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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Forza Horizon 4 as evidenced by “Forza Horizon 4 – How Car Mastery Works & FORZATHON SHOP” (herein after “Mastery” and “Forza Horizon 4 Beginner’s Guide | Tips & Tricks” (herein after “Guide”) in view of “The Many Ways to Show the Player How It’s Done With In-Game Tutorials” (hereinafter “Tutorials”).
With regard to claim 1, Mastery discloses a non-transitory computer readable recording medium storing instructions for an information processing device that comprises a control device connected via a network to a terminal device that comprises a controller and a display, the instructions causing the control device to execute: causing the controller to execute a challenge game in which the character attempts to achieve a target, in a specific order (1:25-2:10); awarding a skill point to the character based on an execution state of the training game or the challenge game (1:25-2:10); causing the display to display a skill acquisition screen in which the character acquires one or more skills from among acquirable skills of the character by consuming the skill point (1:25-2:10); when the character has acquired a skill that matches a condition included in the challenge game, activating the skill to be exhibited in the challenge game; and causing the display to display, on the skill acquisition screen, information on a condition included in a subsequently-executed challenge game (1:25-2:10; wherein characters go throughout the game and earn skill points based on things that they do; then they are able to take those skill points and by skills in the shop as shown that are then available in their car for use).
Mastery does not appear to be explicitly clear about having a training game per se. However, Tutorials teaches in a training scenario for training a character, a training game in which the character attempts to achieve a target, in a specific order (Method: The Tutorial Room; wherein it discusses a special room to guide players on how to achieve certain gameplay events).
With regard to claim 2, Mastery discloses a non-transitory computer readable recording medium storing instructions for an information processing device that comprises a control device connected via a network to a terminal device that comprises a controller and a display, the instructions causing the control device to execute: causing a controller to execute, a challenge game in which the character attempts to achieve a target, in a specific order; awarding a skill point to the character based on an execution state of the training game or the challenge game (1:25-2:10); displaying a skill acquisition screen in which the character acquires one or more skills from among acquirable skills of the character by consuming the skill point (1:25-2:10); when the character has acquired a skill that matches a condition included in the challenge game, activating the skill to be exhibited in the challenge game (1:25-2:10); and causing the display to display, on the skill acquisition screen, a list of acquirable skills, wherein in that list, acquirable skills that match and acquirable skills that do not match a condition included in a subsequently-executed challenge game are displayed distinguishably from each other (1:25-2:10 as discussed above and additionally that you can see that some skills are highlighted and other skills are grayed out).
Mastery does not appear to be explicitly clear about having a training game per se. However, Tutorials teaches in a training scenario for training a character, a training game in which the character attempts to achieve a target, in a specific order (Method: The Tutorial Room; wherein it discusses a special room to guide players on how to achieve certain gameplay events).
With regard to claim 3, Mastery discloses wherein the instructions further cause the control device to add, to the acquirable skills, a skill selected with a predetermined probability through execution of the training game or the challenge game (1:25-2:10 wherein the player can see the cost of the various skills they can buy and thus know a probability of what they can afford).
With regard to claim 4, Mastery discloses wherein the predetermined probability changes depending on a support character used by a player in the training scenario (1:25-3:15; wherein they discuss different skill trees for different cars).
With regard to claim 5, the combination of Guide and Tutorials teaches wherein the instructions further cause the control device to restrict continuation of the training scenario when a performance of the character in the challenge game does not satisfy a clearance condition of the challenge game (Guide at 07:00-07:30 wherein there is discussion of a rival event; Tutorials at Method: The Tutorial Room).
With regard to claim 6, Guide discloses wherein the challenge game is a race in which the character competes in a race course, and the clearance condition is to place within a specific finish order (07:00-07:30).
With regard to claim 7, Guide discloses teaches wherein the condition included in the subsequently-executed challenge game includes at least one of a race course attribute, a race distance, a lap direction, a season, and a weather (07:00-07:30).
Claims 8 and 9 are mirrored to claims 1 and 2 and are rejected in like manner.
It would have been obvious to combine the teachings of Tutorials with the game of Forza Horizon 4 in order to give players a chance to learn skills in a separate room before trying them in “actual gameplay” itself thus allowing the player to see how the game works and improving the player abilities (See Tutorials at Method: The Tutorial Room).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure can be found on the Notice of References Cited.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Jay Liddle whose telephone number is (571)270-1226. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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/Jay Trent Liddle/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715
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