Ride Vehicle Player State Caching for Real-Time Game Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing amusement park ride attractions lack enhanced passenger control over ride vehicles and inefficient game data updating, which hinders interactive and real-time gaming experiences.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an on-board ride and game control sub-system on ride vehicles to locally cache player state data during ride cycles and synchronize it with off-board systems, enabling real-time game achievements and interactive control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If player state data is stored centrally on off-board systems, then data consistency is maintained, but real-time responsiveness and passenger control are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the data storage system into two parts: local caching on ride vehicles and central storage on off-board systems. The on-board sub-system maintains a local cache of player state data that can be accessed immediately during ride cycles, while the off-board sub-system maintains the authoritative copy. This segmentation enables real-time responsiveness through local access while preserving data consistency through periodic synchronization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-caching player state data on the ride vehicle's on-board sub-system before the ride cycle begins. This allows the system to retrieve and process game data locally without waiting for off-board system communication during the actual ride, thereby achieving real-time responsiveness while maintaining data consistency through pre-synchronized data.
2Ease of operation
If ride control is centralized on off-board systems, then system management is simplified, but passenger control and interactivity are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is segmented into off-board and on-board sub-systems. The off-board sub-system handles high-level ride control and safety management, while the on-board sub-system handles local game logic and player state management. This segmentation enables passengers to have direct control over game-related aspects of the ride through the on-board system while the off-board system maintains overall system management.
Solution Approach 2:
The on-board ride and game control sub-system is designed to be self-sufficient for handling game data and player state information. It can independently cache, process, and respond to player inputs without requiring constant communication with the off-board system. This self-service capability enhances passenger control and interactivity while keeping the overall system architecture manageable through clear division of responsibilities.
3Productivity
If game data is updated in real-time during ride cycles, then interactivity is enhanced, but data synchronization complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic action by synchronizing player state data between on-board and off-board sub-systems at specific intervals, such as at the beginning or end of ride cycles. During the actual ride cycle, the on-board system operates independently with cached data, updating game data in real-time for enhanced interactivity. Synchronization occurs periodically when the ride vehicle is stationary or during transition phases, reducing synchronization complexity while maintaining data consistency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary synchronization of player state data before ride cycles begin, preparing the local cache on the on-board sub-system. This preliminary action ensures that all necessary data is available locally for real-time updates during the ride without requiring complex continuous synchronization mechanisms. The periodic resynchronization occurs at predetermined intervals to maintain data consistency.
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems and methods presented herein include ride vehicles (20) configured to locally store player state caches. For example, ride vehicles may include an on-board ride and game control sub-system (36) configured to control local features of a ride and game control system (24) associated with an amusement park ride system (12) (e.g., that occur locally on the ride vehicles), to locally cache player state data for riders (22) of the ride vehicles during ride cycles of the ride vehicles, and to synchronize the locally-cached player state data with global player state data maintained by an off-board ride and game control sub-system (76) after the ride cycles of the ride vehicles.