SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ONLINE, REAL-TIME, SOCIAL GAMING
Systems and methods for designing a social gaming platform in which participants compete to determine who best predicts the outcomes of conditions relating to activities at sporting events, TV shows, or other types of events. In a game, players compete with other players in the same group or in different groups via a gaming platform that employs a live digitized information feed from a contemporaneous event (while an event is currently in-progress) in addition to historical information relating to the event available from third party sources. Such information allow players (and also the system) to predict outcomes of conditions relating to activities at events, wherein such conditions are either user-contemplated, pre-stored in the system, or generated live (by the system or users). Additionally, embodiments of the present system utilize geo-location information to enable creation of user-groups based on the physical location of system users and social network affiliation of users.
This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/418,590, filed Dec. 1, 2010, and entitled “Systems and Methods for Online, Real-time, Social Gaming”, which is incorporated herein by reference as if set forth herein in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe present systems and methods relate generally to online, real-time social gaming, and more particularly to systems and methods involved in the design of a mobile and web-based social gaming platform for players to interact and play online games, wherein aspects of the online game are determined by live digitized data feeds from happenings at contemporaneous events (while events are currently in progress) in addition to historical data gathered from such types of events. The disclosed systems and methods allow user interactions in real-time or almost real-time including the ability to pose questions, predict outcomes, answer questions, and perform other activities relating to sports events, TV shows, political debates, or any event that is capable of providing a digitized data feed of the happenings at the event, wherein such a feed is typically available from third party sources.
BACKGROUNDMost persons interested in entertaining events such as sports and current affairs prefer to play online games with other persons who also have similar interests via a mobile and/or a web-based online gaming platform to get involved, be social, be competitive, and for added excitement while watching sports or a current affairs event. Examples of such events include, but are not limited to sporting events like NFL, football, NCAA football, basketball, baseball, etc. and/or current events such as The Academy Awards, reality TV shows, political debates, etc. A common feature of such online games is for participants to predict outcomes of certain conditions or characteristics of the event. For example, for an avid football fan, such a condition can be “who will score more points in the first half”, or “how many three-pointers will the winning team have”, and various others. Typically, persons who play or participate in the online game (players) predict the outcome of such conditions apriori, i.e., before the actual occurrence of the outcome. The player with the most correct number of outcomes usually wins.
In many scenarios, to add a new level of excitement, online gaming platforms creates pools (groups) of players by matching users with similar background, affiliations or interests so that they can be a part of the same pool. Sometimes, users of the gaming platform can create their own pools and invite other users (or even, non-users of the gaming platform) to join one or more user-created pools. Subsequently, players in the same pool can compete with each other, or even, players from different pools can also choose to compete with each other in predicting outcomes of certain conditions or characteristics of the event. As will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, pools can be set up for a specific event, game, a series, or an entire season, and can further be customized (depending on the underlying technology of the gaming platform) according to players' preferences.
However, conventional systems do not enable participants in an online game to have access to a data teed of the happenings at the event in real-time. The data feed can be used in the form of analytics for helping in predicting outcomes of certain conditions, in one manifestation this could mean users (players) providing answers to questions as a part of an online social game, wherein users have the option to play in inter- or intra-pool games. Questions that are presented in a pool, in one instance, can be either selected from a pre-existing set of questions available via a gaming platform, or in another instance, pool creators have the ability to generate custom questions (e.g., in sporting events, “will Team X score on this drive?”) while an event is unfolding in real-time. These questions are likely to be distributed to the appropriate participants via email, mobile push notifications, mobile text alerts, MMS by the gaming platform while an event is in-process. Participants of pools can then respond via mobile or web back to the gaming platform that then scores these questions, adjusts pool scoring and displays rankings of users in near-real time. As will be understood and appreciated, gaming platforms constructed using the above-mentioned elements will create unprecedented levels of user-engagement and excitement.
Again, most traditional online gaming platforms do not provide real-time sporting and event data feeds. Even further, historical data relating to sports events (e.g., from past seasons, or tournaments), or other any other form of historical event-related data are not provided to users of online gaming platforms. Moreover, most online gaming platforms are not technologically sophisticated because they lack statistical decision making tools that are usually helpful in most online games, e.g., they lack the ability of predictive outcome modeling of certain conditions or characteristics of events. Additionally, they are also not easily customizable to according to players' preferences.
Therefore, there is a long-felt but unresolved need for a system or method for designing a social gaming platform that solves the aforementioned problems. Aspects of the present disclosure are aimed at solving the aforementioned problems and provide a unique social gaming and networking experience to users (players/participants) of the system. The disclosed system is highly interactive and easily configurable by users having minimal technical skills, and easily operable by system administrators. Further, the system is easily accessible online by a plurality of users' electronic devices, either via a website, or mobile application programs running on users' mobile devices so that users can play along while an event is happening (in-process). Users (players) of the system have access to analytics extracted from live event data feed, and also (previous) historical event-related data. Even further, aspects of the present system are responsive to users' current geographical location and allows users located in the same vicinity (e.g., at a venue, at a bar, at a stadium, at the event, etc.) to play with each other seamlessly in real-time.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSUREBriefly described, and according to one embodiment, aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to systems and methods for designing a social gaming platform that allows users to create online games in which participants compete to predicts the outcomes of specific conditions relating to activities at sporting events, TV award shows, or other types of events. For example, in one aspect and as will be understood from the discussions that follow, conditions can be in the form of multiple-choice questions, free-form questions that have answers comprising a few lines, tournament brackets, and the like. Therefore, in such examples, a game involves participants (OGS users) predicting the answers of questions. In an exemplary aspect, questions (or, more generally, conditions) comprise real-time in-event questions created by the OGS or by system users, or even, pre-stored in the system.
According to one aspect and described in greater detail herein, an Online Gaming System (OGS) receives digitized live event data feed from on or more third party sources. Additionally, the OGS also stores historical information relating to an event (e.g., sporting events, TV award shows, etc.), or generally, accesses historical information relating to an event from third party sources. It will be understood that such live-feed and historical information are presented to players (participants) as analytics for their guidance in predicting the outcomes of specific conditions relating to the activities at the event. and extracts analytics from such data feed. Such analytics are then utilized by the OGS to computationally generate answers (a\k\a a closes proximate answer) to the questions.
Typically, in an online game (also referred to as an OGS game, or even simply, a game) players compete with other players in the same (user group) pool or different pools, wherein the pools can be created by the OGS or by system users. According to another aspect, the OGS evaluates the answers predicted by game participants against computationally generated answers to the questions, the results of such evaluation being used to rank participants in an OGS game.
These and other aspects, features, and benefits of the claimed invention(s) will become apparent from the following detailed written description of the preferred embodiments and aspects taken in conjunction with the following drawings, although variations and modifications thereto may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.
The accompanying drawings illustrate one or more embodiments and/or aspects of the disclosure and, together with the written description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements of an embodiment, and wherein:
For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the present disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will, nevertheless, be understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is thereby intended; any alterations and further modifications of the described or illustrated embodiments, and any further applications of the principles of the disclosure as illustrated therein are contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the disclosure relates. All limitations of scope should be determined in accordance with and as expressed in the claims.
In the following text, references to items in the singular should be understood to include items in the plural, and vice versa, unless explicitly stated otherwise or clear from the text. Grammatical conjunctions are intended to express any and all disjunctive and conjunctive combinations of conjoined clauses, sentences, words, and the like, unless otherwise stated or clear from the context.
OverviewAspects of the present disclosure generally relate to systems and methods for designing a social gaming platform, referred to in this disclosure as an Online Gaming System (OGS). According to one aspect, the OGS allows users to create online games in which participants compete to predicts the outcomes of specific conditions relating to activities at sporting events, TV award shows, or other types of contemporaneous events. For example, in one aspect and as will be understood from the discussions that follow, conditions can be in the form of multiple-choice questions, free-form questions that have answers comprising a few lines, tournament brackets, and the like. Therefore, in such examples, a game involves participants (OGS users) predicting the answers of questions. In an exemplary aspect, questions (or, more generally, conditions) comprise real-time in-event questions created by the OGS or by system users, or even pre-stored in the system
According to one aspect, in an online game (also referred to as an OGS game, or even simply, a game) players compete with other players in the same pool or different pools, via an online gaming platform administered by the OGS to predict outcomes of specific conditions relating to activities at various contemporaneous events.
According to another aspect, the OGS receives live digitized information feed from a contemporaneous event (while an event is currently in-progress) from third party sources. Additionally, the OGS also stores historical information relating to an event (e.g., sporting events, TV award shows, etc.), or generally, accesses historical information relating to an event from third party sources. It will be understood that such live-feed and historical information are presented to players (participants) as analytics for their guidance in predicting the outcomes of specific conditions relating to the activities at the event. Yet, in another aspect, the live-feed and historical information are also utilized by the OGS to extract analytics in predicting outcomes of specific conditions relating to activities at events. In one exemplary embodiment, pre-defined rules are used in conjunction with the analytics to formulate OGS-generated questions which are presented to players. A player who is able to predict answers with the greatest accuracy scores. Consequently, as the event progresses in real-time, more questions are presented to participants by the OGS, responses (answers) of the participants are received by the OGS, scored in near real-time based on analytics extracted from live digitized information feed from the event, and finally the players are ranked by the OGS.
Additionally, embodiments of the present system utilize geo-location information to enable creation of user-groups (pools) based on the physical location of system users and social network affiliation of users. As will be understood, in one embodiment an OGS game is played (via the OGS platform) in pools both before as well as during an event, e.g. football game, baseball game, etc. Nevertheless, it will be understood that a “game” as referred to herein may generally refer to an OGS-administered game, or a sporting event (such as a football game or a baseball game), and will be assumed that such a distinction will be implicit based on the associated context wherever applicable. Additionally, distinctions between the terms “user”, “member”, “player”, and “participant” as referred to herein will also be considered to be clear based on the associated context wherever applicable. Various specifics, details, and system embodiments will be better understood in the description provided in greater detail below.
Exemplary EmbodimentReferring now to the figures,
As shown in
Data from the live database 3 is stored and organized in several tables; including the content library 6 (also referred to in the accompanying drawings as content data table 6, or simply, content 6), a profile table 8, a score table 9 and a pool table 10. These tables are linked together by the live database 3 and provide the basis for all data in connection with an online OGS game. As will be understood, in one embodiment an OGS game is played both before as well as during an event. In another embodiment, game-related data is published to participants via a web interface 4 which can be accessed by participants 90 (not shown in
In yet another embodiment, the entire system is managed by a system administrator 13. The system administrator 13 has several duties and permissions that allow for smooth operation of the system as will occur to one skilled in the art. The system administrator 13 manages user accounts, core system questions and responds to feedback (from OGS users and non-users) and participant 90 questions. The system manager 13 is also responsible for general code updates and OGS platform maintenance. As will be understood and appreciated, according to various embodiments, many of the system administrator's functions and responsibilities are performed as human intervention-less automated processes. Details of exemplary OGS processes will be discussed later in connection with
As will be understood by one skilled in the art, OGS communications proceed over networks (such as, but not limited to the Internet) and typically involve the usage of one or the other services, e.g., a Web-deployed service with client/service architecture, a corporate Local Area Network (LAN) or Wide Area Network (WAN), or through a cloud-based system. Moreover, as will be understood and appreciated, various networking components like routers, switches, hubs etc., are typically involved in the communications. Although not shown in
The global rankings 22 are determined by comparing the individual participant's 90 total score (the aggregate total of the score fields 28 in a participant's score tables 9) to the scores of other participants 90. There are two global ranking 22 measurements. In one exemplary OGS game, a first ranking is the total ranking against every other participant 90 on OGS, while a second ranking compares players playing in the same pool or pool type 31.
In regard to
One embodiment of the content table 6, shown in
Upon clicking the “Register” button 47, at least two possible scenarios may occur 48. If there are errors in the required member 89 information 44 or account information 45, or if information is not complete, the system displays an error message and prompts the user to correct the errors and re-submit 51. Upon successful registration and profile creation, the member 89 is redirected to the “Join a Pool” section 49 and all member 89 data is stored in the profile table 8 (unless the member 89 entered through an email link 59 and is already entered into a pool).
If the member 89 has forgotten login credentials, he/she can click the “Forgot Password” link 55. This link will open a modal via which the member 89 will enter his/her email address 56. This email address will be verified in the profile table 8, and upon verification, the system will send a message to that email address containing the corresponding user ID and password 58. At this stage, the user will retrieve his/her credentials and login 50.
According to various embodiments, there are a variety of game-play types supported by this system. For example, one game-play type is a classic “pick ‘em” format. In this type of game-play, the pool manager 91 selects a division or conference in his/her chosen sport and pool members 89 simply pick the winners of all games in that division or conference, respectively. The scores will be compiled throughout the season, with the winner being the participant 90 who has picked the most games correctly at the end of the season.
Another example of a type of play is a single game pool. In this type of pool, the pool manager 91 selects one game and participants 90 are required to answer a series of questions regarding outcomes and events of that game. This game play type is modeled after proposition bets offered by sports books and proposition pools that are popular during the NFL Super Bowl. Participants 90 answer a pre-defined list of questions about game events such as “Which team will gain the most rushing yards?” or “Will there be a fumble in the first half?” The participant 90 who accumulates the most points wins the pool. Points are generally awarded at the rate of one point per question answered correctly, but this may vary based on time remaining, question difficulty, or other factors.
In another example, the game-play type comprises a team and/or conference pool. In this pool, the pool manager 91 picks either a single team and/or a conference. Similar to the single game pool, participants 90 are required to answer questions about the game(s) which that team or conference is playing. The main differentiator between a team pool and a game pool is that the team pool follows a team for an entire season, while the game pool is only active for a single game. Participants will be ranked over the entire season on both total points and percentage of questions answered correctly, allowing those who join after the season has started to play without being at a significant disadvantage.
A specific variation of the team/conference pool is the tournament pool, which can be used for tournaments such as the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. In this pool format, the tournament is treated as a ‘team’, each round represents a ‘game’ and the ‘season’ is the duration of the tournament. In order to make each round worth the same number of points as the number of games per round decreases, additional questions may be added for each game and/or the point values for each question may increase. Using the NCAA basketball tournament as an example, the first round (with 32 games) would require participants 90 to predict the winners of each game for one point each. The final round (only one game) would ask 8 questions about the game, worth 4 points each. Each question will include statistics showing how teams have fared in each question topic throughout the tournament. Participants 90 will then be ranked on total points and percentage of correct answers. This is unique compared to most other tournament pools in that the participant 90 makes new selections each round, rather than making all picks before the tournament starts, thus increasing engagement throughout the tournament. Another aspect of the present system is the ability to combine multiple pool types to create a custom pool. In this case, a pool manager 91 who wants to create a pool that closely follows an NFL team while also tracking scores from a football conference can do so by creating a pool to include both an NFL team pool and a college conference pick ‘em pool. If at some point during the season the pool manager 91 may introduce additional games to the pool, he/she can create a game pool and add the scores from that game pool into the overall pool scores and standings.
As will be understood and appreciated, there is a virtually unlimited number of game-play types that may be incorporated by aspects of the present system, and each of these types is contemplated by various system embodiments, as will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art.
Still referring to
The pool manager 91 may add custom questions 73 upon creation of the pool and prior to each game. He/she may choose from a variety of different statistics and time periods that may not be set as the system-generated questions. The pool manager may also create non-statistical questions, for which the answer will be provided by the pool manager rather than the system. These questions may be non-statistical in nature and could include questions such as “How many players will lose a helmet during the game?” or “Who will win the coin toss?”
According to one embodiment, potential participants may join pools by navigating to a OGS web interface (on the WWW) or clicking on an email link.
In one embodiment, the participant 90 may return to the OGS platform after having submitting answers so as to edit the previously submitted answers until the game starts. During game-play, participants 90 can review in-play progress, post and view user-generated content 77, etc. Generally, participants 90 receive in-game updates 99 while games are in progress and the participants' 90 scores and rankings will be tallied upon conclusion of the game 100.
One aspect of embodiments of the present system is the interface and game-play during live games, as demonstrated in
Another aspect of embodiments of the present system is an in-game or in-event functionality that enables a pool manager 91 or the system itself (running on predetermined algorithms) to create questions as the game (or an event) progresses 105. These questions are then sent to the participants 90, who should respond 106 before the question outcome is resolved. For example, the manager could create a question about whether or not a team will make a field goal as the game goes into a commercial break and the participants 90 will have until the break ends and the kick is attempted to respond with their answer to earn points. This functionality is particularly desirable in locations where sports fans gather to watch games (e.g., at a sports venue, at a pool manager's home, etc.). Details of OGS processes involved in OGS games are explained with flowchart steps in
From the above discussions, it will be apparent embodiments of the disclosed system (referred to herein as the OGS) are involved in the design of a mobile and web-based social gaming platform in which a game (also referred to as an OGS game, or an online game, or an online social game) involves players compete with each other (or with the OGS) to predict outcomes of specific conditions relating to activities at various events (e.g., sporting events such as basketball games, football games, TV shows, entertainment events, etc.). In one aspect, and as will be understood from the discussions that follow, conditions can be in the form of multiple-choice questions, free-form questions that have answers comprising a few lines, tournament brackets, and the like. Exemplarily, this could mean users (players) providing answers (i.e. predicting outcomes) to questions (e.g., in a football game, “will Team X score a touchdown in the first half?”) as a part of an online social game, wherein questions depend on one or more activities (e.g., touchdown) at the event (football game). In one embodiment, questions presented in an online game can be pre-event and stored in the OGS, and in another embodiment, such questions can be in-event questions, i.e., formulated by the OGS and users while an event is unfolding in real-time.
Typically, in one embodiment, participants receive the questions via email, mobile push notifications, mobile text alerts, MMS, computer interfaces, from the OGS as pre-event questions (i.e. prior to an event), or even, in-event (i.e. while an event is in-process). Participants of pools can then respond via mobile or web back to the OGS that then scores these questions, adjusts pool scoring, and displays rankings of users in near-real time. In one aspect, users are arranged in pools (groups) and wherein users compete with other users within the same, or sometimes, different pools, via an online gaming platform administered by the OGS. In what follows next, an exemplary OGS process involved in pool creation, including a user joining one or more pre-created pools will be described.
Referring to
A LBSN, on the other hand, provides information relating to a user's location. For example, when a LBSN user is at a venue such as a restaurant, a bar, or a football game, then the user “checks in” with one or more respective LBSNs. The respective LBSNs then broadcast the LBSN-user's current venue (or related information) to various location-responsive system (e.g., the present OGS) and social media systems, thereby allowing friends and connections of the user to be aware of the user's social activity in connection with a venue.
Thereafter, at step 2004, the OGS communicates with the user-specified social media systems and LBSNs to extract information relating to a user's social affiliations (friends, family, work connections, contacts, current location, etc.) and/or current location. As will be understood and appreciated, this allows users having similar background, affiliations or interests to be a part of the same pool. At step 2006, the respective social media systems and LBSNs respond with information relating to a user's social affiliations and/or current location. Information received from various disparate (heterogeneous) social media systems and LBSNs is typically in different data fields/header, different file formats, etc. Thus, at step 2008, the OGS normalizes such disparate information into a common format that would allow in storage, accumulation, and utilization.
According to one aspect, the system can also create user groups (pools) based on pool-related information (e.g., NFL games, NCAA games, entire season games for a team, weekend-specific games, etc.). It will be understood that creating a pool involves creating an entry in a database with various pool-related information and fields, e.g., as shown in
Next, at step 2010, the OGS applies normalized information (corresponding to a user's social affiliations and/or location) against information pertaining to pre-created pools, wherein the pools can be either pre-created by system users, and/or the OGS. It will be understood that step 2010 is performed in order to establish a match between a user and one or more pre-created pools. Further, it will be understood that step 2010 involves computer-implemented aspects of data mining, data comparison, and several other computer methodologies as will occur to one skilled in the art. Eventually, at step 2012, the OGS displays one or more pre-created pools to the user based on the match established in step 2010. Although not shown in
At step 2014, the OGS determines whether or not the user wishes to create a new pool. If the OGS determines that the user does not wish to create a new pool, then the OGS process provides (at step 2016 as shown in
Referring back to
Then, at step 2024, the OGS creates a database entry corresponding to the user's newly created pool. Next, the OGS retrieves information relevant to the newly created pool from the database, such information comprising historical information, system-created and user-created questions pre-stored in the database, and other attributes. As will be understood from the previous discussions, in one aspect, the OGS collects historical information (e.g., previous statistics and performance of teams, players, awards, winners, MVPs, etc.) about events. For example, such information is stored in an archive database, as shown in
Subsequently, at step 2028, the system creates a database association between the entry (created at step 2024) and information relevant to the newly created pool (retrieved at step 2026). In one alternate embodiment, the OGS also allows users to invite other OGS users and non-users to join a user's pool. In such a scenario, at step 2030, the OGS transmits invitations to the invitees based on the pool-related information provided by the user at earlier step 2022. Finally, the OGS process exits thereafter. It will be understood that the steps discussed in connection with the above flowchart are for illustrative purposes only, and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Alternate embodiments of the CMS can involve variations of the steps discussed herein. In one OGS embodiment, users typically play OGS games interactively with other users in the same pool or with users in different pools via the OGS platform. Such an embodiment will be explained in greater detail in what follows next.
Now referring to
Starting at step 3002, in one OGS embodiment, one or more pre-event questions stored in the OGS database are displayed to users. As will be understood, such questions can be user-created or OGS-created beforehand in time. In one aspect, answers to the pre-event questions depend on an event that has not yet started, and the OGS starts the game by allowing users to guess most likely answers to the questions. In another aspect, the pre-event questions are based on trivia (past statistics and team performance etc.) of the event.
Next, the OGS receives (at step 3004) answers for the questions from users as entered by users via their electronic device, and stores them in an exemplary OGS database. Typically, as will be understood, the event corresponding to the game has not yet started, and hence steps 3002, 3004, and 3006 are pre-event steps. It will be understood that in alternate embodiments, pre-event questions are neither created by the OGS, nor by OGS users. Further, as recited previously, in one exemplary aspect, players join pools in order to play OGS games. In such scenarios, OGS games can be played by inter-pool or intra-pool players. Steps involved in a pool creation and/or users joining pre-created pools were described earlier in connection with
As shown in
Rankings (as determined from step 3012) of the players playing the OGS game are displayed (at step 3014) to the players. In alternative aspects, the OGS uses the rankings to tabulate players' scores (based on a pre-determined point system). Then, as shown at step 3016 in
If, on the other hand, the OGS determines that the event has not yet ended, then the OGS waits for a trigger for an in-event question. If no such trigger is received, and the event has not yet ended, the OGS reverts back to process 4000 and returns from therein at step 3010 as discussed earlier.
Next, in the event of a trigger, the OGS determines (at step 3020) whether or not, the trigger was created by a user or the OGS itself. If the trigger determines that the trigger was user-created, then at next step 3024, the OGS receives an in-event question from the user who created the trigger. Alternately, if the trigger was system-created, then the OGS retrieves (at step 3022) an in-event question from the database. In one exemplary embodiment, an OGS process formulates in-event questions with or without the help of a digitized live event feed (e.g., as shown in
Regardless of whether the trigger was user-created or system-created, the OGS displays (at step 3026) to players of the OGS game the in-event question relating to this trigger. Subsequently, the answers from the players are received (at step 3028) by the OGS and stored (at step 3030) in a database. Subsequently, the OGS reverts back to the backend process 4000 for computing a closest proximate answer, the OGS operation performing in a loop from step 3010 onwards, as discussed earlier, until the event has ended.
As will be understood, the steps of the process 3000 shown in
Referring to
At step 4010, the OGS retrieves a question (in-event and pre-event) from the database, and then identifies (at step 4012) a closest proximate answer to the question based on the extracted analytics. In an exemplary OGS embodiment, in-event and pre-event questions are received and processed as described earlier in connection with FIG. 13. Further, it will be understood that step 4012 involves computer-implemented aspects of data mining, data comparison, and several other computer methodologies as will occur to one skilled in the art. Finally, at step 4014, the OGS stores a closest proximate answer (to the question retrieved at earlier step 4010) in an OGS database, and then loops back to step 4002 in order to receive the digitized live event data feed.
Although not shown herein, it will be understood that in alternate embodiments, steps involved in a backend OGS process (e.g., as shown in
As described in detail above, aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to systems and methods involved in the design of a online gaming platform in which participants compete to determine who best predicts the outcomes of conditions relating to activities at sporting events, TV shows, or other types of contemporaneous events. As described herein, such a system has been referred to as an Online Gaming System (OGS). System users (OGS users, or simply users) can access an OGS user interface (UI) over a computer network, such as the World Wide Web (WWW), using varying types of electronic devices such as mobile devices and computers. Accordingly, it will be understood from the foregoing description that various embodiments of the present system described herein are generally implemented as a special purpose or general-purpose computer including various computer hardware as discussed in greater detail below. Embodiments within the scope of the present disclosure also include computer-readable media for carrying or having computer-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon. Such computer-readable media can be any available media which can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer, or downloadable through communication networks. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise physical storage media such as RAM, ROM, flash memory, EEPROM, CD-ROM, DVD, or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, any type of removable non-volatile memories such as secure digital (SD), flash memory, memory stick etc., or any other medium which can be used to carry or store computer program code in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer, or a mobile device.
When information is transferred or provided over a network or another communications connection (either hardwired, wireless, or a combination of hardwired or wireless) to a computer, the computer properly views the connection as a computer-readable medium. Thus, any such a connection is properly termed and considered a computer-readable medium. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. Computer-executable instructions comprise, for example, instructions and data which cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing device such as a mobile device processor to perform one specific function or a group of functions.
Those skilled in the art will understand the features and aspects of a suitable computing environment in which aspects of the disclosure may be implemented. Although not required, the present disclosure is described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules or engines, as described earlier, being executed by computers in networked environments. Such program modules are often reflected and illustrated by flow charts, sequence diagrams, exemplary screen displays, and other techniques used by those skilled in the art to communicate how to make and use such computer program modules. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types, within the computer. Computer-executable instructions, associated data structures, and program modules represent examples of the program code for executing steps of the methods disclosed herein. The particular sequence of such executable instructions or associated data structures represent examples of corresponding acts for implementing the functions described in such steps.
Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the present disclosure may be practiced in network computing environments with many types of computer system configurations, including personal computers, hand-held devices, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, networked PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. The present disclosure is practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by local and remote processing devices that are linked (either by hardwired links, wireless links, or by a combination of hardwired or wireless links) through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.
An exemplary system for implementing the present disclosure, which is not illustrated, includes a general purpose computing device in the form of a conventional computer, including a processing unit, a system memory, and a system bus that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit. The computer will typically include one or more magnetic hard disk drives (also called “data stores” or “data storage” or other names) for reading from and writing to. The drives and their associated computer-readable media provide nonvolatile storage of computer-executable instructions, data structures, program modules, and other data for the computer. Although the exemplary environment described herein employs a magnetic hard disk, a removable magnetic disk, removable optical disks, other types of computer readable media for storing data can be used, including magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks (DVDs), Bernoulli cartridges, RAMs, ROMs, and the like.
Computer program code that implements most of the functionality described herein typically comprises one or more program modules may be stored on the hard disk or other storage medium. This program code, as is known to those skilled in the art, usually includes an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data. A user may enter commands and information into the computer through keyboard, pointing device, a script containing computer program code written in a scripting language or other input devices (not shown), such as a microphone, etc. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit through known electrical, optical, or wireless connections.
The main computer that effects many aspects of the present disclosure will typically operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers or data sources, which are described further below. Remote computers may be another personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, and typically include many or all of the elements described above relative to the main computer system in which aspects of the present disclosure are embodied. The logical connections between computers include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), and wireless LANs (WLAN) that are presented here by way of example and not limitation. Such networking environments are commonplace in office-wide or enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets and the Internet.
When used in a LAN or WLAN networking environment, the main computer system implementing aspects of the present disclosure is connected to the local network through a network interface or adapter. When used in a WAN or WLAN networking environment, the computer may include a modem, a wireless link, or other means for establishing communications over the wide area network, such as the Internet. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computer, or portions thereof, may be stored in a remote memory storage device. It will be appreciated that the network connections described or shown are exemplary and other means of establishing communications over wide area networks or the Internet may be used.
In view of the foregoing detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, it readily will be understood by those persons skilled in the art that the present disclosure is susceptible to broad utility and application. While various aspects have been described in the context of a preferred embodiment, additional aspects, features, and methodologies of the present disclosure will be readily discernable from the description herein, by those of ordinary skill in the art. Many embodiments and adaptations of the present disclosure other than those herein described, as well as many variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements and methodologies, will be apparent from or reasonably suggested by the present disclosure and the foregoing description thereof, without departing from the substance or scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, any sequence(s) and/or temporal order of steps of various processes described and claimed herein are those considered to be the best mode contemplated for carrying out the present disclosure. It should also be understood that, although steps of various processes may be shown and described as being in a preferred sequence or temporal order, the steps of any such processes are not limited to being carried out in any particular sequence or order, absent a specific indication of such to achieve a particular intended result. In most cases, the steps of such processes may be carried out in a variety of different sequences and orders, while still falling within the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, some steps may be carried out simultaneously.
Accordingly, while the present disclosure has been described herein in detail in relation to preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary of the present disclosure and is made merely for purposes of providing a full and enabling disclosure. The foregoing disclosure is not intended nor is to be construed to limit the present disclosure or otherwise to exclude any such other embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements, the present disclosure being limited only by the claims appended hereto and the equivalents thereof.
Claims
1. A method for conducting an online game via an Online Gaming System (OGS) involving a plurality of participants that participate in the online game via software operating on respective electronic devices of the plurality of participants, wherein the online game corresponds to a physical event happening in real-time, and wherein participants of the online game are associated with a specific geographic location, comprising the steps of:
- receiving game-related information at the OGS corresponding to one or more characteristics that define a particular online game, wherein the game-related information includes location information defining a particular geographic location associated with the particular online game;
- generating an entry in an OGS database for the particular online game based on the received game-related information, and storing the received game-related information in the OGS database in association with the entry for the particular online game;
- receiving participant information at the OGS from one or more participants indicating an interest by the one or more participants in participating in the particular online game, wherein the participant information includes participant location information corresponding to a specific geographic location of an electronic device associated with each respective participant;
- determining if the participant location information for each respective participant satisfies the location information defining the particular geographic location associated with the particular online game;
- for each participant whose participant location information satisfies the location information defining the particular geographic location associated with the particular online game, associating the participant information for each respective participant with the entry in the OGS database for the particular online game; and
- initiating the particular online game via the OGS involving each participant associated with the particular online game.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the game-related information is defined by an administrator of the particular online game.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the game-related information is generated automatically by the OGS based on pre-stored game-related information.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more characteristics that define the particular online game are selected from the group comprising: game type, game name, game duration, physical event type, particular physical event, participant information, settings, scoring settings, game questions, game answers.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic devices associated with participants are selected from the group comprising: mobile devices, cellular phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), computers, tablet computers.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the location information defining the particular geographic location associated with the particular online game comprises information defining a geographic boundary within which participants must be physically located to participate in the particular online game.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the location information defining the particular geographic location associated with the particular online game comprises one or more of the following: latitude and longitude coordinates, zip code information, neighborhood information, city information, state information, information relating to venues, information relating to arenas, information relating to restaurants, information relating to retail establishments, geographic area information, information defining a radii around a geographic location.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the participant location information comprises latitude and longitude coordinates.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the participant location information is received from one or more of the following: a wireless carrier, a global positioning system (GPS), a satellite triangulation system, a location-based service (LBS) provider, a social media check-in feature.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the physical event is selected from the group comprising: a sporting event, sporting events, an entertainment event, a television broadcast, an awards show, a political event, a newsworthy event.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular online game comprises one or more questions and answers that relate to the physical event happening in real-time.
12. A method for conducting an online game via an Online Gaming System (OGS) involving a plurality of participants that participate in the online game via software operating on respective electronic devices of the plurality of participants, wherein the online game corresponds to a physical event happening in real-time, comprising the steps of:
- receiving an indication at the OGS during a particular online game for an in-game question corresponding to a particular physical event to be presented to participants of the particular online game as the particular online game is happening;
- retrieving question information corresponding to specifics of the in-game question;
- displaying the in-game question to the participants of the particular online game based on the question information;
- receiving answer information at the OGS from the participants of the particular online game indicating answer selections to the in-game question by the participants;
- storing the received answer information from each respective participant in an OGS database corresponding to each respective participant;
- receiving live event information corresponding to the particular physical event occurring in real-time; and
- generating a ranking of the participants of the particular online game based on the answer information and the live event information, and displaying the ranking to the participants during the particular online game.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the indication comprises satisfaction of one or more predefined rules associated with activities occurring with respect to the particular physical event.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein the indication comprises a question submitted to the OGS by one of the participants of the particular online game.
15. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of retrieving question information corresponding to specifics of the in-game question comprises retrieving predefined question information from the OGS database.
16. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of retrieving question information corresponding to specifics of the in-game question comprises receiving question information from a participant of the particular online game.
17. The method of claim 12, wherein the live event information comprises information corresponding to one or more activities occurring with respect to the particular physical event.
18. The method of claim 12, wherein the electronic devices associated with participants are selected from the group comprising: mobile devices, cellular phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), computers, tablet computers.
19. The method of claim 12, wherein the particular physical event is selected from the group comprising: a sporting event, sporting events, an entertainment event, a television broadcast, an awards show, a political event, a newsworthy event.
20. The method of claim 12 wherein the particular online game comprises one or more questions and answers that relate to the particular physical event happening in real-time.
21. The method of claim 12, further comprising the steps of:
- retrieving historical information relating to aspects associated with the particular physical event;
- generating predictive information corresponding to one or more answers associated with the in-game question; and
- displaying the predictive information in conjunction with the in-game question to the participants of the particular online game.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 1, 2011
Publication Date: Jun 7, 2012
Applicant: TAKTAK LABS, LLC (Atlanta, GA)
Inventors: Chris L. Wilson (Atlanta, GA), William DuPont (Atlanta, GA), Christopher Adams (Holly Springs, GA), Gregory Haygood (Smyrna, GA), Matthew R. Ledom (Decatur, GA)
Application Number: 13/309,237
International Classification: A63F 9/24 (20060101);