Arrangements for controlling activites of an avatar

• US 20090147008A1
• Filed: 12/10/2007
• Published: 06/11/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Seacat, Lisa A., Do, Lydia M., Nesbitt, Pamela A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,149,241 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/473
• 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 13/42 by mapping the input signals into game commands, e.g. mapping the displacement of a stylus on a touch screen to the steering angle of a virtual vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/79 involving player-related data, e.g. identities, accounts, preferences or play histories
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/537 for exchanging game data using a messaging service, e.g. e-mail, SMS, MMS
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5553 user representation in the game field, e.g. avatar
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/65 for computing the condition of a game character

Abstract

Systems are disclosed herein that allow a participant to be associated with an avatar and receive a transmission from the participant in response to a participant activated transmission. The transmission can include a participant selectable and time delayed mood and/or activity command which can be associated with a user configurable command to avatar activity conversion table. The associated avatar activity table can provide control signal to the VU system controlling the participant'"'"'s avatar for extended time periods, where the activity commands allow the avatar to exhibit a mood and to conduct an activity. The preconfigured time controlled activity commands allow the user to control their avatar without being actively engaged in a session with a virtual universe client or logged on and the control configuration can be set up such that a single mood/activity control signal can initiate moods and activities that occur over an extended period of time.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

associating a participant with an avatar;

receiving a transmission from the participant in response to a participant activated transmission, the transmission having a participant configurable command;

associating the participant configurable command with at least one participant configurable avatar activity command, the participant configurable avatar activity command having a participant selectable timing relationship such that an avatar can execute the participant configurable avatar activity command without real time participant control transmissions; and

controlling the avatar in a virtual universe in response to the participant configurable avatar activity commands.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending a query to a participant in response to a trigger, the query requesting a participant selectable mood command.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the trigger is created in response to an expiration of a mood time period.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising controlling an avatar based on asynchronous transmission.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising configuring a relationship between the participant selectable mood command and the user configurable avatar activity commands utilizing a graphical user interface.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing data creating the relationship in a database format.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein configuring comprises receiving participant input via a graphical user interface.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the participant configurable activity command control more than one avatar.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmission is conveyed at least partially in a wireless mode.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein converting comprises accessing a look-up table to find a user configurable avatar activity command associated with the participant selectable mood command.

11. A system comprising:

a graphical user interface module to accept participant input, the participant input associating at least one mood control command with a mood activity command, the at least one mood activity command to control actions of an avatar in a virtual universe;

a command to activity conversion module to store the participant input and to convert the mood control command to at least one avatar mood activity command; and

a virtual universe engine to integrate the mood activity command into a virtual universe rendering in response to the mood control command from the participant.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising an event detector to detect and event associated with the avatar and to transmit a prompt to the participant requesting a mood control command.

13. The system of claim 11, further comprising a wireless transmitter to transmit the mood control command from the participant.

14. The system of claim 11, further comprising a voice recognition module to accept an utterance from the participant and to convert the utterance into a mood control command.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the virtual universe engine comprises a virtual universe session server.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the command to activity conversion module is an avatar hosting server.

17. The system of claim 11, further comprising at least one of a short message service system, an electronic mail system or a telephone system convey the mood control command.

18. A machine-accessible medium containing instructions which, when the instructions are executed by a machine, cause said machine to perform operations, comprising:

associating a participant with an avatar;

receiving a transmission from the participant in response to a participant activated transmission, the transmission having a participant selectable mood command;

associating the participant selectable mood command with user configurable avatar activity commands, the activity commands associated with a mood; and

controlling the avatar in a virtual universe in response to the user configurable avatar activity commands.

19. The machine-accessible medium of claim 18, that when executed causes the computer to send a mood based query in response to an, event in the virtual universe.

20. The machine-accessible medium of claim 18, that when executed causes the computer to receive a transmission and in response to a predetermined time period to control future activities of an avatar without additional control communications.