Incentivizing players to engage in competitive gameplay

Abstract

Techniques for incentivizing completive gameplay include measuring metrics for a plurality of players (e.g., ranked players and non-ranked players) that engage in gameplay, and generating ranked profiles for the ranked players and a non-ranked profile for the non-ranked player based on the metrics. The techniques further include mapping the ranked profiles and the non-ranked profile in a vector-space, where one metric corresponds to one dimension in the vector-space, and presenting a notification to the non-ranked player based on a distance in the vector-space between the non-ranked profile and at least one ranked profile. The notification provides an incentive for the non-ranked player to engage in competitive gameplay.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for encouraging competitive gameplay, the method comprising:
 receiving gameplay data over a communication network from a plurality of player devices, the plurality of player devices associated with a plurality of players playing a plurality of game titles;   generating metrics for each of the players based on the received gameplay data; mapping the generated metrics for each player in a plurality of vector-spaces, wherein each of the vector-spaces correspond to one of the game titles;   defining one or more tier criteria for each of the plurality of game titles based on the mapping, wherein the tier criteria are defined by relative positions of each of the players within the vector-spaces;   identifying that the mapped metrics of a first one of the players corresponds to the mapped metrics of a second one of the players, wherein the first player has played at least one of the game titles that the second player has not played, and wherein the mapped metrics of the first player meets the tier criteria for an identified one of the tiers within the at least one game title; and   generating a notification to the second player that links to the at least one game title, wherein generating the notification is based on the identified tier.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein defining the tier criteria for the identified tier is based on a threshold distance between the players in the vector-space of the at least one game title. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein different types of notification are associated with different threshold distances associated with different tiers within the at least one game title. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the notification further includes a rank predicted for the second player in relation to the at least one game title, the predicted rank based on the mapped metrics of the second player within the vector-space and a rank of the first player. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the notification further includes an identified skillset of the second player that corresponds to the at least one game title, the identified skillset based on the mapped metrics of the second player within the vector-space and a skillset of the first player. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the notification further includes one or more awards available within the at least one game title, the awards corresponding to the mapped metrics of the second player. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the generated metrics include one or more real-world metrics that are measured by hardware configured to detect one or more conditions in a real-world environment. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the generated metrics include one or more virtual metrics are based on one or more interactions within a virtual environment of one or more of the game titles. 
     
     
         9 . A system for encouraging competitive gameplay, the system comprising:
 a network interface to communicate over one or more communication networks, wherein the network interface receives gameplay data from a plurality of player devices, the plurality of player devices associated with a plurality of players playing a plurality of game titles; and   a processor that executes instructions stored in memory, wherein the processor executes instructions to:
 generates metrics for each of the players based on the received gameplay data; 
 maps the generated metrics for each player in a plurality of vector-spaces, wherein each of the vector-spaces correspond to one of the game titles; 
 defines one or more tier criteria for each of the plurality of game titles based on the mapping, wherein the tier criteria are defined by relative positions of each of the players within the vector-spaces; 
 identifies that the mapped metrics of a first one of the players corresponds to the mapped metrics of a second one of the players, wherein the first player has played at least one of the game titles that the second player has not played, and wherein the mapped metrics of the first player meets the tier criteria for an identified one of the tiers within the at least one game title; and 
 generates a notification to the second player that links to the at least one game, wherein generating the notification is based on the identified tier. 
   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the processor defines the tier criteria for the identified tier based on a threshold distance between the players in the vector-space of the at least one game title. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein different types of notification are associated with different threshold distances associated with different tiers within the at least one game title. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the notification further includes a rank predicted for the second player in relation to the at least one game title, the predicted rank based on the mapped metrics of the second player within the vector-space and a rank of the first player. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the notification further includes an identified skillset of the second player that corresponds to the at least one game title, the identified skillset based on the mapped metrics of the second player within the vector-space and a skillset of the first player. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the notification further includes one or more awards available within the at least one game title, the awards corresponding to the mapped metrics of the second player. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the generated metrics include one or more real-world metrics that are measured by hardware configured to detect one or more conditions in a real-world environment. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the generated metrics include one or more virtual metrics measured based on interactions within a virtual environment of the at least one game titles. 
     
     
         17 . A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium, having instructions encoded thereon, the instructions executable by a processor to perform a method for encouraging competitive gameplay, the method comprising:
 receiving gameplay data over a communication network from a plurality of player devices, the plurality of player devices associated with a plurality of players playing a plurality of game titles;   generating metrics for each of the players based on the received gameplay data;   mapping the generated metrics for each player in a plurality of vector-spaces, wherein each of the vector-spaces correspond to one of the game titles;   defining one or more tier criteria for each of the plurality of game titles based on the mapping, wherein the tier criteria are defined by relative positions of each of the players within the vector-spaces;   identifying that the mapped metrics of a first one of the players corresponds to the mapped metrics of a second one of the players, wherein the first player has played at least one of the game titles that the second player has not played, and wherein the mapped metrics of the first player meets the tier criteria for an identified one of the tiers within the at least one game title; and   generating a notification to the second player that links to the at least one game, wherein generating the notification is based on the identified tier.