Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Justin David Brown

Nicholas Alexander Allen

Kenneth David Wolf

Edmund Samuel Victor Pinto

Stefan R Batres

John Anthony Taylor

Nathan Christopher Talbert

Stephen Jared Maine

Karthik Raman

Hoon Im

Edmund S V Pinto

Edmund Pinto

Michael A Siebert

Stephen James Millet

Tirunelveli R Vishwanath

Gregory M Smith

Jayteerth Narasingrao Katti

Thomas A Langan

Antonio Vargas Garcia

Craig A Link

John W Smith

Charles H Barry

Kartik Paramasivam

Leon Welicki

Igor Sedukhin

Theodore Ludovicus Michel

Eric David Heutchy

Keith R Kline

Micheal Dunn

Stuart J Langley

Vance P O'Neill

Jason W Mai

Vincent Bannister

Grzegorz Gogolowicz

Wisgary F Torres

Stephen Paul Dolan

Jefferson Ng

Jesse R Yurkovich

Paul Lyttle

Rankin J Kern

David A Straily

Praneeth Kallu

Brahmnes Tsz Foon Fung

John Taylor

Edmund Sv Pinto

Stefen R Batres

An arbitration system is configured to receive, as a set of results data, separate instances of results data from corresponding client computing devices being used to participate in a multiplayer game session. In some examples, an instance of results data comprises input representing an indication or a selection of an identity associated with an outcome of the multiplayer game session. For instance, the input can indicate a participant identity that won the multiplayer game session. In some examples, an instance of results data comprises game data describing the overall activity in a multiplayer game session from a perspective of a player's client computing device, the game data indicating a particular participant identity as a winner of the multiplayer game session. The arbitration system is configured to use the set of results data to determine an arbitrated outcome for the multiplayer game session.

Arbitrating an outcome of a multiplayer game session

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

The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for persistent application activation and timer notifications. A durable instance manager, instance execution hosts, and an instance store interoperate to transition instances between executing and persisted states. System properties are associated with an instance. System properties can define re-activation conditions, that when satisfied, indicate that an instance is to be re-activated for execution. System properties can define timers as well as indications that instances are in a persisted but ready to run state.

Persistent application activation and timer notifications

An episodic execution of program instances and a coordinated message exchange protocol are combined to achieve eventual consistency in the communication between nodes of a distributed system. Program instances run in episodic loops that are triggered by defined input events and that generate checkpoints. The checkpoints indicate when messages are to be sent from the one instance to another instance or other device. The coordinated message exchange protocol allows the instance to send a message to a receiver, to acknowledge that the message has been received, and to confirm the acknowledgement to the receiver.

Episodic coordination model for distributed applications

A command log selectively logs commands that have the potential to create conflicts based on instance locks. Lock times can be used to distinguish cases where the instance is locked by the application host at a previous logical time from cases where the instance is concurrently locked by the application host through a different name. A logical command clock is also maintained for commands issued by the application host to a state persistence system, with introspection to determine which issued commands may potentially take a lock. The command processor can resolve conflicts by pausing command execution until the effects of potentially conflicting locking commands become visible and examining the lock time to distinguish among copies of a persisted state storage location.

Lock resolution for distributed durable instances

Embodiments are directed to executing a workflow using a virtualized clock and to ensuring idempotency and correctness among workflow processes. In one scenario, a computer system a computer system determines that a workflow session has been initialized. The workflow session runs as a set of episodes, where each episode includes one or more pulses of work that are performed when triggered by an event. Each workflow session is processed according to a virtualized clock that keeps a virtual session time for the workflow session. The computer system receives an event that includes an indication of the time the event was generated, and then accesses the received event to determine which pulses of work are to be performed as part of a workflow session episode. The computer system then executes the determined pulses of work according to the virtual session time indicated by the virtualized clock.

Consistent modeling and execution of time constructs in business processes

Instance properties are defined for instances of an application. During episodes of the instances, the values of the instance properties are populated. Other instances read the values of the instance properties without requiring the instance to run. If the value of an instance property is not populated, then a new episode of the instance is executed to populate the missing values. Instance properties may be grouped into property bags. An instance may populate the values of instance properties in a property bag atomically during one episode using a multi-set message. Other instances may read the values of the property bag instance properties using a multi-get request.

System for scalable configuration and context

Embodiments that relate to systems and methods for grouping players into a multiplayer game session are provided. In one embodiment, a first match request for a multiplayer game session is received and includes one or more requested player attributes. A plurality of other match requests are received, with one being a second match request including one or more requested player attributes. The first and second match requests are matched based on the requested player attributes. A notification of the match is sent to a client device of the first requesting player, with the notification configured to be received while the client device runs a user session different from the multiplayer game session. The notification includes a selectable element configured to instantiate the multiplayer game session on the client device in place of a user session when the selectable element is selected.

Matchmaking in multiplayer gaming

A distributed instance system manages instances and communications between the instances. The distributed instance system provides a restricted set of communication methods to the instances. Based on the type of communication method used, the distributed instance system has knowledge of the messages sent by instances and can make decisions on how to handle the messages. When one of the instances involved in a message exchange ends, the host uses its knowledge of the message exchange type to determine whether to drop the message, drop a reply to the message, and/or send an error message to the surviving instance. An instance may create one or more child instances in a tree-like configuration. Status data is passed up the tree from children instances and aggregated in the parent instances. Monitoring data may be generated from the aggregated status data.

Managing and simplifying distributed applications

Processing messages. Messages are processed based on a characteristic derived from information in messages, metadata about messages, or other information external to messages. Values for one or more pieces of information are received. At least one of the values for one or more pieces of information is associated with a first message. Queries are received. The queries specify one or more of the pieces of information. At least a portion of the plurality of values for the one or more pieces of information is processed in conjunction with the one or more queries to create one or more normalized characteristics for the first message. The one or more normalized characteristics for the first message are in a same format irrespective of the format of the pieces of information. The first message, and/or other messages, is processed based on at least one of the one or more normalized characteristics.

Query-oriented message characterization

Techniques are described herein that are capable of executing a computer program in accordance with a declarative dynamic control flow in a continuation-based runtime. A declarative dynamic control flow identifies a set of continuations. A representation of logic that corresponds to the declarative dynamic control flow is provided in accordance with execution of the computer program in the continuation-based runtime. The declarative dynamic control flow identifies a set of continuations. Each continuation identifies a respective rule, which defines a respective event, and a respective action, which is to be performed upon occurrence of the respective event. A determination is made that a specified event occurs. The set of continuations is dynamically modified based on occurrence of the specified event.

Declarative dynamic control flow in continuation-based runtime

A rendezvous abstraction that is used to correlate messages within message exchange. The rendezvous abstraction may be instantiated to correlate messages regardless of the type of message exchange pattern, and regardless of the underlying protocols used to communication message. Messages exchanges of primitive protocols are modeled as unilateral message exchanges. The rendezvous abstraction is used to correlate messages of the unilateral message exchange, and serves as an abstraction that is used to represented the rendezvous point where the message of the message exchange pattern are handled. Accordingly, instead of focusing on the protocol-specific mechanisms for correlation, if even available, the application author may simply work with a standard rendezvous abstraction.

Message exchange pattern rendezvous abstraction

Pulses are used to control work ingress. Generally, a variable-speed clock is used for accepting work for lower-priority services. A clock rate is controlled by a load monitor. The load monitor periodically collects sensor measurements of resources available after allocations by higher-priority services. Based on the sensor measurements, the load monitor adjusts the clock speed up or down (i.e., depending on the amount of resources available after allocations by higher-priority services). At the boundary of the lower-priority service (e.g., where work enters the system), work requests are enqueued to be associated with a future pulse of the clock. Work is accepted or rejected based on a determination of whether the work request can be allocated a clock pulse within a defined period of time.

Using pulses to control work ingress

Growing community of inventors

Seattle, WA, United States of America

Justin David Brown