USING AND EXPORTING EXPERIENCE GAINED IN A VIDEO GAME

• US 20130090173A1
• Filed: 10/05/2011
• Published: 04/11/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wargaming.Net Limited
• Original Assignee: Wargarning Net LLP
• Inventors: Kislyi, Victor
• Granted Patent: US 9,248,372 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/43
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/69 by enabling or updating specific game elements, e.g. unlocking hidden features, items, levels or versions
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/803 Driving vehicles or craft, e.g. cars, airplanes, ships, robots or tanks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/85 Providing additional services to players
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/575 for trading virtual items
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/65 for computing the condition of a game character

Abstract

Methods and systems for awarding experience points to players of video games are disclosed. A video game such as a vehicle-based combat game may award experience of different classes, which allows control over the pace at which certain players advance through the game. Users may be awarded multiple classes of experience points, where a first class of experience may be restricted for use only in unlocking objects in a tech tree of the vehicle in which the first class of experience was earned vehicle, whereas a second class of experience may used to unlock any vehicle or module, not limited by tech tree. In some aspects, experience and/or vehicles/modules may be exported between video games.

Claims

1. One or more tangible computer readable media storing computer executable instructions that, when executed, cause a system to perform:

defining a first class of experience in a first graphically simulated virtual world hosted on one or more game servers, said graphically simulated virtual world simulating two opposing pluralities of military vehicles, wherein the first class of experience is earned when a user uses a first vehicle in the first plurality in the graphically simulated virtual world against a second vehicle in the second plurality, wherein unless a predetermined condition is met said first class of experience is usable only to unlock objects in a same tech tree as the first vehicle;

defining a second class of experience in the first graphically simulated virtual world, wherein the second class of experience is earned when the user uses the first vehicle in the first graphically simulated virtual world, and wherein the second class of experience is usable to unlock vehicles other than the first vehicle, and further usable to upgrade objects not compatible with the first vehicle; and

transferring the second class of experience from the first graphically simulated virtual world to a second graphically simulated virtual world, wherein the second graphically simulated virtual world is not another instance of the first graphically simulated virtual world.

2. The computer readable media of claim 1, wherein said instructions further cause the system to perform:

receiving user input to convert the first class of experience to the second class of experience;

when the predetermined condition has been met, converting the first class of experience to the second class of experience; and

when the predetermined condition has not been met, preventing conversion of the first class of experience to the second class of experience.

3. The computer readable media of claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition is all objects in the same tech tree as the first vehicle have been unlocked.

4. The computer readable media of claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition is the payment of money by the user.

5. The computer readable media of claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition is the payment of in-game currency by the user.

7. The computer readable media of claim 1, wherein

transferring is performed by:

determining an exchange rate between the first video game and second video game;

removing a user-requested amount of the second class of experience from an account associated with the user in the first video game; and

adding experience points to an account associated with the user in the second video game, said added experience points calculated by multiplying the exchange rate by the user-requested amount of the second class of experience.

6. (canceled)

8. A system comprising:

a processor; and

memory storing computer executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system to perform;

defining a first class of experience in a first graphically simulated virtual world hosted on one or more game servers, said graphically simulated virtual world simulating two opposing pluralities of military vehicles wherein the first class of experience is earned when a user uses a first vehicle in the first plurality in the graphically simulated virtual world against a second vehicle in the second plurality, wherein unless a predetermined condition is met said first class of experience is usable only to unlock objects in a same tech tree as the first vehicle;

defining a second class of experience in the first graphically simulated virtual world, wherein the second class of experience is earned when the user uses the first vehicle in the first graphically simulated virtual world, and wherein the second class of experience is usable to unlock vehicles other than the first vehicle, and further usable to upgrade objects not compatible with the first vehicle; and

transferring the second class of experience from the first graphically simulated virtual world to a second graphically simulated virtual world, wherein the second graphically simulated virtual world is not another instance of the first graphically simulated virtual world.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein said instructions further cause the system to perform:

receiving user input to convert the first class of experience to the second class of experience;

when the predetermined condition has been met, converting the first class of experience to the second class of experience; and

when the predetermined condition has not been met, preventing conversion of the first class of experience to the second class of experience.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the predetermined condition is all objects in the same tech tree as the first vehicle have been unlocked.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the predetermined condition is the payment of money by the user.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the predetermined condition is the payment of in-game currency by the user.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein transferring is performed by:

determining an exchange rate between the first video game and second video game;

removing a user-requested amount of the second class of experience from an account associated with the user in the first video game; and

adding experience points to an account associated with the user in the second video game, said added experience points calculated by multiplying the exchange rate by the user-requested amount of the second class of experience.

13. (canceled)

15. A method of administering a massive multiplayer online game, comprising:

defining a first class of experience in a first graphically simulated virtual world hosted on one or more game servers, said graphically simulated virtual world simulating two opposing pluralities of military vehicles;

awarding an amount of the first class of experience to a user in the first graphically simulated virtual world when the user uses a first vehicle in the first plurality in the graphically simulated virtual world to accomplish an objective associated with the first plurality of military vehicles, said objective being defined as mutually exclusive to an objective associated with the second plurality of military vehicle;

restricting said first class of experience for use only to unlock objects in a same tech tree as the first vehicle, unless a predetermined condition is met;

defining a second class of experience in the first graphically simulated virtual world;

awarding an amount of the second class of experience to the user when the user uses the first vehicle in the first graphically simulated virtual world to accomplish the objective;

permitting use of the second class of experience to unlock vehicles other than the first vehicle, and further use to upgrade objects not compatible with the first vehicle; and

transferring the second class of experience from the first graphically simulated virtual world to a second graphically simulated virtual world, wherein the second graphically simulated virtual world is not another instance of the first graphically simulated virtual world.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving user input to convert the first class of experience to the second class of experience;

when the predetermined condition has been met, converting the first class of experience to the second class of experience; and

when the predetermined condition has not been met, preventing conversion of the first class of experience to the second class of experience.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the predetermined condition is all objects in the same tech tree as the first vehicle have been unlocked.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the predetermined condition is a payment by the user.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein transferring comprises:

determining an exchange rate between the first video game and second video game;

removing a user-requested amount of the second class of experience from an account associated with the user in the first video game; and

adding experience points to an account associated with the user in the second video game, said added experience points calculated by multiplying the exchange rate by the user-requested amount of the second class of experience.

19. (canceled)