Encouraging player socialization using a nemesis and avenger system

Abstract

In an approach, one or more player characters controllable by a first player account perform an action in an instance of a game world. In the event that the action meets one or more conditions for creating a nemesis, a computer system controlling the game instance selects a second player account to be invaded by a nemesis. When the second player account plays the game in the same or a different game instance, the computer system determines whether second one or more characters of the selected account meet one or more invasion conditions. If the invasion conditions are met, the computer system generates computer-controlled enemy NPCs for second one or more characters of the second player account to defeat. If the second account defeats the nemesis invasion, rewards are generated for the first and second player accounts. Otherwise, the computer system chooses a third player account for nemesis invasion.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 detecting that a particular event has occurred within a first game instance;   wherein the particular event involves:
 first one or more player characters that are controllable by a first account, and 
 a particular computer-controlled character, 
   in response to detecting that the particular event has occurred, performing steps of:
 selecting a second account from one or more accounts based on a friends list associated with the first account, 
 wherein the second account is a different account than the first account; 
 storing data associated with the second account that flags the second account to be invaded by one or more computer-controlled characters, 
   based on the data that flags the second account, generating the one or more computer-controlled characters in a second game instance;   wherein the second game instance includes second one or more player characters that are controllable by the second account;   wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.