Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Gregory M Smith

Connor Peet

Gershom L Payzer

Richard Michael Fox

Chad Gibson

Antonio Vargas Garcia

Justin David Brown

Thomas A Langan

Mehmet Akkurt

Joanna Mason

Steven R Schmidt

Molly Rose Suver

George Oliver Johnston

Anthony Ernst

Joseph Michael Blouin

Michael A Siebert

Nathan Yim

Valeriy Trofimov

Matthew Stephen Salsamendi

Craig J Wheeler

Stanley W Palmaka

Hamze M Kalache

Gersh Payzer

Daniel Av

Christopher Michael McAllen

Heather Grantham Brodie

Jonathan J Caruana

Hutchenson Judson White

Joaquin Bolbrugge Chavolla

Samantha E Vim

Nathan A Yim

Kewei Li

Abdalla Gamal A Abdulmonem

Michael Ahmed Sengan Siebert

Dennis B Malpass

Johnathan S Rogers

Daniel J Monfiston

Christopher M Mcallen

A computing system includes an input driver and a virtual input controller. The input driver is configured to receive input data from a first controller of a recognized data protocol and to provide the input data to an API of an application to control actions of a first participant in the gaming application. The virtual input controller is, in contrast, configured to receive input data from a second controller of a protocol incompatible with the input driver, translate the input data to the recognized data protocol; request a broadcast application identifier for a currently-broadcasting application from the broadcasting agent, and provide the translated input data to the input driver in association with the broadcast application identifier for controlling actions of a second participant in the application via the API of the gaming application.

Virtual controller for game injection

Technologies are described for enabling co-streaming of live video game streams by multiple broadcasters. For example, broadcasters that are eligible to co-stream can be determined. Invitations can be sent to the broadcasters to join a co-stream. After acceptance, a co-stream can be created. The co-stream can be streamed to viewer devices.

Co-streaming within a live interactive video game streaming service

A method comprises electronically communicating with a game program executing on a broadcaster computer configured to stream a broadcast of the game program, the game program supporting a set of game program methods and not a set of viewer program methods. The method further comprises electronically communicating with a viewer program executing on an audience computer configured to remotely present the broadcast, the viewer program supporting the set of viewer program methods and not the set of game program methods. The method further comprises receiving, from the viewer program, an indication of an invoked viewer program method. The method further comprises translating the indication into a corresponding indication of a game program method, and electronically communicating the indication of the game program method to the game program to effectuate output of the game program corresponding to the indicated game program method.

Cross-platform interactive streaming

A broadcast computing device broadcasts an audiovisual stream via a computer network to a plurality of viewing computers. The broadcast computing device stores production information according to a hybrid data type. The broadcasting program receives a request to update the stored production information from a viewing computer, and updates the production information.

State management of dynamic properties

Controlling a mixed reality (MR), virtual reality (VR), or augmented reality (AR) (collectively, MR) environment visualization may involve obtaining a plurality of sensor data from a plurality of data sources; processing the obtained plurality of sensor data using a plurality of data analyzers to identify at least one feature; generating a plurality of annotated data sets, wherein the annotated data sets contain an annotation of the at least one feature; aggregating the plurality of annotated data sets to correlate the at least one feature as a common feature across different annotated data sets of the plurality of annotated data sets; and based at least on the common feature, providing a visualization output representing the MR (VR, AR, or specifically mixed-reality) environment. Disclosed examples enable utilizing of disparate data types from different data sources, localizing the different data a common space, and aggregating results for visualization and/or further analysis.

Representation of user position, movement, and gaze in mixed reality space

A method for distributing a shareable video experience among plural video-consumer devices includes receiving a data stream defining the shareable video experience and generating first and second shared video experiences. The first experience is configured for video-consumer devices capable of real-time interaction with the shareable video experience; it includes a first video stream conveying visual content of the shareable video experience and a first set of interface controls, the first set of interface controls being useable by video-consumer devices capable of real-time interaction to modify the shareable video experience. The second experience is configured for video-consumer devices incapable of real-time interaction; it includes a second video stream conveying visual content of the shareable video experience and a second set of interface controls that are useable by video-consumer devices incapable of real-time interaction to present supplementary data in connection to the shareable video experience.

Shareable video experience tailored to video-consumer device

A method for interactive event broadcasting includes receiving a video stream depicting an interactive event. Data representing one or more interactive event controls is received, the interactive event controls being manipulable by a viewer of the interactive event to provide input to the interactive event. The video stream depicting the interactive event and the one or more interactive event controls are displayed as components of a user interface, the video stream and the interactive event controls having a first spatial relationship. Based on detecting a change in state of the interactive event, the first spatial relationship between the video stream and the one or more interactive event controls is changed to a second spatial relationship.

Interactive event broadcasting

Technologies are described for enabling a network protocol that supports switching between communication modes, including a plain text mode and a compressed mode. Switching between the plain text mode and the compressed mode can be performed without closing a network connection between devices. The network protocol can support communication among the devices interacting with a live interactive video game streaming service. The network protocol can also communicate throttling and/or aggregation messages between the devices of the live interactive video game streaming service.

Network protocol for switching between plain text and compressed modes

A unified platform supports a plurality of game titles and diverse gaming devices to provide publishers and developers with a software development kit (SDK) including application programming interfaces (APIs) for creating multiplayer tournaments. Developers use the SDK to create tournament definitions and permission levels for tournament organizers. Tournament definitions specify configuration values as parameters the unified platform uses to create instances of multiplayer tournaments. Permission levels can define which tournament organizers are able to set up and manage tournaments and can define parameters to which they must adhere. The unified platform can store tournament definitions that are created by game publishers, game developers, or tournament organizers and can use the stored definitions to create tournament instances. The unified platform can use APIs to expose created tournament instances for registration of spectators and players and can use APIs to track tournament play and provide updates corresponding to the progress.

Unified platform for a plurality of titles and gaming devices

Technologies are described for enabling interactivity with video games by viewers of a live video game streaming service. For example, messages can be received indicating interactive control events initiated by remote viewers of a live interactive video game stream. A control state data structure can be maintained that comprises control state for the received interactive control events. The control state data structure can maintain separate control state for each of a plurality of time periods (e.g., each time period corresponding to one or more video frames). Actions in the video game can be activated based on the control state data structure.

Interactive control management for a live interactive video game stream

Techniques and architectures of a system may provide, among other things, a contextual help video based, at least in part, on the state of play of a user of a video game or the state of other types of interactive media content. For example, such video may be useful for self-learning using contextual video that provides useful information to the player (or a user of interactive media content). The system may involve a contextual search process, which may enable games to annotate broadcasts and game clips with real time metadata from their titles. Websites may query a service for broadcasts/game clips based on data generated by a contextual search. The system may add context to recorded and live game media and, for example, capturing and exposing a user's gaming moments.

Contextual search for gaming video

An application development component of a development computing system runs a software application developed with the application development component in a pre-build preview state. A broadcast feature editing component of the development computing system changes a state of a pre-production preview version of a broadcast feature associated with a broadcasting service configured to broadcast graphical content output by a post-build version of the software application. An event synchronization component of the development computing system detects the changed state of the broadcast feature and, based on the changed state, alters the running of the software application in the pre-build preview state.

Event synchronization for development computing system

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Gregory M Smith