Image integration, mapping and linking system and methodology

• US 8,758,130 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2011
• Issued: 06/24/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hanger Solutions, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Bassilic Technologies LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Sitrick, David H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lewis, David L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hoel, Matthew D
• Application Number:
  US13/340,587
• Publication Number:
  US 20120172120A1
• Time in Patent Office: 908 Days
• Field of Search: 463/30, 463/31, 463/43, 463/29, 463 40- 42
• US Class Current: 463/31
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/00 Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions gaming systems which provide a financial reward G07F17/32
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/655 by importing photos, e.g. of the player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1087 comprising photodetecting means, e.g. a camera
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/203 Image generating hardware
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/206 Game information storage, e.g. cartridges, CD ROM's, DVD's, smart cards
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/207 for accessing game resources from local storage, e.g. streaming content from DVD
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5553 user representation in the game field, e.g. avatar
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/695 Imported photos, e.g. of the player
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 15/16 for preventing non-intended contact between spray heads or nozzles and foreign bodies, e.g. nozzle guards
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/272 Means for inserting a foreground image in a background image, i.e. inlay, outlay

Abstract

An adapter interface apparatus has a user input device and an associated video display. The user selects a distinguishable visual image representation for association into an audiovisual presentation, such as where that user is identified. For example, color, size graphics or shape can be used to distinguish users. In one embodiment a digitized image of each user'"'"'s face is used as the distinguishable representation. Alternatively, the user can create an original image or select one of a predetermined set of visual images as the user'"'"'s identification for use in the audiovisual presentation. In one embodiment, the adapter interface is coupled to an audiovisual presentation system and a storage card containing User Images. The adapter interface system integrates a selected User Image from the Storage Card into the audiovisual presentation.

Claims

1. A method for providing a display presentation of a video game with a video game computing system comprising a processor, the method comprising:

combining video game application software of a video game with a stored variable portion based on an association between the stored variable portion and a stored fixed portion; and

generating the display presentation by;

intercepting a signal of the video game application software and isolating, within the intercepted signal, at least one of predefined video image data and predefined audio data, the intercepting based on the fixed portion; and

replacing the at least one of the predefined video image data and predefined audio data in the intercepted signal with a portion of the variable portion, based on the association between the fixed portion and the variable portion.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

coupling the video game computing system to a Linked Image Database (LID) comprising at least one mapping of variable audio data and video image data to at least one of fixed audio data and video image data, wherein the at least one mapping defines a replacement of the fixed audio data and video image data with the variable audio data and video image data; and

utilizing a portion of the variable audio data and video image data identified in the LID for generating the display presentation, responsive to the mapping for replacement.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

providing an associated Linked Databases Index (LDI) associated with the LID, wherein the mapping for replacement utilizes the LDI to generate the display presentation.

4. An entertainment system, including a processor and memory, comprising:

a first video game comprising a fixed portion and a second video game comprising the fixed portion; and

a first database comprising identifications of video image data and audio data stored in the memory, the first database comprising a first mapping between the fixed portion and a first variable portion corresponding to the first video game and a second mapping between the fixed portion and a second variable portion corresponding to the second video game,

wherein the processor is configured to generate an interactive video display presentation by;

intercepting a signal of the first video game comprising the fixed portion;

determining that the signal corresponds to the first mapping;

isolating the fixed portion within intercepted signal; and

replacing the fixed portion within the intercepted signal with the first variable portion.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the interactive presentation comprises at least one of a live-action presentation, an animated presentation, a video game system, and an interactive video entertainment system.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the interactive presentation comprises a video game presentation providing at least one of musical education, role-playing game, an action game, a mystery game, a war-game, a dance game, a sports game, a vehicle driving game and a simulator game.

7. The system of claim 4, further comprising:

a second database coupled to the computing system, the second database comprising replacement data including at least one of the first variable portion or the second variable portion, wherein the first variable portion or the second variable portion comprises audio data or video image data.

8. The system of claim 4, wherein the first database is configured to use an online linkage for online updating of mapping.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein the second database is stored in the memory, and wherein the computing system is configured to receive replacement content to be stored in the memory to provide updating of the second database.

10. The system of claim 4 wherein the computing system is configured to maintain an accounting of updating performed by the system.

11. The system of claim 8 wherein the interactive presentation comprises a video game presentation wherein the variable portion is representative of, at least, one of:

a reward, an advertisement, a substitute character, additional scenery, weapons, clothing, vehicles, music, music video, dance video, exercise video, movie trailers, animated short, an interactive performance of a user input based music composition performance, a change of at least one color in the display presentation of the video game, and at least one of new audio, video and audiovisual content utilized in providing a display presentation.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the second database has an associated Linked Database Index configured to be utilized by the processor to replace the fixed portion with the first variable portion.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the second database is configured to be utilized for transition between active play segments of the interactive presentation for a video game.

14. A method in a computer system, comprising:

receiving a first video game including,

a Core Game Application Software (CGAS), and

a fixed portion comprising images and other data that is fixed;

receiving a variable portion comprising images and other data that is variable, and

accessing a first database comprising correspondences between the one or more fixed portions and one or more variable portions, wherein the correspondences are configured to indicate images and other data that replace at least a portion of the fixed portions with the variable portions according to an Image Mapper comprising instructions for mapping data between the variable portions and the fixed portions; and

using, by the computer system, the Image Mapper to generate a second video game by;

intercepting a signal of the first video game and isolating, within the intercepted signal, one or more of predefined video image data and predefined audio data, the intercepting based on the fixed portion; and

replacing the isolated predefined video image data and predefined audio data in the intercepted signal with a portion of the variable portion based on the correspondences.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the fixed portion comprises images that appear in both the first and second video games.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the fixed portion and the variable portion comprise audio and video data.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the variable portion comprises at least one of a reward, an advertisement, a substitute character, additional scenery, weapons, clothing, vehicles, music, music video, dance video, exercise video, movie trailers, animated short, an interactive performance of a user input based music composition performance, or a change of at least one color.

18. A computer-readable medium storing instructions, the instructions comprising:

instructions for intercepting a signal comprising commands generated by a first video game;

instructions for identifying within the intercepted signal a fixed portion indicated by the commands; and

instructions for generating a second video game by replacing the fixed portion with at least one of alternate video image data and alternate audio data, the replacing based on a mapping of the fixed data to variable data.

19. A system, comprising:

means for storing a first video game, the first video game comprising video image data and audio data; and

means for producing a second video game by;

intercepting a signal of first the video game and isolating, within the intercepted signal, at least one of predefined video image data and predefined audio data, the intercepting based on a fixed portion associated with first video game; and

replacing the isolated at least one of predefined video image data and predefined audio data with at least one of alternate video image data and alternate audio data based on an association between the fixed portion and the at least one of alternate video image data and alternate audio data.

20. A system providing a first video game entertainment product having an associated video display presentation, the system comprising:

a processor;

a core subsystem comprising Core Game Application Logic (CGAL), a Core Image Database (CID), and an image-mapper, wherein the CGAL is configured to identify content previously used in at least a second video game entertainment product distinct than the first video game entertainment product; and

memory coupled to the processor and configured to store a Linked Image Database (LID) having an associated Linked Image Database Index (LDI) defining a predetermined mapping between data of the LID and data in the CID,

wherein the CGAL is configured to provide the video display presentation by;

intercepting a signal of the second the video game and isolating, within the intercepted signal, at least one of predefined video image data and predefined audio data; and

replacing, in the intercepted signal and based on the predetermined mapping between data of the LID and data in the CID, the isolated at least one of predefined video image data and predefined audio data with at least one of alternate video image data and alternate audio data.

21. The system of claim 20, further comprising:

a plurality of distributed core subsystems,

wherein the LDI defines a mapping corresponding to each of the plurality of distributed core subsystems, and data from the CID and the LID is configured to be used in a portion of the video display presentation produced by the distributed core subsystems based at least in part upon the mapping.

22. A computing system, having a processor and memory, comprising:

video game core logic configured for execution by the processor to produce a video game display presentation for a first video game and a second video game, the video game core logic including a plurality of rules that govern game play for the first and second video games, wherein the game play for the first video game comprises at least one threshold;

a Core Image Database (CID) comprising a core set of video image data and audio data in a structure comprising a Core Image Database Fixed portion (CIDF) comprising at least one of CIDF video image data or CIDF audio data and a Core Image Database Variable portion (CIDV) comprising at least one of the CIDV video image data and CIDV audio data; and

an image-mapper configured to determine the at least one threshold has been achieved during gameplay of the first video game and, in response, generate the second video game by;

intercepting a signal of the first video game and isolating, within the intercepted signal, at least one of predefined video image data and predefined audio data based on the CIDF portion; and

replacing in the intercepted signal the isolated at least one of predefined video image data and predefined audio data with a CIDV portion matching the CIDF portion.

23. The computing system of claim 22 wherein the threshold comprises at least one of completing a level, obtaining a high score, and defeating an opposition.

24. The computing system of claim 22 wherein the threshold comprises at least one of winning a sporting event and exploring an area within the first video game.

25. The computing system of claim 22 wherein the CID is configured in advance of the first and second video game to be integrated with a data from a plurality of sources.

26. The computing system of claim 22, further comprising:

a Linked Data Index configured to provide indexed access to the CIDF to facilitate integration with the first and second data.

27. The computing system of claim 22 wherein at least a portion of the first data is shared between the first and second data.

28. The computing system of claim 22 wherein the second video game comprises at least a portion of playable content that does not require achieving the threshold in the first video game.

29. A system, comprising:

means for receiving core game software (CGS) that has been used in at least a first video game;

means for receiving an indication of a fixed portion comprising data used in the first video game; and

means for generating a second video game by;

intercepting a signal of the first video game and isolating, within the intercepted signal, the fixed portion; and

replacing, in the intercepted signal, the fixed portion with at least one of alternate video image data and alternate audio data based on a Linked Image Database (LID) comprising a mapping of data between the at least one of alternate video image data and alternate audio data and the fixed portion.

30. The system of claim 29, further comprising:

means for monitoring for an in-game achievement; and

means for providing access to game content in the first game in response to the in-game achievement.

31. The system of claim 29 wherein the means for monitoring is configured to monitor for an in-game achievement in the second game.

32. A method, comprising:

generating a first video game using a special purpose machine, the first video game including—

a Core Game Application Software (CGAS), and

a fixed portion comprising images and other data that is fixed in a second video game; and

generating a second video game by;

intercepting a signal of the first video game,

isolating the fixed portion within the intercepted signal; and

replacing the fixed portion in the intercepted signal with a variable portion by matching, in a mapping, the fixed portion to the variable portion.