Network Game Event Synchronization via Player Readiness Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
In network games, especially MMORPGs, there is a challenge in synchronizing the start of events like battles among multiple players to ensure all participants are ready, as experienced players may skip introductory movies quickly while beginners take longer, leading to inconsistencies in game progression and player engagement.
Innovation Solution
A network game system where a server apparatus transmits event occurrence information and requires end-of-preparation notifications from all terminal apparatuses before initiating the event start, allowing each player to display an event preparation image and terminate it at their convenience, ensuring all players are ready before proceeding to the event.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If players are allowed to freely skip introductory movies at their own pace, then player convenience and flexibility are improved, but game synchronization and fairness deteriorate as players start events at different times
Solution Approach 1:
The system displays an event preparation image to all players before the event starts, allowing them to mentally and strategically prepare. This preliminary action ensures that when the event begins, all players are ready simultaneously, resolving the contradiction between allowing player flexibility and maintaining game synchronization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system monitors whether all players have finished viewing the introductory movie and only starts the event when all players are ready. This feedback mechanism ensures that player flexibility to watch at their own pace does not compromise game synchronization, as the event start is conditioned on all players being prepared.
2Reliability
If the system waits for all players to finish viewing introductory content before starting an event, then game fairness and synchronization are improved, but player productivity and engagement worsen as experienced players are forced to wait
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the event start timing based on player readiness status. Instead of a fixed wait time, the event starts automatically once all players indicate readiness by finishing the introductory movie. This dynamic approach maintains fairness while preventing experienced players from being forced to wait unnecessarily, as the system adapts to the actual pace of all players.
3Adaptability or versatility
If experienced players skip introductory movies quickly while beginners watch them fully, then player adaptability is improved, but game consistency deteriorates as players progress through different content
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts the introductory movie viewing requirement from the event start condition. Instead of requiring all players to complete the same content, the system only requires that all players have finished viewing (regardless of how long that took) before starting the event. This separates the adaptability of viewing speed from the consistency of event start timing, allowing players to adapt their viewing pace while maintaining game consistency.
Data Source
AI summary
A network game system includes a server apparatus and a plurality of video game apparatuses connected to the server apparatus. A party includes player characters of a plurality of players. When the party battles with an opponent character, the server apparatus simultaneously transmits movie playback information to each video game apparatus for starting playback of a movie. Each of the players can skip the movie at a desired timing. A screen is displayed on each video game apparatus that has skipped the movie until the battle starts. When information is received from each video game apparatus that indicates playback of the movie has ended, the server apparatus simultaneously transmits battle start information to each video game apparatus.