Method of managing multi-player game playing over a network
US5695400A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 30, 1996 |
| Grant date | Dec 9, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 30, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA63F2300/537
- WIPO fieldFurniture, games
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
A method of managing user inputs and displaying outputs in a multi-player game that is played on a plurality of terminals on a network in a manner that compensates for differences in network latency among different terminals. The method includes: (a) transmitting a representation of a game challenge such as a trivia question to the terminals via the network; (b) receiving a game response signal such as a "buzz-in" from two or more of the terminals; (c) assigning each responding terminal a priority rank according to a characteristic of their respective game response signal, e.g., elapsed time since receipt of the game challenge; (d) determining which responding terminal has the highest rank; and (e) sending signals to the responding terminals assigning them respective degrees of control of the game, e.g., the right to take a turn, in accordance with their respective ranks.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.