Providing virtual items based on location-based actions

• US 9,895,608 B1
• Filed: 03/30/2012
• Issued: 02/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zynga Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Zynga Incorporated
• Inventors: Auterio, Kathleen, Ersever, Deniz, Etter, Nathan Arthur, Kheskani, Hardik, Lam, Serena, Mahajan, Amitt, Makarsky, Christopher Joseph, Monahan, Jay, Mosites, Donald C., Mullin, Benjamin, Ocko, Matthew Adam, Reynolds, Brian, Talapatra, Shantanu, Waldron, Justin, Wang, Ian, Wang, Jackson
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Kevin Y
• Application Number:
  US13/435,627
• Time in Patent Office: 2,153 Days
• Field of Search: 463 1, 463 9, 463 42
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/00 Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions gaming systems which provide a financial reward G07F17/32
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/216 using geographical information, e.g. location of the game device or player using GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/27 characterised by a large display in a public venue, e.g. in a movie theatre, stadium or game arena
• 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 13/32 using local area network [LAN] connections
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/85 Providing additional services to players
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/40 characterised by details of platform network
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/57 details of game services offered to the player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/575 for trading virtual items

Abstract

A method of providing virtual items based on location-based actions is disclosed. An indication is received of a performance of a location-based action by a player of a computer-implemented game. A virtual item is added to an inventory of a player character of the player of the computer-implemented game based on the receiving of the indication of the performance of the location-based action by the player of the computer-implemented game. The virtual item is usable within the computer-implemented game by the player character of the player of the computer-implemented game.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting a presence of a player of a plurality of players of a computer-implemented game at a geographical location;

receiving an indication of a performance of a location-based action by the player, the location-based action being an action performed by the player at the geographical location;

identifying a level of negativity associated with a type of a location of the location-based action based on input from other players of the plurality of players;

determining that a player character of the player of the computer-implemented game consumed a virtual item of a type that is to be provided to the player; and

providing an additional virtual item of the type to the player of the computer-implemented game based on the receiving of the indication of the performance of the location-based action by the player of the computer-implemented game and the determining that the player character of the player of the computer-implemented game consumed the virtual item of the type, the additional virtual item selected based at least in part on the level of negativity, one or more modules incorporated into a game networking system to specially-configure the game networking system to perform the receiving, determining, and providing, the one or modules implemented by one or more processors of the game networking system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the additional virtual item is unique to a location of the location-based action.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the additional virtual item is one of a set of virtual items and the method further comprises providing the player with an incentive reward based on the player collecting each of the set of virtual items.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the additional virtual item is a composite virtual item and each of the set of virtual items corresponds to an element of the composite virtual item.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising notifying the player that the additional virtual item of the type is to be provided to the player based on the receiving of the indication of the performance of the location-based action by the player of the computer-implemented game and the determining that the player character of the player of the computer-implemented game consumed the virtual item of the type, the notifying including keeping a portion of information about the virtual item from the player and the providing of the additional virtual item of the type includes revealing the portion of the information about the virtual item to the player.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the location-based action includes attending an event and wherein the additional virtual item is a limited edition virtual item pertaining to the event.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising associating the location-based action with an in-game action and wherein the additional virtual item relates to a performance of the in-game action.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein:

the location-based action is scanning a product code of a real-world item; and

the additional virtual item corresponds to the real-world item.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting an additional location-based action by the player and wherein the providing of the additional virtual item is based on a location of the location-based action and a location of the additional location-based action.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the additional virtual item reflects a path of travel between the location of the location-based action and the location of the additional location-based action.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that the player character of the player of the computer-implemented game consumed the virtual item of the type is based on a determination that the virtual item of the type is not in an inventory of the player character of the player of the computer-implemented game.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing of the additional virtual item of the type is further based on the determining that a location of the location-based action pertains to a production of a real-world item of the type.

13. A system comprising:

one or modules implemented by one or more computer processors of a game networking system, the one or more modules incorporated into the game networking system to specially-configure the game networking system to;

detect a presence of a player of a plurality of players of a computer-implemented game at a geographical location;

identifying a level of negativity associated with a type of a location of the location-based action based on input from other players of the plurality of players;

receive an indication of a performance of a location-based action by the player, the location-based action being an action performed by the player at the geographical location; and

determine that a player character of the player of the computer-implemented game consumed a virtual item of a type that is to be provided to the player;

provide an additional virtual item of the type to the player of the computer-implemented game based on the receiving of the indication of the performance of the location-based action by the player of the computer-implemented game and the determining that the player character of the computer-implemented game consumed the virtual item of the type, the additional virtual item selected based at least in part on the level of negativity.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the additional virtual item is unique to a location of the location-based action.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the additional virtual item is one of a set of virtual items and the method further comprises providing the player with an incentive reward based on the player collecting each of the set of virtual items.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the additional virtual item is a composite virtual item and each of the set of virtual items corresponds to an element of the composite virtual item.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising a set of instructions that, when incorporated into a game networking system as one or more modules implemented by at least one processor of the game networking system, cause the at least one processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:

detecting a presence of a player of a plurality of players of a computer-implemented game at a geographical location;

receiving an indication of a performance of a location-based action by the player, the location-based action being an action performed by the player at the geographical location;

identifying a level of negativity associated with a type of a location of the location-based action based on input from other players of the plurality of players,

determining that a player character of the player of the computer-implemented game consumed a virtual item of a type that is to be provided to the player; and

providing an additional virtual item of the type to the player of the computer-implemented game based on the detecting of the presence of the player of the computer-implemented game at the geographical location and the determining that the player character of the player of the computer-implemented game consumed the virtual item of the type, the additional virtual item selected based at least in part on the level of negativity.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, the operations further comprising notifying the player that the additional virtual item of the type is to be provided to the player based on the receiving of the indication of the performance of the location-based action by the player of the computer-implemented game and the determining that the player character of the player of the computer-implemented game consumed the virtual item, the notifying including keeping a portion of information about the additional virtual item from the player and the providing of the additional virtual item includes revealing the portion of the information about the virtual item to the player.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the location-based action includes attending an event and wherein the additional virtual item is a limited edition virtual item pertaining to the event.