SYSTEM, METHOD, AND GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE FOR ENTERING TEXT WITH A PHYSICAL OR VIRTUAL GAME CONTROLLER

• US 20130324242A1
• Filed: 03/12/2013
• Published: 12/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment America LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment America LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Adams, Emily, Vincent, Joshuah, Benitez, Nico, Chong, Jan, Cook, Ryan
• Application Number:
  US13/797,209
• Publication Number:
  US 20130324242A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/31
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/00 Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions gaming systems which provide a financial reward G07F17/32
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/2145 the surface being also a display device, e.g. touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/23 for interfacing with the game device, e.g. specific interfaces between game controller and console
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/24 Constructional details thereof, e.g. game controllers with detachable joystick handles
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/355 Performing operations on behalf of clients with restricted processing capabilities, e.g. servers transform changing game scene into an encoded video stream for transmitting to a mobile phone or a thin client
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/426 involving on-screen location information, e.g. screen coordinates of an area at which the player is aiming with a light gun
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/533 for prompting the player, e.g. by displaying a game menu
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0236 using selection techniques to select from displayed items
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0338 with detection of limited linear or angular displacement of an operating part of the device from a neutral position, e.g. isotonic or isometric joysticks
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A system, method, and graphical user interface for entering text using a game controller. The game controller can be physical or virtual. One embodiment of a graphical user interface (GUI) for entering text with a game controller comprises: an N×M matrix of selectable graphical elements, each of the graphical elements having X alphanumeric characters associated therewith, each of the X alphanumeric characters visually associated with a graphic corresponding to an input button on the game controller; a highlighter graphic moveable between each of the N×M matrix of selectable graphical elements using the game controller; wherein when a particular one of the N×M selectable graphical elements is highlighted with the highlight graphic, a user may enter an alphanumeric character by selecting the input button associated with the graphic corresponding to the input button within the highlighted graphical element.

Claims

1. A graphical user interface (GUI) for entering text with a game controller comprising:

an N×

M matrix of selectable graphical elements, each of the graphical elements having X alphanumeric characters associated therewith, each of the X alphanumeric characters visually associated with a graphic corresponding to an input button on the game controller;

a highlighter graphic moveable between each of the N×

M matrix of selectable graphical elements using the game controller;

wherein when a particular one of the N×

M selectable graphical elements is highlighted with the highlight graphic, a user may enter an alphanumeric character by selecting the input button associated with the graphic corresponding to the input button within the highlighted graphical element.

2. The GUI as in claim 1 wherein the highlighter graphic is moveable using a thumbstick of the game controller.

3. The GUI as in claim 1 wherein a particular one of the N×

M selectable graphical elements provides associations with input buttons which, when selected, changes the associations on one or more of the other N×

M selectable graphical elements to one or more of the following sets of alphanumeric characters;

upper case alphabetic characters;

lower case alphabetic characters;

numbers; and

symbols.

4. The GUI as in claim 1 further comprising:

a text entry region displaying alphanumeric characters entered by the user.

5. The GUI as in claim 4 wherein the text entry region includes a listing of content associated with the alphanumeric characters entered by the user.

6. The GUI as in claim 5 wherein each item in the listing is selectable via the game controller.

7. The GUI as in claim 1 wherein the game controller is a physical game controller.

8. The GUI as in claim 1 wherein the input buttons associated with the alphanumeric characters of each of the selectable graphical elements comprise A, B, X, and Y buttons on the game controller.

9. The GUI as in claim 1 wherein the matrix of N×

M selectable graphical elements comprises a 3×

3 matrix.

10. The GUI as in claim 1 wherein the highlighter graphic is moveable using a left bumper and a right bumper of the game controller.

11. The GUI as in claim 1 wherein, in response to selection of a particular button on the game controller, the associations on one or more of the other N×

M selectable graphical elements are changed to one or more of the following sets of alphanumeric characters;

upper case alphabetic characters;

lower case alphabetic characters;

numbers; and

symbols.

12. A machine readable medium having program code stored thereon which, when executed on a tablet-based client, causes the tablet-based client to render a graphical user interface (GUI) for playing a video game comprising:

an N×

M matrix of selectable graphical elements, each of the graphical elements having X alphanumeric characters associated therewith, each of the X alphanumeric characters visually associated with a graphic corresponding to an input button on the game controller;

a highlighter graphic moveable between each of the N×

M matrix of selectable graphical elements using the game controller;

wherein when a particular one of the N×

M selectable graphical elements is highlighted with the highlight graphic, a user may enter an alphanumeric character by selecting the input button associated with the graphic corresponding to the input button within the highlighted graphical element.

14. The machine-readable medium as in claim 12 wherein a particular one of the N×

M selectable graphical elements provides associations with input buttons which, when selected, changes the associations on one or more of the other N×

M selectable graphical elements to one or more of the following sets of alphanumeric characters;

upper case alphabetic characters;

lower case alphabetic characters;

numbers; and

symbols.

15. The machine-readable medium as in claim 12 comprising additional program code which, when executed on the tablet-based client, causes the tablet-based client to render additional GUI features comprising:

a text entry region displaying alphanumeric characters entered by the user.

16. The machine-readable medium as in claim 15 wherein the text entry region includes a listing of content associated with the alphanumeric characters entered by the user.

17. The machine-readable medium as in claim 16 wherein each item in the listing is selectable via the game controller.

18. The machine-readable medium as in claim 12 wherein the game controller is a physical game controller.

19. The machine-readable medium as in claim 12 wherein the input buttons associated with the alphanumeric characters of each of the selectable graphical elements comprise A, B, X, and Y buttons on the game controller.

20. The machine-readable medium as in claim 12 wherein the matrix of N×

M selectable graphical elements comprises a 3×

3 matrix.

21. The machine-readable medium as in claim 12 wherein the highlighter graphic is moveable using a left bumper and a right bumper of the game controller.

22. The machine-readable medium as in claim 12 wherein, in response to selection of a particular button on the game controller, the associations on one or more of the other N×

M selectable graphical elements are changed to one or more of the following sets of alphanumeric characters;

upper case alphabetic characters;

lower case alphabetic characters;

numbers; and

symbols.

13. The machine-readable medium as in claim 13 wherein the highlighter graphic is moveable using a thumbstick of the game controller.