AND PROMOTION

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

[0001] A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to network-connected computer platforms for generating customized computer games for advertising, marketing and promotion.

BACKGROUND

[0003] The widespread use of the Internet by the masses for personal and business purposes has rendered it an important platform for the presentation of marketing promotions, such as advertising, direct marketing, and publicity, by marketing promoters, merchants, and those others that seek to increase engagement levels of network participants through business to business (B2B), business to consumer (B2C), online to offline (020), group to membership, and government to constituent solutions. The flexibility of the Internet and the increasing power of Internet-connected fixed and mobile devices continually presents new opportunities to present promotions in a form that both serves its promotional purposes, but which is also entertaining or otherwise enjoyable for the recipient. As "platform" businesses continue to disrupt traditional "pipeline" businesses, distribution begins to take on greater importance than production. Digital advertising, promotional and marketing solutions thus have much more significance for firms and their potential success than had been the case in the past wherein "pipeline"- type businesses often competed primarily by optimizing activities in their own value chains.

[0004] For example, it is known in the promotion industry to develop custom computer games dedicated to a particular promotional campaign. Content developers work with software developers to develop computer games that are engaging and enjoyable, and which also convey a promotional message. An advantage of this approach is that the content developer has full control over the form and presentation of the promotional message. When the promotion firm engages the services of an outside software developer, it need not maintain such expertise internally, but may employ such software development services only for the duration of the campaign involving the custom game.

[0005] This traditional approach suffers from certain important drawbacks, however. Since the custom game involved is typically useful only for the particular promotion, the full cost of development and maintenance of the game must be borne ultimately by the individual promoter. The development process is typically lengthy given the need for more highly skilled personnel, consultations and collaboration to achieve a match of the gameplay elements and the desired promotional content, often requiring purpose-driven customization of the gameplay dynamics. If the promotion changes following launch requiring changes to the custom game, further development costs and time expenditures result.

[0006] Nevertheless, computer games remain an effective vehicle for the presentation of promotional and engaging content. The format and structure of computer games enables creativity in the integration and presentation of promotional content in engaging ways across a variety of industries and spheres. There remains, therefore, an ongoing need for more streamlined means and "do it yourself (DIY) techniques to enable the cost-effective and efficient production of customized computer games for promotional purposes, but which overcome some or all of the drawbacks indicated above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached Figures.

[0008] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a system according to embodiments disclosed herein.

[0009] FIG. 2 shows a process diagram of a method according to embodiments disclosed herein.

[0010] FIG. 3 shows a drawing of a user interface of a platform according to embodiments disclosed herein. [0011] FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of relationships between game elements and assets for providing recommendations in game customization selection according to embodiments disclosed herein.

[0012] FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of one embodiment of a system according to embodiments disclosed herein.

[0013] FIG. 6 shows a process diagram of a games, such as an instant win type game where the result is known at the outset, according to embodiments disclosed herein.

[0014] FIG. 7 shows a process diagram of an instant win or any similar win/loss result type implemented on a third party server according to embodiments disclosed herein.

[0015] FIG. 8 shows a process diagram of a survey type game according to embodiments disclosed herein. DESCRIPTION

[0016] The solution disclosed herein provides a network-connected system and method to enable promoters to easily, efficiently and cost-effectively generate customized games containing selected promotional content without the direct involvement of or need to hire additional personnel including but not limited to: a game developer, manager of campaign development, manager of theme development and in-house artist. The system and method provides computerized facilities to the promoter which simplify the process of selecting a game for customization, selecting promotional content for integration in the game, and modifying the game to integrate the selected promotional content without the need for specialized knowledge or experience in game development. This results in reduced overhead and customer support costs for the promoter as well as improved process efficiency, improved speed and partial-automation.

[0017] FIG. 1 shows a system 100 according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The system 100 includes one or more servers 1 10 connected via a network 120, which may be the Internet, via one or more links 125, to provide the facilities described herein. The servers 1 10 may be connected either directly via link 127 or via the network 120 and links 125 to one or more databases 130 to store data and generally to enable the provision of the facilities described herein. The servers 1 10 may be accessed via the network 120 by one or more user devices 140 including for example and without limitation a tablet computer 150, a laptop computer 160, a desktop computer 170, or a smartphone 180. The user devices 140 may be used by one or more users 190, who may be promoters or players of custom games, to access the servers 1 10 via the network 120 in order to access the facilities provided by the servers 1 10. The servers 1 10 and user devices 140 may each have one or more processors, memories, storage devices, displays, input devices, communication interfaces, in order to provide the functionalities described herein. The facilities or access to the facilities may be provided in any suitable way or form, and in some embodiments are provided in the form of one or more websites, software-as-a-service (SaaS), or platform-as-a-service (PaaS).

[0018] One or more of the servers 1 10 comprises at least one processor and at least one computer-readable medium which stores instructions executable by the processor to provide the facilities disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the user devices 140 also comprise at least one processor and at least one computer-readable medium which stores instructions executable by the promoter device 140 to enable, or facilitate, or cooperate with the servers 1 10 to provide the facilities disclosed herein. In some embodiments the user devices 140 download a client application or other locally- executable code from a server 1 10 for execution on the user device 140 to cooperate with a server application executing on the servers 1 10 to provide the facilities. In some embodiments the facilitates are provided by means of and in the form of web services provided on a website access to which is provided by a web server running on the servers 1 10, and user devices 140 execute a web browser to access the website to access the web services.

[0019] The facilities, including a method 200 or process, and a user interface (Ul)

300 of a portal, implemented by the system 100 are shown in FIG's 2 & 3.

[0020] A promoter 202 may use a user device 140 to open a portal web app in order to access the campaign management system (step 204) to access a portal 206 running on game servers 1 10. The promoter 202 may use the portal to select a game from a selection of games presented in a Ul 300 of the portal 206. For example, the Ul 300 may show an icon 302 and a brief description 304 of a currently-selected game. It may also show a number of recommendations 306. The server 1 10 running the portal 206 may request game metadata (step 208) from a game library 210, which may be stored in databases 130 or elsewhere, for example in a network cloud. The game library 210 may return the game metadata (step 212) to the portal 206 for display to the promoter 202 in the Ul 300, including the game icon 302, brief description 304, and recommendations 306 mentioned above. In this respect, the game server 1 10 may perform a step of organizing the game metadata locally (step 214) for presentation to the promoter 202 in the Ul 300. Using the Ul 300 including the organized game metadata, the promoter 202 may select a game (step 216).

[0021] The system 100 may be configured to provide and enable customization of any type of game, including without limitation, action games, adventure games, first- person shooters, arcade games, dance games, educational games, fighting games, maze games, multiplayer games, including massively multiplayer games, music games, party games, pinball games, platform games, puzzle games, racing games, role-playing games, simulation games, sports games, strategy games, board games, card games, casino games, casual games, quiz/trivia games, collection games (such as token collection), sweepstakes/lottery/draw prize games, first number wins games, everybody wins games, odds-based/instant win games, and word games. Within many of the aforementioned categories, the system 100 may also be configured to include adaptive difficulty games whereby for certain skill games, perceived player difficulty may be automatically enhanced or decreased based on complex multi-factor algorithms in order to more closely correspond to a pre-determined win/loss scenario.

[0022] The system 100 may also be configured to operate leader boards for the one or more different games to track scores of players and display them in a ranking format. For any particular game, the system 100 may also be configured to enable the promotor to choose among a number of options with result to the winning conditions of the game, and to enable the promotor to select from among a number of degrees of difficulty in gameplay.

[0023] The game selection is then sent (step 218) to a game server 220 which may be one or more of servers 1 10. The game server 220 may then access (step 222) a production storage 224, which may be one or more of databases 130 or otherwise, such as network cloud storage, to clone default game resources of the game to a custom directory. The production storage 224 may send confirmation of success of the cloning of the default game resources (step 226) to the game server 220, which may send (step 228) the confirmation to the portal 206. The portal 206 may then send a request to the production storage 224 for game descriptor data (step 230), and the requested game descriptor data may be sent by the production storage 224 to the portal 206 (step 232) in response. Based on the received game descriptor data, the portal 206 may then send a request to the production storage 224 for default game resources (step 234), such as images, sounds, text, or any other customizable content, the requested default game resources may be sent by the production storage 224 to the portal 206 in response (step 236).

[0024] Based on the game descriptor data, and the default game resources, the portal 206 may run a game editor with a Ul 300 including icons and descriptions of customizable elements, and the Ul 300 may have a customization section 308 which displays separately the customizable elements. For example, the customizable elements 310 may include a game background 312, a player avatar 314, a sign 316, and a logo 318. The Ul 300 may have a separate section for each customizable element 310, and each such section may include an icon 320 and a description 322 for the customizable element 310. Moreover, the Ul 300 may present a different selection of customizable elements 310 based on type, and may provide controls to select and display the customizable elements 310 of the different types. For example, the types of the customizable elements 310 may include visuals, sounds & music, among others, and the Ul 300 may thus include a visuals button 324 and a sounds & music button 326, or other such controls, in order to access the corresponding customizable elements 310. The Ul 300 may also have a button or other such control to select and adjust game settings 328, to reset all button 330 to reset all customizable elements 310 back to default values, and a save & preview button 332 to save the selected customizations and to preview the customized game. The Ul 300 may also have a control such as a toggle box 334 to enable the presentation and selection of advance options, and may include a help button 336 to access help features.

[0025] Using the Ul 300, the promoter 202 may select a customizable element to customize (step 238). For each of the customizable elements 310, the Ul 300 may include a control such as buttons to customize the element, such as a choose button 338 and a custom button 340. The portal 206 may display options for the asset associated with the customizable element 310, such as recommended and non-recommended assets received from the library 210, and one of these may be chosen by the promoter 202 for the customizable element 310 by means of the choose button 340, or the promoter 202 may upload a custom asset to the portal 206 by means of the custom button 340 (step 240). For example, where the selected game contains a sign 316, the promoter 202 may wish to have a logo 318 associated with the promotion to be displayed on the sign 316 during gameplay. The promoter 202 may thus use the custom button 340 and upload an image containing the logo 318 which will then be displayed in the sign 316 during gameplay. With respect to the other customizable elements 310, the promoter 202 may be content to use the default assets, or some other recommendations presented by the portal 206, and either leave the customizable element 310 unchanged or use the choose button 338 to choose from amongst the recommended assets for that customizable element 310. Certain customizable elements 310 may be optional for gameplay, and in such case the Ul 300 may include radio buttons 342 to enable or disable the particular customizable element 310.

[0026] In order to present the promoter 202 with asset options for the customizable elements 310, such as the recommended assets received from the library 210 as described above, the library 210 may store the library assets in such a way as to relate each library asset to each game and each customizable element so as to encode a suitability of each library asset for each particular combination of library asset, customizable elements, and game. As shown in FIG. 4, each customizable element may have or be associated with metadata which relationally defines the appropriateness of its use in combination with other elements and assets in particular games. In some embodiments, the metadata includes tags which identify the games in which use of the element is appropriate, and further identifies the assets or other elements in combination with which the use of the element is appropriate. By way of non-limiting example, FIG. 4 shows a diagram 400 illustrating a relationship amongst a number of different customizable elements 405 and assets 410. The elements include Element #1 415 which may represent a hero avatar in a game, and Element #2 420 which may represent a villain avatar in a game, Skin #1 425 which is a castle skin, Skin #2 430 which is a beach skin, and Skin #3 435 which is a forest skin. The assets include Image #1 440 and Image #2 445. As noted above, each of the elements 405 and assets 410 include metadata 450 which defines an appropriateness relationship for use thereof in combination with particular games and other elements or assets. For example, the respective metadata 450 of Skin #1 425 and Skin #2 430 indicate that they are appropriate for use with Gamel , while the metadata 450 of Skin #3 435 indicates that is appropriate for use with Game2. Similarly, the metadata of each one of Element #1 415, Element #2 420, Image #1 440, and Image #2 445 indicates that it is appropriate for use in Gamel . The metadata 450 of each one of Image #1 440 and Image #2 445 further indicates that it is appropriate for use either for hero Element #1 415 or villain Element #2 420, while also indicating that Image #1 440 is appropriate for use with the beach Skin #2 430 and Image #2 445 is appropriate for use with the forest Skin #3 435. Thus, when the portal 206 presents recommendations from which the promoter 202 may choose for each customizable element 310, the library assets presented with respect to any particular combination of customizable element 310, and game, may be based on the metadata 450 and the relationships defined thereby as described above.

[0027] The game editor Ul 300 may also may available other tools for customization of the game elements and assets. Unlike in some game editors intended for sophisticated game developers or players, the instant tools may be configured, designed, and presented in such a way as to enable and facilitate a promoter 202 lacking knowledge and experience in game development or gameplay to modify the game elements and assets. Such tools may include, without limitation, graphics editing tools, sound editing tools, music editing tools, animation editing tools, text or configuration editing tools, computer-adaptive/self-adjusting gameplay tools, and photo editing tools.

[0028] The system 100 may also enable the creation and storage of a profile for the promoter 202, which may enable the promoter 202 to save some or all of the preferences or customizations previously selected by the promoter 202. If and when the promoter 202 wishes either to update or otherwise modify a previously-customized game, or to generate a new customized game, the selections and customizations previously made by the promoter 202 may be conveniently retrieved and applied to the modified or new customized game.

[0029] Once the promoter 202 saves the selected customizations (step 242), which may be by selecting the save & preview button 332, the portal 206 may submit the changes (step 244) to the game server 220. If the promoter 202 had selected custom assets for any of the customizable elements 310, and there were specified indirectly, for example by a resource link, such as a universal resource locator (URL), then the game server 220 may access the resource link in order to retrieve the custom assets (step 246). The game server 220 may then send a request to the library 210 for library assets associated with the selected game (step 248), including the default or recommended assets discussed above, if selected by the promoter 202, and in response the library 210 may send the requested library assets to the game server 220 (step 250). The game server 200 may then upload or send the custom and library assets to the custom directory previously created on the production storage 224 (step 252), which in response may send a message to the server 220 to confirm successful upload (step 254). The game server 200 may in turn send a message to the portal 206 confirming successful upload (step 256).

[0030] The promoter 202 may then preview the customized game (step 258), which as indicated above may be by selection of the save & preview button 332. The foregoing process of saving and uploading the game assets, and the game preview process, may follow from a single selection of the save & preview button 332. The portal 206 may send a request to the production storage 224 requesting the custom game resources from the custom directory (step 260), and the production storage 224 may respond by sending to the portal 206 the requested custom game resources (step 262). The portal 206 may then render the customized game based on the received custom game resources (step 264). In particular, rendering of the customized game may include formatting or other modification of the game assets when applied to the customizable elements to ensure appropriate presentation of the game assets and to conserve gameplay dynamics. For example, where the customizable element is a pseudo-physical object in an environment of the game, such as a sign along a course, and the game asset is an image such as a logo to be applied to the sign, the rendering of the game includes formatting, sizing, rotating, or other modification of the image for proper fit on the sign, including in order to preserve the expected in-game behavior of the sign element, such as to preserve expected pseudo-physical interaction with other game elements such as a player avatar when contacting the sign element. In another example involving a "dropper- type" game provides an element for a "cart" used to catch items as they fall. The game also allows settings related to this element to define where within the boundaries of the image the "opening" is so that the game can correctly determine if items are caught or not. These settings are the top offset, left offset, right offset, cart level and cart position. The library for the game may provide several assets that are suitable for the cart game element (e.g. a shopping cart, a basket, and a pail). Depending on which asset is selected, the settings mentioned may be updated with the correct values for that asset. If changed again, the settings may again be updated. If the player uploaded a custom image, the settings may not change if there is no data available for the new image. [0031] Once generation of the customized game is completed, it is ready to be played by a player 266 using a user device 140 of the player 266. The player 266, using his user device 140, may send a request to the server 220 to play the customized game (step 268), and the server 220 may respond by sending to the user device 140 of the player 226 the customized game resources (step 270). The user device 140 of the player 266 may then render the customized game locally (step 272), which may be done in a browser running on the user device 140. The player 226 may then play the rendered game using his user device 140. The system 100 may enable the player 266 to generate a profile, which may enable the player 266 to save gameplay states or selections of preferred games. The profile may also be configured to store any desired information about the player 266, such as subscription information such as usernames, passwords, security questions, and subscriber demographics such as age, gender, ethnicity, residential address, religion, marital status, languages, group memberships or affiliations including friends, associated user devices, and game scores for one or more of the games played by the player. The player profile may also include any player-selected game assets such as avatars and player images

[0032] The system 100 may include the functionalities of one or more of a game editor, a theme editor, and a campaign editor which allows for promotions to be customized overall. The system's functionality may be applicable for game modification as described herein, as well as theme modification, and the same mechanisms may be used, including for example a descriptor to describe fields, images, fonts, a properties file to describe custom text, and so forth. Once customized, content assets (e.g. images and ess) may be uploaded from the portal to the server to the production store.

[0033] Although the facilities are shown and described above as being provided by a portal 206, game server 220, production storage 224, and library 210, other configurations and arrangements of the servers 1 10 and databases 130 are possible, including in some embodiments a single server 1 10, and the specific embodiment described above is not intended to be limiting, but rather is presented as an example of some embodiments of the inventive system and method.

[0034] FIG. 5 shows one embodiment of a system 500 for providing the functionality disclosed herein. The system 500 includes a customized game system 505 and may also include a reporting warehouse 510, a reporting front end 515, and a client reporting system 520. The customized game system 505 may include an app server 525 connected to an asset server 530 and a database 535. The app server 525 and the asset server 530 may be connected to a third party asset server 540. The system 500 may be connected for access from a client device/front end 545 of a campaign owner 550, and a client device/front end 555 of a player 560. The client device/front end 545, 555 of each of the campaign owner 550 and player 560 may be connected for access with the client reporting system 520 to receive analytics. The client reporting system 520 may include, or access, such services as Google™ Analytics 565, other off-the-shelf SaaS reporting APIs 570, or a custom reporting service 575. The reporting warehouse 510 may be connected to the client reporting system 520, and may include an off-the-shelf SaaS reporting warehouse 580 or a custom reporting warehouse 585. The reporting front end 515 may be connected to the reporting warehouse 585 via a reporting API 590, and may include a third-party reporting front end 595 or a custom reporting front end 597.

[0035] FIG's 6-8 illustrate examples of aspects customizable games for use with the systems described above.

[0036] FIG. 6 illustrates a process 600 for an instant win type game. A user 603, using a user device 140, may enter an input requesting a landing page of the game system (step 610) operated by an app server 605, which may include server 220. The app server 605 may then return a message including the landing page (step 615). The user 603 may then enter an input including a registration for the game system (step 620), and the app server 605 may return a registration confirmation (step 625). The user 603 may request the game page (step 63) and this may be returned by the app server 605 (step 635). The user 603 may then request the game assets (step 640), which are then returned by the app server 605 (step 645). The user 603 may then enter an instant win game request (step 650), and the app server 605 may return an instant win response, e.g. win or loss (step 655). The actual game play may be local to the use 603 and his user device 140 (step 660). The user 603 may then request an exit page, for example to claim a prize (step 665), which may be returned by the app server 605 (step 670).

[0037] FIG. 7 shows a process 700 for use of a game hosted by a third party server 705. For such purpose, a game developers kit (GDK) may be provided. The process 700 implements an instant win type game, though it will be understood that other types of games are possible. The process 700 is substantially the same as process 600, except that instead the game page request may be submitted to (step 710) and returned from (step 715) the third party server 705. Similarly, the game asset request may be submitted to (step 720) and returned from (step 725) the third party server 705.

[0038] FIG. 8 illustrates a process 800 for implementing the game as a survey, wherein during gameplay survey questions are requested (step 805) and received from the game server 605 (step 810) and results are returned as part of the gameplay (step 815), to which the server 605 may return a confirmation (step 820). The game could be of any suitable type including a survey, or polling, raffle, or catch/dropper game, for example.

[0039] The embodiments described herein enable a promoter easily and efficiently to create and provide customized games including promotional content without specialized knowledge or ability in game development, and without the services of a custom game developer. The portal user interface enables the promoter to select options for the look-and-feel of the game elements that are preconfigured to be appropriate for the particular combination of elements selected by the promoter. The promoter can upload and include in the game custom assets including but not limited to images, sounds, music, custom text (in cases of word games, quizzes, polling and so on) which enable the promoter to present promotional material in an engaging and entertaining way. The system automatically ensures that the selected or custom assets integrate seamlessly into the game to preserve gameplay dynamics.

[0040] Such embodiment provides numerous advantages and benefits in a variety of applications. The disclosed system enables simplified and efficient game development and customization for non-technical individuals. The system is useful in connection with any kind of game, and may integrate additional functionality such as through polling or survey-type games. The system enables significant customization of various features, including for example localization and translation of languages for games without the requirement of significant technical background. The system enables integration of third party developed games and game assets and other content. The system provides for compliant data analytics solutions, each as updated by the providers of the specific enhanced data analytics products, as well as data analytics functionality within the system. The system fills an engagement and gamification gap within the fields of advertising, promotions, and marketing group polling and surveys. The system is also useful for marginalized groups to engage members, for example by charities and political parties. [0041] In the preceding description, for purposes of explanation, numerous details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that these specific details are not required in order to practice the invention. In other instances, well-known structures are shown in block diagram form in order not to obscure the invention. For example, specific details are not provided as to whether the embodiments of the invention described herein are implemented as a software routine, hardware circuit, firmware, or a combination thereof.

[0042] Embodiments of the invention can be represented as a software product stored in a machine-readable medium (also referred to as a computer-readable medium, a processor-readable medium, or a computer usable medium having a computer- readable program code embodied therein). The machine-readable medium can be any suitable tangible medium, including magnetic, optical, or electrical storage medium including a diskette, compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), memory device (volatile or non-volatile), or similar storage mechanism. The machine-readable medium can contain various sets of instructions, code sequences, configuration information, or other data, which, when executed, cause a processor to perform steps in a method according to an embodiment of the invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other instructions and operations necessary to implement the described invention can also be stored on the machine-readable medium. Software running from the machine- readable medium can interface with circuitry to perform the described tasks.

[0043] The above-described embodiments of the invention are intended to be examples only. Alterations, modifications and variations can be effected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined solely by the claims appended hereto.