Virtual space mapping of a variable activity region

• US 9,399,167 B2
• Filed: 10/14/2008
• Issued: 07/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Glaser, Russell, Beeman, Steven Michael, Sarrett, Peter Glenn, Henson, Scott, Walker, Robert Sheldon, Clavin, John
• Primary Examiner(s): GALKA, LAWRENCE STEFAN
• Application Number:
  US12/251,193
• Publication Number:
  US 20100093435A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,842 Days
• Field of Search: 463 36- 39
• 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 13/211 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/216 using geographical information, e.g. location of the game device or player using GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/22 Setup operations, e.g. calibration, key configuration or button assignment
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/285 Generating tactile feedback signals via the game input device, e.g. force feedback
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/42 by mapping the input signals into game commands, e.g. mapping the displacement of a stylus on a touch screen to the steering angle of a virtual vehicle
• 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 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1006 having additional degrees of freedom
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1018 Calibration; Key and button assignment
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands

Abstract

An electronic game system and a method of its operation are provided for virtual space mapping of a variable activity region in physical space. A calibration input may be received from a positioning device of a game controller that indicates waypoints that define an activity region in physical space. A scale factor may be identified between the activity region and an interactive game region in virtual space based on the calibration input. Positioning information may be received from the positioning device that indicates a position of the positioning device within the activity region. The position of the positioning device within the activity region may be mapped to a corresponding virtual position within the interactive game region based on the scale factor.

Claims

1. A method of linking an activity region in a physical space to an interactive game region in a virtual space, the method comprising:

receiving at a computing device a first calibration input from a first positioning device of a first game controller, the first calibration input indicating a location of the first game controller in the physical space at each of a first plurality of different times;

recognizing for each of the first plurality of different times, an associated waypoint of a first plurality of waypoints;

defining a first activity region for the first game controller in the physical space, the first activity region bound by the first plurality of waypoints;

receiving at the computing device a second calibration input from a second game controller, the second calibration input indicating a location of the second game controller in the physical space at each of a plurality of different times;

recognizing for each of the second plurality of different times, an associated waypoint of a second plurality of waypoints;

defining a second activity region for the second game controller in the physical space, the second activity region bound by the second plurality of waypoints;

receiving by the computing device positioning information from the first positioning device, the positioning information indicating a position of the first positioning device within the first activity region between two or more of the recognized waypoints of the first plurality of waypoints; and

mapping by the computing device the position of the first positioning device within the first activity region to a corresponding virtual position within an interactive game region in virtual space.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising outputting a graphical output to a display device, the graphical output configured to cause the display device to present a graphical user interface depicting the interactive game region and an indicator indicating the corresponding virtual position within the interactive game region.

3. The method of claim 2, where the graphical output is further configured to cause the display device to present the graphical user interface depicting an interactive game object within the interactive game region as a hidden interactive game object.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising outputting an interactive game response if the corresponding virtual position within the interactive game region satisfies a pre-determined proximal relationship to an interactive game object located within the interactive game region.

5. The method of claim 4, where outputting the interactive game response further includes increasing an intensity of the interactive game response as the corresponding virtual position within the interactive game region approaches the interactive game object located within the interactive game region.

6. The method of claim 4, where outputting the interactive game response includes outputting haptic feedback via the game controller.

7. The method of claim 4, where outputting the interactive game response includes outputting visual feedback via a graphical display of the game controller.

8. The method of claim 4, where outputting the interactive game response includes outputting aural feedback via an audio output device of the game controller.

9. The method of claim 4, where outputting the interactive game response includes outputting aural feedback via an audio output device.

10. The method of claim 1, where the interactive game region is provided by a game module of the electronic game system.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying by the computing device a scale factor between the first activity region and the interactive game region in virtual space based on the first calibration input, the first activity region being a different size than the interactive game region and a different size than the second activity region, and wherein mapping the position of the first positioning device comprises mapping the first positioning device within the first activity region to the corresponding virtual position within the interactive game region based on the scale factor.

12. The method of claim 11,

identifying a second scale factor between the second activity region and the interactive game region based on the second calibration input;

receiving positioning information from the second positioning device, the positioning information received from the second positioning device indicating a position of the second positioning device within the second activity region; and

mapping the position of the second positioning device within the second activity region to a second corresponding virtual position within the interactive game region based on the second scale factor.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising outputting an interactive game response if the corresponding virtual position within the interactive game region satisfies a pre-determined proximal relationship to an interactive game object located within the interactive game region;

where the second corresponding virtual position defines a location of the interactive game object within the interactive game region.

14. An electronic game system configured to facilitate an interactive game, comprising:

a logic subsystem;

memory holding instructions that, when executed by a logic subsystem, cause the logic subsystem to;

receive a first calibration input from a first positioning device of a first game controller, the first calibration input indicating a location of the first game controller in the physical space at each of a first plurality of different times;

recognizing for each of the first plurality of different times, an associated waypoint of a first plurality of waypoints;

defining a first activity region in the physical space, the first activity region bounded by the first plurality of waypoints;

receiving a second calibration input from a second game controller, the second calibration input indicating a location of the second game controller in the physical space at each of a plurality of different times;

recognizing for each of the second plurality of different times, an associated waypoint of a second plurality of waypoints;

defining a second activity region for the second game controller in the physical space, the second activity region being different than the first activity region and bound by the second plurality of waypoints;

receive positioning information from the first positioning device, the positioning information indicating a position of the first positioning device within the first activity region between two or more of the recognized waypoints of the first plurality of waypoints; and

map the position of the first positioning device within the first activity region to a corresponding virtual position within an interactive game region in virtual space.

15. The electronic game system of claim 14, the memory further holding instructions that, when executed by a logic subsystem, cause the logic subsystem to:

output a graphical output to a display device, the graphical output configured to cause the display device to present a graphical user interface depicting the interactive game region and an indicator indicating the corresponding virtual position within the interactive game region.

16. The electronic game system of claim 14, the memory further holding instructions that, when executed by a logic subsystem, cause the logic subsystem to:

output an interactive game response if the corresponding virtual position within the interactive game region satisfies a pre-determined proximal relationship to an interactive game object located within the interactive game region.

17. The electronic game system of claim 16, the memory further holding instructions that, when executed by a logic subsystem, cause the logic subsystem to:

increase an intensity of the interactive game response as the corresponding virtual position within the interactive game region approaches the interactive game object located within the interactive game region.

18. The electronic game system of claim 17, the memory further holding instructions that, when executed by a logic subsystem, cause the logic subsystem to:

output the interactive game response as haptic feedback via the game controller.

19. The electronic game system of claim 14, wherein the memory further holds instructions that, when executed by the logic subsystem, cause the logic subsystem to:

identify a scale factor between the first activity region and the interactive game region in virtual space based on the first calibration input, the interactive game region being provided by a game module of the electronic game system,

and wherein mapping the position of the first positioning device comprises mapping the position of the first positioning device within the first activity region to the corresponding virtual position within the interactive game region based on the scale factor.

20. The electronic game system of claim 19, the memory further holding instructions that, when executed by a logic subsystem, cause the logic subsystem to:

identify a second scale factor between the second activity region and the interactive game region based on the second calibration input;

receive positioning information from the second positioning device, the positioning information received from the second positioning device indicating a position of the second positioning device within the second activity region; and

map the position of the second positioning device within the second activity region to a second corresponding virtual position within the interactive game region based on the second scale factor.

21. The electronic game system of claim 20, further comprising outputting an interactive game response if the corresponding virtual position within the interactive game region satisfies a pre-determined proximal relationship to an interactive game object located within the interactive game region;

where the second corresponding virtual position defines a location of the interactive game object within the interactive game region.

22. An electronic game system, comprising:

a logic subsystem;

a first game controller including a first positioning device;

a second game controller including a second positioning device;

memory holding instructions that, when executed by a logic subsystem, cause the logic subsystem to;

receive a first calibration input from the first positioning device, the first calibration input indicating a location of the first game controller in the physical space at each of a first plurality of different times;

recognizing for each of the first plurality of different times, an associated waypoint of a first plurality of waypoints;

defining a first activity region in the physical space, the first activity region bound by the first plurality of waypoints;

receive positioning information from the first positioning device, the positioning information received from the first positioning device indicating a position of the first positioning device within the first activity region between two or more fo the recognized waypoints of the first plurality of waypoints; and

map the position of the first positioning device within the activity region to a first corresponding virtual position within an interactive game region in virtual space;

receive a second calibration input from the second positioning device, the second calibration input indicating a location of the second game controller in the physical space at each of a plurality of different times;

recognizing for each of the second plurality of different times, an associated waypoint of a second plurality of waypoints;

defining a second activity region in the physical space, the second activity region bound by the second plurality of waypoints;

receive positioning information from the second positioning device, the positioning information received from the second positioning device indicating a position of the second positioning device within the second activity region between two or more of the recognized waypoints of the second plurality of waypoints;

map the position of the second positioning device within the second activity region to a second corresponding virtual position within the interactive game region; and

output a graphical output to a display device, the graphical output configured to cause the display device to present a graphical user interface depicting the interactive game region and one or more of a first indicator indicating the first corresponding virtual position within the interactive game region and a second indicator indicating the second corresponding virtual position within the interactive game region.

23. The electronic game system of claim 22, wherein the memory further holds instructions that, when executed by the logic subsystem, cause the logic subsystem to:

identify a first scale factor between the first activity region and an interactive game region in virtual space based on the first calibration input, and

identify a second scale factor between the second activity region and the interactive game region in virtual space based on the second calibration input,

wherein mapping the position of the first positioning device comprises mapping the position of the first positioning device within the first activity region to the first corresponding virtual position within the interactive game region based on the first scale factor, and

wherein mapping the position of the second positioning device comprises mapping the position of the second positioning device within the second activity region to the second corresponding virtual position within the interactive game region based on the second scale factor.