User-Powered Always Available Contextual Game Help

Abstract

A player encounters a challenge present in a video game without succeeding thereat and requests contextual help from a service by way of a guide. The guide gathers a current context of the game including the encountered challenge and calls to the service with the gathered current context for such contextual help. The service compiles a list of entries based on the gathered current context and returns the compiled list of entries to the guide. Each entry in the list has been authored by a player of the game and includes information purportedly relevant to succeeding at the encountered challenge as represented by the current context. The player receives the compiled list of entries from the service by way of the guide, reviews same, and resumes playing the game and in doing so employs the gathered information in an effort to succeed at the challenge.

1 . A method of playing a video game on a computing device, comprising:
 encountering a challenge present in the game without succeeding thereat;   accessing a service access guide instantiated on the computing device, the guide being in communications with a game service and including a user interface to facilitate interaction with the service;   requesting contextual help from the service by way of the guide, the guide in response to the request gathering a current context of the game including the encountered challenge and calling to the service for such contextual help, the call including the gathered current context of the game, the service receiving the call from the guide including the gathered current context of the game and based thereon compiling a list of entries and returning the compiled list of entries to the guide, each entry in the list of entries having been authored by a player of the game and including information purportedly relevant to succeeding at the encountered challenge as represented by the received current context of the game;   receiving from the service by way of the guide the compiled list of entries;   reviewing the received list of entries to gather information regarding how to succeed at the encountered challenge; and   resuming playing the game and in doing so employing the gathered information in an effort to succeed at the challenge.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the challenge is a situation in the game situation where the player has to determine how to take an action. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the video game is played on a video game console and wherein the guide is instantiated on the console. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1  comprising selecting filtering parameters, wherein the guide filters the received list of entries based on the selected filtering parameters, and reviewing the received and filtered list of entries to gather information regarding how to succeed at the encountered challenge. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein an entry in the list includes content copied from the game by the authoring player of such entry, the content being selected from at least one of a screen shot from the game as captured by a guide of a console, a video clip from the game as captured by a guide of a console, and an annotation thereof as created by a guide of a console, the method comprising rendering the content upon reviewing the entry. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein an entry in the list includes identifying indicia representing that the entry deserves attention, the identifying indicia being selected from at least one of an indicia identifying that a friend has recommended the entry and an indicia identifying that the authoring player has experienced a challenge to which the entry relates, the method comprising reviewing the entry upon discerning the identifying indicia. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising, upon reviewing an entry, contribute a rating thereto. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising, upon succeeding at the challenge, authoring an entry relating thereto. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein each object in the game is supplied with a tag having a unique ID, wherein each time an object in the game is encountered the corresponding tag thereof is pushed onto a stack, and wherein the guide gathering the current context of the game includes copying a number of the tags on top of the stack. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the service receives the call from the guide including the copied tags and employs the received tags to search for appropriate entries to be compiled into the list of entries. 
   
   
       11 . A method of operating a video game on a computing device for a player, wherein the player encounters a challenge present in the game without succeeding thereat, the method comprising:
 receiving from the player a request for contextual help from the service;   gathering in response to the request a current context of the game including the encountered challenge;   calling to the service for such contextual help, the call including the gathered current context of the game, the service receiving the call including the gathered current context of the game and based thereon compiling a list of entries and returning the compiled list of entries to the guide, each entry in the list of entries having been authored by a player of the game and including information purportedly relevant to succeeding at the encountered challenge as represented by the received current context of the game;   receiving from the service the compiled list of entries;   displaying the received list of entries to the player to allow such player to gather information regarding how to succeed at the encountered challenge; and   allowing the player to resume playing the game and in doing so employing the gathered information in an effort to succeed at the challenge.   
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the challenge is a situation in the game situation where the player has to determine how to take an action. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 11  wherein the video game is played on a video game console. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 11  comprising allowing the player to select filtering parameters, filtering the received list of entries based on the selected filtering parameters, and allowing the player to review the received and filtered list of entries to gather information regarding how to succeed at the encountered challenge. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 11  wherein an entry in the list includes content copied from the game by the authoring player of such entry, the content being selected from at least one of a screen shot from the game as captured by a guide of a console, a video clip from the game as captured by a guide of a console, and an annotation thereof as created by a guide of a console, the method comprising rendering the content upon allowing the player to review the entry. 
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 11  wherein an entry in the list includes identifying indicia representing that the entry deserves attention, the identifying indicia being selected from at least one of an indicia identifying that a friend has recommended the entry and an indicia identifying that the authoring player has experienced a challenge to which the entry relates, the method comprising displaying the entry in the received list of entries to the player with the identifying indicia. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 11  further comprising, upon reviewing an entry, allowing the player to contribute a rating thereto. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 11  further comprising, upon succeeding at the challenge, allowing the player to author an entry relating thereto. 
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 11  wherein each object in the game is supplied with a tag having a unique ID, wherein each time an object in the game is encountered the corresponding tag thereof is pushed onto a stack, and gathering the current context of the game includes copying a number of the tags on top of the stack. 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 19  wherein the service receives the call including the copied tags and employs the received tags to search for appropriate entries to be compiled into the list of entries.