SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PLAYING VIDEO GAMES ON TOUCHSCREEN-BASED DEVICES

• US 20150157940A1
• Filed: 12/11/2013
• Published: 06/11/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Hall, Gordon
• Granted Patent: US 11,465,040 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/2145 the surface being also a display device, e.g. touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/533 for prompting the player, e.g. by displaying a game menu
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/5372 for tagging characters, objects or locations in the game scene, e.g. displaying a circle under the character controlled by the player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/837 Shooting of targets

Abstract

The present invention relates to systems and methods for controlling a weapons-related video game on a touchscreen-based device. Aspects of the invention simplify the act of aiming at a target on a touchscreen-based device by: presenting a virtual environment from a first viewpoint and a user interface to a player, the user interface comprising at least one graphical user input element, the virtual environment including a plurality of targets, at least some of which has assigned priorities; assigning a priority to at least one of the targets; determining a highest-priority target out of the at least one of the targets that have been assigned a priority; receiving an indication that the at least one graphical user input element has been selected by a user; and, in response, determining a second viewpoint for viewing the virtual environment that is different from the first viewpoint for viewing the virtual environment, relative to the highest-priority target.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method useful in playing a video game on a touchscreen-based device, the method being implemented by a computer system that includes one or more processors, the method comprising:

presenting a virtual environment from a first viewpoint;

presenting a user interface to a player, the user interface including at least a plurality of graphical user input elements representative of different directions in the virtual environment;

instantiating a plurality of targets in the virtual environment;

assigning priorities to at least some of the plurality of targets;

receiving an indication that one of the graphical user input elements representative of different directions in the virtual environment has been selected by a user; and

in response to receiving the indication that the one of the graphical user input element has been selected by a user, determining a second viewpoint for viewing the virtual environment that is different from the first viewpoint for viewing the virtual environment, wherein the second viewpoint for viewing the virtual environment is determined relative to a highest-priority target in a direction corresponding to a direction of the selected graphical user input element.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the priority of the prioritized targets is based at least on the target'"'"'s distance from an avatar of the user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the priority of the prioritized targets is based at least on the target'"'"'s distance from a viewpoint of the user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the priority of the prioritized targets is based at least on the target'"'"'s distance from the user'"'"'s line of sight.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the different directions is to the left side of an avatar of the user.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the different directions is to the right side of an avatar of the user.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

panning from the first viewpoint to the second viewpoint in slow motion.

8. A computer-implemented method useful in playing a video game on a touchscreen-based device, the method being implemented by a computer system that includes one or more processors, the method comprising:

presenting a virtual environment;

presenting a user interface to a player, the user interface comprising a crosshair;

instantiating at least one target;

determining whether one of the at least one targets is within a predefined distance from the crosshair; and

if one of the at least one targets is within a predefined distance from the crosshair, moving the crosshair onto the one of the at least one targets that is within a predefined distance from the crosshair;

wherein moving the crosshair onto the one of the at least one targets that is within a predefined distance from the crosshair is done independently of the player'"'"'s viewpoint.

9. A computer-implemented method useful in playing a video game, comprising:

presenting a representation of a virtual world and at least one user selectable input for switching targets, the virtual world including a plurality of targets;

receiving an input signal indicative of selection of the at least one user selectable input for switching targets;

determining a new target;

presenting a further representation of the virtual world with an aiming indicator a predefined distance from the new target.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one user selectable input comprises a plurality of user selectable inputs, each of the plurality of user selectable inputs associated with a corresponding different direction, and the input signal indicative of selection of the at least one user selectable input for switching targets is an input signal indicate of selection of a first of the plurality of user selectable inputs.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein determining a new target comprises determining a highest priority target in a direction associated with the first of the plurality of user selectable inputs.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the new target is not centered in the further representation of the virtual world.