Spectator Server Time-Shifting Online Games
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current multi-user online gaming systems, such as League of Legends, provide a limited spectator experience for fans of competitive games, lacking features for enhanced viewing and interaction with live game sessions.
Innovation Solution
An online multi-user game system that includes a spectator server enabling users to view and time-shift active game sessions through a spectator grid and client, providing an omnipresent view with complete game data and keyframes for real-time rendering, along with features like instant replay, playback speed control, and directed view to focus on key events.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a basic spectator mode is provided in multi-user online games, then users can view active game sessions, but the spectator experience remains limited without enhanced viewing features
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the spectator functionality into separate modules: a spectator server that receives game data, a spectator grid that manages multiple spectators, and individual spectator clients that display the view. This segmentation allows the complex spectator experience to be built from manageable components without overwhelming the core game system.
Solution Approach 2:
The spectator server acts as an intermediary between the active game session and the spectators. It receives complete game data from the game server, processes it into keyframes, and distributes it to spectators. This mediator layer provides enhanced viewing capabilities without requiring direct modifications to the active game play.
2Loss of information
If complete game data is transmitted to spectators for an omnipresent view, then spectators gain full viewing capability, but network bandwidth and data transmission requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The spectator server pre-processes incoming game data into keyframes before distribution to spectators. By preparing the data in advance and organizing it into discrete time-based units, the system enables efficient transmission and allows spectators to jump to specific points in the game without receiving every intermediate data packet.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transforms continuous game state data into discrete keyframes at specific time intervals. This parameter change from continuous to discrete representation maintains complete game information while significantly reducing the data transmission volume required for spectator clients.
3Ease of operation
If time-shifting and replay features are added to the spectator system, then user engagement and enjoyment improve, but system complexity and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The spectator server records and stores keyframes as they are generated from active game sessions, creating a time-based archive before spectators need to access it. This preliminary recording enables time-shifting, replay, and jump-to-specific-time features without requiring complex real-time processing when spectators interact with the system.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having spectators directly access and control the live game data stream, the system creates copies of the game state in the form of keyframes that can be independently manipulated. Spectators interact with these copied time-based representations, which simplifies the control interface while maintaining connection to the original game data.
Data Source
AI summary
The field of the invention relates to multi-user online gaming systems, and more particularly to systems and methods that enable a spectator's experience for online active games. In a preferred embodiment, an online multiuser game system includes an online game session server system communicatively coupled to a public network for access by a plurality of users to establish a plurality of real-time interactive games sessions. The online multiuser game system further includes a spectator server communicatively coupled to the online game session server system and configured to enable a user to view and time shift an active game session.