Method and system for providing a virtual presentation including a virtual companion and virtual photography
First Claim
1. A method of providing a virtual presentation, the method comprising:
- using a computer system, representing a toy with a virtual character in the virtual world, said virtual character being controllable according to commands input by a user via the computer system;
using the computer system, providing a plurality of different virtual beings in a game activity in the virtual world, wherein the game activity involves the user selecting at least one of the virtual beings during participation by the user in the game activity and as an objective that is to be completed as part of a progression of the game activity to be saved in a user account belonging to the user for subsequent selection by the user from the user account to become a virtual companion of the virtual character;
in response to selection of the virtual companion by the user, associating the virtual companion with the virtual character controlled by the user;
displaying the virtual companion within a close proximity of the virtual character in the virtual world to establish a relationship between the virtual character and the virtual companion;
moving the virtual character to a desired location within the virtual world in response to commands input by the user; and
substantially maintaining the relationship between the virtual character and virtual companion to be substantially constant and providing the virtual companion with an animated appearance while the virtual character is moved.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and computer system for providing a virtual presentation is provided. A plurality of different groups of virtual objects within a virtual world on a display device, wherein at least one of the different groups is selectable by a user. The desired group of virtual objects are to be displayed within a virtual optical viewfinder. A selection tool is provided within the virtual optical viewfinder and is controllable by the user to select a target virtual object from the desired group of virtual objects displayed within the virtual optical viewfinder. The user is presented with a magnified image of the target virtual object and revealing an identity of the target virtual object that has been selected in response to selection of the target virtual object by the user.
108 Citations
43 Claims
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1. A method of providing a virtual presentation, the method comprising:
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using a computer system, representing a toy with a virtual character in the virtual world, said virtual character being controllable according to commands input by a user via the computer system; using the computer system, providing a plurality of different virtual beings in a game activity in the virtual world, wherein the game activity involves the user selecting at least one of the virtual beings during participation by the user in the game activity and as an objective that is to be completed as part of a progression of the game activity to be saved in a user account belonging to the user for subsequent selection by the user from the user account to become a virtual companion of the virtual character; in response to selection of the virtual companion by the user, associating the virtual companion with the virtual character controlled by the user; displaying the virtual companion within a close proximity of the virtual character in the virtual world to establish a relationship between the virtual character and the virtual companion; moving the virtual character to a desired location within the virtual world in response to commands input by the user; and substantially maintaining the relationship between the virtual character and virtual companion to be substantially constant and providing the virtual companion with an animated appearance while the virtual character is moved. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of providing a virtual presentation comprising:
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using a computer system, granting a user access to a virtual character within a virtual world and allowing the user to control movement of the virtual character within a first, unrestricted portion of the virtual world after creation of a user account; using the computer system, receiving and validating an access code associated with a real-world toy possessed by the user to be associated with the user account; in response to receiving and validating the access code, granting the user access to a second, restricted portion of the virtual world where the user can select a virtual companion for the virtual character, allowing the user to establish a relationship between the virtual character and the virtual companion by causing the virtual companion to be positioned in close proximity to the virtual character within the virtual world, wherein access to the restricted portion by the user is limited after the user has been granted access to the first, unrestricted portion of the virtual world but before the access code is received and validated; and substantially maintaining the relationship between the virtual companion and the virtual character while following movement of the virtual character in the virtual world in response to an input from the user requesting movement of the virtual character. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of providing a virtual presentation comprising:
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using a computer system, granting a user access to a virtual character within a virtual world and allowing the user to control movement of the virtual character within the virtual world; using the computer system, granting the user access to a virtual companion for the virtual character and displaying the virtual companion in close proximity to the virtual character within the virtual world; substantially maintaining the displaying between the virtual companion and the virtual character after movement of the virtual character in the virtual world in response to an input from the user requesting movement of the virtual character; and providing the user with a virtual dwelling for the virtual companion within the virtual world and establishing a relationship between the virtual dwelling and a user account that includes a plurality of virtual belongings owned by the user in the virtual world, wherein the virtual dwelling is accessible by the user from the user account to retrieve the virtual companion from the virtual dwelling; and allowing the user to store the virtual companion within the virtual dwelling when the virtual companion is not displayed within close proximity to the virtual character. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of providing a virtual presentation comprising:
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using a computer system, granting a user access to a virtual character within a virtual world and, in response to receiving input commands from the user, controlling movement of the virtual character within the virtual world in a manner consistent with the input commands; restricting access to a restricted portion of the virtual world to prevent the user from fully participating in an activity in the restricted portion that results in the user taking possession of a virtual being displayed within the restricted portion of the virtual world to become a virtual companion to a virtual character; using the computer system, receiving and validating an access code associated with a real-world object in possession of the user, wherein the access code is received over a communication network after being entered by the user via a user computer; in response to receiving and validating the access code, granting the user access to the restricted portion of the virtual world and allowing the user to fully participate in the activity by attempting to select the virtual being displayed within the restricted portion of the virtual world; subsequent to successful selection of the virtual being in the restricted portion of the virtual world, displaying the virtual being in another portion of the virtual world, other than the restricted portion of the virtual world, where said another portion was accessible to the user before granting access to the restricted portion of the virtual world, wherein the virtual being can be selected by the user in the another portion of the virtual world; and awarding a prize to the user in response to successful selection of the virtual being within the restricted portion of the virtual world. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A method of providing a virtual presentation comprising:
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using a computer system, granting a user access to a virtual character in a virtual room associated with the virtual character, wherein the virtual room is customizable by the user with a virtual belonging of the user'"'"'s from a user account registered to the user; in response to receiving commands input into the computer system by the user, controlling movement of the virtual character within the virtual room in a manner consistent with the commands; using the computer system, granting the user access to a virtual companion for the virtual character, wherein the virtual companion is to be selectively positioned by the user adjacent to the virtual character in the virtual room to accompany the virtual character during movements of the virtual character controlled by the user; and providing a secondary virtual room for the virtual companion, wherein the secondary virtual room is positionable by the user at a desired location within the virtual room and the virtual companion is selectable by the user to be repeatedly positioned adjacent to the virtual character and separated from the virtual character, and wherein the virtual companion is to be displayed within the secondary virtual room when separated from the virtual character within the virtual room. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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Specification