Abstract:
A system and method are disclosed for dynamically loading game software for smooth game play. A load boundary associated with a game environment is identified. A position of a character in the game environment is then monitored. Instructions corresponding to another game environment are loaded into a memory when the character crosses the load boundary, such that game play is not interrupted.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    The present application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/328,479, filed Oct. 10, 2001 and entitled “Dynamic Loading of Game Software for Smooth Game Play,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    This invention relates generally to electronic entertainment devices and relates more particularly to a system and method for dynamically loading game software for smooth game play.  
           [0004]    2. Description of the Background Art  
           [0005]    A virtual world represented by game software often includes more than one environment or level of game play. A character, controllable by the user, typically begins the game in one environment or level, and then progresses to other, often more challenging, environments or levels. Typically there is a pause in game play while the game transitions from one environment to another. The game screen may momentarily be blank or a “loading” screen may appear while the new environment or level is loaded from the game disc to the game system&#39;s memory. Loading times vary by game, but games with complex environments and characters may require significant loading times. Whether the loading time is short or significant, the flow of game play is interrupted.  
           [0006]    In order to prevent the blank or loading screen from being displayed to a user, hallway or transition rooms may be presented to the user while software associated with a new game environment is loaded. Typically, hallway and transition rooms are areas of low detail that a character traverses to move between areas of high detail. When the user&#39;s character is in the area of low detail, the areas of high detail on either side of the hallway or the transition room are not shown to the user. Although this avoids displaying a blank or loading screen to the user, it is obvious to the user that the user is merely awaiting the new environment until real game play can continue.  
           [0007]    Use of blank or loading screens, as well as traditional hallways or transition rooms makes obvious to the user that the user is suspended from actual game play pending the availability of the new environment. This interruption in game play spoils the realism of the game and alerts the user to a pause in game play.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    In accordance with the invention, a system and method are disclosed for dynamically loading game software for smooth game play. A load boundary associated with a game environment is identified. A position of a character in the game environment is then monitored. Instructions corresponding to another game environment are loaded into a memory when the character crosses the load boundary, such that game play is not interrupted.  
           [0009]    In a system according to the invention, an environment management engine is configured to identify a load boundary associated with a game environment, monitor the position of a character in the game environment, and load instructions corresponding to another game environment into a memory when the character crosses the load boundary. At least two memory segments are configured to store instructions for the game environment and to receive and store the instructions corresponding to the other game environment.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of an electronic entertainment system, according to the invention;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the main memory of FIG. 1, according to the invention;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating dynamic loading of game software utilizing the environment management engine of FIG. 2 according to one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process for establishing a load boundary according to one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 5 is a diagram of exemplary game environments according to one embodiment of the invention;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process for loading game software for the next environment according to one embodiment of the invention; and  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process for preventing a user from viewing a non-environment display according to one embodiment of the invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]    [0017]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of an electronic entertainment system  100  according to the invention. System  100  includes, but is not limited to, a main memory  110 , a central processing unit (CPU)  112 , vector processing units VU 0   111  and VU 1   113 , a graphics processing unit (GPU)  114 , an input/output processor (IOP)  116 , an IOP memory  118 , a controller interface  120 , a memory card  122 , a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface  124 , and an IEEE 1394 interface  126 . System  100  also includes an operating system read-only memory (OS ROM)  128 , a sound processing unit (SPU)  132 , an optical disc control unit  134 , and a hard disc drive (HDD)  136 , which are connected via a bus  146  to IOP  116 . System  100  is preferably an electronic gaming console; however, system  100  may also be implemented as, for example, a general-purpose computer, a set-top box, or a hand-held gaming device.  
         [0018]    CPU  112 , VU 0   111 , VU 1   113 , GPU  114 , and IOP  116  communicate via a system bus  144 . CPU  112  communicates with main memory  110  via a dedicated bus  142 . VU 1   113  and GPU  114  may also communicate via a dedicated bus  140 . CPU  112  executes programs stored in OS ROM  128  and main memory  110 . Main memory  110  may contain prestored programs and may also contain programs transferred via IOP  116  from a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or other optical disc (not shown) using optical disc control unit  134 . IOP  116  controls data exchanges between CPU  112 , VU 0   111 , VU 1   113 , GPU  114  and other devices of system  100 , such as controller interface  120 . Although a CPU  112  is described, any other type of processor is within the scope of the invention.  
         [0019]    GPU  114  executes drawing instructions from CPU  112  and VU 0   111  to produce images for display on a display device (not shown). VU 1   113  transforms objects from three-dimensional coordinates to two-dimensional coordinates, and sends the two-dimensional coordinates to GPU  114 . SPU  132  executes instructions to produce sound signals that are output on an audio device (not shown).  
         [0020]    A user of system  100  provides instructions via controller interface  120  to CPU  112 . For example, the user may instruct CPU  112  to store certain game information on memory card  122  or may instruct a character in a game to perform some specified action. Other devices may be connected to system  100  via USB interface  124  and IEEE 1394 interface  126 .  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one embodiment of main memory  110  of FIG. 1, according to the invention. Main memory  110  includes, but is not limited to, game software  202 , a memory segment  206 , and a memory segment  208 . Game software  202  includes instructions executable by CPU  112 , VUO  111 , VUI  113 , and SPU  132  that allow a user of system  100  to play a game. In the FIG. 2 embodiment, game software  202  is related to an action adventure game in which a user controls a character on a journey. In other embodiments, game software  202  may be related to any other type of game, including but not limited to other action adventure games, a role-playing game (RPG), and a civilization-building simulation game. Game software  202  also includes an environment management module  204 .  
         [0022]    Memory segment  206  and memory segment  208  are portions of memory  110  configured to store game environments. Environment management engine  204  loads an environment to memory segment  206  from a disc in optical disc control unit  134 . Environment management engine  204  loads another environment to memory segment  208  from the disc. One of memory segment  206  and memory segment  208  stores a current environment, while the other of memory segment  206  and memory segment  208  stores a next environment. Although two memory segments  206 ,  208  are shown in FIG. 2, any number of memory segments is within the scope of the invention.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating dynamic loading of game software utilizing environment management engine  204  of FIG. 2 according to one embodiment of the invention. In step  302 , environment management engine  204  identifies a load boundary associated with the current game environment. The current game environment is generally the environment that the character is presently exploring. A load boundary is a threshold that, when reached or crossed by the character, indicates to environment management engine  204  that the next environment should be loaded to memory segment  206  or memory segment  208 . A process of establishing a load boundary during production of game software  202  will be discussed in conjunction with FIG. 4.  
         [0024]    Next, in step  304 , environment management engine  204  monitors the position of a character in the current game environment. In order to monitor the position of the character, environment management engine  204  tracks input of a user. For instance, if the user moves the character forward, towards the next environment, this input is tracked by environment management engine  204 . Similarly, if the user moves the character backwards, towards a previously executed environment, environment management engine  204  tracks this input. Accordingly, environment management engine  204  constantly tracks movements of the character in order to determine when the load boundary is crossed, or otherwise reached.  
         [0025]    In step  306 , environment management engine  204  determines whether the load boundary has been crossed by the character. If the character has not crossed the load boundary, environment management engine  204  continues to query whether the boundary has been crossed until environment management engine  204  determines that an affirmative response can be returned. When the character has crossed the load boundary, environment management engine  204  loads a next game environment into the one of memory segment  206  or memory segment  208  that does not hold the current game environment, in step  308 . The next game environment becomes the current game environment when the character enters the environment. Accordingly, the current game environment becomes a previous environment when the character enters the next environment.  
         [0026]    When the character crosses, or reaches, the load boundary, environment management engine  204  is triggered to load the next game environment. Generally, triggers to load the next game environment include situations in which the user can see the next environment or the user will soon need the next environment, or previous environment where appropriate, as discussed herein. The load boundary is a trigger that may represent these situations.  
         [0027]    As stated above, in step  308 , environment management engine  204  loads the next environment to either memory segment  206  or memory segment  208  from the disc in optical disc control unit  134  (FIG. 1). Since it is assumed that the character is progressing forward in the game, the next environment is the environment that is loaded. However, if the character regresses in the game, the previously executed environment will be re-loaded. In other words, if the user chooses to move the character backwards, away from the next environment, the load boundary will be crossed in the backwards direction and environment management engine  204  will load the previously executed environment in order to allow the user to return the character to the previously executed environment should the user choose such a route.  
         [0028]    In step  310 , environment management engine  204  determines whether the character has reached an end of the current game environment. If the character has not reached the end of the current game environment, environment management engine  204  continues to query whether the character has reached the end of the current game environment until a positive answer can be established. If the character has reached the end of the current game environment, the next game environment is displayed in step  312 .  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process for establishing a load boundary according to one embodiment of the invention. The FIG. 4 process for establishing a load boundary relates to processes performed during design and production of game software  202  and/or environment management engine  204 . In step  402 , a designer calculates a load time for an environment. Load time is the amount of time, or duration of time, that is required to load instructions for a particular environment from a disc to memory  110 . The load time for each environment typically varies, depending upon the complexity of the environment. The load time for each environment may be any length of time suitable for use with the invention. For instance, the load times for each environment may be equivalent or approximately equivalent. As another example, successive environments may require load times that are shorter in duration than preceding environments.  
         [0030]    In step  404 , the designer sets the minimum duration of a new environment equal to twice the calculated load time of the other environment. The minimum duration of the environment is measured as the least amount of time it takes a character to traverse the environment. The minimum duration is set to twice the load time of the other environment so that when the character passes through the midpoint of the environment, there will be sufficient time to load the next environment into memory segment  206  or memory segment  208 .  
         [0031]    In step  406 , the designer establishes the load boundary at the midpoint of the new environment. By establishing the load boundary at the midpoint of a current environment (e.g., the new environment), initiation of loading for a next environment can proceed when this midpoint is reached or crossed by the character. Because loading time of the next environment is equal to or less than half of the running time of the current environment, loading of the next environment will be completed by the time the character reaches the end of the current environment. Thus, the user can seamlessly enter the character into the next environment without experiencing interruption or delay. Further, the user will not notice any transitioning time from the current environment to the next environment. Although FIG. 4 illustrates a process for establishing a boundary that is at the midpoint of the environment, any process for establishing a boundary may be utilized in accordance with the invention.  
         [0032]    Due to the creation of a midpoint as a load boundary, the user can move the character to any one of many environments from a particular midpoint. In other words, the character need not move from the current environment to the next environment in a linear manner. As discussed herein, the user does not necessarily proceed to the immediate successor environment with respect to level of difficulty. The midpoint of each environment is far enough away from the other environments that instructions for that game environment will be loaded to memory segment  206  or memory segment  208  by the time the character reaches one of the other environments.  
         [0033]    In another embodiment of the invention, continuation points may be established. Continuation points trigger the process of loading the next environment to continue, or otherwise be maintained. Thus, when the character crosses continuation points, the next environment continues to be loaded into level memory  206  or level memory  208 . In this embodiment, loading of the next environment may cease if the character fails to cross a particular continuation point. As many or as few continuation points as desired may be established in any game environment. The continuation points may act as a trigger to continue the next environment loading process and/or the continuation points may be utilized to help monitor the position of the character.  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 5 is a diagram of game environments according to one embodiment of the invention. The user is allowed to move character  508  towards environment “V”  510  via virtual hallway  510   a,  “W”  512  via virtual hallway  512   a,  “Y”  514  via virtual hallway  514   a,  or “Z”  516  via virtual hallway  516   a.  Thus, the user can move character  508  to any number of environments from load boundary  502  in environment “X”  506 . While the user can move character  508  to any number of environments, the user can see only two environments at a time, as well as a low resolution of a third environment, where desired, or as otherwise appropriate.  
         [0035]    Character  508  crosses load boundary  502  into one of the virtual hallways. The virtual hallway that character  508  enters indicates to the environment management engine  204  which environment should be loaded next. For instance, if character  508  enters virtual hallway  514   a,  environment management engine  204  loads environment “V”  514  to memory segment  206  or memory segment  208 . Other environments may have more or fewer virtual hallways. In FIG. 5, for example, environment “V”  514  only has two virtual hallways (not shown) because character  508  can only move towards environment “X”  506  or environment “W”  512  from environment “V”  514 . Each virtual hallway is a defined area, such as a pathway. Accordingly, character  508  cannot traverse outside the virtual hallway, directly to another virtual hallway, for example.  
         [0036]    Seamless transitioning from one environment to another is accomplished by switching back and forth between game environments stored in memory segment  206  and memory segment  208 . Because there are two or more memory segments  206  and  208 , the user&#39;s character can be in one level and either one other level or no other level is visible to the user. By configuring memory  110  to include memory segment  206  and memory segment  208 , a “virtual hallway,” such as the virtual hallways illustrated in FIG. 5, is created. Unlike traditional “hallways,” the virtual hallway is a level unto itself. Accordingly, each environment essentially has no borders. The user moves the character from one environment to another environment without delay or interruption in game play.  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process for loading game software for the next environment in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In step  602 , environment management engine  204  identifies the next environment  602 . The next environment may be any environment accessible to the character from the current environment. In other words, the next environment is not necessarily the next immediate successor environment following the current environment. The next environment may skip an environment or level, skip two environments, skip no environments, and so on.  
         [0038]    In step  604 , environment management engine  204  identifies an available memory segment. In one embodiment, one of memory segment  206  and memory segment  208  does not include the current environment. In step  606 , environment management engine  204  loads the next environment to the available memory segment. For example, memory segment  206  (FIG. 2) may contain a previously executed environment and thus, is available to receive the next environment, while memory segment  208  stores the currently executing environment.  
         [0039]    When the midpoint of the currently executed environment is crossed by the character, environment management engine  204  loads the next environment into memory segment  206  over the previously executed environment. As discussed herein, if the user causes the character to turn around and run back towards the previously executed environment, the character would cross the midpoint load boundary again, in the opposite direction. The midpoint load boundary being crossed by the character causes the previously executed environment to be loaded to memory segment  206  again.  
         [0040]    Depending upon the location of the character with respect to the midpoint, the user can observe the currently executed environment and either the next environment or the previous environment. In other words, if the character is in a location in the current environment prior to the midpoint thereof, the user can view the previous environment as well as the current environment. However, if the user&#39;s character is located in the current environment after the midpoint of the current environment, the user can see the next environment ahead, as well as the current environment, but not the previous environment.  
         [0041]    In order to accomplish this type of display prior to completion of loading the previous or the next environment, a portion of the particular environment is displayed before or after the current environment, depending upon the location of the character. In other words, only a fraction of the particular environment towards which the character is progressing is displayed to the user. Thus, the user can observe the particular environment. Since an environment will be loaded and ready to be fully displayed by the time the character reaches the particular environment, the character can enter the particular environment when the particular environment is reached by the character.  
         [0042]    In step  608 , the next environment is run at the cessation of the current environment. As discussed herein, the next environment is loaded when the character crosses the load boundary of the currently executing environment. Thus, when the character reaches the end of the currently executing environment, the next environment is already loaded and is ready to run. By dynamically loading each next environment, the user experiences smooth game play since no pause or interruption in the game occurs. As discussed herein, traditionally, the user waited for the next environment to load at the conclusion of the current environment, a “loading” or blank screen displayed to the user during this game delay. The invention offers smooth game play to the user by pre-loading the next environment, avoiding the game interruptions and delays of prior art gaming software.  
         [0043]    In one embodiment of the invention, three environments, or portions of the environments, may be displayed at a particular time. In order to accomplish the presentation of three levels at a time, low resolution versions of particular environments are displayed. In other words, low resolution versions of previous levels or levels that the user should be able to see from any environment are displayed.  
         [0044]    For example, as a character proceeds through a city, two environments of the city are viewable at a time, as discussed herein. However, the user should be able to see the tops of the buildings within the city from any environment within the city. Accordingly, low resolution versions of the tops of buildings are displayed to the user in addition to the two other environments.  
         [0045]    In addition, as a character moves through an environment, various details related to that environment may be loaded to memory  110  and released as appropriate. For instance, speech for a specific person in the environment may be triggered if the character approaches the specific person. The software for speech for the specific person is loaded to memory  110  and executed when the character approaches the person. Depending upon the current environment, the software for speech for the person may be loaded to memory segment  206  or memory segment  208 . When the character moves away from the person, the software for speech for that person is released. Conversely, if the character fails to approach the person, speech software for the person is not loaded to memory  110 . Thus, details can be added to the particular environment without taxing the system by utilizing vast amounts of memory.  
         [0046]    [0046]FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process for preventing a user from viewing non-environment display according to one embodiment of the invention. In step  702 , environment management engine  204  displays an environment. The environment may be a currently executed environment or a next environment, for which execution is commencing.  
         [0047]    In step  704 , environment management engine  204  determines whether the character has passed the load boundary. If the character has not passed the load boundary, environment management engine  204  continues to inquire as to whether or not the load boundary has been passed by the character until the character has passed the load boundary. Once the character has passed the load boundary, the environment management engine  204  loads the next environment to memory segment  206  or memory segment  208 , in step  706 .  
         [0048]    In step  708 , environment management engine  204  determines whether the character has reached the end of the environment being displayed in step  702 . If the character has not reached the end of the environment, environment management engine  204  continues to monitor the position of the character in order to determine when the character reaches the end of the environment. When the character has reached the end of the environment, environment management engine  204  determines whether the next environment is ready for display, in step  710 . If the next environment is ready for display, environment management engine  204  displays the next environment, in step  702 . The FIG. 7 process continues until the game ends.  
         [0049]    However, as shown in FIG. 7, if the next environment is not ready for display, environment management engine  204  restricts the character&#39;s movement, in step  712 . For example, environment management engine  204  may cause the character to trip and fall, and to be unmovable by the user. Once the character&#39;s movement has been restricted, such as by tripping and falling, environment management engine  204  continues to query whether the next environment is ready for display (step  710 ).  
         [0050]    If the next environment becomes ready for display, the next environment is displayed, in step  702 , and the character is once again movable. The next environment may be delayed with respect to availability for display due to an old system, for example, that takes longer than expected to load the next environment. As another example, the DVD ROM may have a skip or other problem that causes delays in loading the next environment. Any number of problems may contribute to a delay in loading the next environment.  
         [0051]    However, if the next environment fails to become available for display, the character will remain unmovable, indicating to the user that there is a system  100  malfunction of some type. Most commonly, the user&#39;s DVD ROM is severely scratched or permanently damaged, preventing proper loading of the next environment. Further, the user&#39;s DVD ROM drive itself may be damaged or destroyed, precluding loading of the next environment. Any number of problems may prevent loading of the next environment altogether. Accordingly, the character remains unmovable by the user in such a scenario in order to prevent the user from viewing non-environment display. Because the DVD ROM, DVD ROM drive, etc. is ruined, the user is unable to play the game regardless. Thus, rendering the character unmovable does not present an obstacle to commencement of the game.  
         [0052]    The invention has been explained above with reference to specific embodiments. Other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of this disclosure. The invention may readily be implemented using configurations other than those described in the preferred embodiments above. Additionally, the invention may effectively be used in conjunction with systems other than the one described above. Therefore, these and other variations upon the described embodiments are intended to be covered by the invention, which is limited only by the appended claims.