Music video game with user directed sound generation

• US 9,061,205 B2
• Filed: 07/14/2008
• Issued: 06/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Chrzanowski, Michael J. Jr., Hilliker, Jonathan L., Gallerani, Robert L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hylinski, Steven J
• Application Number:
  US12/172,927
• Publication Number:
  US 20100009749A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,535 Days
• Field of Search: 463/35, 846/09, 846/13
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/21 characterised by their sensors, purposes or types
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/214 for locating contacts on a surface, e.g. floor mats or touch pads
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/245 specially adapted to a particular type of game, e.g. steering wheels
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/428 involving motion or position input signals, e.g. signals representing the rotation of an input controller or a player's arm motions sensed by accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/44 involving timing of operations, e.g. performing an action within a time slot
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/5375 for graphically or textually suggesting an action, e.g. by displaying an arrow indicating a turn in a driving game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/54 involving acoustic signals, e.g. for simulating revolutions per minute [RPM] dependent engine sounds in a driving game or reverberation against a virtual wall
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/814 Musical performances, e.g. by evaluating the player's ability to follow a notation
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1006 having additional degrees of freedom
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1062 being specially adapted to a type of game, e.g. steering wheel
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/305 for providing a graphical or textual hint to the player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6018 where the game content is authored by the player, e.g. level editor or by game device at runtime, e.g. level is created from music data on CD
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8047 Music games
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/342 for guitar-like instruments with or without strings and with a neck on which switches or string-fret contacts are used to detect the notes being played electric guitars in which the tones are generated by the vibration of strings G10H3/18
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/36 Accompaniment arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/386 One-finger or one-key chord systems
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/091 for performance evaluation, i.e. judging, grading or scoring the musical qualities or faithfulness of a performance, e.g. with respect to pitch, tempo or other timings of a reference performance
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/096 : using a touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/135 : Musical aspects of games or videogames; Musical instrument-shaped game input interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/395 : Acceleration sensing or accelerometer use, e.g. 3D movement computation by integration of accelerometer data, angle sensing with respect to the vertical, i.e. gravity sensing

Abstract

A music based video game provides a user directed sound generation feature. In some embodiments, the user is provided a video game controller simulating a musical instrument, which the user may operate similarly to its real musical instrument counterpart. A free play feature is provided for users to operate the video game controller, where a processor of a video game console receives input signals from the video game controller and outputs audio samples based on the received input signals. During the free play feature, multiple suggestions as to how to operate the video game controller are simultaneously provided to give users some guidance as to what to play using the video game controller.

Claims

1. A method of generating audio tracks in a music video game, comprising:

receiving a first input signal indicating status of a first plurality of input devices of a video game controller;

outputting a polyphonic audio compilation based on the first input signal, the polyphonic audio compilation including at least two audio tracks featuring a sequence of notes or chords of different instruments;

receiving a second input signal indicating status of a second plurality of input devices of the video game controller;

selecting at least one of the at least two audio tracks based on the second input signal; and

muting the at least one of the at least two audio tracks.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the audio tracks are MIDI-based audio tracks, and wherein each of the at least two audio tracks uses a different MIDI channel and note combination.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein muting the at least one audio track includes muting audio outputs associated with at least one selected MIDI channel and note combination.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of input devices and the second plurality of input devices are located on a guitar shaped video game controller.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the first plurality of input devices includes a plurality of fret buttons and a strum bar, and the first input signal indicates status of each fret button and deflection of the strum bar.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the second plurality of input devices includes an analog touch pad.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the different instruments are drum-based instruments.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the polyphonic audio compilation is repeated.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an additional input signal indicating further status of the first plurality of input devices; and

outputting a different polyphonic audio compilation based on the additional input signals.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an additional input signal indicating further status of the second plurality of input devices; and

modifying the selection of the at east one of the at least two audio tracks based on the additional input signal.