IP Library Granted Patent US 10,682,571
Granted Patent B2
US 10,682,571 · App. 16/156,443 · Granted Jun 16, 2020

Systems and methods of automatic game creation

Inventors: Abhinav Agrawal (San Francisco, CA); Adam Ja Ming Yim (San Francisco, CA); Kohta Aoki Wajima (San Francisco, CA)
Assignee: Zynga Inc.
A63F13/30A63F13/63A63F13/795
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,682,571
App. No.
16/156,443
Granted
Jun 16, 2020
Kind
B2
Abstract

A system, machine-readable storage medium storing at least one program, and a computer-implemented method for automatic game creation are presented. An access module can access player information for a receiver and an originator. Additionally, a matching module can determine that the receiver and the originator have a connection based on the player information. Furthermore, a game invitation module can detect that a recipient game is installed on an originator device of the originator and that the recipient game is not installed on a receiver device of the receiver. Subsequently, the game invitation module can send, to the receiver device, a game invitation to play the recipient game based on the determination and the detection, with the game invitation including information associated with the originator.

Claims (46)

1. A method comprising:

at a game server; accessing player information for players of a set of computer-implemented online games, the players including an originating player having an associated client device on which is installed a client game application executable to enable playing of a target game using the client device;

based on predefined connection criteria applied to the player information, identifying a target player who satisfies the connection criteria with respect to the originating player;

establishing that the client game application for the target game is not installed on a client device associated with the target player; and

responsive to and conditional upon establishing that the client game application for the target game is not installed on the client device of the target player, automatically sending from the game server to the client device of the target player a game invitation that invites the target player to play the target game by installing a client game application therefor on the client device of the target player, the game invitation including information about the originating player.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the connection criteria comprises that the target player and the originating player have played each other in an other game, the other game being different from the target game.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

quantifying a number of game instances of the other game that the target player has played over a predefined period of time; and

wherein the sending of the game invitation is further conditional upon the number of game instances exceeding a predetermined threshold.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the predetermined threshold is for the number of game instances is one game instance in a week.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein game server sends the game invitation to the target player on behalf of the originating player.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the game invitation includes a selectable link to an application store to download the client game application for the target game.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a request from the target player to play the target game; and

initiating a game instance of the target game between the originating player and the target player based on the received request.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the initiation of the game instance includes causing presentation of the game instance on a display of the target player client device.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the request is generated based on a notification from an application store that the client game application for the target game has been installed on the client device of the target player.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining a number of game instances of the target game currently being played on the client device of the originating player; and

wherein the sending of the game invitation is further conditional upon the determined number of game instances being lower than a predetermined threshold.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining a number of game invitations having been sent to the client device of the target player over a predetermined amount of time; and

wherein the sending of the game invitation is further conditional upon the determined number of game invitations being below a predetermined threshold.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining a target game status of the originating player, the target game status corresponding to a time frame for a recent game instance of the target game; and

wherein the sending of the game invitation is further based upon the determined recipient game status of the originating player.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the connection criteria comprises that the target player and the originating player are connected in a social network.

14. A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, configure the system to perform operations comprising:

at a game server, accessing player information for players of a set of computer-implemented online games, the players including an originating player having an associated client device on which is installed a client game application executable to enable playing of a target game using the client device;

based on predefined connection criteria applied to the player information, identifying a target player who satisfies the connection criteria with respect to the originating player;

establishing that the client game application for the target game is not installed on a client device associated with the target player; and

responsive to and conditional upon establishing that the client game application for the target game is not installed on the client device of the target player, automatically sending from the game server to the client device of the target player a game invitation that invites the target player to play the target game by installing the client game application therefor on the client device of the target player, the game invitation including information about the originating player.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein, the connection criteria comprise that the target player and the originating player have played each other in an other game, the other game being different from the target game.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further configure the apparatus to:

quantify a number of game instances of the other game that the target player has played over a predefined period of time; and

wherein the sending of the game invitation is further conditional upon the number of game instances exceeding a predetermined threshold.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the predetermined threshold is for the number of game instances is one game instance in a week.

18. The system of claim 14 , wherein the game invitation includes a selectable link to an application store to download the client game application for the target game.

19. The system of claim 14 , wherein the connection criteria comprise that the target player and the originating player are connected in a social network.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium including instructions that when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform operations comprising:

at a game server, accessing player information for players of a set of computer-implemented online games; the players including an originating player having an associated client device on which is installed a client game application executable to enable playing of a target game using the client device;

based on predefined connection criteria applied to the player information, identifying a target player who satisfies the connection criteria with respect to the originating player;

establishing that the client game application for the target game is not installed on a client device associated with the target player; and

responsive to and conditional upon establishing that the client game application for the target game is not installed on the client device of the target player, automatically sending from the game server to the client device of the target player a game invitation that invites the target player to play the target game by installing the client game application therefor on the client device of the target player, the game invitation including information about the originating player.

Assignments (5)
TERMINATION AND RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS Recorded May 23, 2022
From: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
To: ZYNGA INC.
Reel/Frame 060163/0437 →
NOTICE OF GRANT OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS Recorded Dec 14, 2020
From: ZYNGA INC.
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 054719/0490 →
TERMINATION AND RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS Recorded Dec 11, 2020
From: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS LENDER
To: ZYNGA INC.
Reel/Frame 054701/0393 →
NOTICE OF GRANT OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS Recorded Dec 21, 2018
From: ZYNGA INC.
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS LENDER
Reel/Frame 049147/0546 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 9, 2018
From: AGRAWAL, ABHINAV; YIM, ADAM JA MING; WAJIMA, KOHTA AOKI
To: ZYNGA INC.
Reel/Frame 047463/0813 →