Video game system and method

• US 20050045025A1
• Filed: 08/25/2004
• Published: 03/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Blue Street Studios Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Blue Street Studios Incorporated
• Inventors: Koons, William A., Mitchell, Brian K., Reddoch, Jeremy S., Wells, Robert V.
• Granted Patent: US 7,208,669 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 84/615
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• 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 13/55 Controlling game characters or game objects based on the game progress
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/00 Details of electrophonic musical instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/026 for games, e.g. videogames
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/081 Genre classification, i.e. descriptive metadata for classification or selection of musical pieces according to style analysis genre G10H2210/036

Abstract

A video game system comprises memory for storing data defining graphical objects for use in a video game. The system further comprises logic configured to enable a user to select at least one musical song to be played during a run of the video game. The logic is further configured to control at least one of the graphical objects during the run of the video game based on an attribute correlated with the selected song.

Claims

1. A video game system, comprising:

memory for storing data defining a plurality of musical songs and attributes correlated with said songs; and

logic configured to display video game objects and to enable a user to select at least one of said songs, said logic configured to provide, to a speaker, audio signals defined by said selected song, said logic further configured to control a behavior of at least one of said video game objects based on one of said attributes that is correlated with said selected song by said data while said audio signals defined by said selected song are being provided to said speaker.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said one attribute corresponds to only a portion of said selected song, and wherein said logic is configured to control said behavior based on said one attribute only when audio signals defined by said portion are being provided to said speaker.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said one attribute is associated with an instantaneous event in said song, and wherein said logic is configured to modify said behavior based on said one attribute in response to said instantaneous event.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said one attribute is indicative of at least one of a group consisting of:

song title, song genre, song tempo, song theme, song sub-theme, song lyrics, or hit rating.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a user input device configured to receive a manual input from a user, wherein said logic selects said one song based on said user input.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a network device configured to receive an input from a server remotely located from said logic, wherein said logic selects said one song based on said input.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein said logic is configured to determine whether a current version of song attributes correlated with said selected song is stored in said memory, and wherein said logic is configured to automatically retrieve song attributes correlated with said selected song from a remote server if said current version of song attributes is not stored in said memory.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein said one video game object is associated with object personality data.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein said logic is configured to control said behavior of said one video game object based upon said object personality data and said one attribute.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein said one attribute is associated with motion data defining at least one motion for a video game object.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein when said audio signals defined by said selected song are being provided to said speaker, said one video game object appears to move in accordance with said motion data.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein said logic is configured to maintain a playlist identifying musical songs to be played during a run of a video game, said logic configured to receive a request to add said selected song to said playlist and to determine, in response to said request, whether said logic is authorized to add said selected song to said playlist.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein said logic is configured to determine whether said logic is authorized to add said selected song to said playlist based on a user-provided key code correlated with said selected song.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein said logic is configured to compare said user-provided key code to a valid key code retrieved from a list of valid key codes.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein said one attribute comprises a theme identifier that identifies a theme correlated with said selected song.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein said attribute comprises a magnitude indicating a degree to which said one attribute is correlated with said selected song.

17. A video game system, comprising:

memory for storing data defining graphical objects for use in a video game; and

logic configured to enable a user to select at least one musical song to be played during a run of said video game, said logic configured to control at least one of said graphical objects during said run of said video game based on an attribute correlated with said selected song.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein said logic is configured to control said one graphical object based on said attribute by changing an appearance of at least a portion of said one graphical object.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein said logic is configured to control said one graphical object based on said attribute by modifying a behavior of said one graphical object.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein said logic is configured to control said one graphical object based on said attribute such that said one graphical object appears to interact with at least one other of said graphical objects.

21. The system of claim 17, wherein said logic is configured to cause an event to occur within said video game based on said attribute.

22. The system of claim 17, wherein said one graphical object is a character within said video game.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein said logic is configured to cause said character to appear in said video game based on said attribute.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein said memory is configured to store data correlating said selected song with an artist and to store data defining an image of said artist, wherein said logic is configured to correlate said selected song with said data defining said image of said artist, and wherein said character has an image based on said data defining said image of said artist.

25. The system of claim 17, wherein said logic is configured to receive a user-provided key code associated with said selected song and to perform a comparison between said user-provided key code and another key code, and wherein said logic is configured to authorize attributes of said selected song for use in said video game based on said comparison.

26. The system of claim 17, wherein said attribute corresponds to only a portion of said selected song, and wherein said logic is configured to control said one graphical object based on said attribute only when said portion of said selected song is being played in said video game.

27. The system of claim 17, wherein said logic is configured to determine whether a current version of song attributes correlated with said selected song is stored in said memory, and wherein said logic is configured to automatically retrieve song attributes correlated with said selected song from a remote server if said current version of song attributes is not stored in said memory.

28. The system of claim 17, wherein said attribute identifies a theme associated with said selected song.

29. The system of claim 17, wherein said attribute identifies a lyric in said selected song.

30. The system of claim 17, wherein said attribute comprises a popularity rating associated with said selected song.

31. The system of claim 17, wherein said attribute comprises a magnitude indicating a degree to which said attribute is correlated with said selected song.

32. A video game method, comprising the steps of:

storing data defining a plurality of musical songs, said data respectively correlating said songs with attributes;

displaying video game objects via a display device;

enabling a user to select one of said songs;

providing, to a speaker, audio signals defined by said selected song; and

controlling a behavior of at least one of said video game objects based on one of said attributes correlated with said selected song while said audio signals defined by said selected song are being provided to said speaker.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising the step of associating said one attribute with only a portion of said selected song.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein said controlling step is performed only when audio signals defined by said portion are being provided to said speaker.

35. The method of claim 32, further comprising the step of associating said one attribute with an instantaneous event in said song.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein said controlling step is performed in response to said instantaneous event.

37. The method of claim 32, further comprising the step of associating said one video game object with object personality data.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein said controlling step is further based upon said object personality data.

39. The method of claim 32, further comprising the step of associating said one attribute with motion data defining at least one motion for a video game object.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein said controlling step is performed such that said one video game object appears to move in accordance with said motion data, when said audio signals defined by said selected song are being provided to said speaker.

41. The method of claim 32, further comprising the step of associating said selected song with a theme via said one attribute.

42. The method of claim 32, further comprising the step of indicating, via said one attribute, a popularity rating associated with said selected song.

43. The method of claim 32, further comprising the step of indicating an amount that said one attribute is correlated with said selected song.

44. A video game method, comprising the steps of:

storing data defining graphical objects for use in a video game;

displaying said graphical objects during a run of said video game;

enabling a user to select at least one musical song to be played during said run of said video game; and

controlling at least one of said graphical objects based on an attribute correlated with said one song.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein said controlling step is performed such that an appearance of at least a portion of said one graphical object is changed.

46. The method of claim 44, wherein said controlling step is performed such that a behavior of said one graphical object is modified.

47. The method of claim 44, wherein said controlling step is performed such that said one graphical object appears to interact with at least one other graphical object.

48. The method of claim 44, wherein said one graphical object is a character in said video game.

49. The method of claim 44, wherein said controlling step comprises the step of causing said character to be displayed in said displaying step.

50. The method of claim 44, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a user-provided key code;

comparing said user-provided key to another key code correlated with said one song; and

enabling said controlling step based on said comparing step.

51. The method of claim 44, further comprising the steps of:

correlating said attribute with only a portion of said one song; and

enabling said controlling step only when said portion is being played within said video game.

52. The method of claim 44, further comprising the step of associating said selected song with a theme via said attribute.

53. The method of claim 44, further comprising the step of indicating, via said attribute, a popularity rating associated with said selected song.

54. The method of claim 44, further comprising the step of indicating an amount that said attribute is correlated with said selected song.