MODIFYING ENVIRONMENTAL CHAT DISTANCE BASED ON AVATAR POPULATION DENSITY IN AN AREA OF A VIRTUAL WORLD
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- determining a number of avatars in an area of a virtual universe associated with an environmental chat associated with an avatar;
determining a chat distance associated with the environmental chat based on the number of avatars in the area of the virtual universe associated with the environmental chat; and
modifying the chat distance in response to a change in the number of avatars in the area of the virtual universe associated with the environmental chat.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A mechanism for modifying a chat distance associated with an environmental chat based on the avatar population density of an area of a virtual universe associated with the environmental chat. An initial environmental chat distance may be determined based on the avatar population density, i.e., the number of avatars, in the area of the virtual universe associated with the environmental chat. The environmental chat distance may be modified in response to a change in the number of avatars in the area of the virtual universe associated with the environmental chat. The environmental chat distance may be modified such that the environmental chat distance is inversely proportional to the detected number of avatars in the virtual universe area associated with the environmental chat.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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determining a number of avatars in an area of a virtual universe associated with an environmental chat associated with an avatar; determining a chat distance associated with the environmental chat based on the number of avatars in the area of the virtual universe associated with the environmental chat; and modifying the chat distance in response to a change in the number of avatars in the area of the virtual universe associated with the environmental chat. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method comprising:
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determining a number of avatars in an area of a virtual universe associated with an environmental chat associated with an avatar; determining a chat distance associated with the environmental chat based on the number of avatars in the area of the virtual universe associated with the environmental chat such that the chat distance is inversely proportional to the number of avatars; modifying the chat distance in response to a change in the number of avatars in the area of the virtual universe associated with the environmental chat; determining whether the area of the virtual universe associated with the environmental chat comprises an environmental chat obstruction; and if the area of the virtual universe associated with the environmental chat comprises an environmental chat obstruction, modifying the chat distance associated with the environmental chat based on a location of the environmental chat obstruction. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. One or more machine-readable media having stored therein a program product, which when executed a set of one or more processor units causes the set of one or more processor units to perform operations that comprise:
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determining a number of avatars in an area of a virtual universe associated with an environmental chat associated with an avatar; determining a chat distance based on the number of avatars in the area of the virtual universe associated with the environmental chat; and modifying the chat distance in response to a change in the number of avatars in the area of the virtual universe associated with the environmental chat. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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18. An apparatus comprising:
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one or more processing units; and a memory unit coupled to the one or more processing units, the memory unit having stored therein program instructions that are executable by the one or more processing units to; determine a number of avatars in an area of a virtual universe associated with an environmental chat associated with an avatar; determine a chat distance based on the number of avatars in the area of the virtual universe associated with the environmental chat; and modify the chat distance in response to a change in the number of avatars in the area of the virtual universe associated with the environmental chat. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification