Personalized behavior of computer controlled avatars in a virtual reality environment

• US 7,090,576 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2003
• Issued: 08/15/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Tipping, Michael E., Herbrich, Ralf, Hatton, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): HOTALING, JOHN M
• Application Number:
  US10/609,507
• Publication Number:
  US 20040266506A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,142 Days
• Field of Search: 463 1- 9, 463 30- 34
• US Class Current: 463/1
• 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 13/56 Computing the motion of game characters with respect to other game characters, game objects or elements of the game scene, e.g. for simulating the behaviour of a group of virtual soldiers or for path finding
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/67 adaptively or by learning from player actions, e.g. skill level adjustment or by storing successful combat sequences for re-use
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/803 Driving vehicles or craft, e.g. cars, airplanes, ships, robots or tanks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/50 characterized by details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5546 using player registration data, e.g. identification, account, preferences, game history
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6027 using adaptive systems learning from user actions, e.g. for skill level adjustment
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8082 Virtual reality

Abstract

Racing-based computer games typically include a mode in which one or more human players can compete against one or more computer-controlled opponents. For example, a human player may drive a virtual race car against a computer-controlled virtual race car purported to be driven by Mario Andretti or some other race car driver. Such computer controlled opponents may be enhanced by including a sampling of actual game behavior of a human subject into the opponent'"'"'s artificial intelligence control system. Such a sampling can allow the game system to personalize the behavior of the computer control opponent to emulate the human subject.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

computing an avatar behavior definition based on environmental context of a virtual reality environment and a randomly selected training behavior from a training set of personalized sample behaviors; and

generating at least one control signal to guide behavior of an entity in the virtual reality environment in accordance with the avatar behavior definition.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the avatar behavior definition is associated with a track segment.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

generating the personalized sample behaviors by recording behavior of a player in one or more training sessions in the virtual reality environment.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the computing operation comprises:

combining a plurality of the personalized sample behaviors for a current game segment to yield the avatar behavior definition for the current game segment.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the computing operation comprises:

combining weighted contributions of a plurality of the personalized sample behaviors for a current game segment to yield the avatar behavior definition for the current game segment.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the computing operation comprises:

randomly selecting a personalized sample behavior from the training set using a randomly selected sample index that designates at least one of the personalized sample behaviors.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

storing the personalized sample behaviors in a persistent storage medium.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

recording behavior of a player in competition against the entity during game play in the virtual reality environment; and

adding the recorded behavior to the personalized sample behaviors associated with the player during the game play.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the computing operation comprises:

identifying game segments in the training set that match the current game segment by evaluating game segment descriptors associated with personalized sample behaviors against environmental context information associated with the current game segment.

10. A computer program product encoding a computer program for executing on a computer system a computer process, the computer process comprising:

computing an avatar behavior definition based on environmental context of a virtual reality environment and a randomly selected training behavior from a training set of personalized sample behaviors; and

generating at least one control signal to guide behavior of an entity in the virtual reality environment in accordance with the avatar behavior definition.

11. The computer program product of claim 10 wherein the avatar behavior definition is associated with a game segment.

12. The computer program product of claim 10 wherein the computer process further comprises:

generating the personalized sample behaviors by recording behavior of a player in one or more training sessions in the virtual reality environment.

13. The computer program product of claim 10 wherein the computing operation comprises:

combining a plurality of the personalized sample behaviors for a current game segment to yield the avatar behavior definition for the current game segment.

14. The computer program product of claim 10 wherein the computing operation comprises:

combining weighted contributions of a plurality of the personalized sample behaviors for a current game segment to yield the avatar behavior definition for the current game segment.

15. The computer program product of claim 10 wherein the computing operation comprises:

randomly selecting a personalized sample behavior from the training set using a randomly selected sample index that designates at least one of the personalized sample behaviors.

16. The computer program product of claim 10 wherein the computer process further comprises:

storing the personalized sample behaviors in a persistent storage medium.

17. The computer program product of claim 10 wherein the computer process further comprises:

recording behavior of a player in competition against the entity during game play in the virtual reality environment; and

adding the recorded behavior to the personalized sample behaviors associated with the player during the game play.

18. The computer program product of claim 10 wherein the computing operation comprises:

identifying game segments in the training set that match the current game segment by evaluating game segment descriptors associated with personalized sample behaviors against environmental context information associated with the current game segment.

19. A system comprising:

an avatar behavior definition module computing an avatar behavior definition based on environmental context of a virtual reality environment and a randomly selected training behavior from a training set of personalized sample behaviors; and

a behavior control system generating at least one control signal to guide behavior of an entity in the virtual reality environment in accordance with the avatar behavior definition.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the avatar behavior definition is associated with a game segment.

21. The system of claim 19 further comprising:

a training module generating the personalized sample behaviors by recording behavior of a player in one or more training sessions in the virtual reality environment.

22. The system of claim 19 wherein the computing operation comprises:

a probability density function module combining a plurality of the personalized sample behaviors for a current game segment to yield the avatar behavior definition for the current segment.

23. The system of claim 19 wherein the computing operation comprises:

a probability density function module combining weighted contributions of a plurality of the personalized sample behaviors for a current game segment to yield the avatar behavior definition for the current segment.

24. The system of claim 19 wherein the computing operation comprises:

a probability density function module randomly selecting a personalized sample behavior from the training set using a randomly selected sample index that designates at least one of the personalized sample behaviors.

25. The system of claim 19 further comprising:

a training module storing the personalized sample behaviors in a persistent storage medium.

26. The system of claim 19 further comprising:

a training module recording behavior of a player in competition against the entity during game play in the virtual reality environment and adding the recorded behavior to the personalized sample behaviors associated with the player during game play.

27. The system of claim 19 wherein the computing operation comprises:

a probability density function module identifying game segments in the training set that match the current game segment by evaluating game segment descriptors associated with personalized sample behaviors against environmental context information associated with the current game segment.