Identifying obstructions in an impression area

• US 8,272,964 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2009
• Issued: 09/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/04/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: van Datta, Glen, Zalewski, Gary
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuff, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kim, Kevin Y
• Application Number:
  US12/571,225
• Publication Number:
  US 20100022310A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,091 Days
• Field of Search: 463/43
• US Class Current: 463/43
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/46 Computing the game score
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/50 Controlling the output signals based on the game progress
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/5258 by dynamically adapting the position of the virtual camera to keep a game object or game character in its viewing frustum, e.g. for tracking a character or a ball
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/61 using advertising information
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/803 Driving vehicles or craft, e.g. cars, airplanes, ships, robots or tanks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/535 for monitoring, e.g. of user parameters, terminal parameters, application parameters, network parameters
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5506 using advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/61 Score computation
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8017 Driving on land or water; Flying
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0244 Optimization
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0246 Traffic
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0257 User requested
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0276 Advertisement creation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25841 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; arrangements for identifying locations of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/51; location of the user terminal in data switching networks H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44012 involving rendering scenes according to scene graphs, e.g. MPEG-4 scene graphs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 : involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47205 : for manipulating displayed content, e.g. interacting with MPEG-4 objects, editing locally
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4781 : Games
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47815 : Electronic shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4825 : using a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlists
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 : involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 : involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8453 : by locking or enabling a set of features, e.g. optional functionalities in an executable program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8583 : by creating hot-spots
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 : with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal

Abstract

Systems and methods for defining and tracking advertising campaigns across a channel video game network are disclosed. The system allows advertisements to be dynamically activated in video games. Advertisements are tracked to determine user impressions and user exposure to the advertisement. In the system, an impression area is defined relative an advertisements in the game. Methods for redefining the impression area or for accounting for the existence of obstructions that distort the view of the advertisement are also provided.

Claims

1. A method for determining the existence of an obstruction in an impression area within a video game environment, the method comprising:

accessing an advertisement stored in memory, the advertisement accessed via an end-user client device; and

executing instructions stored in memory, wherein execution of instructions by a processor;

renders the advertisement within a video game environment,

sends an obstruction probe on a line-of-sight path between a game character in the video game environment controlled by a user and the advertisement,

detects any intersection of the obstruction probe with one or more polygonal sides of at least one object on the line-of-sight path;

determining a percentage of the intersection; and

calculating an advertising impression value based on the percentage of the intersection.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the detection of an unobstructed line-of-sight path generates an advertisement impression.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the detection of an obstructed line-of-sight path does not generate an advertisement impression.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising executing instructions stored in memory to overcome the obstructed line-of-sight path by adjusting a camera tracking the game character to provide an unobstructed line-of-sight path between the game character and the advertisement, the camera adjusted in response to an initial detection of the obstructed line-of-sight path.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the obstruction probe comprises a sphere.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising executing instructions stored in memory to adjust the radius of the sphere to prevent the obstruction probe on the line-of-sight path from intersecting one or more polygonal sides of the object.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising executing instructions stored in memory to redefine the impression area, wherein no impression is generated when the game character is in an area associated with the object.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the percentage of the intersection is less than 100 percent.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the calculation based on the percentage of the intersection results in a partial advertisement impression.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein calculating the advertising impression value is further based on frame associated with the advertisement.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein calculating the advertising impression value is further based on a measurement of time that the game character is in the impression area and oriented toward the advertisement.

12. A system for determining the existence of an obstruction in an impression area within a video game environment, the system comprising:

an advertising server configured to store advertising content for downloading by an end-user client device, the advertising content including metadata associated with an impression area; and

an end-user client device configured to;

access the advertising server to download advertising content,

process the metadata;

determine the presence of any object intersecting an obstruction probe on a line-of-sight path to an advertisement;

determine a percentage of the intersection; and

calculate an advertising impression value based on the percentage of the intersection.

13. The system in claim 12, further including an advertising impression determination module stored in memory and executable by a processor to track an advertising impression generated when the game character located within the impression area has an unobstructed line-of-sight path to the advertisement.

14. The system of claim 12, further comprising a payment processing center configured to process a payment when an advertising impression is generated.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having embodied thereon a program, the program being executable by a processor to perform a method for determining the existence of an obstruction in an impression area within a video game environment, the method comprising:

accessing an advertisement stored in memory,

rendering the advertisement within a video game environment,

sending an obstruction probe on a line-of-sight path between a game character in the video game environment controlled by a user and the advertisement;

detecting any intersection of the obstruction probe with one or more polygonal sides of at least one object on the line-of-sight path;

determining a percentage of the intersection; and

calculating an advertising impression value based on the percentage of the intersection.