Cloud Gaming Virtual World Instance Merging

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current cloud-based multiplayer video games often result in separate and independent instances of a virtual world for each player, limiting interactivity and communication between players, which can reduce the richness of the gaming experience and player engagement.

Innovation Solution

A method and system for managing virtual worlds in cloud gaming that allows players to merge their instances of a virtual world, enabling the creation of a combined instance by incorporating in-game objects and attributes from both players, while handling positional interferences through repositioning or blending of objects, and tracking assets within the merged world.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If separate independent instances of virtual world are provided for each player, then system simplicity and individual player experience are maintained, but player engagement and interactivity are reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveplayer engagementVSAvoidvirtual world management complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements merging of separate virtual world instances into a unified shared instance, allowing multiple players to interact within the same virtual environment. This resolves the contradiction by combining previously isolated player experiences while maintaining individual player agency through personalized views and interactions within the shared space.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The system segments the virtual world into player-specific instances that can be independently managed and rendered, then merges them when needed. This allows the system to maintain simplicity for individual players while enabling complexity for shared experiences, resolving the contradiction between simplicity and engagement.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Adaptability or versatility

If virtual world instances are merged to enhance interactivity, then player engagement improves, but positional interference between objects from different instances occurs

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveinteractivityVSAvoidobject positioning accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies different rendering qualities to different spatial regions - objects from the same instance are rendered with full precision while objects from merged instances are marked as ghosted or semi-transparent. This local differentiation resolves positioning conflicts by visually distinguishing between original and merged objects, maintaining interactivity while managing precision expectations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The server acts as an intermediary that receives object data from multiple instances, resolves positional conflicts through algorithms, and generates unified rendering instructions. This intermediary processing layer handles the complexity of positional interference resolution, enabling smooth merges without direct player intervention.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Productivity

If real-time merging of virtual world instances is implemented, then player engagement and responsiveness improve, but computational resources and processing time increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvegameplay responsivenessVSAvoidcomputational resource consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs partial merging operations - only merging and rendering changes rather than entire virtual worlds. This selective approach maintains responsiveness for player interactions while reducing overall computational load by avoiding unnecessary full-instance processing, resolving the contradiction between responsiveness and resource consumption.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Solution Approach 2:

The system pre-processes and buffers virtual world data, allowing rapid merging operations when players initiate interactions. By preparing data structures and rendering assets in advance, the system reduces real-time computational requirements while maintaining fast responsiveness, addressing both productivity and energy consumption concerns.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS12186656B2Systems and methods for managing virtual world in cloud-based gaming

Publication Date: 2025.01.07 SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT LLC

AI summary

A cloud-based gaming system generates first and second instances of a virtual world of an online game for first and second players, respectively. First and second video streams of the first and second instances of the virtual world, respectively, are transmitted to the first and second players, respectively. The second video stream includes a ghosted version of a feature within the first instance of the virtual world. A request is received from the second player to merge the first and second instances of the virtual world. With the first player's approval, a merged instance of the virtual world is automatically generated by the cloud-gaming system as a combination of the first and second instances of the virtual world. Third and fourth video streams of the merged instance of the virtual world are transmitted to the first and second players, respectively, in lieu of the first and second video streams, respectively.