Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Z2live, Inc.

Microsoft Corporation

Damon V Danieli

Matthew J Stipes

Drew Calvin Bamford

John R Selbie

John P Pennock

Noah Heller

Ling Tony Chen

Dinarte R Morais

Thomas W Brooks

Boyd Cannon Multerer

Edward Charles Giaimo, Iii

Mark Daniel VanAntwerp

Michael Courage

Wolfgang Adam Mack, Jr

Sean Christian Wohlgemuth

Roxana Arama

Daniel Caiafa

Eric Neustadter

Craig Steven Ranta

Allen M Han

Melissa S Jacobson

Harjit Singh

Van Christopher Van

Leonardo G Del Castillo

Kenneth R Robertson

Todd G Roshak

Scott A Randell

Timothy E Wood

Cameron J A Ferroni

Robert E Gruhl

Karen L Carter-Schwendler

Sean J Huberty

Josh Gruenberg

Glenn M Doren

Jordan Douglas Arnold

David Bryn Bluhm

Jason Kirk Keimig

Tracey Anne Montoya

Methods and apparatuses for handling an invitation to a multi-device networked-application session are disclosed. In one such method, a client device receives a pushed invitation notification from an invitation server. The pushed invitation notification indicates that an inviter user has invited an invitee user to join a multi-device session of a networked application, but the pushed invitation notification omits an invitation payload to enable the invitee user to join the multi-device session. The client device notifies the user of the client device, and the user indicates to accept the invitation. The client device responds to the invitation server, authenticates the user, and receives from the invitation server an invitation payload, according to which the client device attempts to join the multi-device session.

Invitation service for multi-device application sessions

Provided herein are systems and methods for facilitating mobile device users to control notifications pushed to their mobile devices.

Mobile device notification controls system and method

A method and system facilitating selection of participants in multiplayer online electronic games. The method provides an efficient procedure for players to host and join new instances of multiplayer online electronic games, as well as providing a scheme that enables players to join multiplayer online electronic games that are already in progress. The method is implemented through a gaming utility that runs on each player's electronic device (e.g. PC) and interacts behind the scenes with an online messaging service. Player hosts are enabled to select players from a list of contacts provided by the online messaging service who they want to invite to join a chat session. A selected multiplayer online electronic game is selectively launched on all of the player's computers through a single command issued by the host. Additionally, the gaming utility provides players with a list of existing chat sessions being hosted by other players so as to enable the players to join multiplayer online electronic games that are already in progress. The system includes a plurality of electronic devices linked in communication across a communications network, such as a LAN or the Internet. Each electronic device is operatively coupled to a headset having a pair of headphones and a microphone. The headset is worn by a player, enabling the players to verbally communicate with others in a verbal chat session.

Use of online messaging to facilitate selection of participants in game play

Voice communication between players using one or more multiplayer game console is selectively controlled. A player may selectively block voice communications with another player during a current and any future games. In addition, an authorized party (e.g., a parent) can selectively preclude voice communication by a minor child by setting an option that is uploaded to an online game service service; the minor child is then precluded from voice communication on any voice console via the online game service. Also, a player may be temporarily or permanently banned from voice communication during games played through an online game service in response to complaints made by other players concerning the player's behavior in voice communication while playing games, e.g., excessive use of profanity. When a player signs on to the online game service, data are downloaded to the game console that indicate any applicable restraints on voice communication.

Banning verbal communication to and from a selected party in a game playing system

Automatically maintaining behavioral standards of an electronic community in response to feedback from members of the electronic community. Feedback is submitted regarding behavior of a specified member. If the feedback exceeds a threshold representing a behavioral standard of the electronic community for a category, an action is automatically implemented directed to the specified member. Each threshold may be adjusted as a function of the number of members or of other criteria. The feedback may also be used to rate a specific member and to enable other members to choose whether to interact with the specific member. Sanctions or rewards may be implemented, including limiting communication, suspending or terminating access, granting additional privileges, assigning the specified member to a subgroup of the electronic community, and other actions. Community standards can thus be automatically maintained and enforced for gaming, communication, commerce, collaborative work, or other electronic activities.

Automatic feedback and player denial

An exemplary implementation of a security gateway for online console-based gaming operates as a gateway between a public network (e.g., the Internet), and a private network (e.g., an internal data center network). The security gateway allows secure communication channels to be established with game consoles via the public network, and allows secure communication between game consoles on the public network and service devices on the private network.

Security gateway for online console-based gaming

A secure key exchange with mutual authentication allows devices on a network to perform, in a single roundtrip over the network, the exchange. A key exchange initiator packet that does not include a key to be established is sent from an initiating device to another device via a network. The key exchange initiator packet is validated and the other device generates the key without requiring any additional packets to be received from the initiating device in order to generate the key. A key exchange response packet that does not include the key is returned to the initiating device, which validates the key exchange response packet and generates the key without requiring any additional packets to be sent to the other device or received from the other device.

Secure key exchange with mutual authentication

Visually identifying one or more known or anonymous voice speakers to a listener in a computing session. For each voice speaker, voice data include a speaker identifier that is associated with a visual indicator displayed to indicate the voice speaker who is currently speaking. The speaker identifier is first used to determine voice privileges before the visual indicator is displayed. The visual indicator is preferably associated with a visual element controlled by the voice speaker, such as an animated game character. Visually identifying a voice speaker enables the listener and/or a moderator of the computing session to control voice communications, such as muting an abusive voice speaker. The visual indicator can take various forms, such as an icon displayed adjacent to the voice speaker's animated character, or a different icon displayed in a predetermined location if the voice speaker's animated character is not currently visible to the listener.

Visual indication of current voice speaker

A server provides a secure environment for establishing peer-to-peer communications between clients. When two clients of the server wish to establish peer-to-peer communication, they first connect to the server. The server authenticates each client and provides information to authenticated clients to enable them to establish peer-to-peer communication. Any client who abuses the peer-to-peer communication privileges can lose the right to be authenticated. In an exemplary embodiment, the server is a game server and the clients joining in playing games, preferably using voiced-based peer-to-peer communication. Different levels of authorization may be granted to different clients, to limit the interaction between clients.

Server control of peer to peer communications

During an online event, a spectator process monitors a state of the event, updating a spectator model, so that spectator data streams can be generated and provided to spectators. The spectator data streams can be formatted and provided with content appropriate for use by different types of spectator devices used by the spectators. The spectator process can also automatically generate virtual commentary appropriate for the action occurring in the event for inclusion in the spectator data streams. A media server receives the rendered data streams and distributes them to the electronic devices being used by the spectators. The distribution can be delayed to avoid a spectator conveying information to a participant that would provide an unfair advantage. Executable code can be included in the spectator data stream to provide additional functionality and facilitate interaction between the spectators, and to enable a spectator to also 'play' the game.

Online gaming spectator system

An input audio data stream comprising speech is processed by an automatic censoring filter in either a real-time mode, or a batch mode, producing censored speech that has been altered so that undesired words or phrases are either unintelligible or inaudible. The automatic censoring filter employs a lattice comprising either phonemes and/or words derived from phonemes for comparison against corresponding phonemes or words included in undesired speech data. If the probability that a phoneme or word in the input audio data stream matches a corresponding phoneme or word in the undesired speech data is greater than a probability threshold, the input audio data stream is altered so that the undesired word or a phrase comprising a plurality of such words is unintelligible or inaudible. The censored speech can either be stored or made available to an audience in real-time.

Automatic censorship of audio data for broadcast

Interaction between participants in an online session is controlled by using filters. Each participant in an online session may have lists of other users with whom the participant wants to limit interaction in an online session. Each list is hashed to create a filter for the participant. For blocking, the host of an online session logically ORs the filters of all the participants in a session to create a session filter. An identifier for each of the current participants in an online session is hashed to create a user filter. A host of an online session checks the session filter to determine if a prospective participant is blocked. If not, the user filter is transmitted to the prospective participant to check against a block filter. Mute filters and ghost filters are handled similarly, but limit the interaction of participants in an online session in a different fashion.

Limiting interaction between parties in a networked session

Two different and separate audio data streams are processed through a personal computer (PC) system or other computing device so that the separate and distinct audio data streams are heard through separate sound transducers. In a preferred embodiment, chat messages received over a network during execution of a multiplayer game are processed separately from sounds produced by the multiplayer game, enabling a user to hear the game sounds from speakers, separate and distinct from verbal chat messages, which are heard through earphone(s). The earphone(s) are included in a headset, as well as a microphone that enables the user to produce verbal data that are conveyed to a hardware control unit that is connected to the PC system through a universal serial bus (USB) port. The chat audio data are converted into an analog audio signal that is heard by the user in the headphone(s) and is spatially separate and distinct from the game audio data heard through the speakers. Included on the control unit are switches that enable the user to selectively direct verbal data either to the chat session or to a voice recognition engine that converts the verbal data into commands used for controlling the game.

Enabling separate chat and selective enablement of microphone

Growing community of inventors

Clyde Hill, WA, United States of America

Damon V Danieli