Method of interfacing on a computer network by visual representations of users, method of interacting and computer network

• US 6,692,359 B1
• Filed: 11/08/1993
• Issued: 02/17/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: America Online Inc. (Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.)
• Inventors: Williams, Kenneth A., Stephenson, Jeffrey A., Slayback, David R., George, Matthew D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Harrison, Jessica
• Application Number:
  US08/149,026
• Time in Patent Office: 3,753 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200, 395/800, 395/500, 395/153, 395/154, 273/434, 273/439, 348/15, 463/40, 463/41, 463/42, 463/29, 463/23, 709/23, 709/200, 709/204, 709/223, 709/224, 709/227, 709/228, 345/733, 345/734, 345/735, 345/741, 345/751, 345/752, 345/753, 345/758, 345/700
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/52 involving aspects of the displayed game scene
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/795 for finding other players; for building a team; for providing a buddy list
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5546 using player registration data, e.g. identification, account, preferences, game history
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5566 by matching opponents or finding partners to build a team, e.g. by skill level, geographical area, background, play style
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/558 by assessing the players' skills or ranking

Abstract

A Methods of interfacing and interacting on a network having a central computer system and a plurality of telephone line-connected remote computer systems is provided, each remote computer system including a video display. The network methods include the means for and steps of creating a first visual representation of a first user on the visual display of the first computer system and a second visual representation of a second user on the visual display of the second computer system. The second visual representation is then displayed on the visual display of the first computer system and the first visual representation is displayed on the video display of the second computer system. The network and method allow an application program e.g. a video game in which a first player'"'"'s selected visual representation, interest, skill levels and personal characteristics may be accessed by another player who is invited to play with the first to be employed by at least two primary users.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of interacting on a network having a central computer system and a plurality of remote computer systems, where each remote computer system has a video display and where a plurality of video games are accessible from the remote computer systems, the method comprising:

a first player creating a first visage representing a first player on a first remote computer system;

the first player identifying a level of interest of the first player for at least one of the video games, the level of interest being chosen from among gradations of interest including a level representing relatively little interest, a level representing relatively intermediate interest, and a level representing relatively great interest;

the first player indicating predetermined personal characteristics of the first player;

the first player saving the visage, interest level, and personal characteristics of the first player;

the first player accessing the central computer system from the first remote computer system;

a plurality of second players accessing the central computer system from a plurality of second remote computer systems while the first player accesses the central computer system;

showing a list of at least one second player on the video display of the first remote computer system;

the first player inviting a selected second player shown on the list to play a selected video game by transmitting an electromagnetic signal from the first remote computer system to the selected second remote computer system; and

displaying on the video display of the selected second remote computer system at least a portion of the visage, the relative interest level, and the personal characteristics of the first player saved in the step of saving.

2. The method of claim 1 where the step of inviting allows the selected second player to display the visage, interest level, and personal characteristics of the first player, and further includes the step of enabling the selected second player to accept the invitation.

3. The method of claim 1 where the step of creating a first visage of a first player on a first remote computer system includes the steps of selecting predetermined characteristics stored in memory accessible by the first remote computer system, and combining the selected predetermined characteristics to create the first visage.

4. The method of claim 3 where the predetermined characteristics include different predetermined pixel patterns stored in memory to represent different ages, sexes, skin colors and hair colors.

5. The method of claim 1 where the step of indicating predetermined personal characteristics of the first player includes the step of identifying personal interests of the first player and displaying those interests on the video display of the first computer.

6. The method of claim 1 where the step of saving the visage, interest level, and personal characteristics of the first player records includes recording at least one of the visage, relative interest level, and personal characteristics in memory accessible by the first remote computer system.

7. The method of claim 1 where the selected second player has created a visage of the second player on the selected second remote computer system, has identified an interest level of the selected second player for at least one of the video games, has indicated predetermined personal characteristics of the selected second player, and has saved the visage, interest level, and personal characteristics of the selected second player, and where the step of inviting a second player who has accessed the central computer system from a selected second remote computer system includes the step of accessing the saved visage, interest level, and personal characteristics of the selected second player.

8. A computer-implemented method of interacting on a network

having a central computer system and a plurality of remote computer systems, where each remote computer system has a video display and where a plurality of video games are accessible from the remote computer systems, the method comprising:

a first player creating a first visage representing a first player on a first remote computer system;

the first player identifying an interest level and a skill level of the first player for at least one of the video games;

the first player indicating predetermined personal characteristics of the first player;

the first player saving the visage, interest level, skill level and personal characteristics of the first player;

the first player accessing the central computer system from the first remote computer system;

a plurality of second players accessing the central computer system from a plurality of second remote computer systems;

showing a list of at least one second player on the video display of the first remote computer system;

the first player inviting a selected second player on a selected second computer system from the list to play a selected video game by transmitting an electromagnetic signal from the first remote computer system to the selected second remote computer system; and

displaying on the video display of the selected second remote computer system at least a portion of the information saved in the step of saving,

where the step of identifying an interest and a skill level of the first player for at least one of the video games includes the step of displaying on the video display of the first computer system a bar graph indicating the interest level and the skill level of the first player for each video game, where the bar graph has two ends and one end represents a low interest and skill level, the other end represents a high interest and skill level and positions between the two ends represent intermediate interests and skill levels.

9. A computer implemented method of creating a player profile for interacting on a computer gaming network comprising the following:

enabling the first user to identify profile information with respect to each of one or more games, the profile information including level of interest, the level of interest being chosen from among gradations of interest including a level representing relatively little interest, a level representing relatively intermediate interest, and a level representing relatively great interest; and

enabling the first user to make the profile information accessible to a first remote computer system, a central computer system, and at least one other remote computer system,

wherein the first computer system, the central computer system, and at least one other remote computer system are elements of a computer gaming network used for multiplayer gaming.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the profile information is automatically rendered upon the first user inviting a second user to play a game.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein enabling the first user to make the profile information accessible comprises displaying the rendered profile information to the second user upon the first user inviting the second user to play the game.

12. The method of claim 10 further comprising automatically rendering profile information of the second user and displaying the rendered profile information of the second userto the first user upon the first user inviting the second user to play the game, the profile information of the second user including a level of interest, the level of interest being chosen from among gradations of interest including a level respresenting relatively little interest, a level representing relatively intermediate interest, and a level representing relatively great interest.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein the profile information is automatically rendered upon the second user determining that the first user has accessed the central computer system and then the second user taking an action demonstrating an interest in the first user.

14. The method of claim 9 wherein enabling the first user to identify includes enabling the first user to identify both an interest level and a skill level with respect to each of one or more of a plurality of games.

15. The method of claim 9 wherein enabling the first user to identify includes enabling identification of an interest level with respect to each of one or more games.

16. The method of claim 9 wherein enabling the first user to identify includes enabling identification of a skill level with respect to each of one or more games.

17. The method of claim 9 further comprising enabling the first user to select a visage and enabling the first user to save the visage such that the visage is accessible to a first remote computer system, a central computer system, and at least one other remote computer system.

18. The method of claim 9 further comprising enabling the first user to identify personal characteristics and enabling the first user to save the personal characteristics such that the personal characteristics are accessible to a first remote computer system, a central computer system, and at least one other remote computer system.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the enabling the first user to identify personal characteristics comprises enabling the first user to identify personal characteristics not related to computer games.

20. A computer implemented method of accessing a player profile for interacting on a computer gaming network comprising the following:

enabling the first user to access profile information of a second user with respect to each of one or more games, the profile information including a level of interest, the level of interest being chosen from among gradations of interest including a level representing relatively little interest, a level representing relatively intermediate interest, and a level representing relatively great interest; and

enabling the first user to initiate a game with the second user based on the profile information,

wherein the first user accesses the profile information using a first remote computer system that communicates with a computer gaming network for multiplayer gaming that includes a central computer system and at least one other remote computer system.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the profile information is automatically rendered upon the first user inviting a second user to play a game.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein enabling the first user to access profile information of a second user comprises displaying the rendered profile information to the first user upon the first user inviting the second user to play the game.

23. The method of claim 21 further comprising automatically rendering profile information of the first user and displaying the rendered profile information of the first user to the second user upon the first user inviting the second user to play the game, the profile information including a relative interest level of the first user for the first identified video game relative to the second identified video game.

24. The method of claim 20 wherein the profile information is automatically rendered upon the second user determining that the first user has accessed the central computer system and then the second user taking an action demonstrating an interest in the first user.

25. The method of claim 20 wherein enabling the first user to access includes enabling the first user to access both an interest level and a skill level of the second user with respect to each of one or more of a plurality of games.

26. The method of claim 20 wherein enabling the first user to access includes enabling access of an interest level of the second user with respect to each of one or more games.

27. The method of claim 20 wherein enabling the first user to access includes enabling access of a skill level of the second user with respect to each of one or more games.

28. The method of claim 20 further comprising enabling the first user to access a visage of the second user.

29. The method of claim 20 further comprising enabling the first user to access personal characteristics of the second user.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein enabling the first user to access personal characteristics comprises enabling the first user to access personal characteristics of the second user not related to computer games.

31. A computer-implemented method of interacting on a network having a central computer system and a plurality of remote computer systems, where each remote computer system has a video display and where a plurality of video games are accessible from the remote computer systems, the method comprising:

a first player creating a first visage representing a first player on a first remote computer system;

the first player identifying a relative interest level of the first player for a first identified video game relative to a second identified video game, the first and second identified video games being selected from among the plurality of video games;

the first player indicating predetermined personal characteristics of the first player;

the first player saving the visage, relative interest level, and personal characteristics of the first player;

the first player accessing the central computer system from the first remote computer system;

a plurality of second players accessing the central computer system from a plurality of second remote computer systems while the first player accesses the central computer system;

showing a list of at least one second player on the video display of the first remote computer system;

the first player inviting a selected second player shown on the list to play a selected video game by transmitting an electromagnetic signal from the first remote computer system to the selected second remote computer system; and

displaying on the video display of the selected second remote computer system at least a portion of the visage, the relative interest level, and the personal characteristics of the first player saved in the step of saving.

32. The method of claim 31 where the step of inviting allows the selected second player to display the visage, the relative interest level, and personal characteristics of the first player, and further includes the step of enabling the selected second player to accept the invitation.

33. The method of claim 31 where the step of creating a first visage of a first player on a first remote computer system includes the steps of selecting predetermined characteristics stored in memory accessible by the first remote computer system, and combining the selected predetermined characteristics to create the first visage.

34. The method of claim 33 where the predetermined characteristics include different predetermined pixel patterns stored in memory to represent different ages, sexes, skin colors and hair colors.

35. The method of claim 31 where the step of identifying a relative interest level of the first player for the first identified video game includes the step of displaying on the video display of the first computer system a bar graph indicating an interest level of the first player for the first identified video game and an interest level of the first player for the second identified video game, where each bar graph has two ends and one end represents a low interest level, the other end represents a high interest level and positions between the two ends represent intermediate interests levels.

36. The method of claim 31 where the step of indicating predetermined personal characteristics of the first player includes the step of identifying personal interests of the first player and displaying those interests on the video display of the first computer.

37. The method of claim 31 where the step of saving the visage, relative interest level, and personal characteristics of the first player, includes recording at least one of the visage, relative interest level, and personal characteristics in memory accessible by the first remote computer system.

38. The method of claim 31 where the selected second player has created a visage of the second player on the selected second remote computer system, has identified a relative interest level of the selected second player for the first identified video game relative to the second identified video game, has indicated predetermined personal characteristics of the selected second player, and has saved the visage, relative interest level, and personal characteristics of the selected second player, and where the step of inviting a second player who has accessed the central computer system from a selected second remote computer system includes the step of accessing the saved visage, relative interest level, and personal characteristics of the selected second player.

39. A computer implemented method of creating a player profile for interacting on a computer gaming network comprising the following:

enabling the first user to identify profile information with respect to a plurality of video games, the profile information including a relative interest level of the first user for a first identified video game relative to a second identified video game, the first and second identified video games being among the plurality of video games; and

enabling the first user to make the profile information accessible to a first remote computer system, a central computer system, and at least one other remote computer system,

wherein the first computer system, the central computer system, and at least one other remote computer system are elements of a computer gaming network used for multiplayer gaming.

40. The method of claim 39 wherein the profile information is automatically rendered upon the first user inviting a second user to play a game.

41. The method of claim 40 wherein enabling the first user to make the profile information accessible comprises displaying the rendered profile information to the second user upon the first user inviting the second user to play the game.

42. The method of claim 40 further comprising automatically rendering profile information of the second user and displaying the rendered profile information of the second user to the first user upon the first user inviting the second user to play the game, the profile information of the second user including a relative interest level of the second user for the first identified video game relative to the second identified video game.

43. The method of claim 39 wherein the profile information is automatically rendered upon the second user determining that the first user has accessed the central computer system and then the second user taking an action demonstrating an interest in the first user.

44. The method of claim 39 wherein enabling the first user to identify includes enabling the first user to identify a skill level with respect to one or more of the plurality of video games.

45. The method of claim 44 wherein enabling the first user to identify includes enabling the first user to identify a skill level with respect to the first identified video game.

46. The method of claim 39 further comprising enabling the first user to select a visage and enabling the first user to save the visage such that the visage is accessible to a first remote computer system, a central computer system, and at least one other remote computer system.

47. The method of claim 39 further comprising enabling the first user to identify personal characteristics and enabling the first user to save the personal characteristics such that the personal characteristics are accessible to a first remote computer system, a central computer system, and at least one other remote computer system.

48. The method of claim 39 wherein the enabling the first user to identify personal characteristics comprises enabling the first user to identify personal characteristics not related to computer games.

49. The method of claim 39 wherein the relative interest level is chosen from among gradations of interest.

50. The method of claim 49 wherein the gradations of interest include a level representing little interest, a level representing intermediate interest, and a level representing great interest.

51. A computer implemented method of accessing a player profile for interacting on a computer gaming network comprising the following:

enabling the first user to access profile information of a second user with respect to a plurality of video games, the profile information including a relative interest level of the second user for a first identified video game relative to a second identified video game, the first and second identified video games being among the plurality of video games; and

enabling the first user to initiate a game with the second user based on the profile information,

wherein the first user accesses the profile information using a first remote computer system that communicates with a computer gaming network for multiplayer gaming that includes a central computer system and at least one other remote computer system.

52. The method of claim 51 wherein the profile information is automatically rendered upon the first user inviting a second user to play a game.

53. The method of claim 52 wherein enabling the first user to access profile information of a second user comprises displaying the rendered profile information to the first user upon the first user inviting the second user to play the game.

54. The method of claim 52 further comprising automatically rendering profile information of the first user and displaying the rendered profile information of the first user to the second user upon the first user inviting the second user to play the game, the profile information including a relative interest level of the first user for the first identified video game relative to the second identified video game.

55. The method of claim 51 wherein the profile information is automatically rendered upon the second user determining that the first user has accessed the central computer system and then the second user taking an action demonstrating an interest in the first user.

56. The method of claim 51 wherein enabling the first user to access includes enabling the first user to access a skill level of the second user with respect to one or more of the plurality of video games.

57. The method of claim 56 wherein enabling the first user to access includes enabling the first user to access a skill level of the second user with respect to the first identified video game.

58. The method of claim 51 further comprising enabling the first user to access a visage of the second user.

59. The method of claim 51 further comprising enabling the first user to access personal characteristics of the second user.

60. The method of claim 51 wherein enabling the first user to access personal characteristics comprises enabling the first user to access personal characteristics of the second user not related to computer games.

61. The method of claim 51 wherein the relative interest level is chosen from among gradations of interest.

62. The method of claim 61 wherein the gradations of interest include a level representing little interest, a level representing intermediate interest, and a level representing great interest.