Background Matchmaking System for Reducing Player Wait Times
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current multiplayer online game matchmaking systems often result in long wait times for players seeking compatible opponents, forcing users to maintain a game session idle, limiting their ability to engage in other activities, and may take days or months to find a match, especially in games with limited player populations.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that allows players to submit match requests with specific attributes, which are processed in the background, enabling notifications to be received while running a different user session, allowing players to instantiate a multiplayer game session without interrupting their current activity, and includes features like queue management, hopper logic, and attribute matching to form game matches.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the matchmaking service uses strict criteria to search for compatible players, then the quality of matches is improved, but the wait time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by maintaining persistent user sessions and pre-processing match requests in the background before players actually need to play. The matchmaking service continues searching for matches even while players are engaged in other activities, so that when a match is found, the player can immediately join without waiting.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism - a persistent background session managed by the matchmaking service that acts as a mediator between the player's current activity and the future game session. This background session allows the matchmaking algorithm to continue operating independently without requiring the player to remain actively engaged in the game client.
2Productivity
If the player must maintain the current user session for matchmaking to continue, then the matching process can proceed, but the player cannot engage in other games or activities
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the matchmaking process from the player's active game session. The matchmaking operation is separated into an independent background process that runs on the server side, while the player can freely switch between different games and activities. The match notification and session instantiation occur as discrete events that do not require continuous player engagement.
Solution Approach 2:
The matchmaking service is designed with multi-functionality to handle multiple player requests simultaneously in the background while players engage in various different activities. The system can manage multiple game sessions, criteria types, and player preferences concurrently, allowing players to pursue diverse activities without impacting the matchmaking process.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the player exits the current user session due to impatience, then the player can engage in other activities, but the search is canceled
Solution Approach 1:
The matchmaking system provides self-service by automatically continuing the match search in the background without requiring player intervention or presence. The server-side process monitors and maintains the search independently, and can autonomously notify the player and initiate the game session when a match is found, even if the player was temporarily inactive or engaged in other activities.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments that relate to systems and methods for grouping players into a multiplayer game session are provided. In one embodiment, a first match request for a multiplayer game session is received and includes one or more requested player attributes. A plurality of other match requests are received, with one being a second match request including one or more requested player attributes. The first and second match requests are matched based on the requested player attributes. A notification of the match is sent to a client device of the first requesting player, with the notification configured to be received while the client device runs a user session different from the multiplayer game session. The notification includes a selectable element configured to instantiate the multiplayer game session on the client device in place of a user session when the selectable element is selected.