Modifying virtual universe display quality of virtual objects according to encoded virtual object settings and fee payment status

• US 8,667,498 B2
• Filed: 09/14/2012
• Issued: 03/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hamilton, Rick A. II, Moskowitz, Paul A., O'Connell, Brian M., Pickover, Clifford A., Seaman, James W.
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zhao, Bing
• Application Number:
  US13/616,210
• Publication Number:
  US 20130002667A1
• Time in Patent Office: 536 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 718/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

Described herein are some embodiments that use smart objects in a virtual universe to conserve computing resources. Some embodiments describe detecting that a virtual object of the virtual universe enters a resource conservation area in the virtual universe. Some embodiments further include, in response to determining that the virtual object enters the resource conservation area, detecting that the virtual object has a setting that enables automatic reduction of display quality of the virtual object from a first display quality level. Some embodiments further include, in response to determining that the virtual object has the setting that enables the automatic reduction in display quality from the first display quality setting, automatically reducing the display quality of the virtual object from the first display quality level to a second display quality level less than the first display quality level.

Claims

1. A method comprising the steps of:

a computer detecting that a first virtual object of a virtual universe enters an area of the virtual universe, wherein the area is a virtual geographic region of the virtual universe;

in response to the first virtual object entering the area, the computer calling instructions of the first virtual object, wherein the instructions are referenced by a first setting encoded into the first virtual object, and wherein the first setting enables the first virtual object to perform automatic reduction of display quality from a first display quality level when the first virtual object enters the area, and wherein in response to the computer calling the instructions, the first virtual object automatically reduces the display quality of the first virtual object from the first display quality level to a second display quality level less than the first display quality level;

the computer detecting that a second virtual object enters the area;

the computer detecting that the second virtual object includes a second setting encoded into the second virtual object that enables the second virtual object to automatically reduce its display quality when the second virtual object enters the area;

the computer determining that a fee has been paid from funds of a user account associated with the second virtual object to an account associated with a host for the virtual universe to prevent automatic reduction in the display quality of the second virtual object; and

in response to the computer determining that the fee has been paid, the computer preventing a call to instructions that reference the second setting, wherein the second virtual object maintains its display quality as concurrently the first virtual object has an automatic reduction in display quality.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

the computer detecting that an additional virtual object of the virtual universe enters the area concurrently with the virtual object entering the area;

the computer determining that the additional virtual object does not have an additional setting encoded in the additional virtual object that enables the additional virtual object to automatically reduce its display quality when the additional virtual object enters the area; and

wherein the additional virtual object does not automatically reduce its display quality when the additional virtual object enters the area while concurrently the first virtual object automatically reduces the display quality of the first virtual object.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

the computer detecting that an additional virtual object enters the area, wherein the first virtual object is a first type of object and wherein the additional virtual object is a second type of object;

the computer determining that the first type of object is different from the second type of object;

in response to the additional virtual object entering the area, the computer calling additional instructions of the additional virtual object associated with the second type of object, wherein the additional virtual object includes an additional setting encoded into the additional virtual object that enables the additional virtual object to perform a first type of automatic reduction of display quality different from a second type of automatic reduction of display quality associated with the first type of object; and

in response to the computer calling the additional instructions, the additional virtual object automatically reducing display quality of the additional virtual object according to the first type of automatic reduction of display quality.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

the computer determining that an additional fee has not been paid, from funds of a user account for a user of the virtual universe associated with the first virtual object, to an account associated with a host for the virtual universe; and

wherein the automatically reducing the display quality of the first virtual object from the first display quality level to the second display quality level is further in response to the computer determining that the additional fee has not been paid.

5. A computer program product comprising:

one or more machine-readable tangible storage devices;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to detect that a first virtual object of a virtual universe enters an area in the virtual universe, wherein the area is a virtual geographic region of the virtual universe;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to, in response to the first virtual object entering the area, call first instructions of the virtual object, wherein the first instructions are referenced by a first setting encoded into the first virtual object, and wherein the first setting enables the first virtual object to perform automatic reduction of display quality from a first display quality level when the first virtual object enters the area, and wherein in, response to the first instructions of the first virtual object being called, the first virtual object automatically reduces the display quality of the first virtual object from the first display quality level to a second display quality level less than the first display quality level;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to detect that a second virtual object enters the area;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to detect that the second virtual object includes a second setting that enables automatic reduction of display quality of the second virtual object;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to determine that a fee has been paid directly from funds of a user account associated with the second virtual object to an account associated with a host for the virtual universe to prevent automatic reduction in display quality of the second virtual object; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to, in response to determining that the fee has been paid, prevent automatic reduction in display quality of the second virtual object.

6. The computer program product of claim 5 further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to detect that an additional virtual object of the virtual universe enters the area concurrently with the virtual object entering the area;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to determine that the additional virtual object does not have a setting encoded in the additional virtual object that enables the additional virtual object to automatically reduce the display quality of the additional virtual object when the additional virtual object enters the area; and

wherein the additional virtual object does not automatically reduce the display quality of the additional virtual object when the additional virtual object enters the area while concurrently the virtual object automatically reduces the display quality of the virtual object.

7. The computer program product of claim 5 further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to detect that an additional virtual object enters the area, wherein the first virtual object is a first type of object and wherein the additional virtual object is a second type of object;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to detect that the additional virtual object includes an additional setting that enables automatic reduction of display quality of the additional virtual object;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to determine that the first type of object is different from the second type of object; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to, in response to determining that the first type of object is different from the second type of object, reduce display quality of the additional virtual object in a different way from reducing display quality of the first virtual object.

8. The computer program product of claim 5 further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to determine that an additinal fee has not been paid directly from funds of a user account associated with the first virtual object to an account associated with a host for the virtual universe; and

wherein the program instructions to reduce the display quality of the first virtual object from the first display quality level to the second display quality level reduce the display quality of the first virtual object from the first display quality level to the second display quality level further in response to determining that the additional fee has not been paid.

9. A computer system comprising:

one or more processors, one or more machine-readable memories and one or more machine-readable tangible storage devices;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to detect that a plurality of virtual objects of a virtual universe enters an area of the virtual universe, wherein the area is a virtual geographic region of the virtual universe, and wherein a first virtual object of the plurality of virtual objects and a second virtual object of the plurality of virtual objects each includes an encoded setting, wherein the encoded setting enables the each of the first virtual object and second virtual object to perform an automatic reduction of display quality of the each of the first virtual object and the second virtual object when the each of the first virtual object and the second virtual object enters the area;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories to determine that a fee has not been paid from funds of a first user account associated with the first virtual object to an account associated with a host for the virtual universe;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories to determine that the fee has been paid from funds of a second user account associated with the second virtual object to the account associated with the host for the virtual universe;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to, in response to the first virtual object entering the area and in response to determining that the fee has not been paid from the first user account, call instructions of the first virtual object, wherein the instructions of the first virtual object are referenced by the setting encoded into the first virtual object, and wherein in response to the instructions of the first virtual object being called, the first virtual object automatically reduces the display quality of the first virtual object from a first display quality level to a second display quality level less than the first display quality level; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to, in response to the second virtual object entering the area and in response to determining that the fee has been paid from the second user account, prevent instructions of the second virtual object, referenced by the setting encoded into the second virtual object, from automatically reducing the display quality of the second virtual object.

10. The computer system of claim 9 further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to detect that an additional virtual object of the virtual universe enters the area concurrently with the first virtual object entering the area;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to determine that the additional virtual object does not have a setting encoded in the additional virtual object that enables the additional virtual object to automatically reduce its display quality when the additional virtual object enters the area; and

wherein the additional virtual object does not automatically reduce its display quality when the additional virtual object enters the area while concurrently the first virtual object automatically reduces the display quality of the first virtual object.

11. The computer system of claim 9 further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to detect that an additional virtual object enters the area, wherein the first virtual object is a first type of object and wherein the additional virtual object is a second type of object;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to detect that the additional virtual object includes an additional setting that enables automatic reduction of display quality of the additional virtual object;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to determine that the first type of object is different from the second type of object; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to, in response to determining that the first type of object is different from the second type of object, reduce display quality of the additional virtual object in a different way from reducing display quality of the first virtual object.