A system that collects, analyzes, and applies physical metrics from participants in game environments. Participants (players and/or spectators) in a game may wear or hold devices that collect physical data from the participants via sensors, generate metrics data from the sensor data, and provide the metrics data to a participant metrics module. The module may receive the metrics data from the devices, analyze the metrics data to generate game inputs based on the participants' physical metrics, and provide the game inputs to the game system to affect game play. The module may also receive alerts or other information from the game system or from players, determine feedback for participants according to the received information, and signal the devices to provide feedback or alerts to the participants in the game. The devices may include indicators that are activated by the signals to provide visual, audio, and/or haptic indications to respective participants.

A method for performing a social project in a video game is provided. A session of the video game for a primary user is initiated, and a social project is initiated within the session of the video game. One or more secondary users are determined from a social graph of the primary user. A message requesting help to complete the social project is sent to the one or more secondary users, the message including a low-friction response mechanism. Upon activation of the low-friction response mechanism of the request, a response is received indicating an intent to help complete the social project from a responsive secondary user. Upon receiving the response, automated retrieval and animation of an avatar of the responsive secondary user is triggered within the primary user's session of the video game so as to collaborate on the social project.

A ranking method and system for providing a ranking of a game group is disclosed. The method includes creating a game group including a user and at least one member among the user's registered friends who have joined a game service, based on a game group creation request received from a user terminal. The method further comprises calculating a ranking of the user with respect to other members of the created game group based on a ranking inquiry request received from the user terminal, and providing the user terminal with the calculated ranking of the user. The user terminal drives a game service platform associated with a plurality of games and provides the game group creation request information and the ranking inquiry request information through the game service platform.

Provided are a display device and an operating method thereof. A first display device controls a communication interface to transmit a request to execute a game application to a game server and receive a game screen according to the execution of the game application from the game server, controls a display to display the game screen, controls the communication interface to transmit the game screen to a second display device corresponding to a second user by communicating with the second display device according to an input of designating the second user, receives a control signal for controlling the game application from the second display device, and transmits the received control signal to the game server for the game server to control the game application, based on the control signal, and receives a game screen corresponding to a result of controlling the game application from the game server.

Disclosed is a method for providing an in-game messenger service comprising: storing a game program in a platform server; associating an in-game messenger program for the game program; and transmitting the in-game messenger program associated with the game program to a user terminal as the game program is transmitted from the platform server to the user terminal.

A communication game system includes a plurality of game apparatuses which are able to wirelessly communicate with each other. Each of the game apparatus registers identifying information of an opponent obtained by a short-distance wireless communication or by user's manual input in a friend list. Thereafter, the game apparatus connects to the Internet, and inquires whether it is possible to communicate with an opponent in the friend list over the network. If it is possible to communicate, the game apparatus obtains an address of the opponent to make a network communication. Even if a user makes a short distance wireless communication with a friend to exchange and register the identifying information or registers the friend by hand and then is parted from the friend, the user can safely communicate with the friend across the network without being exposed to unknown players. In a case that an additional opponent is to be added to the multiplayer game session, one of the participants transmits identifying information to introduce the communicating opponents to each other. The game apparatuses introduced to each other make a communication over a network, and add the identifying information of the opponents to the friend list, if necessary.

A system and method for entering text within a video game application are described. For example, a system according to one embodiment of the invention comprises: a video game hosting service to execute a video game in response to user input; a client device to communicate with the video game hosting service over a first communication channel, wherein the client device has a first user input device communicatively coupled thereto, and wherein control signals for the video game are generated in response to input from the first user input device and transmitted from the client device to the video game hosting service over the first communication channel, the video game hosting service controlling a video game in response to receipt of the control signals; a display device communicatively coupled to the client device, the display device to display video of the video game; wherein the video game hosting service further includes program code to open a second communication channel to receive text input, the second communication channel being separate and independent from the first communication channel and usable by a data processing device capable of generating text input, wherein in response to receipt of text input over the second communication channel, the video game hosting service causes the text input to be displayed on the display device communicatively coupled to the client device.

Targeted recommendations may be provided to specific user segments. The users may be segmented on or more user parameters that facilitate targeted provision of recommendations to the individual segments of users. A recommendation may prompt a user to take a recommended action in the game.

Methods for sharing mini-games over a game cloud system include receiving a request from a first user to access a user account managed by the game cloud system. Access to the user account is provided, in response to the request. Providing access includes presenting a user interface with a plurality of mini-games available to the user account for user interaction, on a client device of the first user. The plurality of mini-games includes mini-games that have been shared and mini-games that have not been shared with other users. The method further includes detecting selection of a particular mini-game at the user interface. In response to detecting selection, an option to share the particular mini-game with other users, is provided. The option allows the first user to post the particular mini-game to a social stream of the other users.

A method includes steps of admitting a first player and a second player to play an on-line video game implemented in a virtual environment, establishing a definition of proximity for any two objects or avatars in the virtual environment, tracking location in the video game for each player avatar or object controlled by a player, noting an event each time the two players are in proximity, as defined by the proximity definition, recording time period that the two players are in proximity for each event, and issuing to one or both players a Friend suggestion for the other player, based on proximity events and time in proximity.