Data flow control

Abstract

A system and method for managing content data in a gaming environment to control the flow of information is provided wherein the method includes initiating a game configured to receive content data from at least one of a plurality of content servers, identifying at least one preferred content server from the plurality of content servers, operating the game to receive the content data from the at least one preferred content server, associating the content data with a content map based upon at least one characteristic, monitoring the content map to identify changed content data and adjusting content data based upon the changed content data.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure relates generally to the transfer of information and more particularly to a method for controlling the transfer of information over a network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As the placement of realistic advertisements in video games becomes more popular and acceptable in the gaming community, more and more video games are beginning to utilize video game advertisements as a viable source of revenue. Currently, most video games that employ realistic advertisements typically utilize a static advertising technique that involves placing each advertisement in one site throughout game play. As such, the location of the advertisement cannot change or move and other advertisements cannot take its place. Thus, although there may be multiple advertisements in one game, each advertisement can only occupy a single location throughout the entire game. This is undesirable because it lacks the ability to maximize the effect of the advertisement on the gamer.

One way to increase the effectiveness of the advertisement on the gamer is to utilize real-time dynamic advertising techniques which allow for the targeting of advertisements to specific garners or groups of gamers. These dynamic advertising techniques allow multiple advertisements from different advertisers to be rotated through the same site during game play. Moreover, these dynamic advertising techniques allow for different content types, such as Billboard, Logo, Video, Audio and Beacons, to be used to display advertisements to the gamer. Each of these content types is capable of receiving and displaying multiple advertisements throughout the game for display to the gamer. For example, a racing game may have a billboard display advertising one product as the racing car goes around the curve and passes the billboard. However, subsequent times the race car goes around the curve and passes the billboard, entirely different advertisements may be displayed. Thus, dynamic advertising not only enhances the reality of the game's content, it maximizes the revenue generating capability of the software product by generating multiple revenue streams, as opposed to one revenue stream generated using static advertising techniques.

Unfortunately however, currents methods of data flow control don't allow the flow of content and impression data to be dynamically modified or adjusted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method for managing content data in a gaming environment to control the flow of information is provided and includes initiating a game which is configured to receive content data from at least one of a plurality of content servers, identifying at least one preferred content server from the plurality of content servers, operating the game to receive the content data from the at least one preferred content server, associating the content data with a content map based upon at least one characteristic, monitoring the content map to identify changed content data and adjusting content data based upon the changed content data.

A system for implementing a method for managing content data in a gaming environment to control the flow of information is provided, wherein the system includes a network having a database and a gaming device connected to the network and configured to operate in a gaming environment, wherein at least one of the gaming device and the network includes a means for, initiating a game which is configured to receive content data from at least one of a plurality of content servers, identifying at least one preferred content server from the plurality of content servers, operating the game to receive the content data from the at least one preferred content server, associating the content data with a content map based upon at least one characteristic, monitoring the content map to identify changed content data and adjusting content data based upon the changed content data.

A computer readable storage medium having computer executable instructions for implementing a method for managing content data in a gaming environment to control the flow of information is provided, wherein the method includes initiating a game which is configured to receive content data from at least one of a plurality of content servers; identifying at least one preferred content server from the plurality of content servers, operating the game to receive the content data from the at least one preferred content server, associating the content data with a content map based upon at least one characteristic, monitoring the content map to identify changed content data and adjusting content data based upon the changed content data.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures in which like elements are numbered alike:

FIG. 1 is a high level schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a gaming system, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a lower level schematic block diagram illustrating the integration server of the embodiment of the gaming system of FIG. 1, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a network having a near real-time feedback system, in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4A is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method for managing content data;

FIG. 4B is a block diagram illustrating the method of FIG. 4A; and

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method for controlling the flow of information over a network, in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should be appreciated that the present invention allows for an efficient flow of content and impression data due to a real-time (or near real-time) feedback approach that allows for the monitoring and adjustment of performance using predetermined data, as well as trend and forecasting analysis. Although the invention is discussed herein in terms of a Software Development Kit (SDK), it should be appreciated that any type and/or configuration of application software may be used to practice the method of present invention. Moreover, the application software may be implemented via any type or configuration of software suitable to the desired end purpose, such as a generic SDK and/or an application specific SDK, where the software application may or may not be embedded, in whole or in part. Furthermore, it is contemplated that any type of advertising content may be implemented with the invention, including but not limited to 3-Dimensional and/or holographic content.

It should be appreciated that although the concepts as discussed herein are discussed with regards to a gaming environment as follows, any type of gaming environment or configuration may be used. Referring to FIG. 1, one embodiment of a gaming system 10 for implementing the method of the invention showing the connectivity between the elements is shown and includes a user gaming device 20 having gaming software 30 and application software (SDK) 40, a gaming server 50 (optional) and an integration server 60 which includes advertiser information 70. In accordance with the present invention, a gaming server is optional and the game may be wholly or partially implemented via one or more computer(s) and/or gaming device(s) as desired. During gameplay, the gaming software 30 communicates with the gaming server 50 (optional) to facilitate the gameplay and the SDK 40 communicates with the integration server 60 to facilitate the integration of advertising content. Referring to FIG. 2, a lower level block diagram illustrating the elements of the integration server 60. As shown, the interaction within the integration server 60 is illustrated by a first set of arrows 75 which represents the flow of impressions through the integration server 60, a second set of arrows 80 which represents the flow of advertising content through the integration server 60 and a third set of arrows 85 which represents the flow of control messages (i.e. figuring out a user location, start session message, etc.) through the integration server 60.

Referring to FIG. 3, a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a network 100 having a near real-time feedback capability in accordance with the invention is shown and includes a web server 104 which receives content data 102 and communicates the received content data to a database 106 for storage. The network 100 includes application software 110, such as a Software Development Kit (SDK), that is communicated with an application server 108, wherein the application software 110 is typically located on a game players gaming device (for example, integrated into the game software), but may be located in any location suitable to the desired end purpose. The application server 108 manages the content data requests from the application software 110, wherein the application software 110 requests the list of cells and/or the list of content data, provides the content data to the game, provides services for tracking impression views and/or collects impression data from the gaming software. It should be appreciated that a content data request may include a request for any type of data. The content data and/or impression data is then provided to a collection server 112 which receives and processes the content data and/or impression data. It should be appreciated that the content data and/or impression data may be processed for efficient transmission between system elements as described in U.S. Provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/923,344, the contents of which is included herein in its entirety.

A data warehouse 114 collects, combines and/or exports the processed content data and/or impression data to a server 116 (such as an OLAP server) which provides analytic services for putting the content data and/or impression data into reports, where the analytic services may include any information involving the content data and/or impression data, i.e. impressions, server, statistics, etc. It is contemplated that other servers or programs may be used in place of an OLAP server, such as Excel®, Access®, etc. In accordance with the invention, a feedback loop is implemented to allow the data warehouse 114 to monitor the insertion of impression data into the game environment and to adjust content items on the database 106 so that they are delivered more or less frequently to the application server 108 as desired. The data warehouse 114 can also monitor the amount of traffic generated on the network and by means of weighting can lighten the network load. In accordance with the invention, this impression monitoring allows the system to allocate or consolidate resources as desired and/or as necessary to ensure that the system is running as efficiently as possible, for example by adding more computers based on content numbers.

It should be appreciated that the present invention is discussed herein in terms of managing content data and controlling the flow of information in order to aid in the understanding of the invention.

In accordance with the invention, one embodiment of a method 200 for managing content data (albeit not the only embodiment) is discussed herein in terms of an application server 108 and is illustrated as shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B. When a user begins the gaming session by initiating the start of the game, the game software 202 sends out a StartSession call 204 to the login server 206, as shown in operational block 250. The StartSession call 204 starts the users gaming session, logs the user into the gaming server and eventually leads to the user getting content. The StartSession call 204 contains an encrypted Session Key 208, which may include desired information, such as the user ID and the Game Title ID. The login server 206 sends the IP address of the user along with an IP lookup request 210 to the IPLocation server 212, as shown in operational block 252. This causes the IPLocation server 212 to look for the IP address of the ‘best’ (or desired) content server(s) 214 (from a group of content servers 216 although the group of content servers 216 may include only one content server 216) for the user based upon the IP address of the user. Identifying the ‘best’ content server may be accomplished via a variety of ways, including but not limited to matching geographic area, network speed, network load etc.

Once the ‘best’ content server is identified, the IPLocation server 212 sends redirect information 218 back to the login server 206 which sends the redirect information to the application software 220 so that the application software 220 can redirect the user to the identified ‘best’ content server(s) 214, as shown in operational block 254. This allows the user to connect to the ‘best’ content server for that particular user. Accordingly, the application software 220 then redirects the user to the IP address of the ‘best’ content server(s) 214 as directed by the IPLocation server 212, as shown in operational block 256. The application software 220 sends messages to the identified ‘best’ content server(s) 214 to get further data, such as certificate information and/or content data. The identified ‘best’ content server(s) 214 then sends content data (such as advertising and/or game data) to the application software 220 and/or game 202, as shown in operational block 258.

It should be appreciated that the application software may populate the cache with content data and that for a Beacon type, Billboard type, Logo type, Video type and/or Audio type data, the application software may track the content data as desired, such as for example the ID of the cell, the percentage of the screen the cell occupied, the angle at which the player viewed the cell and/or the ID of the content item that was displayed in the cell. Additionally, the server may communicate with the application software which may send impression data to the server, wherein the server may write the impression data to a file (i.e. the result is impression data in a file). Moreover, it is contemplated that the content may include updates, patches or other types of software (or information) to allow for upgrades, repair, improvements or augmentation of services to the game software, the application software or even other software/hardware/firmware in the system/network or in components of the system/network.

In accordance with the invention, when the data warehouse 114 (such as a collection server) collects, combines and exports the impressions to a server 116 (such as an OLAP server) the server 116 may process the data for future use. One embodiment includes using an OLAP server to feed a forecasting database. In this embodiment, the data warehouse 114 may receive unprocessed (raw) data and process the raw data (i.e. raw data impressions) to generate OLAP data cubes based upon desired information (session cubes, target cubes, total impression cubes, etc), where these data cubes can also contain analytic formulas, such as moving averages, day-to-day growth, average sessions per-user per-hour. The OLAP data cubes (which may be queried in a fashion similar to querying a database) may also be used to handle various tasks, including business needs such as generating desired report, billing, forecasting, and/or system monitoring.

In accordance with the invention, targeted and/or general reports may be generated and used for tracking and/or analyzing data, such as impression data (i.e. OLAP may include a comprehensive matrix). A reporting hierarchy may be established and any dimension of the data may be reported on, such as geographic (country, region and/or city), cell, pricing model, content type, session, title, organization and/or advertising unit. One example of such a report may be a Daily Title Report, which shows (for a single or specified title(s)) the unique (i.e. non-repeating) users and the impressions generated for each day in a specified time period, along with the duration of the advertisement on screen, the size of the advertisement on screen and/or the deflection angle (i.e. the angle at which the content is viewed at in degrees from a predetermined location, such as the center of the screen). That same report may also generate a Daily Title Report for an individual or a group of cells, which may show users and impressions for a desired timer period, such as each day in the specified time period, for each cell viewed (for example, a 1×2 billboard). Still another example may be a report based upon various other desired parameters, such as content type, which may show users and impressions for each day in the specified time period for each content type viewed (for example, a 1×2 billboard in PNG format). Furthermore, there may also be a report that shows the same reports visually, such as in pie charts, graphs, data tables, etc.

Referring to FIG. 5, a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method 300 for controlling the flow of information over a network 100 in accordance with the invention is shown. The method includes receiving a content data item 102, as shown in operational block 302, wherein the content data item 102 may be received/communicated using any method and/or device suitable to the desired end purpose, such as a web-based interface device 104. Once the content data item is received, the content data item is logged into the database 106 and propagated to the appropriate content data map(s) based on desired characteristics, such as its type and targeting properties, as shown in operational block 304. The content map is updated with the new content item and/or monitored for changes in the content map(s), as shown in operational block 306, wherein the content item and/or content map is available for retrieval by the software application (SDK) 110, as shown in operational block 308. As the application generates one or more impressions, each impression is sent back to the system 100 via the impression/collection server 112, which processes the impression and inserts the processed impression into the data warehouse 114, as shown in operational block 310. It should be appreciated that the impressions may be processed to put the impression data into a desired format and/or to identify statistical and/or non-statistical performance and/or operational characteristics. The data warehouse 114 stores the impression data, as shown in operational block 312 and communicates the impression data to the analytics server 116, as shown in operational block 314. In accordance with the invention, the analytics server 116 is used for reporting and forecasting services, wherein the forecasting services allows impression generation to be adjusted as desired so that the content data items may be delivered on a more or less frequent basis and wherein the reporting services allow reports to be generated that show desired data, parameters, such as impressions statistics.

It should be appreciated that the method of the present invention may or may not be embodied, in whole or in part, via software, firmware and/or hardware. Accordingly, the invention may be implemented via any type or configuration of software suitable to the desired end purpose, such as a generic SDK and/or an application specific SDK. Additionally, it should also be appreciated that the method of the present invention may or may not be embodied, in whole or in part, via instruction using training manuals (i.e. text based materials), seminars, classes, and/or any other media suitable to the desired end purpose. Moreover, it should be appreciated that although the method of the present invention may be implemented, in whole or in part, via software, hardware, firmware and/or any combination thereof, it is also contemplated that the method of the present invention may also be implemented, in whole or in part, without the use of software, hardware, firmware and/or any combination thereof. For example, without the full or partial use of any software, hardware and/or firmware and/or with any combination thereof, but rather via instruction using PC based software and/or classroom instruction with text materials (i.e. books, pamphlets, handouts, tapes, optical media, etc.).

Moreover, it should be appreciated that each of the elements of the present invention may be implemented in part, or in whole, in any order suitable to the desired end purpose. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the processing required to practice the method of the present invention, either in whole or in part, may be implemented, wholly or partially, by a controller operating in response to a machine-readable computer program. In order to perform the prescribed functions and desired processing, as well as the computations therefore (e.g. execution control algorithm(s), the control processes prescribed herein, and the like), the controller may include, but not be limited to, a processor(s), computer(s), memory, storage, register(s), timing, interrupt(s), communication interface(s), and input/output signal interface(s), as well as combination comprising at least one of the foregoing. It should also be appreciated that the embodiments disclosed herein are for illustrative purposes only and include only some of the possible embodiments contemplated by the present invention.

Furthermore, the invention may be wholly or partially embodied in the form of a computer system or controller implemented processes. It should be appreciated that any type of computer system (as is well known in the art) and/or gaming system may be used and that the invention may be implemented via any type of network setup, including but not limited to a LAN and/or a WAN (wired or wireless). The invention may also be embodied in the form of computer program code containing instructions embodied in tangible media, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives, and/or any other computer-readable medium, wherein when the computer program code is loaded into and executed by a computer or controller, the computer or controller becomes an apparatus for practicing the invention. The invention can also be embodied in the form of computer program code, for example, whether stored in a storage medium, loaded into and/or executed by a computer or controller, or transmitted over some transmission medium, such as over electrical wiring or cabling, through fiber optics, or via electromagnetic radiation, wherein when the computer program code is loaded into and executed by a computer or a controller, the computer or controller becomes an apparatus for practicing the invention. When implemented on a general-purpose microprocessor the computer program code segments may configure the microprocessor to create specific logic circuits.

While the invention has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, unless specifically stated any use of the terms first, second, etc. do not denote any order or importance, but rather the terms first, second, etc. are used to distinguish one element from another.

Claims

1. A method for managing content data in a gaming environment to control the flow of information, comprising: initiating a game configured to receive content data from at least one of a plurality of content servers;identifying at least one preferred content server from the plurality of content servers;operating the game to receive the content data from the at least one preferred content server;associating the content data with a content map based upon at least one characteristic;monitoring the content map to identify changed content data; andadjusting content data based upon the changed content data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said initiating includes a user logging into a game.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said associating the content data includes logging the content data into a database and propagating the content data to the content map.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said propagating includes propagating said content data based upon a desired characteristic of said content data.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said monitoring includes transferring said content data to a server, wherein said server monitors changes in said content map.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said monitoring includes transferring said content data to a server, wherein said server updates the content map with new content data.

7. A system for implementing a method for managing content data in a gaming environment to control the flow of information, the system comprising: a network having a database; anda gaming device connected to the network and configured to operate in a gaming environment, wherein at least one of the gaming device and the network includes a means for, initiating a game configured to receive content data from at least one of a plurality of content servers;identifying at least one preferred content server from the plurality of content servers;operating the game to receive the content data from the at least one preferred content server;associating the content data with a content map based upon at least one characteristic;monitoring the content map to identify changed content data; andadjusting content data based upon the changed content data.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein said initiating includes a user logging into a game.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein said associating the content data includes logging the content data into a database and propagating the content data to the content map.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said propagating includes propagating said content data based upon a desired characteristic of said content data.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein said monitoring includes transferring said content data to a server, wherein said server monitors changes in said content map.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein said monitoring includes transferring said content data to a server, wherein said server updates the content map with new content data.

13. A computer readable storage medium having computer executable instructions for implementing a method for managing content data in a gaming environment to control the flow of information, the method comprising: initiating a game configured to receive content data from at least one of a plurality of content servers;identifying at least one preferred content server from the plurality of content servers;operating the game to receive the content data from the at least one preferred content server;associating the content data with a content map based upon at least one characteristic;monitoring the content map to identify changed content data; andadjusting content data based upon the changed content data.

14. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein said initiating includes a user logging into a game.

15. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein said associating the content data includes logging the content data into a database and propagating the content data to the content map.

16. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein said propagating includes propagating said content data based upon a desired characteristic of said content data.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein said monitoring includes transferring said content data to a server, wherein said server monitors changes in said content map.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein said monitoring includes transferring said content data to a server, wherein said server updates the content map with new content data.