Game Object Upscaling by Priority for Bandwidth-Aware Streaming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing computer game streaming technologies struggle to balance quality of service (QoS) with network constraints such as bandwidth and latency, as all game objects are treated equally, neglecting their varying priorities.
Innovation Solution
A processor assembly encodes game objects or regions based on their priority, applying different spatial and temporal resolutions to prioritize higher-priority objects, such as targets or interactive elements, while lower-priority objects like statistics displays receive lower resolutions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If all game objects are encoded at high resolution to maintain quality, then visual quality is improved, but network bandwidth consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different encoding qualities to different regions of the game screen based on their importance. High-priority regions (where the player is looking or interacting) are encoded at high resolution, while low-priority regions (background, statistics displays) are encoded at lower resolution. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining visual quality where needed while reducing overall bandwidth consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the game screen into multiple priority zones and encodes each segment differently. By dividing the screen into high-priority and low-priority regions, the system can allocate bandwidth selectively, improving visual quality for critical areas while reducing total bandwidth usage compared to uniform high-resolution encoding.
2Speed
If all game objects are encoded at high frame rate to reduce latency, then responsiveness is improved, but network bandwidth consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different frame rates to different game objects based on their priority. High-priority objects (interactive elements, targets) are encoded at high frame rates to ensure responsiveness, while low-priority objects (statistics displays, background elements) are encoded at lower frame rates. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining responsiveness for critical elements while reducing overall bandwidth consumption.
3Device complexity
If uniform encoding is applied to all game objects, then encoding complexity is reduced, but quality of service deteriorates due to equal treatment of high and low priority objects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements priority-based differential encoding where the system identifies high-priority regions (player gaze, interaction zones) and encodes them with higher quality settings while using lower quality settings for low-priority regions. This resolves the contradiction by improving QoS for critical game elements without requiring completely complex custom encoding for each object, as the priority classification provides a systematic approach.
Data Source
AI summary
As understood herein, not all objects in a computer game are of equal priority. Given this recognition, present principles apply a range of spatial and temporal resolutions to various objects in the same game depending on the priority of the objects in the game.