Patent ID: 8808091

Claim:
A method comprising: running, on a sending game console, a multiplayer game application that is configured to communicate with an online gaming service that provides a multiplayer gaming environment, wherein: the sending game console is configured to exchange console-to-console text messages with a receiving game console via a game console messaging service that operates independently from the multiplayer game application running on the sending game console and a corresponding multiplayer game running on the receiving game console, and the console-to-console text messages are addressed to recipients using gamer identifiers assigned to users of the multiplayer gaming environment; exposing, on the sending game console, an Application Program Interface (API) to the multiplayer game application running on the sending game console, wherein: the API enables the multiplayer game application to generate game-related custom messages that are compatible with the game console messaging service, the API provides a data structure for a game-related custom message that is automatically generated by the multiplayer game application based on game conditions, the game-related custom message containing a data payload that is to be passed through the receiving game console and processed by the corresponding multiplayer game application running on the receiving game console, and the data payload includes instructions that, when processed by the corresponding multiplayer game running on the receiving game console, effectuate a game-specific function which affects game play within the corresponding multiplayer game application running on the receiving game console; presenting the game-related custom message to a user of the sending game console via a messaging user interface generated by the sending game console; and sending the game-related custom message from the sending game console to the receiving game console as a console-to-console message via the game console messaging service in response to input from the user of the sending game console, the game-related custom message including: a gamer identifier that identifies a user of the receiving game console, a selectable object that is to be displayed in a messaging user interface generated by the receiving game console and that allows the user of the receiving game console to accept the game-specific function, the data payload including the instructions that effectuate the game-specific function, and execution data that forwards the data payload from the messaging user interface generated by the receiving console to the corresponding multiplayer game application running on the receiving game console in response to the user of the receiving game console selecting the selectable object to accept the game-specific function.