Dynamic interaction and feedback system

• US 20040009813A1
• Filed: 07/08/2002
• Published: 01/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Bradley Patrick Wind
• Original Assignee: Bradley Patrick Wind
• Inventors: Wind, Bradley Patrick
• Application Number:
  US10/114,064
• Publication Number:
  US 20040009813A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/30
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/63 by the player, e.g. authoring using a level editor
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/67 adaptively or by learning from player actions, e.g. skill level adjustment or by storing successful combat sequences for re-use
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/822 Strategy games; Role-playing games A63F13/825, A63F13/828 take precedence
• 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 2300/6027 using adaptive systems learning from user actions, e.g. for skill level adjustment
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/807 Role playing or strategy games

Abstract

A dynamic interaction and feedback system for simulating the accumulation of consequence to enhance interactive content comprises logic for determining an agent group at a state of the system (20), an active agent selection interface so that a participant may select an agent from the agent group to be a present active agent (22), active controls selection logic for selecting an active controls set related to the present active agent at the state of the system by which the participant may interact (24), and a feedback memory for recording the occurrence of feedback for the purpose of subsequent reference during operation of the system (26).

Claims

1. A dynamic interaction and feedback system for simulating the accumulation of consequence to enhance interactive content comprising:

agent group determination logic for generating an agent group of one or more agents at a state of the system

an active agent selection interface so that a participant may select an agent from said agent group to be a present active agent

active controls selection logic for selecting an active controls set from a set of predetermined controls related to said active agent at said state of the system

providing a feedback memory for recording the occurrence of predetermined feedback resulting from said participant interacting with said active controls set so that said feedback memory may assist said agent group determination means by providing a component of a new state of the system.

2. The dynamic interaction and feedback system of claim 1 further comprising:

all-text representations for said predetermined feedback respectively

a function to assemble said all-text representations together in the same order as corresponding said predetermined feedback occurred, thus writing a unique book of progress so far of said dynamic interaction and feedback system.

3. The dynamic interaction and feedback system of claim 1 in which state of said dynamic interaction and feedback system comprises:

state recorded from the current dynamic interaction and feedback system

state recorded from previous installments of dynamic interaction and feedback systems described in claim 1,

whereby history may accumulate from prior dynamic interaction and feedback systems to subsequent dynamic interaction and feedback systems.

4. The dynamic interaction and feedback system of claim 1 in which said feedback memory retains a timeline of order of occurrence of said predetermined feedback, further comprising:

a rewind function to set a point of rewind into the timeline

a function to replay said predetermined feedback along the timeline from said point of rewind

a function to restore the state of said dynamic interaction and feedback system to the state of the system as it was at said point of rewind.

5. The dynamic interaction and feedback system of claim 1 wherein the affectation by the participant of certain predetermined feedback causes automatic recording to said feedback memory of a predetermined number of occurrences of other predetermined feedback without said other predetermined feedback actually being presented to the participant but rather assumed by the system to have occurred offstage

whereby said feedback memory may assist said agent group determination means by providing a component of a new state of the system dependant not entirely on direct participant interaction but on mere temporal progression of the overall system as well.

6. A method to play a multiplayer embodiment of the dynamic interaction and feedback system of claim 1 further comprising:

providing participants numbering more than one, each running a separate dynamic interaction and feedback system application on same dynamic interaction and feedback system data, each on a machine that communicates with each other participating machine

providing said participants contributing simultaneously to which agent of said agent group will be said active agent for all the dynamic interaction and feedback system applications respectively

ending automatically after a time interval any interaction still in progress by said participants

providing said participants contributing equally to the decision of which feedback will be recorded to said feedback memory for all the dynamic interaction and feedback system applications respectively.

7. The dynamic interaction and feedback system of claim 1 further comprising:

a mechanism for integrating with caller frameworks—

so-called game engines and even itself should a designer of the system design for a recursive spawn—

selected from the group comprising

a message-passing channel for communication between a dynamic interaction and feedback system process and other related processes and

an invocation interface so that said dynamic interaction and feedback system may be invoked externally with options, said invocation interface comprising options to schedule automation of certain normally interactive aspects of said dynamic interaction and feedback system and

a completely non-graphical mode of operation whereby a dynamic interaction and feedback system has no user interface or presentation capability and said active agent selection interface is purely a code-level interface to enable active agent selection by the user via some other means;

whereby the system may more seamlessly integrate into and interoperate with said caller frameworks.

8. The dynamic interaction and feedback system of claim 1 further comprising:

representation categories into which all content within said dynamic interaction and feedback system are grouped

representation category specification for all content within the system for specifying the content respectively as belonging to one of said representation categories

an interface to invoke, based on respective representation category specification of said content, external handler applications automatically for handling presentation of the content

whereby controls and feedback and the surrounding environment in which it is presented may use any representative media respectively compatible with said external handler applications.

9. The dynamic interaction and feedback system of claim 8 further comprising:

a configuration interface for associating said external handler applications with said representation categories

a configuration interface for specifying launch settings of said external handler applications

whereby the system may be configured to use optimally the applications available in a particular operating environment.

10. The dynamic interaction and feedback system of claim 8 further comprising:

multiple representation modes

a mode specification interface for specification of the mode of representation the system will use

whereby one set of representative content for the system may replace another based on a setting of said mode specification interface.

11. The dynamic interaction and feedback system of claim 8 further comprising:

metadata describing said dynamic interaction and feedback system content compatibility, selected from the group comprising

detailed descriptions of media types within said representation categories and

recommended embodiments of said external handler applications and

recommended configuration of said external handler applications and

recommended operating environment conditions and

essential requirements for presentation of content contained within the system.

12. The dynamic interaction and feedback system of claim 1 further comprising:

a surrounding environment in which the dynamic interaction and feedback system presents controls and feedback to the participant

automatic updating of said surrounding environment based on the state of the dynamic interaction and feedback system

whereby said surrounding environment provides contextual cues to the participant as to temporal and spatial progress of said participant through the dynamic interaction and feedback system.

20. A method to play a printed dynamic interaction and feedback system of claim 1 comprising

providing printed controls

providing printed control-restrictions for said printed controls

respectively regarding whether each control may be used at a current state of the system

providing printed control-effects of said printed controls respectively

providing blocks of printed feedback

tracking by the participant of said feedback memory and necessary system state

providing playing rules by which the participant negotiates said printed controls, said printed control-restrictions, said printed control-effects, and said blocks of printed feedback, and by which the participant performs said tracking.

13. A method for turning a written story into dynamic interaction and feedback system data comprising:

determining break points in said story

providing blocks of related action, said blocks comprising text of said story between said break points respectively,

organizing said blocks into a loosely-connected network

organizing for each of said blocks all text within the block into logical feedback units

determining for each of said blocks a group of agents appearing in the block whereby said participant may interact by selecting an agent from said group of agents to be a present active agent

associating a control set with each agent of said group of agents respectively whereby said participant may interact via said control set to affect said logical feedback units respectively as feedback

providing rules governing traversal by said participant of said loosely-connected network.

14. A method for turning a written story into dynamic interaction and feedback system data extending the method of claim 13 and further comprising:

editing said story down to only aspects desired to be feedback results of interaction by a participant

said determining break points in said story

said providing blocks of related action, said blocks comprising text of said story between said break points respectively

said organizing said blocks into a loosely-connected network

said organizing for each of said blocks all text within the block into logical feedback units

embellishing said network by writing and adding more blocks

embellishing the blocks of said network by writing and adding more logical feedback units to the blocks

said determining for each of said blocks a group of agents appearing in the block whereby the participant may interact by selecting an agent from said group of agents to be a present active agent

said associating a control set with each agent of said group of agents respectively whereby the participant may interact via said control set to affect said logical feedback units respectively as feedback

embellishing control sets of respective agents by adding more controls respectively therein

embellishing controls in control sets of respective agents and said logical feedback units by creating and linking in alternate forms of representative content

creating and linking in contextual media environments to be the stage for said blocks of related action

said providing rules governing traversal by said participant of said loosely-connected network.

15. A rule-based editing and compiling machine for enabling the method of claim 13 comprising:

human-readable instructions to generate said dynamic interaction and feedback system data

an instructions interface for inputting said human-readable instructions to generate said dynamic interaction and feedback system data

storage means to store said human-readable instructions to generate said dynamic interaction and feedback system data

alert means for signifying that a dynamic interaction and feedback system using data generated from the current human-readable instructions may result in error

converting means of said human-readable instructions into data readable by a dynamic interaction and feedback system application.

16. The rule-based editing and compiling machine of claim 15 further comprising:

a function to combine two sets of said human-readable instructions to generate said dynamic interaction and feedback system data into one set of human-readable instructions to generate said dynamic interaction and feedback system data

whereby two initially separate dynamic interaction and feedback system data sets may be made a single dynamic interaction and feedback system data set.

17. A method for making a control set for a dynamic interaction and feedback system comprising:

providing controls grouped into a loosely-connected controls network

providing for each control in said controls network instructions for presenting the control to a participant

providing conditional availability restrictions on said controls in said controls network

providing a set of logical feedback units which may result from interaction with said controls in said controls network

providing contribution of said controls in said controls network respectively toward a determination of which logical feedback unit may occur as a result of interacting by said participant with said controls of said controls network.

18. The method of claim 17 in which

said controls are selected from the group comprising

selectable regions of text representing thoughts and feelings related to a present active agent controlled that when selected may contribute to motivating feedback and

selectable regions of an image representing thoughts and feelings related to a present active agent that when selected may contribute to motivating feedback and

direct manipulation of a representation of an agent or a vehicle containing an agent through a simulated physical space and

direct manipulation of representations of objects in a simulated physical space and

games representing decisions an agent may have to make and

games representing skills an agent may have to master and

games representing state of mind of an agent and

games representing obstacles and adverse conditions.

19. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

providing for immediate feedback during negotiation of said controls network by said participant indicating the likelihood of the occurrence of said logical feedback units respectively as a result of interaction with said network

whereby said immediate feedback may help guide said participant in deciding which controls to use and how to use them.