SEQUENTIAL SELECTION OF MULTIPLE OBJECTS

• US 20140248948A1
• Filed: 03/04/2013
• Published: 09/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zynga Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Zynga Incorporated
• Inventors: Ho, James, Swistun, Szymon, Norberg, Nils Jonas, Patel, Sulabh
• Granted Patent: US 9,003,333 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/31
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/2145 the surface being also a display device, e.g. touch screens
• 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: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop

Abstract

A device may be configured to provide a user interface that supports sequential selection of objects displayed on a screen. As configured, the device may display a presentation of multiple objects, and the device may receive a user input that defines a path within the presentation of displayed objects. The device may then determine the sequential order of a selected subset of the displayed objects. Based on this sequential order, the device may select, initiate, and perform an action that is targeted at the selected subset of the objects. In the context of an action game, the user may trace the path through various enemies, and the device may select and perform the action based on the number of enemies, the type of enemies, or the order in which the enemies were selected. Selection and initiation of the action may begin while the user input is still being received.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a user input that defines a path in a presentation of displayed objects available for selection as targets of an action,

the user input defining a beginning of the path and an end of the path;

determining a sequential order of a selected subset of the displayed objects in the presentation,

the selected subset being determined as the targets of the action based on the path and based on locations of the displayed objects in the presentation;

selecting an action targetable at the selected subset of the displayed objects,

the selecting of the action being performed by a processor of a machine; and

performing the action targeted at the selected subset of the displayed objects according to the sequential order of the selected subset.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the performing of the action is initiated during the receiving of the user input.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the receiving of the user input includes;

receiving a first partial input that indicates a first displayed object among the displayed objects; and

receiving a second partial input that indicates a second displayed object among the displayed objects; and

the performing of the action includes initiating the action targeted at the first displayed object prior to the receiving of the second partial input.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the receiving of the user input includes detecting a single continuous gesture that connects each of the selected subset of the displayed objects from the beginning of the path to the end of the path.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the receiving the user input includes detecting a touch gesture that traces the path on a screen that displays the presentation of the displayed objects.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the displayed objects are in motion in the presentation; and

the receiving of the user input includes;

detecting the beginning of the path on a first displayed object among the displayed objects in motion; and

detecting the end of the path on a second displayed object among the displayed objects in motion.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the receiving of the user input includes;

receiving a first partial input that indicates a first displayed object among the displayed objects, prior to

receiving a second partial input that indicates a second displayed object among the displayed objects; and

the determining of the sequential order includes determining that the first displayed object precedes the second displayed object in the sequential order.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the determining of the sequential order of the selected subset includes determining the selected subset based on the path and based on the locations of the displayed objects in the presentation.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein:

the determining of the selected subset of the displayed objects includes comparing a threshold distance to a calculated distance between the path and a location of a displayed object among the displayed objects.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein:

the determining of the selected subset of the displayed objects is based on the path intersecting a displayed object among the displayed objects.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein:

the receiving of the user input includes

receiving a first partial input that indicates a first displayed object among the displayed objects, prior to

receiving a second partial input that indicates a second displayed object among the displayed objects; and

the determining of the selected subset of the displayed objects includes;

determining that the first displayed object is included in the selected subset in response to the receiving of the first partial input; and

determining that the second displayed object is incompatible with the first displayed object and excluded from the selected subset.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the selecting of the action is based on the sequential order of the selected subset of the displayed objects.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the receiving of the user input includes

receiving a first partial input that indicates a first displayed object among the displayed objects, prior to

receiving a second partial input that indicates a second displayed object among the displayed objects; and

the selecting of the action is based on the first displayed object preceding the second displayed object in the sequential order.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the selecting of the action is based on a size of the selected subset transgressing a threshold number of displayed objects.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the displayed objects in the presentation include icons that represent enemies targetable by a player character within a videogame, and

the performing of the action includes depicting attacks on the icons that represent enemies in the sequential order.

16. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

receiving a user input that defines a path in a presentation of displayed objects available for selection as targets of an action,

the user input defining a beginning of the path and an end of the path;

determining a sequential order of a selected subset of the displayed objects in the presentation,

the selected subset being determined as the targets of the action based on the path and based on locations of the displayed objects in the presentation;

selecting an action targetable at the selected subset of the displayed objects,

the selecting of the action being performed by the one or more processors of the machine; and

performing the action targeted at the selected subset of the displayed objects according to the sequential order of the selected subset.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein:

the selecting of the action is based on the sequential order of the selected subset of the displayed objects.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein:

the presentation displays the displayed objects in a two-dimensional arrangement; and

the received user input defines a two-dimensional path that connects each of the selected subset of the displayed objects.

19. A system comprising:

an input module configured to receive a user input that defines a path in a presentation of displayed objects available for selection as targets of an action,

the user input defining a beginning of the path and an end of the path;

a processor configured by a selector module to;

determine a sequential order of a selected subset of the displayed objects in the presentation,

the selected subset being determined as the targets of the action based on the path and based on locations of the displayed objects in the presentation; and

select an action targetable at the selected subset of the displayed objects; and

an action module configured to perform the action targeted at the selected subset of the displayed objects according to the sequential order of the selected subset.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein:

the presentation displays the displayed objects in a three-dimensional arrangement; and

the received user input defines a three-dimensional path that connects each of the selected subset of the displayed objects.