MULTI-USER ANIMATION COUPLED TO BULLETIN BOARD

• US 20110018870A1
• Filed: 10/04/2010
• Published: 01/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cloudrock LLC (Slingshot Technologies LLC)
• Original Assignee: Bourgham Investments LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Shuster, Brian Mark
• Granted Patent: US 8,018,455 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 2300/407 Data transfer via internet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5553 user representation in the game field, e.g. avatar
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8082 Virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 3/006 based on simulated virtual individual or collective life forms, e.g. social simulations or particle swarm optimisation [PSO]

Abstract

A multi-user animation process receives input from multiple remote clients to manipulate avatars through a modeled 3-D environment. Each user is represented by an avatar. The 3-D environment and avatar position/location data is provided to client workstations, which display a simulated environment visible to all participants. A text or speech-based bulletin board application is coupled to the animation process. The bulletin board application receives text or speech input from the multiple remote users and publishes the input in a public forum. The bulletin board application maintains multiple forums organized by topic. Access or participation to particular forums is coordinated with the animation process, such that each user may be permitted access to a forum only when the user'"'"'s avatar is located within a designated room or region of the modeled 3-D environment.

Claims

1-25. -25. (canceled)

26. A method, comprising:

modeling a multi-user virtual reality universe (VRU) process in a computer memory, the VRU comprising a model of a space including avatars each responsive to control input from corresponding ones of multiple clients;

capturing data from the VRU process for archiving by a separate bulletin board application, wherein the bulletin board application is operative to provide access to archived data contributed by its subscribing users; and

modeling a data recording object in the VRU process, the data recording object responsive to control input from ones of multiple clients to obtain recorded data from the VRU process for including in the archived data.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising recording a designated temporal portion of VRU animation data within a defined proximity of the data recording object to obtain recorded animation data comprising a record of a VRU event.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising organizing the archive data according to index elements from the VRU process data.

29. The method of claim 26, further comprising obtaining selected chat data for addition to the archived data in response to a signal from the data recording object.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising limiting the selected chat data to chat data received from ones of the multiple clients who have indicated consent to addition of the chat data to the archived data.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein the selected chat data comprises recorded audio data.

32. The method of claim 26, further comprising providing a data access object in the VRU process, the data access object responsive to the control input to provide access to the archived data for the multiple clients.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising providing the data access object configured such that a client is permitted access to archived data at least partially in response to determining that an avatar operated by the client is located within a defined part of the space modeled by the VRU process.

34. The method of claim 32, further comprising providing the data access object configured such that a client is permitted access to archived data at least partially in response to determining that that an avatar operated by the client performs a defined action relative to a designated modeled object in the space modeled by the VRU process.

35. A method, comprising:

receiving bulletin board data for storing in a database of client-submitted electronic content from a virtual reality universe (VRU) process in which multiple clients provide input for controlling respective avatar objects in an interactive environment, wherein the VRU process is operating on a VRU host separate from the database containing for storing bulletin board data and provides an object in the interactive environment responsive to input from corresponding ones of the clients to initiate obtaining of recorded data items from the interactive environment for including in the bulletin board data; and

providing the bulletin board data in response to queries referring to at least one data element of the VRU process.

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising organizing the bulletin board data in the database in relation to the at least one data element.

37. The method of claim 35, wherein the at least one data element comprises at least one of a time and location within the interactive environment.

38. The method of claim 35, further comprising providing the bulletin board data to the VRU host formatted for display in the interactive environment.

39. The method of claim 35, further comprising providing the bulletin board data directly to individual ones of the multiple clients as identified by the VRU host.

40. The method of claim 35, wherein the bulletin board data comprises data recorded from the VRU process as at least one of animation data, audio data, or chat data.

41. A computer-readable medium encoded with instructions, that when executed by a processor, cause a computer to perform operations of:

modeling a multi-user virtual reality universe (VRU) process in a computer memory, the VRU comprising a model of a space including avatars each responsive to control input from corresponding ones of multiple clients;

capturing data from the VRU process for archiving by a separate bulletin board application, wherein the bulletin board application is operative to provide access to archived data contributed by its subscribing users; and

modeling a data recording object in the VRU process, the data recording object responsive to control input from ones of multiple clients to obtain recorded data from the VRU process for including in the archived data.

42. The computer-readable medium of claim 41, further encoded with instructions for recording a designated temporal portion of VRU animation data within a defined proximity of the data recording object to obtain recorded animation data comprising a record of a VRU event.

43. The computer-readable medium of claim 41, further encoded with instructions for obtaining selected chat data for addition to the archived data in response to a signal from the data recording object.

44. The computer-readable medium of claim 41, further encoded with instructions for providing a data access object in the VRU process, the data access object responsive to the control input to provide access to the archived data for the multiple clients.

45. The computer-readable medium of claim 44, further encoded with instructions for providing the data access object configured such that a client is permitted access to archived data at least partially in response to determining that an avatar operated by the client is located within a defined part of the space modeled by the VRU process.

46. The computer-readable medium of claim 44, further encoded with instructions for providing the data access object configured such that a client is permitted access to archived data at least partially in response to determining that that an avatar operated by the client performs a defined action relative to a designated modeled object in the space modeled by the VRU process.

47. A computer-readable medium encoded with instructions, that when executed by a processor, cause a computer to perform operations of:

receiving bulletin board data for storing in a database of client-submitted electronic content from a virtual reality universe (VRU) process in which multiple clients provide input for controlling respective avatar objects in an interactive environment, wherein the VRU process is operating on a VRU host separate from the database containing for storing bulletin board data and provides an object in the interactive environment responsive to input from corresponding ones of the clients to initiate obtaining of recorded data items from the interactive environment for including in the bulletin board data; and

providing the bulletin board data in response to queries referring to at least one data element of the VRU process.

48. The computer-readable medium of claim 47, further encoded with instructions for organizing the bulletin board data in the database in relation to the at least one data element, wherein the at least one data element comprises at least one of a time and location within the interactive environment.

49. The computer-readable medium of claim 47, further encoded with instructions for providing the bulletin board data to the VRU host formatted for display in the interactive environment.

50. The computer-readable medium of claim 47, further encoded with instructions for providing the bulletin board data directly to individual ones of the multiple clients as identified by the VRU host.

51. The computer-readable medium of claim 47, further encoded with instructions for receiving and providing the bulletin board data comprising at least one of animation data, audio data, or chat data.