220 likes | 331 Views
The Community Network Game CNG. D7.4.2: Project Presentation. Presentation Overview. Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) Need for online collaboration Enhancing in-game experience: User Generated Content (UGC) In-game collaboration CNG’s vision and goals
E N D
The Community Network GameCNG D7.4.2: Project Presentation
Presentation Overview • Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) • Need for online collaboration • Enhancing in-game experience: • User Generated Content (UGC) • In-game collaboration • CNG’s vision and goals • CNG’s innovative technologies: • In-game Graphic Insertion Technology (IGIT) • Enhanced peer-to-peer delivery of UGC • Benefits from CNG • Project’s Consortium
Need for Online Collaboration • Massive Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs): multiplayer video games capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously: • World of Warcraft, Lineage, Lord of the Rings • Roma Victor (RedBedlam, UK), Entropia Universe (Mindark, SE),OGame (Gameforge, DE), Age of Conan (Funcom, NO) • MMOGs allow: • a large number of online players to interact and communicate in virtual environments simultaneously on the internet • formulation of active communities among MMOG players • exchange of User Generated Content (UGC)
Growth of MMOG Market • MMOG: successful market growth • more than 21 million active subscriptions • annual revenue over $3 billion by 2015 (ResearchAndMarkets.com, 2010) (Source MMOData.net, 2009)
User Generated Content • User Generated Content (UGC)refers to various types ofmedia content: • publicly available • produced by end-users • Examples of UGC are: • graphics, 3D, music, video • instant messaging • voice and video chat • game specific information (e.g. top scores, reviewing, polling) • etc...
Enhancing In-Game Experience • Network already occupied by MMOG server-client data • UGC traffic manipulation as a real challenge • CNG to research and develop: • Peer-to-peer (P2P) overlay for the distribution of UGC • new sophisticated techniques for P2P UGC streaming that are “friendly” to the MMOG client-server traffic • In-game Graphic Insertion Technology (IGIT) to allow the addition of new engaging community services • without need to change the game code • without adding new processing or network loads to the MMOGs’ central servers
What is CNG’s Goal? • Enhance the capacity of MMOGs to support users in the collaborative development and sharing of UGC • Enable MMOGs to encompass new UGC tools and support new business models • Exploitation of the proposed IGIT and P2P technologies in the online PC games market • Integration with external communities (e.g., Facebook and Twitter)
What is Innovative in CNG? • An architecture for sharing UGC via P2P without interrupting the MMOG server-client data flow • Use of IGIT on users’ local devices • Use of P2P traffic for UGC Video/Graphical application functionality • Development of new business models that capitalise on CNGs’ innovative approach
IGIT Overview • IGIT can replace and insert content in the game: • in real time • without the need to change the game’s code in client or server • IGIT includes: • in-game spot identification methods • in-game asset replacement and asset insertion • in-frame web browser for hosting Web 2.0 applications
IGIT Examples • [1] The original game resolution was modified to enable an additional frame to hold in-frame objects. • [2] MSN messenger window. • [3] Web browser. • [4] Another web browser window. • [5] MMOG chat to enable cooperation among users. • [6] In-game 3D UGC. • [7] Video chat between casual friends or cooperative players.
Enhanced P2P Delivery • Overlays for P2P User Generated Streaming Diffusion • Organising the diffusion is an NP-hard problem • unlikely to obtain optimal solution in reasonable time • other approximation schemes exhibit good performance • P2P traffic friendly towards MMOG • fair sharing of resources in a multi-threaded system • use of congestion control mechanisms • definition of Areas of Interest • Efficient transmission of UGC over a P2P overlay • error control methods with incremental redundancy
CNG System Architecture • The generic MMOG architecture is not modified • Sandbox is added at the client side • responsible for modifying the game environment • CNG Server added for the monitoring of the P2P UGC communication • act as tracker of the system • common point of communication for P2P overlay • user registration and authentication • organization of the P2P exchanges • storage of information
Benefits to the End-Users • Increased communication and interaction among MMOG players • Customised MMOGs according to users’ preferences • Development of new community building tools • collaborative creation and display of audio-visual material • in-game P2P file-sharing of documents and objects • in-game voting, reviewing and polling
Benefits to the End-Users • CNG will enable the development of richer media user generated content: • collaborative • intuitive • enjoyable • shareable
Benefits to the Industry (1/2) For developers and operators: • new community building tools without needing to redesign or recode current game offerings • enrich user experience in their content • bring ‘communities’ into the content • lower network costs • benefit from new income streams • control how commercial and UGC content are displayed • create positive-associations with brand values • target rich media communications within the CNG client and the MMOGs
Benefits to the Industry (2/2) For advertisers: • create positive-associations with brand values • target rich media communications within the CNG client and the MMOGs
Benefits to the EU • Boost the already growing EU game industry • EU-based games development companies to gain competitive advantage from better network efficiencies • Leading the way in new methods to engage with in-game advertising • Creating a new market sector of 3rd party community tool providers for MMOGs and online games generally
7th Framework Programme • The CNG project is funded under the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) priority of the FP7 • FP7: European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development • CNG project is a small or medium-scale focus research project (STREP) • CNG project started on 1st February 2010 • It will be completed in 30 months
Contact Information Project Co-ordinator: Mr. Alex Shani Exent Technologies Ltd. 25 Bazel Street PO Box 2645, Petach-Tikva 49125, Tel Aviv, Israel Tel.: +972 747 133 135 ashani@exent.com http://www.cng-project.eu