Location Services Game Engine

• US 20130196773A1
• Filed: 04/27/2012
• Published: 08/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Original Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Inventors: Lockeby, Camron, Hines, Gordon John, Cuff, Michael
• Application Number:
  US13/458,439
• Publication Number:
  US 20130196773A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/216 using geographical information, e.g. location of the game device or player using GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/332 using wireless networks, e.g. cellular phone networks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/46 Computing the game score
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/533 for prompting the player, e.g. by displaying a game menu
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/79 involving player-related data, e.g. identities, accounts, preferences or play histories
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/204 the platform being a handheld device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5573 player location
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds

Abstract

A location services game engine (LSGE) that is concerned with the geographic location of the wireless devices used to play in the game. The operations performed by players on wireless devices inside the location services game engine have location proximity requirements on the wireless devices being played in the game, and other wireless devices they interact with. A common game experience provides a virtual game instance including a plurality of geographically remote playing wireless devices virtually gathered together within the virtual game to physically interact with one another, and traveling relative to one another within the virtual game. A location update of each of the plurality of playing wireless devices active within the virtual game is obtained, with any movement from a last reported position applied against a virtual origin point within the virtual reality game.

Claims

1. A game engine server, comprising:

a communicator, at said game engine server, to communicate a location request to obtain a location update of each of a plurality of playing wireless devices active within a virtual reality game; and

a game user server interface, at said game engine server, to apply a change in virtual geographic position of each of said playing wireless devices against a virtual item point within said virtual reality game;

wherein at least one of said plurality of playing wireless devices acquires a virtual item within said virtual reality game when said at least one of said plurality of playing wireless devices is at a fixed physical location.

2. The game engine server according to claim 1, wherein:

said game engine server virtually locates a plurality of geographically disparate player wireless devices virtually proximate to one another at a virtual coordinate starting position within said virtual game.

3. The game engine server according to claim 2, wherein:

virtual movement of said plurality of geographically disparate player wireless devices within said virtual reality game with respect to respective virtual coordinate starting positions, mirrors real geographical movement of said plurality of geographically disparate player wireless devices.

4. The game engine server according to claim 1, further comprising:

a game transaction history database in communication with said virtual game.

5. The game engine server according to claim 1, further comprising:

an item location point database.

6. The game engine server according to claim 1, further comprising:

a virtual items matrix database.

7. The game engine server according to claim 1, further comprising:

a player wireless devices database.

8. A method of providing a common game experience to a plurality of geographically remote playing wireless devices, comprising:

generating a virtual game instance including a plurality of playing wireless devices active within said virtual reality game;

obtaining a location update of each of said plurality of playing wireless devices active within said virtual reality game; and

applying a change in virtual geographic position of each of said playing wireless devices against a virtual item point within said virtual reality game;

wherein at least one of said plurality of playing wireless devices acquires a virtual item within said virtual reality game when said at least one of said plurality of playing wireless devices is at a fixed physical location.

9. The method of providing a common game experience to a plurality of geographically remote playing wireless devices according to claim 8, further comprising:

virtually locating a plurality of geographically disparate player wireless devices virtually proximate to one another at a virtual coordinate starting position within said virtual game.

10. The method of providing a common game experience to a plurality of geographically remote playing wireless devices according to claim 8, wherein:

mirroring virtual movement of said plurality of geographically disparate player wireless devices within said virtual reality game with respect to respective virtual coordinate starting positions, to real geographical movement of said plurality of geographically disparate player wireless devices.

11-17. -17. (canceled)