Electronic game utilizing photographs

• US 20080293464A1
• Filed: 05/21/2008
• Published: 11/27/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: World Golf Tour, Inc. (Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp.)
• Original Assignee: World Golf Tour, Inc. (Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp.)
• Inventors: Montgomery, David, Cheng, YuChiang, Nelson, Chad M., Gorrow, Phil, Castelnuovo, David
• Application Number:
  US12/154,295
• Publication Number:
  US 20080293464A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/3
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/65 automatically by game devices or servers from real world data, e.g. measurement in live racing competition
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/812 Ball games, e.g. soccer or baseball
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/69 Involving elements of the real world in the game world, e.g. measurement in live races, real video
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8011 Ball

Abstract

The present disclosure includes, among other things, methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for providing an electronic game utilizing photographs.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

identifying a real world object in a two-dimensional photographic image of a physical terrain and assigning the real world object a collision property, the collision property used to determine how a virtual object reacts in a simulated collision with the real world object; and

determining a trajectory of the virtual object in relation to a model of the physical terrain before and after a simulated collision with the real world object based on the assigned collision property.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a location of the real world object on the physical terrain based on the location of the real world object in the image.

3. The method of claim 1 where the collision property is used to determine a collision response when the virtual object collides with the real world object.

4. The method of claim 3 where the collision response is a bounce, a deflection, or a randomly generated response.

5. The method of claim 3 where the virtual object has a speed and the collision response includes slowing the speed of the virtual object.

6. The method of claim 3, further comprising assigning a factor of variability to the collision response.

7. The method of claim 3 where the collision response is a change in a trajectory along which the virtual object is moving prior to a collision.

8. The method of claim 3 where the collision response is an out-of-bounds response and the virtual object is moved to an in-bounds location.

9. The method of claim 1 where assigning a real world object a collision property includes color coding the real world object.

10. The method of claim 9 where a color coding indicates a height of the real world object, a hardness of the real world object, or a distance of the real world object from a location on the physical terrain.

11. The method of claim 10 where the location is a location of a camera that captured the photographic image.

12. A computer program product, encoded on a computer-readable medium, operable to cause data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

identifying a real world object in a two-dimensional photographic image of a physical terrain and assigning the real world object a collision property, the collision property used to determine how a virtual object reacts in a simulated collision with the real world object; and

determining a trajectory of the virtual object in relation to a model of the physical terrain before and after a simulated collision with the real world object based on the assigned collision property.

13. The program product of claim 12, further comprising determining a location of the real world object on the physical terrain based on the location of the real world object in the image.

14. The program product of claim 12 where the collision property is used to determine a collision response when the virtual object collides with the real world object.

15. The program product of claim 14 where the collision response is a bounce, a deflection, or a randomly generated response.

16. The program product of claim 14 where the virtual object has a speed and the collision response includes slowing the speed of the virtual object.

17. The program product of claim 14, further comprising assigning a factor of variability to the collision response.

18. The program product of claim 14 where the collision response is a change in a trajectory along which the virtual object is moving prior to a collision.

19. The program product of claim 14 where the collision response is an out-of-bounds response and the virtual object is moved to an in-bounds location.

20. The program product of claim 12 where assigning a real world object a collision property includes color coding the real world object.

21. The program product of claim 20 where a color coding indicates a height of the real world object, a hardness of the real world object, or a distance of the real world object from a location on the physical terrain.

22. The program product of claim 21 where the location is a location of a camera that captured the photographic image.

23. A system comprising:

a display device;

a machine-readable storage device including a program product; and

one or more processors operable to execute the program product, interact with the display device, and perform operations comprising;

identifying a real world object in a two-dimensional photographic image of a physical terrain and assigning the real world object a collision property, the collision property used to determine how a virtual object reacts in a simulated collision with the real world object; and

determining a trajectory of the virtual object in relation to a model of the physical terrain before and after a simulated collision with the real world object based on the assigned collision property.

24. The system of claim 23, further comprising determining a location of the real world object on the physical terrain based on the location of the real world object in the image.

25. The system of claim 23 where the collision property is used to determine a collision response when the virtual object collides with the real world object.

26. The system of claim 25 where the collision response is a bounce, a deflection, or a randomly generated response.

27. The system of claim 25 where the virtual object has a speed and the collision response includes slowing the speed of the virtual object.

28. The system of claim 25, further comprising assigning a factor of variability to the collision response.

29. The system of claim 25 where the collision response is a change in a trajectory along which the virtual object is moving prior to a collision.

30. The system of claim 25 where the collision response is an out-of-bounds response and the virtual object is moved to an in-bounds location.

31. The system of claim 23 where assigning a real world object a collision property includes color coding the real world object.

32. The system of claim 31 where a color coding indicates a height of the real world object, a hardness of the real world object, or a distance of the real world object from a location on the physical terrain.

33. The system of claim 32 where the location is a location of a camera that captured the photographic image.