User interface

• US 9,808,710 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2015
• Issued: 11/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: King.com, Ltd (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: King.com, Ltd (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Ionita, Bogdan
• Primary Examiner(s): Suhol, Dmitry
• Assistant Examiner(s): Duffy, David
• Application Number:
  US14/673,974
• Publication Number:
  US 20160291827A1
• Time in Patent Office: 952 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/2145 the surface being also a display device, e.g. touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/23 for interfacing with the game device, e.g. specific interfaces between game controller and console
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/426 involving on-screen location information, e.g. screen coordinates of an area at which the player is aiming with a light gun
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/53 involving additional visual information provided to the game scene, e.g. by overlay to simulate a head-up display [HUD] or displaying a laser sight in a shooting game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/5378 for displaying an additional top view, e.g. radar screens or maps using two or more virtual cameras concurrently A63F13/5252
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2003/00996 Board games available as video games
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

A computer-implemented method comprising: storing in a memory information of one or more game objects; causing to be displayed on a user interface of a touchscreen display a game board comprising one or more of said game objects; in response to determining contact or proximity of a selector at a first location of said display, determining by the processor one or more of said game objects stored in said memory that are displayed on and/or proximate to said location; and causing one or more of said game objects that are displayed on and/or proximate to said first location to be displayed on said display in a magnified region at a second location, wherein said second location is spaced from said first location.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

storing in a memory information of one or more game objects;

causing to be displayed on a user interface of a touchscreen display a game board comprising one or more of said game objects;

in response to determining contact or proximity of a selector at a first location of said touchscreen display, determining by a processor one or more of said game objects stored in said memory that are displayed on and/or proximate to said first location; and

causing one or more of said game objects that are displayed on and/or proximate to said first location to be displayed on said touchscreen display in a magnified region at a second location, wherein said second location is spaced from said first location;

wherein said method comprises determining a region of said touchscreen display at least partially visually obscured by said selector, and displaying said game objects displayed in the magnified region outside of said at least partially visually obscured region; and

updating a position of said magnified region on said display in response to movement of said selector over said game board at or above a threshold distance; and

said updating the position of said magnified region comprises movement of said magnified region along a path that is curved in relation to movement of the selector, a radius of curvature of said curved path being dependent on a parameter of the movement of said selector.

2. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said magnified region overlies or at least partially overlies said game board.

3. A method as set forth in claim 2, wherein the method comprises texturing said user interface as a series of layers, the game board comprised in a first layer and the magnified region comprised in a second layer.

4. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said first location of said game board is represented at a central position of said magnified region.

5. A method as set forth in claim 1, comprising determining said second location in dependence on said first location.

6. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the game board comprises a plurality of sections.

7. A method as set forth in claim 6, wherein the second location is caused to be in a second section different from a first section comprising the first location.

8. A method as set forth in claim 1, comprising updating a content of said game objects displayed in said magnified region in response to movement of said selector over said game board.

10. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the method comprises determining whether a user is left or right-handed, and determining a target position for the magnified region on the game board in response to the determination of whether the user is left or right-handed.

11. A method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising determining, via a processor, locations of a plurality of sections within the game board.

9. A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer executable instructions which when run on one or more processors perform:

storing in a memory information of one or more game objects;

causing to be displayed on a user interface of a touchscreen display a game board comprising one or more of said game objects;

in response to determining contact or proximity of a selector at a first location of said touchscreen display, determining by a processor one or more of said game objects stored in said memory that are displayed on and/or proximate to said first location; and

causing one or more of said game objects that are displayed on and/or proximate to said first location to be displayed on said touchscreen display in a magnified region at a second location, wherein said second location is spaced from said first location;

wherein said method comprises determining a region of said touchscreen display at least partially visually obscured by said selector, and displaying said game objects displayed in the magnified region outside of said at least partially visually obscured region; and

updating a position of said magnified region on said touchscreen display in response to movement of said selector over said game board at or above a threshold distance; and

said updating the position of said magnified region comprises movement of said magnified region along a path that is curved in relation to movement of the selector, a radius of curvature of said curved path being dependent on a parameter of the movement of said selector.

12. A device comprising:

a memory for storing information of one or more game objects;

a touchscreen display for displaying on a user interface a game board comprising one or more of said game objects;

a processor;

the device configured to, in response to determining contact or proximity of a selector at a first location of said touchscreen display, determine by the processor one or more of said game objects stored in said memory that are displayed on and/or proximate to said first location; and

cause one or more of said game objects that are displayed on and/or proximate to said first location to be displayed on said touchscreen display in a magnified region at a second location, wherein said second location is spaced from said first location;

wherein said device is configured to determine a region of said display at least partially visually obscured by said selector, and display said game objects displayed in the magnified region outside of said at least partially obscured region; and

update a position of said magnified region on said touchscreen display in response to movement of said selector over said game board at or above a threshold distance; and

wherein said device is configured to update the position of said magnified region comprising moving said magnified region along a path that is curved in relation to movement of the selector, a radius of curvature of said curved path being dependent on a parameter of the movement of said selector.

13. A device as set forth in claim 12, wherein said device is configured to cause said magnified region to overlie or at least partially overlie said game board.

14. A device as set forth in claim 13, wherein the device is configured to texture said user interface as a series of layers, the game board comprised in a first layer and the magnified region comprised in a second layer.

15. A device as set forth in claim 12, wherein said device is configured to represent said first location of said game board at a central position of said magnified region.

16. A device as set forth in claim 12, wherein the device is configured to determine said second location in dependence on said first location.

17. A device as set forth in claim 12, wherein the device is configured to consider the game board as comprising a plurality of sections.

18. A device as set forth in claim 17, wherein the device is configured to cause the second location to be in a section different from a section comprising the first location.

19. A device as set forth in claim 12, the device configured to update a content of said game objects displayed in said magnified region in response to the movement of said selector over said game board.