Patent ID: 9168458
Filing Date: 2015-10-27
Classification: A63F

Abstract:
1. A method for engaging players in a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game, comprising the operations of: assigning to a player of an MMO game a first game task in a conditional series of game tasks, wherein each game task includes a specified duration, wherein the first game task is a social game task that can be completed with the assistance of one or more persons associated with the player by an access control list that is maintained by a social networking website; determining whether the player completed the first game task within the specified duration using data read from a hybrid in-memory database, wherein the data includes data retrieved from the social networking website through an application programming interface (API) exposed by the social networking website; assigning the player a second game task in the conditional series of game tasks that is less difficult than the first game task, if the player did not complete the first game task within the specified duration; providing a reward to the player upon termination of the conditional series of game tasks, wherein the reward depends at least in part on the game tasks in the conditional series of game tasks that are completed by the player, wherein game mechanics for the MMO game allow the player to use virtual currency to purchase completion of a game task that the player did not complete, and wherein each operation of the method is executed by one or more processors.