Franchise placement in an interactive social game

Abstract

Systems and methods that facilitate placement of franchise objects in an interactive social game are described. In some embodiments, a method receives a request from a first player to locate a franchise object in a virtual game environment of a second player. The franchise object is capable of generating in-game awards for the first player and the second player. The virtual game environment is associated with the interactive social game. The method receives an identification of a location for placement of the franchise object from the second player. The franchise object is located in the virtual game environment at the identified location.

1 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
 receiving a request from a first player to locate a franchise object in a virtual game environment of a second player, the virtual game environment associated with an interactive social game, the franchise object being employable to generate in-game awards for the first player and the second player responsive to player interaction therewith;   communicating the request to the second player;   receiving an identification of a location for placement of the franchise object within the virtual game environment, the identification received from the second player; and   locating, using one or more processors, the franchise object in the virtual game environment at the identified location.   
     
     
         2 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising executing a harvest mechanic cycle for the franchise object, the harvest mechanic cycle generating the in-game award. 
     
     
         3 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 2 , wherein execution of the harvest mechanic cycle is initiated by the first player or the second player. 
     
     
         4 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising allocating the in-game award equally between the first player and the second player. 
     
     
         5 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising allocating the in-game award between the first player and the second player based on revenue sharing data associated with the franchise object. 
     
     
         6 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 5 , further comprising receiving the revenue sharing data from the second player with the placement location for the franchise object. 
     
     
         7 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising locating a franchise headquarters object in the virtual game environment of the second player, the franchise headquarters object associated with the franchise object. 
     
     
         8 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 7 , further comprising modifying an appearance of the franchise headquarters object based on a number of franchise objects associated with the franchise headquarters object. 
     
     
         9 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 7 , further comprising modifying an operational parameter of an in-game object based on a proximity of the in-game object to the franchise headquarters object. 
     
     
         10 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 7 , further comprising displaying a franchise management interface responsive to a player activation of the franchise headquarters object. 
     
     
         11 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 10 , wherein the franchise management interface displays franchise objects associated with the franchise headquarters object. 
     
     
         12 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 10 , wherein the franchise management interface displays a rating for each of the franchise objects associated with the franchise headquarters object. 
     
     
         13 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 10 , wherein the franchise management interface permits removal of a franchise object from the virtual game environment. 
     
     
         14 . A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:
 receiving a request from a first player to locate a franchise object in a virtual game environment of a second player, the virtual game environment associated with an interactive social game, the franchise object being employable to generate in-game awards for the first player and the second player responsive to player interaction therewith;   communicating the request to the second player;   receiving an identification of a location for placement of the franchise object within the virtual game environment, the identification received from the second player; and   locating the franchise object in the virtual game environment at the identified location.   
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein the machine further performs operations including allocating the in-game award between the first player and the second player based on revenue sharing data associated with the franchise object. 
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 15 , wherein the machine further performs operations including receiving the revenue sharing data from the second player with the placement location for the franchise object. 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein the machine further performs operations including locating a franchise headquarters object in the virtual game environment of the second player, the franchise headquarters object associated with the franchise object. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the machine further performs operations including modifying an appearance of the franchise headquarters object based on a number of franchise objects associated with the franchise headquarters object. 
     
     
         19 . A game system comprising:
 an interface to communicate with players of a game;   a memory to store data associated with the game; and   one or more processors coupled to the interface and the memory, the one or more processors configured to:
 receive a request from a first player to locate a franchise object in a virtual game environment of a second player, the virtual game environment associated with an interactive social game; 
 communicate the request to the second player; 
 receive an identification of a location for placement of the franchise object within the virtual game environment, the identification received from the second player; 
 locate the franchise object in the virtual game environment at the identified location; and 
 execute a harvest mechanic cycle for the franchise object such that the harvest mechanic cycle generates an in-game award. 
   
     
     
         20 . The game system of  claim 19 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to allocate the in-game award between the first player and the second player based on revenue sharing data associated with the franchise object, the revenue sharing data received from the second player with the placement location for the franchise object.