System, method and graphical user interface for controlling a game

• US 8,448,095 B1
• Filed: 12/14/2012
• Issued: 05/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Supercell Oy (Tencent Holdings Limited)
• Original Assignee: Supercell Oy (Tencent Holdings Limited)
• Inventors: Haussila, Timur, Tahkokallio, Touko, Hokkanen, Mikko
• Primary Examiner(s): Nunez, Jordany
• Application Number:
  US13/714,825
• Time in Patent Office: 158 Days
• Field of Search: 715/702, 715/863, 715/810, 345/173, 700/233
• US Class Current: 715/863
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/2145 the surface being also a display device, e.g. touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/25 Output arrangements for video game devices
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/28 responding to control signals received from the game device for affecting ambient conditions, e.g. for vibrating players' seats, activating scent dispensers or affecting temperature or light controlling the output signals based on the game progress A63F13/50
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/426 involving on-screen location information, e.g. screen coordinates of an area at which the player is aiming with a light gun
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/493 Resuming a game, e.g. after pausing, malfunction or power failure
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/52 involving aspects of the displayed game scene
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/533 for prompting the player, e.g. by displaying a game menu
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/69 by enabling or updating specific game elements, e.g. unlocking hidden features, items, levels or versions
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/822 Strategy games; Role-playing games A63F13/825, A63F13/828 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/95 Storage media specially adapted for storing game information, e.g. video game cartridges
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1075 using a touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/308 Details of the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/807 Role playing or strategy games
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04807 Pen manipulated menu
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0487 using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 : using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 : for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A graphical user interface on an electronic device presents one or more selectable graphical objects, enables a selection of one or more of the graphical objects, generates a menu list on the graphical user interface upon selection of one of the graphical objects. The menu list includes one or more selectable options, detects a selection of one of the selectable options from the menu list, detects a substantially continuous selection of areas along a path on the graphical user interface, and executes an action corresponding to the selected option in each area along the path on the graphical user interface.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a display screen; and

a computing hardware configured to execute a software product, wherein executing the software product generates and renders a graphical user interface on the display screen, the graphical user interface being configured to facilitate user interaction, the computing hardware, graphical user interface and the software product being implemented on a gaming system, the computer hardware being configured to;

present one or more selectable graphical objects on the graphical user interface;

enable a selection of one or more of the selectable graphical objects;

generate a menu list on the graphical user interface upon selection of one of the selectable graphical objects, the menu list comprising one or more selectable options;

detect a selection of one of the selectable options from the menu list;

detect a substantially continuous selection of areas along a path on the graphical user interface, wherein the substantially continuous selection comprises detecting a swipe motion over the graphical user interface; and

execute an action corresponding to the selected option in each area along the path on the graphical user interface, wherein the gaming system comprises a farming game, the selectable graphical objects of the graphical user interface comprise different spatial regions of a farming environment in which one or more crops are grown, and wherein the selectable options in the menu list are different farming tools.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein detecting the substantially continuous selection comprises detecting a track of a cursor over the graphical user interface.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a user input interface rendered over the graphical user interface, the user input interface being configured to detect an input corresponding to moving a pointer object, clicking or tapping the pointer object, or swiping a touch sensitive object over the graphical user interface.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, the computing hardware being configured to continuously apply the selected option to a portion of a graphical object in each area along the path in response to detecting a swipe action of a touch sensitive object over the portion of the graphical object.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the computing hardware is configured to detect an end of the substantially continuous selection, terminate the action, and remove a visual indicator of the selected option from the graphical user interface.

6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the computing hardware is configured to detect a speed of the substantially continuous selection of the one or more areas along the path;

and

execute the action corresponding to the selected option at a rapidity that is dependent at least partially on the speed of the substantially continuous selection of the one or more areas along the path.

7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the graphical user interface is a touch-sensitive screen, and a user interface is implemented on the touch-sensitive screen as a tactile surface of the touch-sensitive screen.

8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the computing hardware is configured to disable the execution of the action corresponding to the selected option, in response to detecting a termination of the substantially continuous selection of one or more areas along a path on the graphical user interface.

9. The electronic device of claim 1, comprising a database for continuously recording and updating the change in status of the one or more graphical objects, the software product being coupled to the database and being configured to resume the status of the one or more graphical objects to their last updated status in the database, in case of interruptions in the operable state of the graphical user interface.

10. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is connected to a server through a network, the graphical user interface being generated temporally concurrently on a plurality of electronic devices to facilitate a plurality of users'"'"' interaction with the graphical user interface, wherein each of the graphical user interfaces generated on the plurality of electronic devices are coordinated through the server and updated concurrently on the plurality of electronic devices with time.

11. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device comprises a desktop computer, a laptop computer, an iPad, or a smart phone, including an iPhone®

, an Android®

phone or a Symbian®

phone.

12. A method of facilitating user interactions with a graphical user interface, the graphical interface being generated and rendered on the display of an electronic device, by executing a software product on a computing hardware of the electronic device, the computing hardware, graphical user interface and the software product being implemented on a gaining system, the method comprising:

rendering one or graphical objects within the graphical user interface;

detecting a selection of one or more of the one or more graphical object;

rendering a menu list containing a set of selectable options, each selectable option corresponding to an effect to be applied to a portion of a specific graphical object, or to one or more of the one or more graphical objects;

detecting a selection of one of the selectable options;

detecting a substantially continuous selection of areas of the graphical user interface along a path by detecting a swipe motion over the graphical user interface; and

applying the effect corresponding to the selected option to a portion of a specific graphical object, or to one or more graphical objects corresponding to the path, wherein the gaming system comprises a farming game, the selectable graphical objects of the graphical user interface comprise different spatial regions of a farming environment in which one or more crops are grown, and wherein the selectable options in the menu list are different farming tools.

13. The method of claim 12, comprising configuring the graphical user interface to continue to apply the effect corresponding to the selected option during a time of detection of the substantially continuous selection of areas of the graphical user interface along the path to remove the selected option when the substantial continuous selection is terminated.

14. The method of claim 12, comprising continuously recording and updating a change in status of the one or more graphical objects, coupling the software product to a database, and resuming the status of one or more graphical objects to their last updated status in the database, in case of interruptions in the operations of the graphical user interface.

15. The method of claim 12, comprising:

connecting a plurality of electronic devices to a server through a network;

generating the graphical user interface temporally concurrently on the displays of each of the electronic devices;

coordinating a plurality of graphical user interfaces through the server, and updating them concurrently with time, to facilitate multiple users'"'"' interaction and coordination with the graphical user interfaces.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the graphical user interfaces comprises a gaming system, the method being implemented to facilitate an online multiplayer gaming system.

17. A software product recorded on a machine readable data storage medium, the software product being executable on the computing hardware of a computing device, for implementing a method according to claim 12.