External Communication Permissions for Online Game Affiliations
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional gaming systems fail to effectively facilitate communication to a group of related players outside of in-game communication mediums, where the ability and type of communication depend on player permissions within the group.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising processors to execute modules for managing affiliations and permissions, allowing communication outside the game based on player status, including a space module for virtual space management, a group module for affiliation management, and a communication module to determine and enable external communication permissions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional gaming systems facilitate off-line communication between players, then communication capability is improved, but control over communication permissions and types is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements different communication permissions for different players within the same affiliation group. Higher-status players (e.g., guild leaders) have full communication rights while lower-status players have restricted rights. This local differentiation of permissions resolves the contradiction by providing both communication capability and granular control over who can communicate externally.
Solution Approach 2:
The communication permissions are made dynamic based on player status and affiliation hierarchy. When a player's status changes within the affiliation (e.g., being promoted to leader), their communication permissions automatically update. This dynamic approach allows the system to adapt communication control to organizational structure while maintaining ease of operation.
2Productivity
If conventional gaming systems allow external communication between players, then coordination capability is improved, but ability to control communication types and permissions is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The affiliation group structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it organizes players hierarchically, manages communication permissions, and enables coordinated external communication. This multi-functionality improves productivity by consolidating coordination capabilities while avoiding the complexity of separate permission management systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The affiliation group acts as an intermediary layer between individual players and the communication system. Rather than managing permissions for each player individually, the system manages permissions at the group level, simplifying permission management while maintaining coordination capability across the entire group.
3Reliability
If conventional gaming systems provide in-game communication channels, then team coordination is improved, but ability to communicate when players are not logged in is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the player's registered external communication address (email, SMS, etc.) as an intermediary to deliver messages when players are not logged in. The affiliation group structure manages these external addresses and coordinates message delivery, maintaining team coordination reliability while enabling communication availability outside the game environment.
Solution Approach 2:
Players pre-register their external communication addresses and affiliation relationships before needing to communicate. The system stores this information in advance, allowing messages to be delivered externally even when players are not currently logged in. This preliminary setup maintains coordination reliability while providing communication versatility.
Data Source
AI summary
Affiliated players in an online game often coordinate activity and communication in the online game. Affiliated players may want to coordinate activities and/or communicate with each even when one or more affiliated players may not be logged into the online game. Further, persons of higher status in an affiliation may want to control the extent to which other players in the affiliation are sent messages external to the game. As such, one aspect of the disclosure relates to facilitating communication to a group of related players of an online game outside of communication mediums available via the game, where the ability to communicate and the type of communication may depend upon permissions associated with a player in a group of affiliated players.