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WO2008130398A1 - Modification d'avatars commandée par des événements - Google Patents

Modification d'avatars commandée par des événements Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2008130398A1
WO2008130398A1 PCT/US2007/066694 US2007066694W WO2008130398A1 WO 2008130398 A1 WO2008130398 A1 WO 2008130398A1 US 2007066694 W US2007066694 W US 2007066694W WO 2008130398 A1 WO2008130398 A1 WO 2008130398A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
player
virtual
avatar
alteration
players
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2007/066694
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Ray J. Mueller
Andrew Van Luchene
Dean Alderucci
Original Assignee
Leviathan Entertainment
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Leviathan Entertainment filed Critical Leviathan Entertainment
Priority to PCT/US2007/066694 priority Critical patent/WO2008130398A1/fr
Publication of WO2008130398A1 publication Critical patent/WO2008130398A1/fr

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Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • A63F13/00—Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions
    • A63F13/70—Game security or game management aspects
    • A63F13/79—Game security or game management aspects involving player-related data, e.g. identities, accounts, preferences or play histories
    • A63F13/12—
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • A63F13/00—Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions
    • A63F13/30—Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • A63F13/00—Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions
    • A63F13/70—Game security or game management aspects
    • A63F13/75—Enforcing rules, e.g. detecting foul play or generating lists of cheating players
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • A63F13/00—Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions
    • A63F13/85—Providing additional services to players
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • A63F13/00—Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions
    • A63F13/85—Providing additional services to players
    • A63F13/87—Communicating with other players during game play, e.g. by e-mail or chat
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06N—COMPUTING ARRANGEMENTS BASED ON SPECIFIC COMPUTATIONAL MODELS
    • G06N3/00—Computing arrangements based on biological models
    • G06N3/004—Artificial life, i.e. computing arrangements simulating life
    • G06N3/006—Artificial life, i.e. computing arrangements simulating life based on simulated virtual individual or collective life forms, e.g. social simulations or particle swarm optimisation [PSO]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
    • H04L67/01—Protocols
    • H04L67/131—Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • A63F2300/00—Features of games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions, e.g. on a television screen, showing representations related to the game
    • A63F2300/50—Features of games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions, e.g. on a television screen, showing representations related to the game characterized by details of game servers
    • A63F2300/55—Details of game data or player data management
    • A63F2300/5546—Details of game data or player data management using player registration data, e.g. identification, account, preferences, game history
    • A63F2300/5553—Details of game data or player data management using player registration data, e.g. identification, account, preferences, game history user representation in the game field, e.g. avatar
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • A63F2300/00—Features of games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions, e.g. on a television screen, showing representations related to the game
    • A63F2300/50—Features of games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions, e.g. on a television screen, showing representations related to the game characterized by details of game servers
    • A63F2300/55—Details of game data or player data management
    • A63F2300/5586—Details of game data or player data management for enforcing rights or rules, e.g. to prevent foul play
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • A63F2300/00—Features of games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions, e.g. on a television screen, showing representations related to the game
    • A63F2300/80—Features of games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions, e.g. on a television screen, showing representations related to the game specially adapted for executing a specific type of game
    • A63F2300/807—Role playing or strategy games

Definitions

  • MMOGs massive multi player online games
  • Players of these games customarily access a game repeatedly (for durations typically ranging from a few minutes to several days) over given period of time, which may be days, weeks, months or even years.
  • the games are often constructed such that players pay a periodic subscription price (e.g., $15 per month) rather than, or in addition to, paying a one time purchase price for the game.
  • a periodic subscription price e.g., $15 per month
  • these games have no ultimate "winner” or “winning goal,” but instead attempt to create an enjoyable playing environment and a strong player community.
  • Virtual communities like Linden Lab's "Second Life” provide a three-dimensional metaverse in which people (who may or may not pay a fee for the right to access the metaverse) create avatars that are able to interact with other avatars as well as the local environment. It would be advantageous to provide improved methods and apparatus for increasing the enjoyment and / or longevity of these virtual environments.
  • Fig. 1 is a block diagram depicting a system 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting a system 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • Massive multi player online games MMOGs
  • MMORPGs massive multi-player role-playing games
  • MMOGs Massive multi player online games
  • MMORPGs massive multi-player role-playing games
  • This type of game is played in a giant persistent world where the game continues playing regardless of whether or not real players are logged in.
  • Players commonly access these games through a network such as the Internet, and may or may not be required to purchase additional software or hardware in order to play the game.
  • Such networks allow for people all over the world to participate and interact with each other in a virtual environment.
  • the present disclosure provides systems and methods which contribute to the evolution and longevity of such a game.
  • the present disclosure provides various event-driven mechanisms for avatar alteration in a metaverse.
  • the present disclosure provides various methods and systems which are suitable for use in a virtual metaverse.
  • the term "virtual” includes the concept "in a computer-generated environment or other intangible space.”
  • a "metaverse” includes a collection of online virtual environments which are accessible to one or more players of one or more online games or communities. In some embodiments, certain areas in a metaverse may be restricted to some players. Examples of metaverses include Massive Multi Player Online Video Game (MMPOVGs) such as World of Warcraft and virtual communities such as Second Life.
  • MMPOVGs Massive Multi Player Online Video Game
  • MMPOVGs sometimes referred to as Massive Multi Player Online Role
  • Playing Games MMPORPGs include video games and virtual environments that are provided by and accessed via at least two video game consoles connected to a Video Game Central Server via a network such as an internet or intranet, or as part of a peer- to-peer network including at least two Video Game Consoles.
  • players create and/or control characters that may interact with each and their surrounding virtual environment in a Metaverse that is stored on the Video Game Central Server and/or the Video Game Consoles.
  • a video game console Video Game Central may be in electronic communication with a video game server.
  • a video game server may include a CPU, memory, and permanent or temporary storage and be in electronic communication with multiple players via multiple video game consules. As such, the plurality of players are able to interact with each other as well as the metaverse by accessing the video game server via their video game consoles.
  • a network system 10 includes a central server 20 in communication with a plurality of video game consoles or playing units 18.
  • any number of video game playing units may be in communication with the central server. Typically, the number of video game playing units changes at various times as players join games and as players stop playing games.
  • more than one server may operate to coordinate the activities of the video game playing units, as is well known in the art.
  • Central server 20 may comprise any computing device (e.g., one or more computers) capable of communicating with other computing devices.
  • the server 20 typically comprises a processor which is in communication with a storage device, such as an appropriate combination of RAM, ROM, hard disk, and other well known storage media.
  • Central server 20 may comprise one or more personal computers, web servers, dedicated game servers, video game consoles, any combination of the foregoing, or the like.
  • Each video game device 18 may comprise any device capable of communicating with central server 20, providing video game information to a player, and transmitting the player's desired actions to the central server.
  • Each video game device typically comprises a processor which is in communication with a storage device, such as an appropriate combination of RAM, ROM, hard disk, and other well known storage media.
  • Suitable video game devices include, but are not limited to, personal computers, video game consoles, mobile phones, and personal data assistants (PDAs).
  • Video game 17 can be stored on central server 20.
  • video game 17 may be stored on the individual video game devices 18.
  • the video game devices are able to communicate with one another. Such communication may or may not be facilitated by central server 20. Accordingly, a player 19a accessing video game 17 via game device 18a may be able to play with a player 19b accessing video game 17 via game device 18b. As shown, it may be possible for multiple players (e.g. 19c, 19d) to access central server 20 via the same game device (e.g. 18c).
  • video game consoles include devices comprising a CPU, memory, and optional permanent storage residing at a player location that can allow for the playing of video games. Examples include, home PCs, Microsoft Xbox, and Sony Playstation, Wii, Playstation portable, etc.
  • Dedicated video game consoles may be useful for only playing video games, while multifunctional video game consoles, such as personal computers, PDA's and the like may be useful for performing multiple tasks including, but not limited to playing video games.
  • a particular meta verse may include one or more virtual or game environments.
  • the terms "virtual environment,” “game environment” and the like include a region, sub-region or area of a metaverse such as a country, city, era, building, etc., which is in some way recognizably different from another region, sub-region, or area of the metaverse.
  • a genetic algorithm may include any software application or module that can improve results with use.
  • Use and applications of rules based, expert systems and/or genetic algorithms are well known in the prior art and may be implemented using any applicable means.
  • methods to develop rules, expert systems and/or genetic algorithms are discussed and disclosed in various issued and pending patents and reference and other materials, including the following books entitled: “Genetic Algorithms in Search, Optimization, and Machine Learning”, by David E. Goldberg, and “An Introduction to Genetic Algorithms,” by Melanie Mitchell, and “Expert Systems: Design and Development,” by John Durkin,” and “Logical Foundations for Rule -Based Systems (Studies in Computational Intelligence),” by Antoni Ligeza, each and all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
  • a plug-in includes any software application or module or one or more computer instructions, which may or may not be in communication with other software applications or modules, and may include any file, image, graphic, icon, audio, video or any other attachment.
  • Plug-ins may be comprised of any one or more set of computer instructions using any computer programming language.
  • the term "player” includes any entity that accesses the metaverse, regardless of whether or not the player intends to or is capable of competing against other players. Typically, a player will register an account with a Video Game Central Server or within a peer-to-peer network and create Characters that can interact with other Characters in a Video Game Environment.
  • Character includes persona created by a player in a metaverse, while an avatar” includes the physical embodiment of a character in the metaverse.
  • the game server may be configured to maintain, host, and/or be in communication with a character account for each character that accesses the metaverse.
  • a character account includes information related to a particular character.
  • a character account may be a program and/or database that tracks various character related data including, but not necessarily limited to, character attributes.
  • a character attribute may include any quality, trait, feature or characteristic a particular Character can have.
  • Examples of character attributes include, but are not limited to:
  • Character Skills and abilities which may be inherent or acquired, and include but are not limited to: the ability to cast certain spells, foretell the future, read minds, use certain weapons, cook, hunt, find herbs, assemble herbs into potions, mine, assemble objects into other objects, fly, and/or enchant other player characters.
  • a synthetic voice which an audible signal that is recognized as speech or song.
  • a synthetic voice may be a recording of a real person speaking, or may be generated electronically.
  • a synthetic voice may be a celebrity voice.
  • a celebrity voice may be a voice, the sound of which is or would be recognizable by a statistically significant percentage of the target audience. Examples of celebrity voices include the voices of real life celebrities such as famous actors, politicians, singers and other celebrities (e.g. James Earl Jones, Richard Nixon, Ellen DeGeneres) as well as famous characters such as Bart Simpson, and Bugs Bunny.
  • a Celebrity Voice may be spoken by a real life celebrity, spoken by a celebrity voice impersonator, or created or enhanced using electronic means.
  • character life may include the fixed period of virtual or real world time that a player character can exist in a game environment.
  • the game server may maintain, host and/or be in communication with a player account for each player that accesses the metaverse.
  • a player who controls more than one character in the same metaverse may have one or more player account.
  • the player account may, for example, contain a player profile including player-related information such as player attributes, billing, and character account information.
  • Suitable billing information may include any information pertaining to billing a player including, but not limited to, a billing address, credit card account, bank account, pay pal account or other payment information.
  • Player attributes may include, but are not be limited to: 1. Real Money Account information
  • NPC Computer Generated Characters
  • CGC Computer Generated Characters
  • NPCs and CGCs include any character that is controlled by the system rather than being controlled by a player. However, under certain conditions NPCs or CGCs may be controlled by one or more players.
  • avatars in a metaverse attempt to complete, negotiate, beat, or experience one or more game parameters.
  • game parameters include, but are not limited to:
  • two or more characters, players, entites, etc. may decide to enter into an enforceable agreement such as a virtual contract.
  • virtual contracts and methods by which they may be created and enforced are provided in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/652,036, and U.S. Patent Application Serial Nos. 11/355,232, 11/624,662, 11/611,050, and 11/279,991 which hereby incorporated by reference.
  • a virtual contract may be a player to player Contract which may be a binding contract between player characters that allows the players to provide or exchange game attributes to one another.
  • the game server or peer-to-peer network automatically distributes game attributes between the player characters based on the contract conditions.
  • players may desire to trade, sell, loan, etc. various in-game items.
  • a particular metaverse or game environment may include an in-game Marketplace wherein players and characters can exchange goods and services including, but not limited to, items, attributes, contracts, etc. Exemplary exchanges for use in virtual environments are described, for example, in U.S. Patent Application No. 11/560456, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
  • a novice Player may be a player who has spent less than a certain amount of playing time in a given metaverse or game environment and/or who has been flagged or otherwise identified as requiring the help of a more experienced player, such as an expert, to complete a Game Parameter.
  • avatars may be assessed virtual penalties and rewards based on their performance in the game or other factors.
  • “Virtual Penalties” include any penalty imposed on an avatar that exists in a virtual world
  • “Virtual Rewards” include a reward or benefit provided or due to an avatar that exists in a virtual world.
  • a penalty alteration includes an alteration to an avatar based on a virtual penalty while a reward alteration includes an alteration to an avatar based on a virtual reward.
  • a Court include a virtual space and or time that allows players who are virtual court members to conduct sessions and issue virtual court orders.
  • Virtual Court Orders include a contract or instructions issued by a court to a player that includes obligations, alterations, rewards and penalties.
  • a Virtual Arbiter includes a virtual entity that can perform arbitration sessions between other virtual entities.
  • a Virtual Court System includes a virtual structure that facilitates one or more virtual courts.
  • banishment includes the disallowance of a player and/or one or more of a player's avatars or characters from participating in the virtual world on a temporary or permanent basis
  • a Celebrity Voice includes the voice of a real world entity that can be copyrighted.
  • a Synthetic Smell includes any combination of chemicals, natural or synthetic scents, e.g., oils, that, when combined can replicate any one or more natural or synthesized scents.
  • a Virtual Collection Agent includes a virtual entity that is licensed or otherwise allowed to issue, accept and or fulfill collection obligations or contracts.
  • a Virtual Bounty Hunter includes a virtual entity that is licensed or otherwise allowed to issue, accept, and or fulfill bounty contracts.
  • a fugitive character includes a character that is flagged as being a fugitive from a virtual entity or virtual obligation
  • the metaverse may allow characters to engage in complicated financial transactions such as loans. Examples of virtual loans and other virtual financial transactions are described, for example, in U.S. Patent Application Nos. 11/421,025, 11/559,158, 11/620,542, 11/535,572, 11/535,585, 11/625,225, and 11/625,229, each of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
  • a Virtual Loan Officer may include a virtual entity that is licenses or otherwise allowed to issue, accept and or fulfill loan officer duties.
  • characters may find themselves unable to repay the loans they have taken and forced to enter into virtual bankruptcy.
  • Virtual Bankruptcy may include the bankruptcy of a player character or avatar that is unable to meet one or more of his contractual obligations in the virtual or real world.
  • the present disclosure provides mechanisms for event-drive avatar alteration. According to one embodiment, the present disclosure provides a system that allows players in a virtual world to configure penalty and reward alterations that are applied to their own avatars other players' avatars based on player, reward and/or penalty specified criteria.
  • a system, player, group of players or other duly authorized governing body and/or a game owner uses an administrative tool to configure allowable penalties and rewards.
  • such penalties and/or rewards are predetermined or established within the game at the start of the game, and/or may be modified throughout or at certain times of game play and/or may be initially established within the game and/or by any person(s) authorized to establish such reward / penalties and/or which may be modified during game play. Such modifications may be made via any applicable means, including, manual or automated means.
  • the system may increase or decrease the extent or frequency of any such rewards or penalties if such changes are determined to be of use or are otherwise desired, e.g., by increasing or decreasing the extent and/or frequency of any such rewards or penalties, the game may be more enjoyable and/or may generate more benefits, such as revenues generated, number of players increases, length of time played increases, feedback from players improves, or any other desired goal or game objective or benefit.
  • the game includes rules controlling such rewards and/or penalties and/or two or more players create and/or enter into agreements and otherwise interact with other players via virtual avatars.
  • rules and/or virtual contract agreements players and/or the system can alter the appearance, sounds, and/or smells of another player's avatar. Alterations may be based on fulfilling and or not fulfilling obligations in a virtual contract.
  • players can modify their avatars on their own volition or by paying a fee.
  • a player may establish preferred attributes of their avatar and/or return an avatar to its original or preferred condition, e.g., removing a penalty smell by paying a fee to the system, court or player that imposed such smell.
  • any or all of the above alterations can be applied to the avatar receiving the reward or penalty and/or to the avatars that interact with that avatar.
  • Instances where penalty alteration can be applied to a player avatar include, for example:
  • Instances where reward alteration can be applied to a player avatar include:
  • G Encourages a person to sign up to a game or improve the type of account, e.g., change from standard to premium
  • the admin tool can limit the choices of a player based on any one or more of the following including the:
  • an alteration creation tool allows alterations to be created and set up with a licensing structure.
  • a player can create various masks that can be applied to avatars to alter their appearance. The player can also set up a licensing fee that other virtual entities can pay to use the mask to alter the appearance of avatars. Virtual entities can pay or be paid for use of an alteration license.
  • a player can import image or text files, alter and enhance them, and store them as alterations.
  • players can create alterations using in game tools, third party tools, plug-ins or any other applicable means and store them with licensing agreements for use by other players.
  • a character who has failed to make one or more payments when due on a virtual loan can be forced to say "I don't pay my bills” before he can say anything else to another avatar, or before making an offer to purchase any good or service, or before entering into another agreement, etc.
  • a character who does not complete building an virtual item for another player or builds the item with substandard or expected quality can be forced to wear a giant jackass mask until he has fulfilled his obligations and/or pays a fee to remove the mask
  • a character who is a traitor to his guild can emit an onion scent on the computers of other guild members when his avatar is generally in the same virtual vicinity of other avatars in the guild, or is approaching, or is "upwind" of such other avatars, i.e., when virtual wind is present or could otherwise affect the direction such sent could drift
  • NPC bill collection agent or NPC "mother hen" can follow a player character who has filed for bankruptcy.
  • the NPC can automatically take a percentage of all revenue generated by the avatar until a penalty amount is obtained and/or such NPC could be a nuisance to the delinquent player character, e.g., by repeating statements over and over to either player character and/or to any other player characters in the vicinity of such delinquent player, e.g., by saying "this guy is a deadbeat and doesn't pay his bills.”
  • Such statements may be made any time, all the time, or before, during or after certain events, e.g., just prior to making a purchase, entering into an agreement, bartering goods or services, and/or signing up for a credit card, etc.
  • a character who has cheated on his virtual wife can be fitted with a device that records his activity, which can be viewed and reviewed by his virtual wife.
  • the computer controlling an Avatar who has completed a contract can emit the smell of roses and/or have a "gold star” placed on the avatar's forehead.
  • An avatar who has not paid has taxes to a virtual government can be invisible or altered, e.g. exaggerated to all avatars who are part of that government.
  • all the avatars that are part of a government can be invisible or altered to an avatar who has not paid his taxes to that government
  • a player can purchase a mask to wear when he has an appointment with his virtual psychiatrist that conceals his avatar appearance and identity. The player can purchase this type of alteration for a per minute fee.
  • a player can purchase an avatar alteration so that his virtual interior designer (an NPC or avatar controlled by another player character) looks like Marilyn Monroe during a virtual appointment.
  • the selection of alterations that can be applied to a character who defaults on an obligation can occur when the:
  • the selection of alterations that can be applied to any character can occur at any suitable time during, or outside of, game time.
  • the selection of alterations can be configured or determined by individual players or NPCs, player or NPC guilds, player or NPC families, player or NPC corporations, player or NPC governments, player or NPC courts, or by the game server administrator and/or by rules established within the game.
  • the administrative tool allows different penalty configuration settings to be applied based on different administrative privileges.
  • the leader of a guild can select a set of penalties that can be applied to the contracts formed by members of his guild, and the other guild members can select from those penalties when they form virtual contracts with other entities in the game environment.
  • an artificial intelligence system can modify the alterations or selection of alterations based on which penalties, when applied, yield the fastest settlement or fulfillment of virtual obligations.
  • a rules based system can tally the time that an obligation is fulfilled based on alterations and modify the available alterations accordingly.
  • Use and applications of rules based, expert systems and/or genetic algorithms are well known in the prior art and may be implemented using any applicable means. For example, methods to develop rules, expert systems and/or genetic algorithms are discussed and disclosed in various issued and pending patents and reference and other materials, including the following books entitled: "Genetic Algorithms in Search, Optimization, and Machine Learning", by David E.
  • a virtual court system can rule on applying an alteration to a player avatar.
  • the only way the alteration can be reversed or modified is based on an additional court ruling and or the completion of an obligation specified by a virtual court order.
  • players can pay a fee for the privilege of attaching alteration penalties or rewards to their contracts in the game.
  • a character alteration being a penalty
  • it can be an enhancement for which the player will pay or be paid a fee, or that the player can earn when they reach a certain level of game play or obtain a certain skill in the virtual environment. Examples of how fee-based avatar alterations or enhancements might work include, but are not limited to:
  • fees can be paid or charged to any virtual or real entity or account including, for example, the following:
  • players can be alerted, for example via an alert system similar to that described in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 11/676,848, which is hereby incorporated by reference, when a portion of a virtual contract has or has not been fulfilled and can log in to their virtual world account to activate the alteration associated with the contract behavior.
  • alterations can be configured to automatically be applied to character avatars based on virtual contract terms.
  • players could acquire game attributes that give them the ability to alter the avatar of another player.
  • the right to alter the avatar of another player can be transferred to third parties along with the underlying contract associated with that right.
  • the alterations of an avatar can only be visible to some avatars and not others. For example, all the avatars in a guild could see the alteration of an avatar of a guild member, but players outside the guild could not see the alteration. As another example, only the boyfriend of another player character might be able to smell the perfume of his girlfriend.
  • an alteration can be applied to a player character, all characters of a player account, or some of the characters of a player account as defined by a contract or the rules of a virtual entity and/or the game.
  • avatar characteristics may be differentiable based on a particular grouping, status, ranking, etc. For example, all avatars controlled by players who have secured their Financial Account in a particular way may have access to or automatically be endowed with a particular avatar alteration or characteristic.
  • a player who uses a certain type of credit card to secure his or her financial account may have certain alteration privileges and/or his avatar can have alterations not available to other avatars.
  • a player using a Citibank credit card to secure his monthly payments to the game server can have access to the alteration of using celebrity voices as his voice in the game.
  • players who agree to display a corporate logo on their avatars can have the right to use a certain database of alterations on their own or other player's avatars.
  • a player can purchase the right to use an alteration on himself or others. These alterations can be bought for a period of time or a number of uses and/or until a certain event occurs or a certain action starts or stops occurring.
  • the present disclosure provides an alternate voice system using voice recognition.
  • players can select, rent, lease, purchase and/or sell one or more synthetic voices for their characters in the game.
  • his/her natural voice is converted into text using voice recognition software.
  • the text can then be converted back into verbal messages generated by the voice synthesizer using one or more synthetic voices selected by the user.
  • the synthetic voice can be available only if the character has reached a certain level or acquired a certain attribute in the game.
  • the game can be saved along with the converted text and synthetic voice of players, so that the saved game result can be stored, edited and/or turned into a product such as a movie or comic book and/or such records can be used or serve as an audit trail in the event a specific translation requires examination at some future date.
  • the synthetic voice could be a celebrity voice.
  • different celebrities could charge different fees for allowing players to use their voices.
  • the billing system could keep track of usage information, e.g., time used, and fees for each celebrity and pay or deposit such fees to celebrity or other designated accounts, e.g., agency accounts, based on player usage.
  • Fees for using the synthetic speech in the game could be different than fees for using the speech in a saved game result, such as a movie. Fees might also be different for synthesized voices of celebrities vs. fictitious or unknown persons.
  • certain words could be spoken in different celebrity voices by the same character. For instance, certain slogans could be spoken in one voice, while the rest of the speech is spoken in another voice. Certain words, spoken by the synthetic voice of certain celebrities could only be available to characters once they have acquired certain attributes in the game. For example, a player might choose a voice like Julia Childs' for any situations involving cooking, except when the player chooses to say the word "bam" in which instances the system might substitute Emeril Legasse's voice for such word(s).
  • an administrative tool may allow a player to specify what voice he wants to use for particular slogans and catch phrases.
  • the tool may further allow the player to agree to a licensing fee to use the voice.
  • Such tool may also permit the player to select different voices for different times of the day, day of the week, etc., and/or under different circumstances. For example, the player may wish to use one voice when conducting business, another voice when waging war and yet another voice when speaking with players or player characters designated as being of the opposite sex.
  • the system can convert text that is typed into a virtual world chat window into audible voice files.
  • players can create voice files of their spoken voice and/or pre-translated celebrity or other synthetic or recorded voices and such players can invoke or otherwise cause such pre-recorded or pre- translated voice / text to be spoken upon request, command or other indication provided by such player and/or automatically based upon one or more rules or predefined situations.
  • pre-recorded voices previously entered and/or translated text
  • players can create short phrases and/or complete sentences / paragraphs or entire conversations ahead of time.
  • Such features could prove useful in myriad situations and provide benefits for players that are unable to speak or speak clearly and/or can save valuable time in providing messages to players that may be offline or otherwise unavailable.
  • a player might wish to deliver the same voice mail message to many other players or player characters, whether or not such player or player character is presently available.
  • a player may record the phrase "pay your bills" and translate such phrase into a celebrity voice, such as Mr. T, and then deliver the message via e-mail, voice mail, or other communications, such as via an NPC or anytime such player comes into contact with any other player that owes such first player money or is overdue in paying such amounts when due.
  • Voice Phrases can also be hyperlinked to keyboard keys. A player can press the key to have the phrase spoken in the game environment.
  • a saved game result may be used to create a movie.
  • the movie may or may not use text, spoken audio, or both.
  • the player can convert text entries used in the saved game into audible voice files.
  • a license fee to use the synthetic voice files created from the real voice files of a celebrity can be charged the player, for example, as a flat fee, a monthly fee, an upfront fee, or based on the amount of language that is created and/or the situations or frequency that the voice is used. In the case more than one player is making use of the same celebrity voice, such fees could be based in whole or in part upon the total amount of usage. The fee can be charged when the file is created or when it is heard by third parties or a combination of these factors.
  • players can also assign voices to other players and thereby alter the sounds made by those players, either as they hear themselves and/or as others hear them. For example, when other players speak to the player, they speak in voices specified by the player on his video game console, or, in some embodiments, on all player consoles. In some embodiments, the ability to alter the voices of other players on both the player machine and other player machines requires the use of the avatar alteration system disclosed above.
  • the voice to text and text to voice software and/or synthesized voices or other data can be stored on the game server or on the video game consoles or on any other suitable computing device and/or storage device(s). If the voice software and/or voices are stored on the game server, that server may convert some or all the files and transmits them to the game consoles or where and when needed. If the voice software, voices and/or data is stored on the game consoles, the game server can transmit, for example, the original text and or voice files to the consoles where they are converted to new voice files and played for the player.
  • the game console may include or be in the form of a headset (or any combination of hardware) capable of receiving and transmitting voice files generated from players.
  • exemplary character attributes that could allow the character to speak in a certain synthetic voices include, but are not limited to:
  • the present disclosure provides for a celebrity voice auction.
  • players bid for the celebrity synthetic voice they want (e.g., Robin Leach, James Earl Jones).
  • a certain number of the highest bidders may then be given the exclusive use of the voice for a fixed time period or number of sessions.
  • winning bidders can resell the right to use the voice on an exchange. Auctions can be conducted within the game, or via an external website.
  • Players can bid for the voice they want even if that voice is not offered on the game.
  • the bids can be guaranteed (eg by a credit card), so the demand they reflect is real and actionable.
  • the total demand can be quantified and used to prompt players to make their voices available in the game.
  • the auction provider and or the game environment provider can split the revenues generated from the auctions with the voice copyright owner based on predefined, contractual rules and conditions.
  • the first 100 players to sign up for a voice backed by their credit cards, where the voice is not offered on the system yet, can get a percentage of the total fees once the celebrity later provides the voice and the game starts generated fees for that voice.
  • a player or player character may earn the right or possess a skill that allows him to transfer, e.g., receive or pass on an obligation from an avatar to another avatar.
  • the present disclosure provides a mechanism by which avatars may be altered as punishment for failure to fulfill a financial obligation.
  • a player character defaults on a virtual or real loan, or any other virtual or real obligation the credit card issuer, bank or other player character or entity holding the note, or obligation may opt to transfer part or all of such obligation to another player character, bank, or other lending institution, any or all of which may serve as a collection agency.
  • the collection agency may pay the note holder an up front virtual or real cash fee in exchange for the potential future value of the final (expected or actually) collected amount, i.e., a discount payment or other amount for the "transfer of paper", and/or may remit a percentage of the final collected amount to the note holder and retain the balance for its efforts.
  • the collection agency may also take possession of the liens on any real or virtual property and/or take actual possession of same and either hold it until paid (i.e., akin to a pawn shop) and/or sell the assets to recover part or all of the loan.
  • a player character signs up for a virtual credit card or enters into any other indebtedness or note, he may also be required by the lender to agree to permit such a transfer of his obligation, or other terms and conditions, whether for collections on a default or otherwise.
  • a player may be required to agree to any of several terms and conditions that might better enable the lender and/or a collection agency or other third party to collect any debts when due, including any one or more of, for example, agreement to: a) permit a certain portion of future game play fees to be allocated toward repayment of any such obligations, e.g., if a player pays $20 per month to play a game, which fee provides 20 hours of play, and such player fails to pay an obligation when due, in addition or instead of other collections options, such player may be forced to forfeit a certain number of hours and dollars until such time as the obligation is repaid, e.g., $10 per month could go toward repayment and, in such case, the player might also forfeit 10 hours of game play or some other number of hours, e.g., 5 or 15 hours, which difference might be determined and/or agreed to ahead of time and/or might be imposed and/or negotiated among the parties at the time of or generally around the time of the default or
  • a holder of a note or other indebtedness or obligation may sell or assign part or all of such loan or other debt or obligation in exchange for a portion or all of such note or obligation.
  • lenders may reduce their risk and/or free up their credit lines so that they can focus on securing new loans.
  • Virtual loan paper sold in this manner can be accomplished via a virtual contract.
  • a first player who has a contracted to an obligation that was not fulfilled, in whole or in part, by a second player can hire a third or additional player character(s) or NPC(s) that is/are a collection agent who will follow and otherwise harass the second player until the obligation is settled.
  • the NPC or player character who performs the role of collection agent can automatically receive all or a percentage of the settled obligation.
  • the settlement amount or percentage can be determined based on system rules or a virtual contract established between the first player and the collection agent character, whether player or computer controlled.
  • Payment for the settlement of the obligation can be paid (i) to the collection agent, who would then remit the appropriate share of the settlement to the first player (ii) to the first Player, who would then remit the appropriate share of the settlement to the collection agent; or (iii) to a virtual arbiter who distributes the money based on the rules or contract between the first player and the collection agent.
  • the bank could have NPC loan officers that it sends out to follow a player character with a delinquent loan. For example, the delinquent player character would be followed by that NPC until he had paid his loan to the bank and perhaps for a longer period to notify new would be lenders of such delinquent player's poor payment record.
  • NPC loan officers can be a class of NPC that can be created and or purchased or rented or leased in a limited quantity and or that can only be operated with a virtual license. Such licenses can be controlled and issued in limited or unlimited quantities by a game environment administrator or virtual government official. Management and purchase of loan officer NPCs may require that a virtual entity has certain skills or other game attributes.
  • an avatar's appearance may be altered if there are any loans, outstanding loans, bad debts or late payments and/or based upon, in whole or in part, the player character's real or virtual credit score.
  • the avatar may have a "ball and chain" attached to its leg if there is a loan.
  • the number, length, size or color of the ball and chain may be modified depending upon the number, size, length, interest rate, payment performance, etc., of the player character's outstanding loans, and/or current virtual credit score. In this manner, other player characters could easily determine the current credit worthiness of any given player character.
  • Virtual Collection agencies may be the only virtual entities allowed to apply such alterations to a player character.
  • players that have paid a fee and/or have certain qualifications or skills may be able to see such player character alterations (of themselves and/or other players / player characters). For example, players that have paid a $10 per month fee, are able to see any such player character or avatar alterations of either themselves and/or other players or player characters or avatars.
  • Virtual Collection agencies may be required to have a permit or pay a fee to do business in the virtual environment.
  • the permit entitles collection agency to purchase or otherwise pursue collection of delinquent obligations and apply alterations to player avatars, e.g., until delinquent obligations have been fulfilled.
  • Permits to run a virtual collection agency may be limited to a certain quantity in a game environment or group of game environments. Permits for such a business can be transferred on an exchange once they have been issued.
  • to qualify for a Collection Agency permit a virtual entity must pass certain real world or virtual world criteria.
  • the system or the player can determine a virtual cash value for the obligation that the collection agency must pay all or a portion of in order to take over the obligation.
  • the system can determine the valuation of an obligation by retrieving historical or current exchange values for similar obligations from a virtual exchange and/or such determination may be made by any applicable means, including, for example, free market forces.
  • Player characters who elect to become bounty hunters or collection agents may require a permit, license, skill level, or game attribute to do so.
  • Control, issuance, creation, and monitoring of such permits, licenses, skill levels, or game attributes can be managed by a game environment administrator or virtual government official.
  • permits, licenses, skills and/or attributes may require the payment of a fee and/or a percentage of any amounts collected. Fees may be based on the amounts due, the payment history or creditworthiness of the delinquent player / player character, prior defaults and/or difficulties posed and/or time required in previous defaults to collect debts from such defaulting party, and/or any combination of the forgoing.
  • bounty hunters can agree to capture a fugitive character who has an outstanding obligation based on a virtual contract that specifies real or virtual cash payment for fulfilling the obligation of capturing the delinquent NPC.
  • Such payment or fee may be fixed or variable. For example, a bounty hunter might charge a flat fee while another bounty hunter might charge based upon a percentage of the expected or actual amounts collected / recovered.
  • a player character with one or more delinquent loans may be limited in his ability to move within the game environment and/or may be limited in game access or may be otherwise restricted in any predetermined, or negotiated fashion. For example, he may be precluded from returning to a town in which is located a creditor, such as a bank, to whom he owes money or has been delinquent in payment.
  • a creditor such as a bank
  • collection agencies and/or bounty hunters or other parties can bid against each other to take over an obligation that a bank or game server posts as available for assumption.
  • the agency may be granted access to alterations that they can apply to the avatar of the character, e.g., visible alterations and/or voices, etc.
  • Delinquent Contracts can be posted on an exchange where they can be purchased individually or in bundles by competing virtual collection agencies, bounty hunters and/or other agencies / third parties.
  • the present disclosure provides methods and systems related to a declaration of bankruptcy by a character.
  • games, players, or other entities may establish rules and conditions under which a player or one or more player characters may declare bankruptcy.
  • the effect of a bankruptcy may be any one or more of the following, including, but not limited to:
  • real debts e.g. those secured by a credit line
  • artificial debts e.g., promise to provide a service
  • bankruptcy can be allowed and/or occur or result from a virtual Court Order.
  • his avatar for one or more or all avatars
  • his avatar can be altered to indicate his bankruptcy and/or prior bankruptcy and/or impending bankruptcy.
  • the game server itself can determine that the obligations have been fulfilled without the character needing to reappear in virtual court to receive a ruling.
  • the system can generate a list of some or all virtual obligations and assign a priority score to each one based on factors such as, but not limited to:
  • a bankruptcy mediation tool can be used to settle with all the debtors of the bankrupt player.
  • the player can list all the obligations in the tool and transmit settlement offers to all or some of the debtors using the mediation tool.
  • Debtors can accept, reject, or counter offer the offers made by the bankrupt player.
  • the mediation tool can charge fees to the bankrupt player and the debtors to negotiate and resolve the obligations.
  • periodic status reports can be sent to the bankrupt player and/or his creditors notifying some or all of them of the progress the bankrupt player has made or is making to fulfill all or part of his obligations to get out of bankruptcy.
  • an artificial intelligence system e.g., a genetic algorithm, or other program can track player behavior and flag character accounts that have activity which puts them at risk for bankruptcy.
  • the at risk player and the virtual and real entities to which he has one or more virtual obligations can be notified that the player is at risk when the system determines he is at risk.
  • Measures can be taken by the system to limit the odds that the player will go bankrupt including:
  • real or virtual world financial account identifiers and player personal information such as name, address, phone number, user id, handle, bank or credit card numbers, and/or SON, that have been associated with bankrupt players in the past and/or within one or more other video games, which games may share information between or among them, who did not fulfill their obligations to get out of bankruptcy can be automatically excluded from creating new player accounts in the game environment or other game environments and/or may require such player to provide a special one time or recurring payment and/or may impose tighter lending conditions on such players, e.g., higher interest rates, shorter repayment periods, increased collateral obligations and/or other more restrictive financing terms and/or conditions.
  • tighter lending conditions e.g., higher interest rates, shorter repayment periods, increased collateral obligations and/or other more restrictive financing terms and/or conditions.
  • a typical data processing system generally includes one or more of a system unit housing, a video display device, memory, processors, operating systems, drivers, graphical user interfaces, and application programs, interaction devices such as a touch pad or screen, and/or control systems including feedback loops and control motors.
  • a typical data processing system may be implemented utilizing any suitable commercially available components to create the gaming environment described herein.
  • Exemplary programs include :
  • Game Server 201 programs :
  • Game Program 211 this program allows a game or virtual environment to exist and operate.
  • Alteration Set Up Program 212 this program allows a game administrator to set up possible alterations and it also allows a player to set up their own alterations.
  • Administration Program 215 this program allows a game administrator to manage the game program
  • Court Program 216 this program facilitates a group of court members who are players to have court sessions and issue court orders.
  • Alteration Optimization Program 217 this program optimizes the list of available alterations based on success criteria.
  • Alteration Transfer Program 218 this program allows an alteration to be transferred to one avatar to another.
  • Alteration Obligation Program 219 this program allows alterations to be applied or removed based on virtual contract obligations. Such applications can occur automatically or manually.
  • Voice to Text Program 220 this program converts player voice into text that can be displayed in conjunction with the player's avatar.
  • Text to Voice Program 221 this program converts conversational text in a game environment into synthetic or other voice files that are played in the game environment or on player consoles connected to the game environment.
  • Game Databases 222 all databases associated with the game and the disclosed invention are stored on the game server or other servers that communicate with the game server.
  • Saved Game Editor Program 223 this program allows players to edit saved game files and turn them into still images or movies
  • Billing Program 224 this program tracks player activity and bills players based on their activity
  • Virtual Collection Program 225 this program administers, facilitates, and monitors collection activity in the game such as permitting collection agents and agencies, creating and fulfilling collection contracts, and settling fulfilled collection contracts.
  • Bankruptcy Program 226 this program establishes obligation and limitation parameters for bankrupt players and players at risk of being bankrupt. The program also facilitates mediation for bankrupt players and allows a player to emerge from virtual bankruptcy if he has fulfilled obligations.
  • License and Permit Program 227 allows for licensing and permitting of players and player characters such as collection agent licenses, bounty hunter licenses, alteration licenses, and loan officer licenses.
  • Smell Generation Program 230 this program uses ingredients and recipes to create and deliver smells via a smell generating device
  • Exemplary database architectures include:
  • Player Database 242 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Player Character Account Database 243 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Avatar Database 244 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Smell Recipe Database 246, which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Smell Use Rules Database 247 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Obligation Database 248, which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Available Synthetic Voice Database 249 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Voice Rules Database 250 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Saved Game Result Database 252 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Movie Files Database 253, which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Collections Agency Database 254 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Obligation Status Database 255 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Collections Database 256 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Bankruptcies Database 257 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Declare Bankruptcy Conditions Database 259 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Allowable Penalties Database 260 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Penalty Conditions Database 261 which may collect, store, and relate data such as: 1. Condition ID
  • Penalty Database 262 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Contract Database 263, which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Alteration Database 264 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Alteration Permit Database 266, which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Single or Limited Use Alteration Database 267 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Alteration Attributes Database 268, which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Alteration Right Database 272 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Alteration Permissions Database 274 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Billing Database 275 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Contract Type Database 276, which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Character Relationship Database 277 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Player Relationship Database 278, which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Court Member Database 279 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Court Session Database 280 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Court Order Database 281 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Third Party Sponsor Database 282 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Collection Agent Database 283, which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Bounty Hunter Database 284 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Lender Database 285, which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Collection Contract Database 286, which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Settlement Database 288, which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Settlement Offers Database 289 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • loan Officer Database 290 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Contract Exchange Database 291 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Exchange Transactions Database 292 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Bankruptcy Database 293, which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Bankruptcy Rules Database 294 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Court Order Database 295 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Escrow Database 296, which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Player Credit Score Database 297 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Alert Settings Database 298, which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • Alert Database 299 which may collect, store, and relate data such as:
  • process means any process, algorithm, method or the like, unless expressly specified otherwise.
  • process inherently includes one or more steps, and therefore all references to a "step” or “steps" of a process have an inherent antecedent basis in the mere recitation of the term 'process' or a like term. Accordingly, any reference in a claim to a 'step' or 'steps' of a process has sufficient antecedent basis.
  • determining does not imply certainty or absolute precision, and therefore “determining” can include estimating, predicting, guessing and the like.
  • determining does not imply that any particular device must be used. For example, a computer need not necessarily perform the determining.
  • a "processor” means one or more microprocessors, central processing units (CPUs), computing devices, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, or like devices or any combination thereof.
  • a single device / article may alternatively be used in place of the more than one device or article that is described.
  • a plurality of computer-based devices may be substituted with a single computer-based device.
  • the various functionality that is described as being possessed by more than one device or article may alternatively be possessed by a single device / article.
  • Devices that are described as in communication with each other need not be in continuous communication with each other, unless expressly specified otherwise. On the contrary, such devices need only transmit to each other as necessary or desirable, and may actually refrain from exchanging data most of the time. For example, a machine in communication with another machine via the Internet may not transmit data to the other machine for long period of time (e.g. weeks at a time). In addition, devices that are in communication with each other may communicate directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries.
  • a product may be described as including a plurality of components, aspects, qualities, characteristics and / or features, that does not indicate that all of the plurality are essential or required.
  • Various other embodiments within the scope of the described invention(s) include other products that omit some or all of the described plurality.
  • an enumerated list of items does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive. Therefore it is possible, but not necessarily true, that something can be considered to be, or fit the definition of, two or more of the items in an enumerated list. Also, an item in the enumerated list can be a subset (a specific type of) of another item in the enumerated list.
  • the enumerated list "a computer, a laptop, a PDA” does not imply that any or all of the three items of that list are mutually exclusive - e.g., an item can be both a laptop and a computer, and a "laptop” can be a subset of (a specific type of) a "computer”.
  • an enumerated list of items does not imply that any or all of the items are collectively exhaustive or otherwise comprehensive of any category.
  • the enumerated list "a computer, a laptop, a PDA" does not imply that any or all of the three items of that list are comprehensive of any category.
  • an enumerated listing of items does not imply that the items are ordered in any manner according to the order in which they are enumerated.
  • Computers, processors, computing devices and like products are structures that can perform a wide variety of functions. Such products can be operable to perform a specified function by executing one or more programs, such as a program stored in a memory device of that product or in a memory device which that product accesses. Unless expressly specified otherwise, such a program need not be based on any particular algorithm, such as any particular algorithm that might be disclosed in this patent application. It is well known to one of ordinary skill in the art that a specified function may be implemented via different algorithms, and any of a number of different algorithms would be a mere design choice for carrying out the specified function. [0284] Therefore, with respect to a means or a step for performing a specified function in accordance with 35 U. S. C.
  • structure corresponding to a specified function includes any product programmed to perform the specified function.
  • Such structure includes programmed products which perform the function, regardless of whether such product is programmed with (i) a disclosed algorithm for performing the function, (ii) an algorithm that is similar to a disclosed algorithm, or (iii) a different algorithm for performing the function.
  • a description of a process is likewise a description of an apparatus for performing the process.
  • the apparatus can include, e.g., a processor and those input devices and output devices that are appropriate to perform the method.
  • programs that implement such methods may be stored and transmitted using a variety of media (e.g., computer readable media) in a number of manners.
  • media e.g., computer readable media
  • hard-wired circuitry or custom hardware may be used in place of, or in combination with, some or all of the software instructions that can implement the processes of various embodiments.
  • various combinations of hardware and software may be used instead of software only.
  • Nonvolatile media include, for example, optical or magnetic disks and other persistent memory.
  • Volatile media include dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which typically constitutes the main memory.
  • Transmission media include coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise a system bus coupled to the processor. Transmission media may include or convey acoustic waves, light waves and electromagnetic emissions, such as those generated during radio frequency (RF) and infrared (IR) data communications.
  • RF radio frequency
  • IR infrared
  • Computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EEPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave as described hereinafter, or any other medium from which a computer can read.
  • Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying data (e.g. sequences of instructions) to a processor.
  • data may be (i) delivered from RAM to a processor; (ii) carried over a wireless transmission medium; (iii) formatted and / or transmitted according to numerous formats, standards or protocols, such as Ethernet (or IEEE 802.3), SAP, ATP, BluetoothTM, and TCP/IP, TDMA, CDMA, and 3 G; and / or (iv) encrypted to ensure privacy or prevent fraud in any of a variety of ways well known in the art.
  • a description of a process is likewise a description of a computer- readable medium storing a program for performing the process.
  • the computer-readable medium can store (in any appropriate format) those program elements which are appropriate to perform the method.
  • an apparatus includes a computer / computing device operable to perform some (but not necessarily all) of the described process.
  • a computer-readable medium storing a program or data structure include a computer-readable medium storing a program that, when executed, can cause a processor to perform some (but not necessarily all) of the described process.
  • databases may, in a known manner, be stored locally or remotely from any device(s) which access data in the database.
  • Various embodiments can be configured to work in a network environment including a computer that is in communication (e.g., via a communications network) with one or more devices.
  • the computer may communicate with the devices directly or indirectly, via any wired or wireless medium (e.g. the Internet, LAN, WAN or Ethernet, Token Ring, a telephone line, a cable line, a radio channel, an optical communications line, commercial on-line service providers, bulletin board systems, a satellite communications link, a combination of any of the above).
  • Each of the devices may themselves comprise computers or other computing devices, such as those based on the Intel® Pentium® or CentrinoTM processor, that are adapted to communicate with the computer. Any number and type of devices may be in communication with the computer.
  • a server computer or centralized authority may not be necessary or desirable.
  • the present invention may, in an embodiment, be practiced on one or more devices without a central authority.
  • any functions described herein as performed by the server computer or data described as stored on the server computer may instead be performed by or stored on one or more such devices.

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Abstract

L'invention concerne des environnements virtuels dans lesquels des avatars de joueur peuvent être modifiés sur la base d'événements qui se produisent dans un jeu vidéo, méta-univers ou environnement virtuel. Un événement est l'échec à remplir une obligation dans un contrat virtuel. Des avatars qui échouent à remplir de telles obligations peuvent avoir leur apparence, leur voix ou leur odeur modifiée, ou peuvent être suivis par un ou plusieurs avatars de personnage non joueur.
PCT/US2007/066694 2007-04-16 2007-04-16 Modification d'avatars commandée par des événements WO2008130398A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/US2007/066694 WO2008130398A1 (fr) 2007-04-16 2007-04-16 Modification d'avatars commandée par des événements

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US8632400B2 (en) 2007-04-30 2014-01-21 Patent Investment & Licensing Company Gaming device with personality
US9430898B2 (en) 2007-04-30 2016-08-30 Patent Investment & Licensing Company Gaming device with personality
US12008859B2 (en) 2007-04-30 2024-06-11 Acres Technology Gaming device with personality
US10037648B2 (en) 2007-04-30 2018-07-31 Patent Investment & Licensing Company Gaming device with personality
US9640030B2 (en) 2012-04-12 2017-05-02 Patent Investment & Licensing Company Method and apparatus for communicating information about networked gaming machines to prospective players
US11373477B2 (en) 2012-04-12 2022-06-28 Acres Technology Communicating information about networked gaming machines to prospective players
US11676449B2 (en) 2012-04-12 2023-06-13 Acres Technology Communicating information about networked gaming machines to prospective players
US10229554B2 (en) 2012-04-12 2019-03-12 Patent Investment & Licensing Company Method and apparatus for communicating information about networked gaming machines to prospective players
US9224260B2 (en) 2012-04-12 2015-12-29 Patent Investment & Licensing Company Method of apparatus for communicating information about networked gaming machines to prospective players
US9472052B2 (en) 2012-04-12 2016-10-18 Patent Investment & Licensing Company Method and apparatus for communicating information about networked gaming machines to prospective players
US9972167B2 (en) 2012-04-12 2018-05-15 Patent Investment & Licensing Company Method and apparatus for communicating information about networked gaming machines to prospective players
US10832518B2 (en) 2012-04-12 2020-11-10 Acres Technology Communicating information about networked gaming machines to prospective players
US11183011B2 (en) 2013-06-13 2021-11-23 Acres Technology System to dispatch casino agents to an electronic gaming machine in response to a predefined event at the electronic gaming machine
US10593151B2 (en) 2013-06-13 2020-03-17 Patent Investment & Licensing Company System to dispatch casino agents to an electronic gaming machine in response to a predefined event at the electronic gaming machine
US11810420B2 (en) 2013-06-13 2023-11-07 Acres Technology Dispatching casino agents to an electronic gaming machine
US10909803B2 (en) 2013-08-06 2021-02-02 Acres Technology Method and system for dispatching casino personnel and tracking interactions with players
US9367991B2 (en) 2013-08-06 2016-06-14 Patent Investment & Licensing Company Method for retrieving an identity card associated with an electronic gaming machine
US10997820B2 (en) 2013-08-06 2021-05-04 Acres Technology Automated method for servicing electronic gaming machines
US9087431B2 (en) 2013-08-06 2015-07-21 Patent Investment & Licensing Company Method for creating an electronic log for documenting entries into gaming machines
US10354487B2 (en) 2013-08-06 2019-07-16 Patent Investment & Licensing Company Automated method for servicing electronic gaming machines
US11699324B2 (en) 2013-08-06 2023-07-11 Acres Technology Automated method for servicing electronic gaming machines
US11373200B2 (en) 2018-06-21 2022-06-28 Riteband Ab Current value estimation using machine learning
WO2019246341A1 (fr) * 2018-06-21 2019-12-26 Riteband Ab Estimation de valeur actuelle à l'aide d'un apprentissage machine
US20230139584A1 (en) * 2021-11-02 2023-05-04 Wesley J. Boudville Verifying the Metaverse
EP4443288A1 (fr) * 2023-04-04 2024-10-09 Meta Platforms Technologies, LLC Avatars vocaux dans des environnements de réalité étendue
EP4550094A1 (fr) * 2023-10-31 2025-05-07 Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe Limited Commande de représentation d'avatar dans un environnement de réalité étendue

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