Graphical computer simulation system and method

• US 20070188501A1
• Filed: 01/25/2007
• Published: 08/16/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Petroglyph Games Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Petroglyph Games Incorporated
• Inventors: Richmond, James, Yee, Yangli
• Application Number:
  US11/698,509
• Publication Number:
  US 20070188501A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/473
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/20 Perspective computation

Abstract

A system and method for creating real-time cinematic presentations and experiences of variable duration from unscripted content in interactive or non-interactive graphical computer simulations or environments, such as in strategy games in which enemy armed forces are aligned and fight against each other in battles.

Claims

1. A method for creating real-time cinematographic presentations of variable duration from unscripted content in an interactive graphical computer simulated war game comprising:

providing a plurality of units, each unit i of said plurality of units having an interest value, I_i;

providing a plurality of saliency characteristics j, for each said unit i, each of said plurality of saliency characteristics j selected from the group consisting of size, attack power, position, current health, number of targets that each said unit i is attacking and is attacked by, the speed of each said unit I and a designer determined importance value, each saliency characteristic having a value, s_j for each unit i;

providing a weight value for each saliency characteristic j;

calculating at a first time during said variable duration, T1, the interest value, I_i, associated with each of the units i in accordance with the formula

I_i=ρ

w(i)_js(i)_j,

where

w(i)_j=weight value of each unit i'"'"'s saliency characteristic j, and

s(i)_j=value of each characteristic of each unit i'"'"'s saliency characteristic j;

creating a first priority list of interest values from the calculated interest value for each of the predetermined number of units at T1;

selecting one of said plurality of units for observation on the basis of its position in said first priority list to be a first currently observed unit;

constructing a first single camera shot sequence for said first currently observed unit;

displaying said first single camera shot sequence;

creating at a second time during said variable duration, T2, a second priority list of interest values with said formula and from the calculated interest value for each of the predetermined number of units at T2;

selecting a second of said plurality of units for observation on the basis of its position in said second priority list to be a second currently observed unit;

constructing a second single camera shot sequence for said second currently observed unit;

displaying said second single camera shot sequence; and

,

forming a series of sequences at subsequent times T3, T4, T5 . . . , by repeating the creating, selecting and constructing steps to form said real-time cinematic presentations during said variable duration.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein w(i)_j for each unit'"'"'s saliency characteristic, j, is in a range of values, including:

Size weight value from 0.1 to 2.0;

Power weight value from 0.1 to 2.0;

Position X weight value from 0.1 to 0.9;

Position Y weight value from 0.1 to 0.9;

Health weight value from 0.1 to 2.0;

Target weight value from 0.1 to 2.5;

Speed weight value from 0.1 to 2.0; and

,

Importance weight value from 0.1 to 4.0, respectively.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein each saliency characteristic, j, has a predetermined minimum value, a predetermined maximum value and a predetermined average value.

4. The method of claim 3 further including a step wherein each saliency characteristic, j, for size, attack power, target and speed saliencies for each unit, i, is normalized to a value from 0 to 1 in accordance with the following formula:

New value=(current value−

minimum value)/(maximum value−

minimum value).

5. The method of claim 3 further including a step wherein health saliency is normalized to a value from 0 to 1 in accordance with the following formula:

New value=1−

((current value−

minimum value)/(maximum value−

minimum value)).

6. The method of claim 3 further including a step wherein position saliency is normalized to a value from 0 to 1 in accordance with the following formula:

New value=1−

absolute value ((current value−

average value)/(maximum value−

minimum value)).

7. The method of claim 4 further including a step wherein a new speed saliency is calculated in accordance with the following formula:

New speed saliency=speed saliency*(maximum speed saliency−

minimum speed saliency).

8. The method of claim 1 further including the step of sorting the first priority list in descending order of interest value, I_i.

9. The method of claim 8 further including the step of truncating the first priority list to include only units having a priority number above a predetermined number.

10. A computer implemented real-time strategy game adapted to construct and depict a series of interesting events during a simulation of variable duration comprising:

a interest manager module of code and a cinematics manager module of code;

a simulated environment;

a plurality of simulated units, each unit i of said units selected from the group consisting of;

environment units including planets, ground locations, buildings and objects capable of moving about in said environment;

combat units including relatively large ships, relatively mid-sized ships, relatively small ships and weapons placed on any of said combat units in positions fixed in relation to any particular ones of said combat units; and

,

characters including infantry, heroes, pilots and non-combatants;

each unit i, of said plurality of units having at any one time during the simulation an interest value, I_i;

a plurality of saliency characteristics j, for each said unit i, each of said plurality of saliency characteristics j selected from the group consisting of size, attack power, position, current health, number of targets that each said unit i is attacking and is attacked by and the speed of each said unit i, each saliency characteristic having a value, s_j for each unit i;

a weight value for each saliency characteristic j;

said interest manager module of code adapted to;

calculate at said time each interest value, I_i, associated with each of the units i in accordance with the formula

I_i=Σ

w(i)_js(i)_j,

where

w(i)_j=weight value of each unit i'"'"'s saliency characteristic j, and,

s(i)_j=value of each characteristic of each unit i'"'"'s saliency characteristic j;

create a priority listing of interest values from each said interest value, I_i, calculated with said formula at said time; and

pick a most salient unit to be one of said units on a basis including the priority listing of interest values and adapted to send data associated with said most salient unit to said cinematics manager module of code;

said cinematics manager module of code adapted to

construct a single camera sequence for said most salient unit from a template camera shot sequence and randomly generated parameters selected from the group consisting of shot duration, camera position and camera orientation;

execute said sequence by generating key frames for camera position, orientation, target and zoom; and

,

interpolate the key frames for the duration of said sequence.