BARCODE-BASED METHODS TO ENHANCE MOBILE MULTIPLAYER GAMES
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Accused Products
Abstract
How do 2 people near each other and who have cellphones play a multiplayer Internet game? The first person visits it on her phone. She gets a barcode of an URL with an id of her Internet address. The second person images it with his phone and connects to the server. The server sends pages to both phones, to let them play the game. A barcode can add more people to the game. A player hands her character to a nearby person with a mobile device. Or to add watchers to follow the Point Of View of a player. A barcode can transfer assets between players, in a game that encourages physical proximity and enhanced social interaction. Another method of linking the players is where the phone emits a sound that maps to an URL. The other phone records and decodes the URL. It queries the server with the URL, to log the second person into the game.
36 Citations
39 Claims
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1-20. -20. (canceled)
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21. A method for connecting two or more users with devices to a game on the Internet using a server, comprising:
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providing a device for each user; providing a server, configured to provide information to the devices of each user; contacting the server, by a first user through a first device, to initialize an instance of the game to be played, the server in return providing a barcode that encodes an identifier of the first device; displaying the barcode on the first device; image capturing the barcode, by the one or more other users using their respective devices; decoding the barcode by the one or more other users using their respective devices; contacting the server, by the one or more other users using their respective devices, the server in return providing information related to the game; and entering the game, by the one or more other users through their respective devices, using the information related to the game. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 38, 39)
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35. A method for connecting two or more users with devices to a game on the Internet using a server, comprising:
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providing a device for each user; providing a server, configured to provide information to the devices of each user; contacting the server, by a first user through a first device to initialize an instance of the game to be played, the server returning an audio signal that encodes an identifier of the first device; playing the audio signal on the first device; capturing the audio signal, by the one or more other users using their respective devices; decoding the audio signal by the one or more other users using their respective devices to obtain server information related to the game; contacting the server, by the one or more other users using their respective devices, with the obtained server information, the server returning information related to the game; and entering the game, by the one or more other users through their respective devices, using the information related to the game provided by the server.
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36. A method for transferring assets between players in a game on the Internet using a server, comprising:
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providing a server configured to control the game; creating instructions, by a first device of a first user, relating to debiting an asset the first user owns in exchange for a credit; sending the instructions, by the first device, to the server; encoding the instructions, by the server, into a transaction barcode and sending the transaction barcode to be displayed on the first device; imaging the transaction barcode by a second device belonging to a second user interested in the asset owned by the first user; decoding the transaction barcode by the second device to obtain server information related to the transaction; contacting the server, by the second device, with the decoded instructions; approving the transaction, by the second user; and completing the transaction, via the server, whereby the server performs the instructions created by the first user with respect to the asset. - View Dependent Claims (37)
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Specification