METHOD FOR PROVIDING PARALLEL AUGMENTED FUNCTIONALITY FOR A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

• US 20100026681A1
• Filed: 07/31/2008
• Published: 02/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hamilton, Rick A. II, O'Connell, Brian M., Katz, Neil A., Dolbier, George R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,527,625 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/419
• 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 13/352 involving special game server arrangements, e.g. regional servers connected to a national server or a plurality of servers managing partitions of the game world
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/77 involving data related to game devices or game servers, e.g. configuration data, software version or amount of memory
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/513 server hierarchy, e.g. local, regional, national or dedicated for different tasks, e.g. authenticating, billing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/552 for downloading to client devices, e.g. using OS version, hardware or software profile of the client device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5533 using program state or machine event data, e.g. server keeps track of the state of multiple players on in a multiple player game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/572 Communication between players during game play of non game information, e.g. e-mail, chat, file transfer, streaming of audio and streaming of video

Abstract

A method for providing virtual world functionality to a user of a base virtual world having a base virtual world functionality, includes providing first, second and third virtual world layers having respective first, second and third virtual world layer functionalities beyond the base virtual world functionality and providing user access to the base virtual world functionality and to the first and second virtual world functionalities by the second virtual world layer.

Claims

1. A method for providing virtual world functionality to a user of a base virtual world having a base virtual world functionality, comprising:

providing first, second and third virtual world layers having respective first, second and third virtual world layer functionalities beyond said base virtual world functionality; and

providing user access to said base virtual world functionality and to said first and second virtual world functionalities by said second virtual world layer.

2. The method for providing virtual world functionality to a user of claim 1, further comprising providing user access to said base virtual world functionality and to said first and third virtual world functionalities by said third virtual world layer.

3. The method for providing virtual world functionality to a user of claim 2, further comprising:

coupling said first virtual world layer to said base virtual world; and

coupling said second and third virtual world layers to said first virtual world layer.

4. The method for providing virtual world functionality to a user of claim 1, wherein said base virtual world has a base virtual world object and said second virtual world layer has a second layer object further comprising:

managing a state of said base virtual world object by said base virtual world to provide a base managed object;

managing a state of said second layer object by said second virtual world layer to provide a second layer managed object; and

managing a state of said base managed object by said second virtual world layer to provide a further managed object.

5. The method for providing virtual world functionality to a user of claim 4, further comprising providing user access to said further managed object by said second virtual world layer.

6. The method for providing virtual world functionality to a user of claim 4, further comprising providing user access to said base managed object by said second virtual world layer.

7. The method for providing virtual world functionality to a user of claim 6, further comprising providing user access by said second virtual world layer in accordance with a user command.

8. The method for providing virtual world functionality to a user of claim 4, further comprising providing user access to said further managed object only by said second virtual world layer.

9. The method for providing virtual world functionality to a user of claim 4, wherein said further managed object is independent of any instantiation of said base virtual world object in said second virtual world layer.

10. The method for providing virtual world functionality to a user of claim 4, wherein said second layer managed object is independent of any instantiation of said second layer object in said base virtual world.

11. The method for providing virtual world functionality to a user of claim 4, wherein a further managed state of said further managed object comprises an object persistence.

12. The method for providing virtual world functionality to a user of claim 1, further comprising:

coupling a further virtual world layer having further virtual world functionality to said second virtual world; and

providing user access said base virtual world functionality and said further virtual world layer functionality by said further virtual world.

13. The method for providing virtual world functionality to a user of claim 1, wherein said base virtual world has a base virtual world object which is unalterable by said second virtual world layer.

14. The method for providing virtual world functionality of claim 1, wherein said first virtual world layer has a first virtual world object which is unalterable by said second virtual world layer.

15. The method for providing virtual world functionality to a user of claim 1, wherein said base virtual world operates on base virtual world infrastructure, said second virtual world layer operates on second virtual world layer infrastructure, and said base virtual world infrastructure is separate from said second virtual world layer infrastructure.

16. The method for providing virtual world functionality to a user of claim 1, including a further user coupled to said second virtual world layer for accessing said base world functionality by said further user further comprising segregating said user and said further user.

17. The method for providing virtual world functionality to a user of claim 1, wherein said base virtual world has a list of base world users and said second virtual world layer has a list of second virtual world layer users further comprising said base virtual world and said second virtual world layer each managing its own list of users independently of the other.