Network-based game system

Abstract

A network-based game system includes a load balancer configured to receive a first request and a second request from a game client application running on a computer device. The first request comprises game logic information and the second request includes persistent game-state information. The network-based game system also includes a plurality of game servers in connection with the load balancer, wherein each of the game servers stores a game engine application configured to produce a first response to the first request and a game-system-interface (GSI) server in connection with the plurality of game servers wherein the GSI stores a GSI program configured to produce a second response to the second request.

1 . A network-based game system, comprising:
 a load balancer configured to receive a first request and a second request from a game client application running on a computer device, wherein the first request comprises game logic information and the second request comprises persistent game-state information;   a plurality of game servers in connection with the load balancer, wherein each of the game servers stores a game engine application configured to produce a first response to the first request; and   a game-system-interface (GSI) server in connection with the plurality of game servers, wherein the GSI stores a GSI program configured to produce a second response to the second request.   
   
   
       2 . The network-based game system of  claim 1 , wherein the load balancer is configured to communicate with the computer device in a persistent network connection. 
   
   
       3 . The network-based game system of  claim 1 , wherein the load balancer is configured to communicate with the plurality of game servers in persistent network connections. 
   
   
       4 . The network-based game system of  claim 1 , wherein the load balancer is configured to route the first request or the second request to a game sever in accordance with the status of the plurality of the game servers. 
   
   
       5 . The network-based game system of  claim 1 , wherein the GSI server is configured to communicate with the plurality of game servers non-persistent network connections. 
   
   
       6 . The network-based game system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of game servers is configured to receive the second request and to send a third request to the GSI server in response to the second request. 
   
   
       7 . The network-based game system of  claim 6 , wherein the at least one of the plurality of game servers is configured to receive a third response from the GSI server in response to the second request and send the second response to the computer device in response to the third response. 
   
   
       8 . The network-based game system of  claim 1 , wherein the first request comprises one or more of game animation information, game statistics, or game chats. 
   
   
       9 . The network-based game system of  claim 1 , wherein the second request comprises one or more of a user's account information, user identification, a user's game scores, session identification, game room information, a user's game currency or game credits, an inventory for a user's asset, or a user's buddies list. 
   
   
       10 . The network-based game system of  claim 1 , further comprising a data base in communication with the GSI server. 
   
   
       11 . The network-based game system of  claim 10 , wherein the GSI program is configured to update information in the data base or retrieve information from the database in response to the second request. 
   
   
       12 . The network-based game system of  claim 1 , wherein the game engine program or the GSI program is configured to send a message to authenticate identification associated with a game client application. 
   
   
       13 . The network-based game system of  claim 12 , wherein the identification includes user identification, game session identification, or game room identification. 
   
   
       14 . The network-based game system of  claim 1 , wherein the game engine application is configured to communicate with the game client application in encrypted serialized messages. 
   
   
       15 . A network-based game system, comprising:
 a load balancer configured to receive a first request from a game client application running on a computer device wherein the first request comprises game logic information:   a plurality of game servers in persistent network connections with the load balancer, wherein each of the game servers stores a game engine application configured to produce a first response to the first request and to produce a second request, wherein the second request comprises persistent game-state information; and   a game-system-interface (GSI) server in non-persistent network connections with the plurality of game servers, wherein the GSI stores a GSI program configured to produce a second response to the second request.   
   
   
       16 . The network-based game system of  claim 15 , wherein the load balancer is configured to route the first request to a game sever in accordance with the status of the plurality of the game servers. 
   
   
       17 . The network-based game system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of game servers is configured to receive the second request and to pass the second request to the GSI server. 
   
   
       18 . The network-based game system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the plurality of game servers is configured to receive the second response from the GSI server and send the second response to the computer device. 
   
   
       19 . The network-based game system of  claim 15 , further comprising a data base in communication with the GSI server, wherein the GSI program is configured to update information in the data base or retrieve information from the database in response to the second request. 
   
   
       20 . The network-based game system of  claim 15 , wherein the game engine program or the GSI program is configured to send a message to authenticate identification associated with a game client application, wherein the identification includes user identifications game session identification, or game room identification. 
   
   
       21 . The network-based game system of  claim 15 , wherein the game engine application is configured to communicate with the game client application in a persistent network connection with the load balancer. 
   
   
       22 . A method of providing a game over a computer network, comprising:
 receiving a first request and a second request by a load balancer from a game client application running on a computer device in a persistent network connection with the load balancer wherein the first request comprises game logic information and the second request comprises persistent game-state information;   producing a first response to the first request by a game engine application running on one of a plurality of game servers, wherein the plurality of game servers are in persistent network connections with the load balancer; and   producing a second response to the second request by a GSI program running on a game-system-interface (GSI) server.   
   
   
       23 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising
 routing the first request or the second request by the load balancer to a game sever in accordance with the status of the plurality of the game servers.   
   
   
       24 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the GSI server is in non-persistent network connections with the plurality of game servers. 
   
   
       25 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising:
 receiving the second response by the at least one of the plurality of game servers from the GSI server, and   sending the second response from the at least one of the plurality of game servers to the computer device.   
   
   
       26 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising:
 updating information in a data base or retrieving information from the database in response to the second request.   
   
   
       27 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising:
 authenticating an identification associated with a game client application by the game engine application, wherein the identification includes user identification, game session identification or game room identification.