CHARACTER TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
First Claim
1. A character development method comprising:
- registering a character for a user with a communication network by receiving a first code associated with the character via the communication network;
following registration of the character, assigning a set of attributes to the first character based on at least one of a type and a first class of the character;
displaying the character on a screen in at least a portion of a virtual environment in a manner based at least in part upon the set of attributes, the class, and the type of the character;
training the character in response to activity by the user in order to increase a value of the first character in the virtual environment, wherein the character deemed to be relatively higher-skilled is trained with greater ease and efficiency than another character deemed to be relatively less-skilled;
obtaining an additional character of a second class having a second code; and
following registration of the additional character of the second class, granting access to additional content beyond content available from registering either the character or the additional character individually, and displaying the additional character in a different portion of the virtual environment according to the second class.
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Accused Products
Abstract
There is provided a character training and development system for a virtual environment and related method. A character, such as an animal, human or human-like figure, doll, or other animated or cartoon-like object can be purchased by a user and then registered on a communication network via a unique code. Once registered, a set of attributes can be assigned to the character based on the type and class of the character. Attribute values can be assigned to the attributes by default or by user preferences. The characters can be manipulated within the virtual environment. In particular, the characters can be trained in order to improve their skills, to add new skills, and to increase their overall value and worth in the virtual environment.
115 Citations
39 Claims
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1. A character development method comprising:
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registering a character for a user with a communication network by receiving a first code associated with the character via the communication network; following registration of the character, assigning a set of attributes to the first character based on at least one of a type and a first class of the character; displaying the character on a screen in at least a portion of a virtual environment in a manner based at least in part upon the set of attributes, the class, and the type of the character; training the character in response to activity by the user in order to increase a value of the first character in the virtual environment, wherein the character deemed to be relatively higher-skilled is trained with greater ease and efficiency than another character deemed to be relatively less-skilled; obtaining an additional character of a second class having a second code; and following registration of the additional character of the second class, granting access to additional content beyond content available from registering either the character or the additional character individually, and displaying the additional character in a different portion of the virtual environment according to the second class. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A character development method comprising:
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registering a character with a communication network via receiving a code that is unique to the character in order to provide access to interact with and control of the character in a virtual environment; upon registration of the character, assigning at least one attribute to the character based on at least one of a type and class of the character; allocating an attribute value to the at least one attribute at least in part by inferring an optimum attribute value based on the user'"'"'s historical character data; training the character on at least one additional attribute, storing the character, the at least one attribute, the at least one additional attribute, and corresponding attribute values on the communication network; and displaying the character in the virtual environment on a display screen, wherein the at least one additional attribute is suitable for the character according to at the least one of the type and the class of the character and wherein the training of the character is limited to a maximum level set for the character according to the class of the character. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A character development system comprising:
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a character registration component that registers a character with a communication network by validating a code associated with the character; an attribute allocation component that assigns a set of attributes to the character based on at least one of a type and a class of the character upon registration of the character; an interactive manipulation component that manipulates the character within at least one area of a virtual environment, wherein the at least one area is based on at least one of the type and the class of the character; a display component that displays the character in the at least one portion of the virtual environment on a screen in a manner based at least in part on the set of attributes, the class, and the type of the character; a character analysis component that analyzes the character'"'"'s set of attributes to determine which level of interaction it can participate in within the virtual environment and to determine what kind of training is available to it; and a training component that trains the character with at least one additional attribute in order to increase a value of the character in the at least one area of the virtual environment. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification