Information display method and information display system

• US 20010020955A1
• Filed: 02/14/2001
• Published: 09/13/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SEGA Corporation (SEGA Sammy Holdings Inc.)
• Original Assignee: SEGA Corporation (SEGA Sammy Holdings Inc.)
• Inventors: Kanazawa, Shoichiro, Nakagawa, Teruhiko
• Granted Patent: US 7,210,104 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/745
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/34 Browsing; Visualisation therefor

Abstract

A virtual space including a model in place of each user is displayed on a terminal of a user. About an item in which the user is interested, the level of interest is previously registered so that the figure of a model of the other user can vary depending on the level of the interest. For example, about a certain interesting item, if the other user is also interested in that item, the user'"'"'s terminal screen provides a display of the other user'"'"'s model differently from the ordinary figure of the model. If not interested, then it is displayed as the ordinary model. Thus, the user can readily find out a user he/she wants to meet.

Claims

1. An information display method for displaying information about a plurality of users registered in a server, on a terminal of a user of the plurality of users, via a network, the method comprising the steps of:

transferring information about the plurality of users from the server to the terminal of the user; and

differently displaying display contents of information about each user displayed on the terminal of the user, on the basis of registration contents of information about the user.

2. The information display method according to

claim 1

, wherein the information about each user includes a file for describing a model in place of each user within a virtual space shared by the plurality of users, and

the virtual space where the model corresponding to each user exists is displayed at the terminal of the user.

3. The information display method according to

claim 2

, wherein the information about each user includes an interest level of each user in at least one item, and

a figure of the model at the level of each user is differently displayed based on the level of the user about the item.

4. The information display method according to

claim 2

, wherein at least one model of a virtual character prepared by the server exists within the virtual space.

5. The information display method according to

claim 2

, wherein the information about the plurality of users is retrieved according to predetermined extraction conditions set by the user so that a user satisfying the extraction conditions is extracted.

6. The information display method according to

claim 5

, wherein the model corresponding to the extracted user is displayed, and the model corresponding to the unextracted user is not displayed.

7. The information display method according to

claim 5

, wherein the information about the extracted user(s) is displayed as a list.

8. The information display method according to

claim 5

, wherein the user is able to set the extraction conditions in the case where the user has in advance a specified permission from a manager of the server.

9. The information display method according to

claim 5

, wherein the user is able to set the extraction conditions in the case where the user has in advance a permission of sales activities within the virtual space from the manager of the server.

10. The information display method according to

claim 5

, wherein the manager of the server charges to the user for the setting of the extraction conditions by the user.

11. The information display method according to

claim 5

, wherein the extracted user is able to charge to the user communicating with the user within the virtual space.

12. The information display method according to

claim 7

, wherein the extracted user is able to charge to the user for displaying the list including the information of the extracted user.

13. An information display system comprising:

a server for registering information about a plurality of users, and

at least one terminal connected to the server via a network, the terminal being of a user of the plurality of users for displaying information about the plurality of users,

wherein the server transferred the information about the plurality of users to the terminal of the user, and the terminal of the user differently displays display contents of information about each user on the basis of registration contents of information about the user.

14. The information display system according to

claim 13

, wherein the information about each user includes a file for describing a model in place of each user within a virtual space shared by the plurality of users, and wherein

the virtual space where the model corresponding to each user exists is displayed on the terminal of the user.

15. A game method for communicating via a network with a virtual character presented by a server, the method comprising the steps of:

preparing parameters of each of a plurality of users communicating with the virtual character; and

varying the parameters of each user depending on the progress of communication of each user with the virtual character; and

informing each user a response from the virtual character corresponding to the parameters by an electronic mail at a predetermined timing.