Music video game with user directed sound generation

• US 10,252,163 B2
• Filed: 06/08/2015
• Issued: 04/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Chrzanowski, Jr., Michael J., Hilliker, Jonathan L., Gallerani, Robert L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Fletcher, Marlon
• Application Number:
  US14/733,541
• Publication Number:
  US 20150265930A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,401 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/21 characterised by their sensors, purposes or types
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/214 for locating contacts on a surface, e.g. floor mats or touch pads
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/245 specially adapted to a particular type of game, e.g. steering wheels
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/428 involving motion or position input signals, e.g. signals representing the rotation of an input controller or a player's arm motions sensed by accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/44 involving timing of operations, e.g. performing an action within a time slot
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/5375 for graphically or textually suggesting an action, e.g. by displaying an arrow indicating a turn in a driving game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/54 involving acoustic signals, e.g. for simulating revolutions per minute [RPM] dependent engine sounds in a driving game or reverberation against a virtual wall
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/814 Musical performances, e.g. by evaluating the player's ability to follow a notation
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1006 having additional degrees of freedom
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1062 being specially adapted to a type of game, e.g. steering wheel
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/305 for providing a graphical or textual hint to the player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6018 where the game content is authored by the player, e.g. level editor or by game device at runtime, e.g. level is created from music data on CD
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8047 Music games
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/342 for guitar-like instruments with or without strings and with a neck on which switches or string-fret contacts are used to detect the notes being played electric guitars in which the tones are generated by the vibration of strings G10H3/18
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/36 Accompaniment arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/386 One-finger or one-key chord systems
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/091 for performance evaluation, i.e. judging, grading or scoring the musical qualities or faithfulness of a performance, e.g. with respect to pitch, tempo or other timings of a reference performance
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/096 : using a touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/135 : Musical aspects of games or videogames; Musical instrument-shaped game input interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/395 : Acceleration sensing or accelerometer use, e.g. 3D movement computation by integration of accelerometer data, angle sensing with respect to the vertical, i.e. gravity sensing

Abstract

A music based video game provides a user directed sound generation feature. In some embodiments, the user is provided a video game controller simulating a musical instrument, which the user may operate similarly to its real musical instrument counterpart. A free play feature is provided for users to operate the video game controller, where a processor of a video game console receives input signals from the video game controller and outputs audio samples based on the received input signals. During the free play feature, multiple suggestions as to how to operate the video game controller are simultaneously provided to give users some guidance as to what to play using the video game controller.

Claims

1. A method for generating audio samples in a music based video game, comprising:

determining a tilt angle of the video game controller based on an angle of a neck of the video game controller with a stationary reference axis; and

selecting a tilt region associated with a one of a plurality of predefined angle ranges into which the tilt angle falls; and

determining status of a plurality of input devices of the video game controller;

selecting an audio sample based on the tilt angle of the video game controller and the status of the plurality of input devices, with the audio sample being of a single note audio sample for a first tilt region of the plurality of tilt regions, a single chord audio sample for a second tilt region of the plurality of tilt regions, and a prerecorded sequence of audio samples for a third tilt region of the plurality of tilt regions; and

commanding an output of the selected audio sample.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a further status of the plurality of input devices;

selecting a further audio sample based on the orientation of the video game controller and the further status; and

commanding an output of the further audio sample.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the video game controller includes a plurality of fret and inputs, and wherein the audio samples are associated with operation of the fret inputs.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the video game controller further includes a strum input, and wherein an input signal includes status information of the fret inputs at a time the strum input is activated.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing information of the angular position, the status, and a timing of the status.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the audio sample based on the orientation and the status is modifiable by a user of the video game controller.