Avatar protection within a virtual universe

• US 8,827,816 B2
• Filed: 07/03/2012
• Issued: 09/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Bhogal, Kulvir S., Hamilton, Rick A. II, Keller, Neal M., Pickover, Clifford A.
• Primary Examiner(s): DEODHAR, OMKAR A
• Application Number:
  US13/540,748
• Publication Number:
  US 20120270620A1
• Time in Patent Office: 798 Days
• Field of Search: 463/42
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/35 Details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/73 Authorising game programs or game devices, e.g. checking authenticity
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/75 Enforcing rules, e.g. detecting foul play or generating lists of cheating players
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/79 involving player-related data, e.g. identities, accounts, preferences or play histories
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/535 for monitoring, e.g. of user parameters, terminal parameters, application parameters, network parameters
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5553 user representation in the game field, e.g. avatar
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/558 by assessing the players' skills or ranking
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5586 for enforcing rights or rules, e.g. to prevent foul play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality

Abstract

Methods, program products, services and devices are provided for protecting a protected avatar from actions of a second avatar within a virtual universe. Protection is implemented for a protected avatar from a second avatar within a virtual universe, including identifying an activity of the second avatar and disqualifying the second avatar from engaging in the identified activity within the virtual universe as a function of a relation of the identified activity to the protected avatar. A protective action is defined, associated with the identified activity and executable against the protected avatar or the second avatar. Activity of the protected avatar or the second avatar is monitored within the virtual universe for an occurrence of the identified activity, and the protective action is executed against the protected avatar or the second avatar in response to detecting the occurrence of the identified activity.

Claims

1. A method of protecting a protected avatar from actions of a second avatar in a virtual universe, the method being implemented on a computer system that includes one or more physical processors executing one or more computer program instructions which, when executed, perform the method, the method comprising:

identifying, by the computer system, a virtual universe item;

monitoring, by the computer system, for an occurrence of at least one activity in a virtual universe, wherein the at least one activity comprises at least one of;

(i) a second avatar adding the virtual universe item to an inventory of the second avatar;

or (ii) the second avatar presenting the virtual universe item to a protected avatar;

defining, by the computer system, a protective action associated with the at least one activity and executable against at least one of the protected avatar or the second avatar; and

executing, by the computer system, the protective action against at least one of the protected avatar or the second avatar in response to the occurrence of the at least one activity.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one activity is otherwise permissible by a virtual universe provider normative rule.

3. The method of, claim 1, wherein the protective action is executed based on a rating of a region occupied by at least one of the protected avatar or the second avatar.

4. The method of, claim 1, wherein the protective action is executed based on historical behavior data associated with the second avatar.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying, by the computer system, an agreement defining a duty of a user associated with the second avatar to a user associated with the protected avatar;

monitoring, by the computer system, for an occurrence of at least one second activity related to a behavior term of the agreement; and

executing, by the computer system, a second protective action against at least one of the protected avatar or the second avatar in response the occurrence of the at least one second activity.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the agreement comprises a restraining order issued by a court of law having jurisdiction over at least one of the user associated with the protected avatar or the user associated with the second avatar user, wherein the at least one second activity comprises the protected avatar and the second avatar being within a predetermined threshold distance from one another in the virtual universe, and wherein the second protective action is executed in response to the protected avatar and the second avatar being within the predetermined threshold distance from one another in the virtual universe.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the protected avatar is associated with a protected group of avatars, each avatar of the protected group of avatars having a common indicia on which a predefined duty to an avatar of the protected group is based.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein executing the protective action comprises at least one of:

transporting at least one of the protected avatar or the second avatar to another region in the virtual universe, wherein the other region is different than a region in which at least one of the protected avatar or the second avatar is located before the transporting;

providing a warning to the protected avatar of a location of the second avatar relative to the protected avatar within the virtual universe;

or

preventing the second avatar from coming within a predetermined threshold distance of the protected avatar in the virtual universe.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein executing the protective action comprises:

offering the second avatar enrollment in a virtual universe provider enhanced monitoring program; and

suspending participation in the virtual universe by the second avatar if the second avatar fails to enroll in the offered enhanced monitoring program.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein executing the protective action further comprises at least one of:

teleporting the second avatar to a restricted-rights region;

or

determining and charging a variable fee amount for enrollment in the offered enhanced monitoring program as a function of second avatar historical behavior data.

11. An article of manufacture for protecting a protected avatar from actions of a second avatar in a virtual universe, comprising:

a computer readable tangible storage device having computer-readable program code embodied therewith, the computer-readable program code comprising instructions that, when executed by a computer processing unit, cause a computer system processing unit to;

identify a virtual universe item;

define a protective action associated with at least one activity and executable against at least one of a protected avatar or a second avatar, wherein the at least one activity comprises at least one of;

(i) the second avatar adding the virtual universe item to an inventory of the second avatar;

or (ii) the second avatar presenting the virtual universe item to the protected avatar;

monitor for an occurrence of the at least one activity in a virtual universe; and

execute the protective action against at least one of the protected avatar or the second avatar in response to the occurrence of the at least one activity.

12. The article of manufacture of claim 11, wherein executing the protective action comprises preventing at least one of:

(i) the protected avatar from coming within a predetermined threshold distance of the second avatar in the virtual universe;

or (ii) the second avatar from coming within the predetermined threshold distance of the protected avatar in the virtual universe.

13. The article of manufacture of claim 11, the program code comprising instructions which, when executed on the computer system processing unit, causes the computer system processing unit to execute the protective action based on (i) a rating of a region occupied by at least one of the protected avatar or the second avatar and (ii) historical behavior data associated with the second avatar.

14. The article of manufacture of claim 11, the program code comprising instructions which, when executed on the computer system processing unit, causes the computer system processing unit to execute the protective action by performing at least one of:

transporting at least one of the protected avatar or the second avatar to another region in the virtual universe;

or

providing a warning to the protected avatar of a location of the second avatar relative to the protected avatar in the virtual universe.

15. A system for protecting a protected avatar from actions of a second avatar in a virtual universe, the system comprising:

one or more physical processors programmed with one or more computer program instructions which, when executed, cause the one or more physical processors to;

identify a virtual universe item;

monitor for an occurrence of at least one activity in a virtual universe, wherein the at least one activity comprises at least one of (i);

a second avatar adding the virtual universe item to an inventory of the second avatar;

or (ii) the second avatar presenting the virtual universe item to a protected avatar; and

execute a protective action against at least one of the protected avatar or the second avatar in response to the occurrence of the at least one activity.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more physical processors are further caused to:

prevent at least one of;

(i) the protected avatar from coming within a predetermined threshold distance of the second avatar in the virtual universe;

or (ii) the second avatar from coming within the predetermined threshold distance of the protected avatar in the virtual universe.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more physical processors are further caused to execute the protective action by performing at least one of:

transporting at least one of the protected avatar or the second avatar to another region in the virtual universe, wherein the other region is different than a region in which at least one of the protected avatar or the second avatar is located before the transporting;

or

providing a warning to at least one of the protected avatar of a location of the second avatar relative to the protected avatar in the virtual universe.

18. A method of protecting an avatar from actions of another avatar in a virtual universe, the method being implemented on a computer system that includes one or more physical processors executing one or more computer program instructions which, when executed, perform the method, the method comprising:

identifying, by the computer system, a first avatar as a protected avatar;

monitoring, by the computer system, for an occurrence of at least one activity performable by a second avatar in a virtual universe; and

providing, by the computer system, at least one of;

(i) an indication to the protected avatar that is related to the second avatar in response to the occurrence of the at least one activity;

or (ii) an indication to the second avatar that is related to the protected avatar in response to the occurrence of the at least one activity.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the at least one activity comprises the second avatar coming within a predetermined threshold distance of the protected avatar in the virtual universe.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the indication related to the second avatar is provided to the protected avatar in response to the second avatar coming within the predetermined threshold distance of the protected avatar in the virtual universe.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the indication related to the protected avatar is provided to the second avatar in response to the second avatar coming within the predetermined threshold distance of the protected avatar in the virtual universe.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the at least one activity comprises the protected avatar coming within a predetermined threshold distance of the second avatar in the virtual universe.