Multi-player game system

• Main Author: Tanskanen, Erkki
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 16.11.2004

Video game are a popular entertainment activity that players can engage in through the use of a dedicated video game console or a personal computer. Game consoles and personal computers can be used to receive input from an attached game pad, keyboard, joystick or other game controller, process video game software, and display video game images on a connected television or monitor. Video game consoles and personal computers also can be used for multi-player games. Multi-player games typically require each player to use different game controllers attached to the same game console or computer. Multi-player game systems can also be implemented using game consoles or computers that send data to each other over a network or modem connection. In these multi-player systems, each of the multiple players are required to have compatible local video game consoles and/or home computer, and local copies of particular game software to play games with each other. Multi-player video games may, however, be more conveniently provided to players by a system in which the players do not require local game consoles, home computers, or other specialized devices. A multi-player video game server includes a player control interface, a video interface, and a game engine. The player interface couples the game server to a network and can receive game control data over the network from multiple players. Each player has a game control device at which game control data can be input. The video interface couples the game server to a video transmission network and transmits game display video over the video transmission network. The game engine is coupled to the player interface and the video interface and includes a processor and a memory. The memory stores multi-player video game instructions that configure the processor to process game control data and render the game display video that is then provided to the video interface for transmission over a video network. A multi-player video gaming method includes receiving a number of player input data connections at a game server. Each of the game control data stream includes player input data from a different player of a multi-player video game. An output display image is generated at the game server by executing video game instructions to process the player input data connections from the multiple players as inputs to the same multi-player game. The output display image is then transmitted over a channel of a video transmission network.