a processor to perform a method of providing context guidance.

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