Patent ID: 9220982
Filing Date: 2015-12-29
Classification: A63F

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: maintaining a data structure that establishes mappings between instances of a virtual world and instances of a zone located within the virtual world; wherein the data structure includes a mapping between a first group of instances of the virtual world and a particular instance of the zone; wherein the first group of instances of the virtual world includes two or more instances of the virtual world; wherein the first group of instances of the virtual world includes fewer than all instances of the virtual world; wherein the data structure includes a mapping between a second group of instances of the virtual world and a second particular instance of the zone; wherein the first group of instances of the virtual world includes different instances of the virtual world than the second group of instances of the virtual world; wherein the particular instance of the zone is different than the second particular instance of the zone; receiving information that indicates a first one or more characters are entering the zone from a first instance of the virtual world; in response to receiving the information that indicates the first one or more characters are entering the zone from the first instance of the virtual world, determining, using the data structure, whether the first instance of the virtual world is mapped to the particular instance of the zone; based at least in part on determining that the first one or more characters are entering the zone from an instance that is mapped to the particular instance of the zone, selecting the particular instance of the zone for the first one or more characters to enter and adding the first one or more characters to the particular instance of the zone; wherein characters within the particular instance of the zone are managed by one or more servers; wherein, after the first one or more characters enter the particular instance of the zone, the particular instance of the zone includes both the first one or more characters and a second one or more characters that are members of a second instance of the virtual world; wherein the second instance is different than the first instance; wherein the second instance of the virtual world is mapped, within the data structure, to the particular instance of the zone belongs to the first instance group; wherein, while within the particular instance of the zone, the first one or more characters are viewable by the second one or more characters, and the second one or more characters are viewable by the first one or more characters; wherein, the virtual world has a second zone; wherein the first instance of the virtual world has a first instance of the second zone; wherein the second instance of the virtual world has a second instance of the second zone; wherein characters of the first instance of the virtual world that are within the first instance of the second zone are not viewable by characters of the second instance of the virtual world that are within the second instance of the second zone; in response to detecting that a number of players within the particular instance of the zone has reached a particular threshold, modifying the data structure to change which instances of the virtual world are mapped to the particular instance of the zone by: after modifying the data structure, determining: wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.