Game Emulator Relay for Multiplayer Communication Cutoffs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing game programs for multi-person play on portable consoles face unexpected terminations due to communication cutoffs, as player participation/leave is treated like cable insertion/removal, leading to forced terminations.
Innovation Solution
Implementing emulators within a single information processing apparatus to manage data transmission and reception, allowing continuous gameplay even with communication disruptions by simulating a physical connection, without modifying the game program itself.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a game program is executed with emulators in a single information processing apparatus, then communication stability is improved and forced termination is suppressed, but device complexity increases due to emulator implementation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple information processing apparatuses into a single apparatus by implementing emulators that simulate the behavior of separate consoles. The single apparatus runs multiple emulator instances, each handling a different player's game session, thereby consolidating what would traditionally require multiple physical devices while maintaining communication stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The emulator acts as an intermediary between the game program and the physical hardware. By introducing this software layer, the system can simulate communication protocols and handle disconnections gracefully, preventing forced terminations while the underlying hardware remains unchanged.
2Reliability
If data transmission is performed between emulators in a single apparatus, then unexpected operations are suppressed, but data processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates virtual copies of communication channels between emulators instead of relying on physical connections. Each emulator maintains a virtual representation of the game state and communicates with other emulators through standardized data interfaces, eliminating unexpected operations caused by physical disconnections while managing data through structured processing routines.
3Ease of operation
If the game program is executed without modification, then ease of operation is improved, but adaptability to network play decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of modifying the original game program to add network capabilities, the patent inverts the approach by modifying the execution environment. The emulator layer implements all network communication logic, allowing the original game program to run unchanged while gaining network play adaptability through the emulator's virtual communication interfaces.
Data Source
AI summary
An information processing program causes a computer of an information processing apparatus to communicate with another information processing apparatus, to execute a game program adapted to multi-person play with a first emulator based on an operation input, to transmit data on the operation input to the another information processing apparatus, to output to a display, an image of a game executed with the first emulator, to obtain data on an operation input provided by another player from the another information processing apparatus, to execute the game program with a second emulator based on the obtained operation input by the another player, and to proceed with multi-person play of a game by transmission and reception between the first emulator and the second emulator, of data defined as data to be transmitted and received in multi-person play of the game program.