Inventory placement

Abstract

A system and method for integrating inventory into a gaming environment is provided, wherein the method includes generating cell inventory for integration into the gaming environment, generating content cells within the gaming environment, wherein the content cells are configured to contain the cell inventory, integrating the cell inventory into the gaming environment via the content cells and analyzing the integration of at least one of the cell inventory and the content cell to determine if the integration of the cell inventory into the gaming environment is functioning within predefined parameters.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure relates generally to in-game advertising and more particularly to a method for placing advertising inventory into a gaming environment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As the placement of realistic advertisements in video games become more popular and acceptable in the gaming community, more and more video game publishers are beginning to utilize video game advertisements as a viable source of revenue. When placing advertisements into a gaming environment, it is important that no disruption or change in game play occur and that the advertisements are not obtrusive and do not obscure the gaming environment. Currently, most video games that employ realistic advertisements typically utilize static advertising techniques that involve placing each advertisement in the game as permanent textures (for example, hard coded) throughout the gaming environment. As such, advertising content and/or the location of the advertising content in the gaming environment cannot change or move and other advertisements cannot take its place. Thus, although there may be multiple advertisements in one game, each advertisement is fixed and is presented only at the location it has been hard-coded into for that game. This is undesirable because the advertiser 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 gamers or groups of gamers. These dynamic advertising techniques allow multiple advertisements from different sources (i.e. advertisers) to be rotated through the same advertisement space during game play. These dynamic advertising techniques allow for different content types, such as Billboard, Logo, Video, Audio and Beacons, to be used to display a variety of 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. Whereas, 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.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method for integrating inventory into a gaming environment is provided and includes generating cell inventory for integration into the gaming environment; generating content cells within the gaming environment, wherein the content cells are configured to contain the cell inventory; integrating the cell inventory into the gaming environment via the content cells; and analyzing the integration of at least one of the cell inventory and the content cell to determine if the integration of the cell inventory into the gaming environment is functioning within predefined parameters.

A system for implementing a method for integrating inventory into a gaming environment is provided and 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 device for, generating cell inventory for integration into the gaming environment, generating content cells within the gaming environment, wherein the content cells are configured to contain the cell inventory, integrating the cell inventory into the gaming environment via the content cells and analyzing the integration of at least one of the cell inventory and the content cell to determine if the integration of the cell inventory into the gaming environment is functioning within predefined parameters.

A computer readable storage medium having computer executable instructions for implementing a method for integrating inventory into a gaming environment is provided, wherein the method includes generating cell inventory for integration into the gaming environment, generating content cells within the gaming environment, wherein the content cells are configured to contain the cell inventory, integrating the cell inventory into the gaming environment via the content cells and analyzing the integration of at least one of the cell inventory and the content cell to determine if the integration of the cell inventory into the gaming environment is functioning within predefined parameters.

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 block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method for integrating inventory into a gaming environment, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method for generating an inventory for each title, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method for implementing the inventory cells into a game title, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of cell placement change, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a method for performing QA analysis, in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In accordance with the present invention, a method for efficiently delivering quality dynamic advertising is provided, where the method acts to keep the gaming environment fresh while providing additional revenue streams by saving time and maximizing advertising space. In the long run, time is saved because the work to place advertising into the gaming environment is typically performed only once (as with static ads), but then new ads can be placed into the game as desired (for example, on demand) without any changes to the game from that point on. Thus, with quality dynamic advertising, any advertisement space may be used for multiple advertisements, singly or simultaneously, while enhancing the players gaming experience. Although the present invention may be 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 present invention, such as a generic SDK and/or an application specific SDK. Also, the software application may be embedded, in whole or in part.

It should be appreciated that as used herein inventory refers to a cell, and/or a repository of cells, or locations, where advertising content can be placed across one or more games. As such, inventory placement refers to where the cells are placed in the gaming environment to display desired advertisements, wherein the advertising content may be placed in the cells. Accordingly, cells can be thought of simply as an interface between the network and the game world. Thus, a cell may be considered as a container for the advertisement content and may be in the form of any type of data suitable to the desired end purpose, such as freeform data, image data, video data and/or audio data. As such, the advertising content can be loaded into the cell for display (i.e. picture, video and/or audio) or communication (i.e. audio) to a gamer within the gaming environment during game play. It is contemplated that there may be multiple different advertising unit types, such as Audio type, Video type, Billboard type, Logo type and Beacon type, wherein the audio type may refer to audio, video type may refer to video, billboard type may refer to a billboard-like sign, logo type may refer to a poster-like sign, and beacon type may refer to the placement of static ads. Moreover, 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.

In some cases, the proper placement of advertising content is important because the advertising unit type may need to fit naturally within the gaming environment, as well as also be consumable during the normal traffic flow for the zone in which the advertisement is placed, although the invention is not limited to such cases. It should be appreciated that the zone is at least a portion of the game screen in which the advertisement content will appear (if the screen is divided into multiple “displays”, then it is conceivable that multiple zones can be displayed simultaneously). For example, the menu screen may be one zone, the load screen (such as, what's on the screen when the game is being loaded) may be another zone and the in-game gaming environment (i.e. anywhere during game play) may be a third zone. Moreover, it is contemplated that a zone may be definable and may be broken into sub-zones which may or may not have all or some of the characteristics of its ‘parent’ zone.

In order to properly define the cell inventory for the gaming environment, it is contemplated that each cell has at least one predetermined characteristic which can be invoked without being disruptive to the natural game play, such as a duration characteristic which has a predetermined minimum and/or maximum view size and/or view angle for a minimum display time as defined for the advertising unit type placed into each zone of the game.

In accordance with the present invention, 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.

One embodiment of the present invention is described hereinafter and includes application software, such as a Software Development Kit (SDK), which initiates a gaming session by communicating a StartSession request with the server, wherein the server uses the IP address of the connected peer(s) (i.e. the initiator of the gaming session) to lookup a unique location ID associated with the geographical location of the IP address. Once the geographical location of the IP address is identified, the latitude/longitude position(s) of the geographical location of the IP address can be mapped to unique location IDs to allow an advertiser to target media to a specific market(s). It should be appreciated that this dynamic market assignment may be based on one or a plurality of parameters/properties as desired, such as (but not limited to) location ID (based on latitude/longitude of client's IP address), user ID (a unique number associated with each player), application ID (a unique number associated with each game title), business rules logic, predetermined business rules, dynamic market assignment executed by business rules and business rules that may be defined in the application and executed by the location server at each request. For example, a request in this context may be a software call for an assignment to a content server.

Referring to FIG. 3, a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method 300 for integrating inventory into a gaming environment is provided and includes generating cell inventory, as shown in operational block 302. Cells are generated and the cell inventory is integrated into the gaming environment using the generated cells, as shown in operational block 304. A quality assurance analysis is then conducted, as shown in operational block 306. This is performed to verify that the integration of cell inventory into the gaming environment is functioning as desired. In accordance with the present invention, each of the above elements is described in greater detail hereinafter.

Referring to FIG. 4, a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method 400 for generating an inventory is shown, in accordance with the present invention. The method 400 includes identifying the available zones within the gaming environment and determining at least one actual location of each cell within the available zones that are planned to contain advertising content or tracking information, as shown in operational block 402. Typically, the actual location of each cell is determined using level maps and/or screen shots, but any method suitable for determining the actual cell location can be used. The method 400 also includes defining the advertising content type for each cell and/or placing the advertising content into the identified cell locations, as shown in operational block 404. It should be appreciated that different venues for defining an advertising content type may be supported by the present invention as discussed further hereinafter.

For example, one embodiment may involve, during the inventory creation process, identifying the best and/or preferred places in the gaming environment for the advertisement cell or cells to be placed. This may be accomplished using various methods and/or parameters as desired, such as preference, exposure time of cell, angle of deflection, etc. Once the desired advertisement location is identified, a mock-up using screenshots from the game, overlaid with advertisement cell placements (which m ay be corrected for perspective, size and advertisement ratio) can be generated to give a realistic visual sample of what the advertisements might look like during game play. Depending on the game (e.g. game type), the areas that will have the most impact with the player and/or with the impression may be selected. For instance, in a racing title game, a hairpin turn may be selected because the player is naturally forced to slow down and/or direct their attention to a specific area, or in a First-Person Shooter game, an area near spawn points or choke points on the maps may be selected because that is where there would naturally be lots of action. In other instances, proper and/or best placement of the advertisement may be more challenging, such as for instance a Fantasy-based MMO (massively multi-player online) or a Flash-based web game with simple graphics and may rely on common psychological consistencies of gamers (i.e. for example, to look in a specific direction if sound is emanating from the direction). In these or other circumstances the advertisements may be placed on the menus and/or loading screens. As such, the best or preferred placement of the advertisement may be based on a variety of factors as desired, such as personal choice or on a case-by-case basis as desired using parameters developed using knowledge of the industry, the games in general and/or real life.

In accordance with the invention, the method 400 may further include creating cell (inventory) definitions for the gaming system, as shown in operational block 406. One way this may be accomplished is by generating desired information/parameters. For example, identifiers that include a descriptive field used to best define each cell being used for advertisement content or tracking may be generated. Moreover, zones may be defined as desired, such as (but not limited to) Load Screen, Menu Screen, Lobby Screen, Interstitial, In-Game Environment, In-Game HUD and/or E-mail. Advertisement types may also be defined, where the advertisement type for each identified cell throughout the entire game may be selected and/or used to identify the correct or desired venues for advertisement placement into the gaming environment(s). Furthermore, an aspect ratio may be defined and/or selected from the standard ratios available that best fit the gaming environment and a format may be defined and/or selected from the standard formats available for billboard and logos (such as, but not limited to BMP, JPG, DDS and PNG), for Videos (such as BINK, MPG, and AVI) and for Audio (such as MP3 and WAV). Additionally, cell categories may be selected and may be assigned a default cell category.

It should be appreciated that a cell may also act as a place holder that is defined by one or more parameters as desired, such as an ID number, its aspect ratio (such as, ratio of width to height), its advertising unit type (such as, billboard, logo, video, audio, beacon) and/or its format (such as, BMP, PNG, JPG, etc.). For example, consider the situation where a cell is defined as “cell ID 123” having a billboard advertising unit type with a BMP format and an aspect ratio of 8×1. These parameters may be used to match cell type to content type and/or ensure the pieces of content display and/or track properly. Additionally, a zone may be a location in the game where an advertisement goes (such as a menu screen or a lobby) and may be identified by a zone ID. Moreover, other identifiers may be used to identify a content type to the application software and/or the database. These parameters can identify and/or define supported formats which allow game titles to be compatible with most current advertising standards across all game titles. This aids in maximizing the advertisement space available and/or enables revenue generating advertisement content to be posted across a variety of integrated game titles.

When the inventory for each title has been generated, implementation of the inventory cells into the game may be accomplished. Referring to FIG. 5, a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method 500 for implementing the inventory cells into a game title is shown. In accordance with the invention method 500 includes integrating each target inventory cell into the gaming environment, as shown in operational block 502, and may be accomplished via a level map and/or a screen shot. The placement of each cell is tested for a ‘natural fit’ into the game and/or the impression reporting from the cell may be evaluated, as shown in operational block 504. This may be accomplished by comparing the characteristics of each cell with a comparable ‘real world’ situation and/or expectation and adjusting the cell characteristics accordingly, wherein the cell placement may be changed to match the level map, the screen shot and/or any other parameter(s), as desired. It should be appreciated that this process may be repeated as necessary until the desired/required results are achieved for each cell identified for the inventory. For example, based on impression performance and/or the “natural fit,” cell placement may be adjusted for the “best game fit” while achieving desired advertising performance goals. As such, the process for adjusting the cell may include 1) implementing the cell, evaluating the cell, assessing the cell for fit into the gaming environment, the feel and/or performance of the cell, adjusting the cell base on the prior steps and/or repeating the prior steps until the desired result is achieved.

Referring to FIG. 6, one embodiment of cell placement change is shown. In this case, the cells 600 may reside in a database 602 and then may be copied to a cache file 604, where the cache file 604 is typically on the user's PC but may reside elsewhere, such as remotely and/or locally. The cells 600 may then be transmitted to the game software/SDK 606 as needed, wherein this may continue throughout the game play with the cells being sent to the game software as needed and/or as desired.

The method 500 further includes generating an impression report, as shown in operational block 506, where an impression report is typically a record of a viewing of advertising content which was on screen within all of its boundary conditions based on the cells defined advertising unit type and may be used to measure the number of quality impressions being generated. An impression report may be generated based upon at least one characteristic of a valid viewing of a given advertisement content, where the characteristic may be based on various factors as desired, such as quality (perceived, observed and/or calculated), quantity, game environment, enhancement of players experience, etc. For example, the top game performance may yield a certain number of quality impressions per hour per user, wherein a lower number of quality impressions per hour per user may not be very productive and a higher number of quality impressions per hour per user may begin to saturate the target market (e.g. the regions or target audience the advertisements are aimed at) and effectively reduce the value of the impressions. Accordingly, cells may be integrated into the game space as desired to achieve desired results based on the above. For example, cells may be integrated into the gaming environment to achieve an average view size, angle and/or duration which may meet or exceed predefined boundary conditions established for that given advertising unit type while still ensuring that the ad placement replicates real world environment conditions.

The present invention may also include performing QA analysis to ensure that the integration of cell inventory into the gaming environment is functioning as desired. Referring to FIG. 7, a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method 700 for performing QA analysis is shown, in accordance with the invention. The method 700 includes verifying basic application data functionality for the Application ID, Zones, Content Types, Correct Content and/or Impression Reporting, as shown in operational block 702. For example, the game may be checked for proper basic software application functionality (i.e. that calls are made correctly) to ensure that 1) advertising content is received and/or placed properly into a local cache file, 2) advertising content is pulled based on its biased-random weighting from the local cache file and/or is properly place into the defined cell for game play, and/or 3) advertising content is properly tracked while on screen within its boundary conditions. An impression may be generated based upon the satisfaction of desired parameters such as when advertising content is on screen within all of its boundary conditions based on the cells predefined advertising unit type and then goes outside of its boundary condition(s).

The method 700 further includes verifying that each of the defined cell metrics are correct, as shown in operational block 704. For example, this may include verifying that the impressions are being reported correctly, verifying that each defined cell correctly reads key-values and/or thresholds and/or verifying that each defined cell passes border condition tests for content thresholds. It should be appreciated that key-values and thresholds may be predetermined parameters that are associated with each cell definition to determine/define the boundary conditions for the cell based upon a characteristic of that cell. Additionally, the border condition tests may include tests which validate the game operation and/or the application software, track the content ID, track zone ID, track content type, track which elements respond correctly to activate & expire dates and/or track times, per user view limit and display after settings, as well as tracking and/or reporting of impressions if within predetermined boundary conditions, such as MinSize, MaxSize, Deflection and/or MinTime on screen.

Additionally, the method 700 may include verifying title inventory statistics, as shown in operational block 706, such as whether each defined cell picks up and/or displays the correct content and/or whether each defined cell will prevent the display of incorrect content. It is contemplated that the game may continue to work with no content and/or incorrect content available for each defined cell. It should be appreciated that the QA process may be accomplished using various approaches as desired, such as by monitoring some or all network calls made from the game to validate proper implementation, tracking each cell and/or all of the defined parameters against predefined boundary conditions, validating the local cache file for content and/or impressions on the platform, etc. This data may then be compared and/or validated against known content and/or what impressions are being reported.

It should be appreciated that the method of the present invention may 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 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 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 integrating inventory into a gaming environment, comprising: generating cell inventory for integration into the gaming environment;generating content cells within the gaming environment, wherein the content cells are configured to contain the cell inventory;integrating the cell inventory into the gaming environment via the content cells; andanalyzing the integration of at least one of the cell inventory and the content cell to determine if the integration of the cell inventory into the gaming environment is functioning within predefined parameters.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the cell inventory includes, identifying available zones;planning number of cells to be integrated into the gaming environment; anddetermining a location for each planned cell within the gaming environment.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the cell inventory further includes, identifying the content for each content cell; anddefining the content type of the content for each content cell.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the content cells include, integrating the content cell into the gaming environment at a predetermined location within the gaming environment.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the content cells includes creating cell definitions, wherein the cell definitions include at least one of cell information and cell parameters.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein integrating the cell inventory into the gaming environment includes integrating at least a portion of the cell inventory into at least one content cell.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein integrating the cell inventory into the gaming environment includes analyzing the placement of each content cell within the gaming environment to assess at least one content cell characteristic.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein integrating the cell inventory into the gaming environment includes generating an impression report.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the integration includes analyzing at least one of the content cell and the content inventory to verify application data functionality.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the integration includes verifying that predefined metrics for each content cell are correct.

11. A system for implementing a method for integrating inventory into a gaming environment, 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,generating cell inventory for integration into the gaming environment;generating content cells within the gaming environment, wherein the content cells are configured to contain the cell inventory;integrating the cell inventory into the gaming environment via the content cells; andanalyzing the integration of at least one of the cell inventory and the content cell to determine if the integration of the cell inventory into the gaming environment is functioning within predefined parameters.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein generating the cell inventory includes, identifying available zones;planning number of cells to be integrated into the gaming environment; anddetermining a location for each planned cell within the gaming environment.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein generating the cell inventory further includes, identifying the content for each content cell; anddefining the content type of the content for each content cell.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein generating the content cells include, integrating the content cell into the gaming environment at a predetermined location within the gaming environment.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein generating the content cells includes creating cell definitions, wherein the cell definitions include at least one of cell information and cell parameters.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein integrating the cell inventory into the gaming environment includes integrating at least a portion of the cell inventory into at least one content cell.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein integrating the cell inventory into the gaming environment includes analyzing the placement of each content cell within the gaming environment to assess at least one content cell characteristic.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein integrating the cell inventory into the gaming environment includes generating an impression report.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein analyzing the integration includes analyzing at least one of the content cell and the content inventory to verify application data functionality; andverifying that predefined metrics for each content cell are correct.

20. A computer readable storage medium having computer executable instructions for implementing a method for integrating inventory into a gaming environment, the method comprising: generating cell inventory for integration into the gaming environment;generating content cells within the gaming environment, wherein the content cells are configured to contain the cell inventory;integrating the cell inventory into the gaming environment via the content cells; andanalyzing the integration of at least one of the cell inventory and the content cell to determine if the integration of the cell inventory into the gaming environment is functioning within predefined parameters.