DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 1/28/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-9, 13-14, 17-19, and 21-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Xun Hu (CN 111282266 A; hereinafter Hu) in view of Shinji Togawa (JP6421212B2; hereinafter Togawa) in further view of Kazuko Ando (US 20150157941 A1; hereinafter Ando).
Regarding claim 1, Hu a game control method (recited at least: Hu [Abstract]), comprising: displaying, in response to a first operation on an object control in a virtual scene, a virtual object corresponding to the object control in an object display area in a battle area of the virtual scene, and displaying a skill control in a control display area where the object control is placed (Hu discloses a virtual character that is referred to as the “an active object” and a moveable object may be a virtual character, virtual animal, and a cartoon character (recited in at least Hu: [0058]); the method displays in response to using skills/props in the virtual camps (virtual scene) a corresponding action that happens depending on the direction and the target skill’s effect (recited in at least Hu [0064]); Hu discloses different responses to operations that are happening in the virtual scene and they change depending on which one is picked and how it is placed into the virtual scene (recited in at least Hu [0069-0072]));
displaying, in response to a second operation on the skill control, an apply range and an indicator of a first target skill corresponding to the skill control in the battle area, and controlling the virtual object to apply the first target skill in accordance with the indicator, wherein the indicator is configured to indicate an action range of applying the first target skill, and the action range of the first target skill is adjustable based on an operation instruction (Hu also discloses a “drag direction” (recited in at least Hu: 0067]) and release (recited in at least Hu: paragraph [0165]) operations that apply a skill range (recited in at least Hu: 0151]) and has a skill aiming indicator (recited in at least Hu: paragraph [0067]). Hu discloses that the skills/operations placed in the virtual environment/scene/battle have different actions depending on which one is applied and how its applied (recited in at least Hu: paragraph 0066]) and some may be fixed skills (recited in at least Hu paragraph [0158]); the second operation is what is starting the “skill operation” to be placed onto the field by the dragging and releasing operations); wherein the second operation comprises a first trigger operation, the first trigger operation comprises a dragging operation (Hu also discloses a “drag direction” (recited in at least Hu: 0067]) and release (recited in at least Hu: paragraph [0165]) operations that apply a skill range (recited in at least Hu: 0151])), and displaying, in response to the second operation on the skill control, the apply range and the indicator of the first target skill corresponding to the skill control in the battle area (Hu discloses that the skills/operations placed in the virtual environment/scene/battle have different actions depending on which one is applied and how its applied (recited in at least Hu: paragraph 0066]) and some may be fixed skills (recited in at least Hu paragraph [0158])). However, Hu doesn’t explicitly disclose acquiring current battle data, wherein the current battle data comprises a set of battle data of the virtual object and a set of battle data of an enemy virtual object corresponding to the virtual object; and increasing or decreasing a proportion of the object display area to the battle area according to the current battle data; and displaying the apply range in the battle area in response to the dragging operation, and gradually reducing a display of the skill control during the dragging operation.
Togawa teaches displaying the apply range in the battle area in response to the dragging operation, and gradually reducing a display of the skill control during the dragging operation Togawa teaches that a display magnification can be increased or decreased with a drag operation (recited in at least: Togawa [Abstract; 0030]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have added a screen display magnification or reduction for added emphases on the move or operation the player is doing in game.
Ando teaches acquiring current battle data, wherein the current battle data comprises a set of battle data of the virtual object and a set of battle data of an enemy virtual object corresponding to the virtual object; and increasing or decreasing a proportion of the object display area to the battle area according to the current battle data (“setting automatic recovery of a battle point 510 displays an image 511 of a card of a character set to be used in a battle by a player, an attack power 512, a vital power 513, a consumption point number 514, a battle point 515 currently possessed by the player” (recited in at least: Ando paragraph [0076])).
It would be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have added the “battle data” information as taught by Ando into the system of Hu for the added benefit of allowing players the ability to see how many points they have accumulated during the session and know their level/power when making a move.
Regarding claim 2, Hu in view of Togawa and Ando teach the disclosed matter as stated above, and Hu further teaches wherein the second operation further comprises a second trigger operation (Hu also discloses a “drag direction” (recited in at least Hu: 0067]) and release (recited in at least Hu: paragraph [0165]) operations that apply a skill range (recited in at least Hu: 0151])), wherein controlling the virtual object to apply the first target skill in accordance with the indicator comprises: controlling the virtual object to apply the first target skill in accordance with the indicator in response to the second trigger operation in the battle area (Hu discloses a dragging operation (recited in at least Hu: paragraph [0068]) that is performed by a user dragging the skill aiming control. The skill aiming direction is parallel to the direction of the dragging operation done by the user (recited in at least Hu: paragraph [0071])).
Regarding claim 3, Hu in view of Togawa and Ando teach the disclosed matter as stated above, and Hu further teaches wherein the second trigger operation comprises a releasing operation (“the release operation is an operation in which the user releases the inner ring 42 with his fingers. In response to the received release operation, the terminal releases the skill at the target position pointed to by the aiming vector” (recited in at least: Hu paragraph [0135])), wherein the displaying the apply range and the indicator in the battle area in response to the first trigger operation on the skill control, and controlling the virtual object to apply the first target skill in accordance with the indicator in response to the second trigger operation in the battle area comprises: stopping the display of the skill control and displaying the indicator in the battle area when an operation position corresponding to the dragging operation is located within the battle area (that according to the release operation of the skill being used in game, depending on the virtual character being played and their role the skill will hit according to the skill game indicator (recited in at least Hu: paragraph [0136])); and controlling the virtual object to apply the first target skill in accordance with the indicator in response to the releasing operation (Step 1416, in response to the received release operation, release the skill to the target location (recited in at least Hu: paragraph [0165]).
Regarding claim 4, Hu in view of Togawa and Ando teach the disclosed matter as stated above, and Hu further teaches wherein the indicator comprises a sector indicator (Applicant recites in paragraph [0082] of the originally filed Specification that a “sector indicator 702 shown in FIG 7”). Hu discloses a sector indicator that resembles 702 in art and in action. The sector-shaped aiming indicator includes a sector-shaped aiming area 55 and a maximum release distance 52 . On the virtual environment screen, the fan-shaped aiming area 55 has a skill aiming direction 53; in the HUD area, the inner circle 42 forms a dragging direction 43 at a first operating point before dragging and a second operating point after dragging. Throughout the user interface, the skill aiming direction 53 and the dragging direction 43 are parallel (recited in at least Hu: paragraph [0102] and FIG. 6)
Regarding claim 5, Hu in view of Togawa and Ando teach the disclosed matter as stated above, and Hu further teaches wherein the indicator is the circular indicator if the first target skill is a range-applied skill (Hu discloses that the sector-shaped aiming indicator includes a circular aiming area 56 and a maximum release distance 52 (recited in at least: Hu paragraph [0103] and FIG. 8 element 56). The skill applied by the aiming direction 53 is One point that needs to be explained is that the skill aiming direction 53 may not be displayed explicitly. When the skill aiming direction 53 is not displayed, the skill aiming direction 53 can be determined based on the landing point of the virtual character and the midpoint of the actual effective area after the skill is released (recited in at least Hu: paragraph [0104])).
Regarding claim 6, Hu in view of Togawa and Ando teach the disclosed matter as stated above, and Hu further teaches wherein the controlling the virtual object to apply the first target skill in accordance with the indicator comprises: controlling the virtual object to apply the first target skill to a range indicated by the circular indicator (Hu discloses applying a skill and the range applied by the skill is calculated with a formula and shown in FIG 13 (recited in at least Hu: paragraph [0151])).
Regarding claim 7, Hu in view of Togawa and Ando teach the disclosed matter as stated above, and Hu further teaches wherein the indicator is the radial indicator or the sector indicator if the first target skill is a direction-applied skill (Hu discloses that the sector indicator is a direction skill that has two points and is dependent on the direction of the dragging by the user (recited in at least Hu: paragraph [0102])).
Regarding claim 8, Hu in view of Togawa and Ando teach the disclosed matter as stated above, and Hu further teaches wherein the radial indicator or the sector indicator extends from a position of the virtual object to an edge of the apply range (Hu discloses that the second operation point (which is the release of the dragging operation) has a fixed area on the user interface and the terminal will cancel the release of the skill if it hits the fixed area which can be considered the edge of the apply range (recited in at lease Hu: paragraph [0139])).
Regarding claim 9, Hu in view of Togawa and Ando teach the disclosed matter as stated above, and Hu further teaches wherein the controlling the virtual object to apply the first target skill in accordance with the indicator comprises: controlling the virtual object to apply the first target skill to a range indicated by the radial indicator or the sector indicator (Hu discloses that there is an aim area and a maximum release distance for the skill with the sector shaped aiming indicator (recited in at least Hu: paragraph [1012])).
Regarding claim 13, Hu in view of Togawa and Ando teach the disclosed matter as stated above, and Hu further teaches stopping the display of the apply range and the indicator if determining that an operation position corresponding to the second operation is located outside the battle area (Hu discloses that when the skill aiming control/indicator is dragged outside the outer ring it is considered an invalid operation or a cancellation of the casting operation (recited in at least Hu: paragraph [0093])).
Regarding claim 14, Hu in view of Togawa and Ando teach the disclosed matter as stated above, and Hu further teaches removing the skill control from the control display area if determining that an operation position corresponding to the second operation is located outside the battle area (Hu discloses that when the skill aiming control/indicator is dragged outside the outer ring it is considered an invalid operation or a cancellation of the casting operation (recited in at least Hu: paragraph [0093])).
Regarding claim 17, Hu in view of Togawa and Ando teach the disclosed matter as stated above, and Hu further teaches wherein the displaying the skill control in the control display area where the object control is placed comprises: displaying at least one skill control in the control display area; wherein the displaying, in response to the second operation on the skill control, the apply range and the indicator of the first target skill corresponding to the skill control in the battle area, and controlling the virtual object to apply the first target skill in accordance with the indicator comprises: obtaining a type of the skill control in response to the second operation on the skill control; The skill aiming indicators are also displayed in the virtual environment screen and its parallel to the response and use of the skill control from the first operation point to the second operation point (recited at least Hu: paragraph [0098])) displaying the apply range and the indicator of the first target skill corresponding to the skill control in the battle area, and controlling the virtual object to apply the first target skill in accordance with the indicator if the type of the skill control is determined to be a first type, wherein the first type skill control is configured to apply skills to an enemy virtual object or a teammate virtual object corresponding to the virtual object; and applying a second target skill corresponding to the skill control to the virtual object if the type of the skill control is determined to be a second type, wherein the second type skill control is configured to apply skills to the virtual object. (Hu discloses that the user interface of the applications includes but are not limited to showing the virtual environment screen and the skill aiming control that is located on the upper layer of the virtual environment screen for releasing skills (recited at least Hu: paragraph [0085]).
Regarding claim 18, Hu discloses an electronic device (the terminal is a device with a touch screen as an example for description (recited in at least: Hu paragraph [0189])), comprising: one or more memories; and one or more processors (the terminal 1600 includes a processor 1601 and a memory 1602 (recited in at least: Hu paragraph [0270])); wherein one or more programs are stored in one or more memories, when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the following steps are implemented: steps similar in scope to the claimed matter in claim 1.
Regarding claim 19, Hu discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, wherein a computer program is stored in the computer-readable storage medium (“the memory 1602 may include one or more computer-readable storage media, which may be tangible and non-transitory” (recited in at least: Hu paragraph [0272])), when the computer program is executed by at least one processor found in independent claim 1 (and the at least one instruction is used to be executed by the processor 1601 to implement the method for using the virtual props provided in the present application (recited in at least: Hu [paragraph 0272])), the following steps are implemented: steps similar in scope to the claimed matter in claim 1.
Regarding claim 21, Hu in view of Togawa and Ando teach the disclosed matter as stated above, and Ando further teaches wherein the set of battle data of the virtual object is accumulated from the beginning of a game to a current moment during a competition (“when another player associated with a player is stored in the player management table, the automatic recovery module 337 may recover automatically also a battle point of the another player associated with the player, in which the battle points of players associated with each other are linked together and a battle point of a given player is automatically recovered” (recited in at least: Ando paragraph [0119])); the set of battle data comprises accumulated points (“storing a possessed point possessed by a player for executing an event in the game” (recited in at least: Ando paragraph [0019])); accumulated points of the virtual object and enemy virtual object are obtained by subtracting lost point values from point values gained by the virtual object and enemy virtual object during a battle, respectively; the current battle data is obtained based on the accumulated points of the virtual object and the accumulated points of the enemy virtual object during the battle; when the accumulated points of the virtual object are greater than those of the enemy virtual object, the proportion of the object display area to the battle area is increased, and when the accumulated points of the virtual object are less than those of the enemy virtual object, the proportion of the object display area to the battle area is decreased (“damage amount given to the card of the opponent is determined based on an attack power of the card of the player and the determined damage amount is subtracted from a vital power of the card of the opponent. On the other hand, a damage amount given to the card of the player is determined based on an attack power of the card of the opponent and the determined damage amount is subtracted from a vital power of the card of the player. Then, when the vital power of the card of the opponent becomes 0 first, the player wins, and when the vital power of the card of the player becomes 0 first, the player loses (recited in at least: Ando paragraph [0084]).
Regarding claim 22, Hu in view of Togawa and Ando teach the disclosed matter as stated above, and Ando further teaches wherein the set of battle data of the virtual object is accumulated from the beginning of a game to a current moment during a competition (“when another player associated with a player is stored in the player management table, the automatic recovery module 337 may recover automatically also a battle point of the another player associated with the player, in which the battle points of players associated with each other are linked together and a battle point of a given player is automatically recovered” (recited in at least: Ando paragraph [0119])); the set of battle data comprises accumulated points (“storing a possessed point possessed by a player for executing an event in the game” (recited in at least: Ando paragraph [0019])); accumulated points of the virtual object and enemy virtual object are obtained by subtracting lost point values from point values gained by the virtual object and enemy virtual object during a battle, respectively; the current battle data is obtained based on the accumulated points of the virtual object and the accumulated points of the enemy virtual object during the battle; when the accumulated points of the virtual object are greater than those of the enemy virtual object, the proportion of the object display area to the battle area is increased, and when the accumulated points of the virtual object are less than those of the enemy virtual object, the proportion of the object display area to the battle area is decreased (“damage amount given to the card of the opponent is determined based on an attack power of the card of the player and the determined damage amount is subtracted from a vital power of the card of the opponent. On the other hand, a damage amount given to the card of the player is determined based on an attack power of the card of the opponent and the determined damage amount is subtracted from a vital power of the card of the player. Then, when the vital power of the card of the opponent becomes 0 first, the player wins, and when the vital power of the card of the player becomes 0 first, the player loses (recited in at least: Ando paragraph [0084]).
Claims 10-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu in view of Togawa, and Ando in further view of Lux/Strategy (https://leagueoflegends.fandom.com/wiki/
Lux/Strategy; hereinafter Lux/Strategy).
Regarding claim 10, Hu in view of Togawa and Ando teach the disclosed matter as stated above; however, they do not explicitly teach comprising marking affected objects corresponding to the first target skill and located in the apply range with a first marker.
Lux/Strategy teaches marking affected objects corresponding to the first target skill and located in the apply range with a first marker (Lux/Strategy teaches marking affected in-game objects (enemies) with a corresponding marker that is dependent to the skill used on the in-game object (enemies). (Please see pages 32-34 of the attached NPL). Lux/Strategy teaches that character in game has abilities that can be selected and depending on the ability chosen the skill will have a marker on the object it applied to within the range of the skill being applied. As shown with skill one in the photo above.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have added markings corresponding to the skill applied to an object being affected by a skill applied to an object in a virtual environment. Adding the markings onto the objects corresponding to the skill would be in benefit of the player seeing if the skill hit the target or if the skills ability was applied to the object in game.
Regarding claim 11, Hu in view of Togawa and Ando teach the disclosed matter as stated above; however, they do not explicitly teach comprising marking affected objects corresponding to the first target skill and located in a range indicated by the indicator with a second marker marking affected in-game objects (enemies) with a corresponding marker that is dependent to the skill used on the in-game object (enemies). (Please see pages 32-34 of the attached NPL). Lux/Strategy teaches that character in game has abilities that can be selected and depending on the ability chosen the skill will have a marker on the object it applied to within the range of the skill being applied.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have added markings corresponding to the skill applied to an object being affected by a skill applied to an object in a virtual environment. Adding the markings onto the objects corresponding to the skill would be in benefit of the player seeing if the skill hit the target or if the skills ability was applied to the object in game.
Regarding claim 12, Hu in view of Togawa in further view of Lux/Strategy teach the disclsoed matter as stated above and Lux/Strategy further teaches wherein the controlling the virtual object to apply the first target skill in accordance with the indicator comprises: controlling the virtual object to apply the first target skill to the affected objects marked with the second marker (Lux/Strategy teaches that once a skill is applied to a virtual object (in game enemy) applying the rest of the skills within the game would grant a “combo” that would maximize damage).
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu in view of Togawa and Ando in further view of Andrew Van Luchene (US 20110230258 A1; hereinafter Luchene).
Regarding claim 16, Hu in view of Togawa and Ando teach the disclosed matter as stated above; however, they do not explicitly teach displaying a resource identifier in the virtual scene, wherein the resource identifier is configured to represent at least one of an upper limit of the resource value, a deducted resource value, and a recovery rate of the resource; wherein the recovery rate of the resource increases with a time length of the current battle, and/or the recovery rate of the resource increases in a target stage of the battle
Van Luchene teaches displaying a resource identifier in the virtual scene, wherein the resource identifier is configured to represent at least one of an upper limit of the resource value, a deducted resource value, and a recovery rate of the resource; wherein the recovery rate of the resource increases with a time length of the current battle, and/or the recovery rate of the resource increases in a target stage of the battle (resources in game that have values assigned to them (virtual raw or virtual natural resource) how many of them are in the game and if they have been used or required by game objectives. If a resource has been used in the game and there needs to be a reset the Van Luchene in FIG. 5 discusses that there are timings for each resource to be readded to the game after depletion. (recited in at least: Luchene paragraph [0216]; and FIG. 5).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have included a resource tracker or system that makes sure that if a resource is available or a game winning condition as seen in Hu [0059]. Adding the trackers along with the recovery rate of the resource allows for players to be able to plan their gameplay accordingly without spending too much time on a game.
Response to Arguments
The Applicant’s arguments on pages 1-6 of the remarks with respect to the amendments made to the independent claims have been considered but are moot in view of the newly formulated grounds of rejection.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SELWA A ALSOMAIRY whose telephone number is (703)756-5323. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30AM to 5PM EST.
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/SELWA A ALSOMAIRY/Examiner, Art Unit 3715
/Jay Trent Liddle/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715
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