Distributed Game Instance Provisioning for Local Multiplayer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Resource-intensive multiplayer video games often exceed the processing capabilities of a single device, limiting multiplayer integration and restricting features like couch co-op due to hardware constraints.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system where one instance of a multiplayer game is executed locally and another instance is executed remotely on a network-connected device, allowing multiple users to interact through a local device, with data and video output shared over a network.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a single processing device executes multiple instances of a resource-intensive video game, then multiplayer functionality is enabled, but the hardware resources are overwhelmed and performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the multiplayer gaming workload by separating game instances across multiple processing devices. Each processing device executes one or more game instances independently, distributing the computational burden. This segmentation enables multiple players to access the game simultaneously without overwhelming a single device's hardware resources, thus maintaining both multiplayer functionality and system performance.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a single processing device executes multiple game instances concurrently, then multi-user support is achieved, but the device complexity and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the multi-user gaming workload across multiple processing devices, with each device responsible for executing specific game instances. This segmentation reduces the complexity burden on any single device while maintaining overall system capability to support multiple users simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces a coordination mechanism that acts as an intermediary between multiple processing devices and the user interface. This intermediary manages the distribution of user inputs to appropriate game instances and aggregates outputs, abstracting the underlying complexity from individual devices and enabling multi-user support without proportionally increasing each device's complexity.
3Ease of operation
If high-quality graphics and AI are provided in the video game, then gaming experience is enhanced, but the burden on hardware resources increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the computationally intensive tasks of high-quality graphics rendering and AI processing across multiple processing devices. Each device handles a subset of these demanding operations for its assigned game instances, distributing the energy and resource consumption. This approach maintains high gaming experience quality while preventing any single device from being overwhelmed by resource demands.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and apparatus for executing a video game can include executing a first instance at a first processing device, receiving data from a second processing device over a network, the data corresponding to a second instance executed concurrently with the first instance, the second instance being instantiated by the second processing device in response to one or more events detected by the first processing device, providing inputs received from the first control device to the first instance of the video game, the first instance being responsive to inputs received from the first control device, transmitting inputs received from the second control device to the second processing device, the second instance being responsive to inputs received from the second control device, generating images for display based on the first instance and the second instance, and displaying the generated images.