Control of multi-user environments

• US 20060195869A1
• Filed: 02/07/2003
• Published: 08/31/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Holm, Jukka, Laine, Pauli
• Application Number:
  US10/544,327
• Publication Number:
  US 20060195869A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/60
• 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 13/327 using wireless networks, e.g. Wi-Fi® or piconet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/332 using wireless networks, e.g. cellular phone networks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/63 by the player, e.g. authoring using a level editor
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/814 Musical performances, e.g. by evaluating the player's ability to follow a notation
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/406 Transmission via wireless network, e.g. pager or GSM
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/408 Peer to peer connection
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6063 for sound processing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8047 Music games
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0083 using wireless transmission, e.g. radio, light, infrared
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/368 displaying animated or moving pictures synchronized with the music or audio part
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/383 Chord detection and/or recognition, e.g. for correction, or automatic bass generation
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/40 Rhythm
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/026 for games, e.g. videogames
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/281 Reverberation or echo
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/391 Automatic tempo adjustment, correction or control
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/145 Multiplayer musical games, e.g. karaoke-like multiplayer videogames
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/151 Musical difficulty level setting or selection
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/261 Numeric keypad used for musical purposes, e.g. musical input via a telephone or calculator-like keyboard
• 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. conductor baton movement sensing G10H2220/206, angle sensing without reference to gravity G10H2220/391; player body joint angle sensing G10H2220/321
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2230/015 : PDA [personal digital assistant] or palmtop computing devices used for musical purposes, e.g. portable music players, tablet computers, e-readers or smart phones in which mobile telephony functions need not be used touch-screen interfaces G10H2220/096
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2230/265 : Spint maracas, i.e. mimicking shells or gourds filled with seeds or dried beans, fitted with a handle, e.g. maracas, rumba shakers, shac-shacs
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/175 : for jam sessions or musical collaboration through a network, e.g. for composition, ensemble playing or repeating; Compensation of network or internet delays therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/251 : Mobile telephone transmission, i.e. transmitting, accessing or controlling music data wirelessly via a wireless or mobile telephone receiver, analog or digital, e.g. DECT GSM, UMTS smartphone, PDA or palmtop used for musical purposes G10H2230/015; mobile ringtone G10H2230/021
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/311 : MIDI transmission G10H2240/056 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/321 : Bluetooth
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/325 : Synchronizing two or more audio tracks or files according to musical features or musical timings synchronised lyrics, e.g. for karaoke G10H2220/011
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2250/435 : Gensound percussion, i.e. generating or synthesising the sound of a percussion instrument; Control of specific aspects of percussion sounds, e.g. harmonics, under the influence of hitting force, hitting position, settings or striking instruments such as mallet, drumstick, brush, hand spint percussion G10H2230/231
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2250/641 : Waveform sampler, i.e. music samplers; Sampled music loop processing, wherein a loop is a sample of a performance that has been edited to repeat seamlessly without clicks or artifacts

Abstract

A multi-user system, for interactively controlling the action of at least a first participant in an environment, comprising: a first device operable by a first user to dynamically control the action of the first participant in the environment; and a second device simultaneously operable by a second user to dynamically vary the environment. A method for multi-user interactive control of at least a first participant in an environment, comprising the steps: a first user dynamically controls the action of the first participant in the environment; and simultaneously, a second user dynamically varies the environment. Described embodiments include a musical environment in which the participant is a musical instrument and a gaming environment in which the participant is a character in a game.

Claims

1. A multi-user system, for interactively controlling the action of at least a first participant in an environment, comprising:

a first device operable by a first user to dynamically control the action of the first participant in the environment; and

a second device simultaneously operable by a second user to dynamically vary the environment.

2. A multi-user system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a third device simultaneously operable by a third user to dynamically control the action of a second participant in the environment.

3. A multi-user system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second device is not operable to simultaneously control the action of a participant and dynamically vary the environment.

4. A multi-user system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first device comprises a first display and the second device comprises a second display, wherein the first and second displays are operable to display the actions of the first participant in the environment.

5. A multi-user system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the environment includes the virtual surroundings in which the first participant is movable by the actions of the first user.

6. A multi-user system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the environment is a gaming environment including any one or more of:

the layout of a level in a game, the simulated weather in a game, the difficulty level, the tempo and the characteristics of the participants.

7. A multi-user system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first participant is a participant instrument and the first device is operable to dynamically control the music produced by the participant instrument.

8. A multi-user system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the action of the first participant is playing a note, notes or chords.

9. A multi-user system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the environment includes shared musical features.

10. A multi-user system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the environment includes tempo.

11. A multi-user system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the environment includes harmony.

12. A multi-user system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the environment includes any one or more of:

the identities of the participant instruments;

the identities of background track(s) (if any);

the relative volumes of the participant instruments;

the musical key; and

the time signature.

13. A multi-user system as claimed in claim 7, wherein a participant instrument can have a Slave mode of operation or an Independent mode of operation and the environment includes the mode of operation of a participant instrument.

14. A multi-user system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the environment includes the extent to which the action of a participant instrument is automatically enhanced.

15. A multi-user system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the first device comprises a first audio output and the second device comprises a second audio output, wherein the first and second-audio outputs are operable to perform the actions of the first participant in the environment.

16. A multi-user system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first and second devices form an ad-hoc low power wireless network.

17. A method for multi-user interactive control of at least a first participant in an environment, comprising the steps:

a first user dynamically controls the action of the first participant in the environment; and

simultaneously, a second user dynamically varies the environment.

18. A device, for joining a multi-user system in which the action of at least a first participant in an environment is interactively controlled by another device, comprising:

a user input interface;

an input and an output for joining to the system;

means, responsive to the user input interface, for dynamically varying the environment.

19. A system for the interactive production of music, comprising:

a first device including a first user input for controlling musical synchronisation information; and

a second device including;

input means operable to receive the musical synchronisation information;

a second user input for controlling the content of first musical control data; and

a synthesiser for producing music in dependence upon the first musical control data and the musical synchronisation information.

20. A system as claimed in claim 19, wherein the first device produces music and controls the musical synchronisation information simultaneously.

21. A system as claimed in claim 19, wherein the first device either produces music or controls the musical synchronisation information, but does not do both simultaneously.

22. A system as claimed in claim 19, wherein the second device additionally includes output means operable to transfer the first musical control data to the first device;

and the first device additionally includes input means operable to receive the first musical control data and a synthesiser for producing music in dependence upon the first musical control data and musical synchronisation information.

23. A system as claimed in claim 19, wherein the first device has output means for sending musical synchronisation information to the second device.

24. A system as claimed in claim 19 wherein the first device has input means for receiving the musical synchronisation information.

25. A system as claimed in claim 19, wherein the the input means of the second device is arranged to receive second musical control data from another device and the synthesiser of the second device is arranged to produce music in dependence upon the first musical control data, the second musical control data and the musical synchronisation information.

26. A method of interactively producing music, comprising the steps of:

varying musical synchronisation information in response to input, at a first device, from a first user;

receiving musical synchronisation information at a second device;

producing first musical control data in response to input, at the second device, from a second user; and

producing music at the second device in dependence upon the first musical control data and the musical synchronisation information.

27. A method as claimed in claim 26 further comprising the step of:

producing music at the first device in dependence upon the first musical control data and the musical synchronisation information.

28. (canceled)

29. (canceled)