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 .
Preliminary Amendment
After the preliminary amendment filed 12/28/2023, claim 8 was cancelled. Therefore, claims 1-7 and 9-21 remain pending, of which, 1-5,9 and 10 were amended and 11-21 were newly added.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-7 and 9-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to a judicial exception (i.e., a law of nature, a natural phenomenon, or an abstract idea) without significantly more. The claims are directed to at least one of abstract idea groupings, according to the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Guidelines (Mathematical Concepts, Mental Processes and/or Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity). Further, the claims do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception as discussed below.
Step 1 of the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance
More specifically, regarding Step 1 of the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, the claims are directed to a system and/or process, which is are statutory categories of invention.
Step 2A-1 of the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance
Next, the claims are analyzed to determine whether it is directed to a judicial exception.
Independent claim 1 recites the following, with the abstract ideas highlighted in bold, including an indication as to the abstract idea grouping(s) to which the indicated limitations belong to, according to the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Guidelines. Independent claims 9 and 10, having substantially similar features, were also analyzed and to which the following conclusion is also applicable:
1. A game equipment replacement method, comprising:
providing, by a terminal device, a virtual equipment setting interface on a graphical user interface of a game, wherein the graphical user interface is provided through the terminal device, the game comprises a game scene and a player virtual character in the game scene, the player virtual character is configured to perform a game action based on a game instruction received by the graphical user interface;
in response to a virtual equipment scheme setting operation on the virtual equipment setting interface, setting, by the terminal device, an initial equipment scheme for the player virtual character, and setting, by the terminal device, replacement equipment for part or all of virtual equipment in the initial equipment scheme (Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity);
providing, by the terminal device based on the initial equipment scheme, a shortcut equipment configuration control on the graphical user interface, and configuring, by the terminal device in response to a trigger operation on the shortcut equipment configuration control, corresponding virtual equipment for the player virtual character (Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity and/or Mental Processes);
setting, by the terminal device on the graphical user interface in response to the player virtual character being configured with target virtual equipment, at least one of an equipment skill trigger control or an equipment skill state control of the target virtual equipment, wherein the equipment skill trigger control is used for actively triggering a game skill corresponding to the target virtual equipment, and the equipment skill state control is used for displaying a state of the game skill corresponding to the target virtual equipment;
displaying, by the terminal device in response to a preset display trigger event, an equipment replacement control of the target virtual equipment at a position associated with the at least one of the equipment skill trigger control or the equipment skill state control; and
replacing, by the terminal device in response to a trigger operation on the equipment replacement control, the target virtual equipment with corresponding replacement equipment (Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity and/or Mental Processes).
The limitations in claim 1 (as well as claim(s) 9 and 10) recite an abstract idea included in the groupings of Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity and/or Mental Processes, connected to technology only through application thereof using generic computing elements (e.g., a graphical user interface, a computer-readable storage medium, a processor, etc.) and/or insignificant extra-solution activity. According to the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Guidelines:
Mental Processes include concepts performed in the human mind (including an observation, evaluation, judgement, opinion); and
Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity include:
1. Fundamental Economic Principles or Practices (including hedging (i.e., wagering), insurance, mitigating risk);
2. Commercial or Legal Interactions (including agreements in the form of contracts; legal obligations; advertising, marketing or sales activities or behaviors; business relations);
3. Managing Personal Behavior or Relationships or Interactions Between People (e.g. social activities, teaching, and following rules or instructions). The interaction encompasses both activity of a single person (for example a person following a set of instructions) and activity that involves multiple people (such as a commercial or legal interaction). Thus, some interactions between a person and a computer (for example a method of anonymous loan shopping that a person conducts using a mobile phone) may fall within this grouping.
Specifically, the instant claims include functions/limitations, as highlighted in the independent claim above, that constitute at least:
A. Following rules and/or instructions, such as including the functions related to the playing of a game, which falls squarely within the Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activities grouping. These limitations describe following a prescribed sequence of steps, conditions and outcomes that govern the play of a game. These claim limitations are categorized as Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activities, as they merely recite the rules and instructions for conducting the game, implemented utilizing non-special purpose generic computing elements and/or insignificant extra-solution activity, as set forth in the claims; and/or
B. Concepts performed in the human mind (e.g., “replacing, by the terminal device in response to a trigger operation on the equipment replacement control, the target virtual equipment with corresponding replacement equipment”), which is an abstract idea included in the grouping of Mental Processes. These limitations are interpreted as at least Mental Processes insomuch as the claim limitations are directed to performing the concepts in the human mind, while only generically connected to interaction with a computer utilizing non-special purpose generic computing elements and/or insignificant extra-solution activity as set forth in the claims.
Regarding dependent claims 2-7 and 11-21:
Each claim is dependent either directly or indirectly from the independent claim identified above and includes all the limitations of said independent claim. Therefore, each dependent claim recites the same abstract idea as identified above. Each of the dependent claim further describes additional aspects of the abstract idea, i.e., additional aspects to the Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity and/or Mental Processes. For example, some dependent claims merely provide additional game rules and/or mental steps to be performed and/or additional insignificant extra-solution activity, without anything more significant to establish eligibility under 35 U.S.C. 101.
Step 2A-2 of the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance
The second prong of step 2a is the consideration if the claim limitations are directed to a practical application.
Limitations that are indicative of integration into a practical application:
-Improvements to the functioning of a computer, or to any other technology or technical field - see MPEP 2106.05(a)
-Applying or using a judicial exception to effect a particular treatment or prophylaxis for a disease or medical condition – see Vanda Memo
-Applying the judicial exception with, or by use of, a particular machine - see MPEP 2106.05(b)
-Effecting a transformation or reduction of a particular article to a different state or thing - see MPEP 2106.05(c)
-Applying or using the judicial exception in some other meaningful way beyond generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment, such that the claim as a whole is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the exception - see MPEP 2106.05(e) and Vanda Memo
Limitations that are not indicative of integration into a practical application:
-Adding the words “apply it” (or an equivalent) with the judicial exception, or mere instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer, or merely uses a computer as a tool to perform an abstract idea - see MPEP 2106.05(f)
-Adding insignificant extra-solution activity to the judicial exception - see MPEP 2106.05(g)
-Generally linking the use of the judicial exception to a particular technological environment or field of use – see MPEP 2106.05(h)
Claims 1-7 and 9-21 clearly do not improve the functioning of a computer, as they only incorporate generic computing elements, do not effect a particular treatment, and do not transform or reduce a particular article to a different state or thing. Similarly, there is no improvement to a technical field. In addition, the claims do not apply the judicial exception with, or by use of a particular machine. The claims do not apply or use the judicial exception in a meaningful way. The claimed invention does not suggest improvements to the functioning of a computer or to any other technology or technical field (see MPEP 2106.05 (a)).
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application because the claimed invention merely applies the judicial exception, or mere instructions to implement an abstract idea on a computer, or merely uses a computer as a tool to perform the abstract idea (MPEP 2106.05 (f)) and/or generally links the use of the judicial exception to a particular technology or field of use (MPEP 2106.05 (h)). The claimed computer components are recited at a level of generality and are merely invoked as tool to perform the abstract idea. Simply implementing the abstract idea on a generic computer is not a practical application of the abstract idea.
For the reasons as discussed above, the claim limitations are not integrated to a practical application.
Step 2b of the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance
Next, the claims as a whole are analyzed to determine whether any element, or combination of elements, is sufficient to ensure that the claim amounts to significantly more than the exception.
The claim(s) does/do not include additional elements that are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception because no element or combination of elements is sufficient to ensure any claim of the present application as a whole amounts to significantly more than one or more judicial exceptions, as described above. For example, the recitations of utilization of “a graphical user interface, a computer-readable storage medium, a processor”, etc. used to apply the abstract idea merely implements the abstract idea at a low level of generality and fail to impose meaningful limitations to impart patent-eligibility. These elements and the mere processing of data using these elements do not set forth significantly more than the abstract idea itself applied on general purpose computing devices. The recited generic elements are a mere means to implement the abstract idea. Thus, they cannot provide the “inventive concept” necessary for patent-eligibility. “[I]f a patent’s recitation of a computer amounts to a mere instruction to ‘implement]’ an abstract idea ‘on ... a computer,’... that addition cannot impart patent eligibility.” Alice, 134 S. Ct. at 2358 (quoting Mayo, 132 S. Ct. at 1301). As such, the significantly more required to overcome the 35 U.S.C. 101 hurdle and transform the claimed subject matter into a patent-eligible abstract idea is lacking. Accordingly, the claims are not patent-eligible.
In addition to the abstract ideas indicated above, the claims include additional elements, such as:
“providing, by a terminal device, a virtual equipment setting interface on a graphical user interface of a game, wherein the graphical user interface is provided through the terminal device, the game comprises a game scene and a player virtual character in the game scene, the player virtual character is configured to perform a game action based on a game instruction received by the graphical user interface”;
“providing, by the terminal device based on the initial equipment scheme, a shortcut equipment configuration control on the graphical user interface”;
“setting, by the terminal device on the graphical user interface in response to the player virtual character being configured with target virtual equipment, at least one of an equipment skill trigger control or an equipment skill state control of the target virtual equipment, wherein the equipment skill trigger control is used for actively triggering a game skill corresponding to the target virtual equipment, and the equipment skill state control is used for displaying a state of the game skill corresponding to the target virtual equipment”; and
“displaying, by the terminal device in response to a preset display trigger event, an equipment replacement control of the target virtual equipment at a position associated with the at least one of the equipment skill trigger control or the equipment skill state control”.
As claimed, these additional elements are viewed as steps and/or instructions to invoke a
computer as a tool to implement the abstract idea, perform extra solution activity of the abstract
idea, and/or provide a technological environment to perform the abstract idea (see MPEP
2106.05(f)-(h)), which is a form of insignificant extra-solution activity and thus does not
integrate the judicial exception into a practical application.
Further, the claims would require structure that is beyond generic, such as structure that can be interpreted analogous to a general purpose structure and general purpose computing elements in that they represent well-understood, routine, conventional elements that do not add significantly more to the claims. See Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International, 134 S. Ct. at 2358-59. The elements of a graphical user interface, a computer-readable storage medium, a processor are well known conventional devices used to electronically implement a game as evidence by U.S. 2011/0216060, which discloses that a conventional gaming system comprises elements such as a graphical user interface, a computer-readable storage medium and a processor to control the overall operation of the gaming machine (¶100). See Berkheimer v. HP Inc., 881 F.3d 1360 (Fed. Cir. 2018).
The dependent claims do not add “significantly more” for at least the same reasons as directed to their respective independent claims, at least based on the position, as discussed above, that each of the dependent claims merely provide additional limitations to further expand the abstract idea of the independent claims, without adding anything which would establish eligibility under 35 U.S.C. 101.
Consequently, consideration of each and every element of each and every claim, both individually and as an ordered combination, leads to the conclusion that the claims are not patent-eligible under 35 USC §101.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 6-7, 9-11, 15-17 and 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Heller et al (U.S. 2013/0331180) in view of Alderman et al (U.S. 2021/0031106).
Regarding claims 1, 9 and 10, Heller discloses:
a game equipment replacement method (¶7), comprising:
providing, by a terminal device (¶19-21, Fig. 1, a game console 113 which is configured to provide gameplay, wherein a player provides game play inputs via a game controller), a virtual equipment setting interface on a graphical user interface of a game, wherein the graphical user interface is provided through the terminal device (¶21, ¶47, Fig. 6, the game console 113 displays a game user interface which provides a player with an option to configure equipment for a game character), the game comprises a game scene and a player virtual character in the game scene (¶19-21, the video game (e.g., a fighting game, FPS game, role playing game or vehicle simulator game) includes a character with various skills and capabilities and is equipped with equipment for use during gameplay), the player virtual character is configured to perform a game action based on a game instruction received by the graphical user interface (¶19, the player provides game inputs to control the character during gameplay);
in response to a virtual equipment scheme setting operation on the virtual equipment setting interface (¶25, ¶31-35, Fig. 3, the system displays possible personalization selections (i.e., options for equipping game characters) and receives personalization selections from player inputs (i.e., equipment selections)), setting, by the terminal device, an initial equipment scheme for the player virtual character (¶23, Fig. 2, Fig. 6, personalization information for the character is set or modified based on the player selection, for example an initial equipment selection), and setting, by the terminal device, replacement equipment for part or all of virtual equipment in the initial equipment scheme (¶25, ¶28, ¶47, Fig. 6, the system allows the player to set different sets of personalization selections to later be selected by the player prior or during gameplay);
providing, by the terminal device based on the initial equipment scheme, a shortcut equipment configuration control on the graphical user interface (¶11, ¶28, ¶47-48, Fig. 6, the system presents the player with an option to accept or further update the selected personalization options, wherein upon selection of the “Update Selection” option the device transmits the personalization selections to a server for further processing), and configuring, by the terminal device in response to a trigger operation on the shortcut equipment configuration control, corresponding virtual equipment for the player virtual character (¶21, ¶28, ¶42-45, Fig. 5, selection of the option to accept the selected personalization options causes the system to configure modify the game character information to include the personalization options which causes the game character to be equipped with the selected personalization options);
setting, by the terminal device on the graphical user interface in response to the player virtual character being configured with target virtual equipment, wherein the equipment skill trigger control is used for actively triggering a game skill corresponding to the target virtual equipment (¶28, Fig. 5, after the character’s loadout is configured, the system executes the game and the display reflects the character’s equipment configuration), at least one of an equipment skill trigger control (¶7, ¶19, the virtual characters have various skills and capabilities associated with their equipment which are part of their loadout, the examiner interprets an input which triggers a skill associated with a character’s equipped items as an equipment trigger control);
displaying an equipment replacement control of the target virtual equipment (¶11, ¶28, the player is presented an option to accept or further modify the game character selection information); and
replacing, by the terminal device in response to a trigger operation on the equipment replacement control, the target virtual equipment with corresponding replacement equipment (¶11, ¶28, the player provides an input to further modify the game character selection information which causes the game character to be equipped with the selected equipment).
However, Heller does not specifically disclose:
setting an equipment skill state control of the target virtual equipment, wherein the equipment skill state control is used for displaying a state of the game skill corresponding to the target virtual equipment; or
displaying the equipment replacement control is in response to a preset display trigger event, at a position associated with the at least one of the equipment skill trigger control or the equipment skill state control.
Alderman teaches:
a graphical user interface for a video game (¶184-185, Fig. 17, inventory menu 1700), wherein the interface is configured to set an equipment skill state control of target virtual equipment (¶47, Figs. 5A, 5B, the game engine reads in game data and game state information to determine the appropriate in-game events (i.e., the game engine sets visual controls and indicators in response to the current game state, including based on what game equipment the character has currently equipped)), wherein the equipment skill state control is used for displaying a state of the game skill corresponding to the target virtual equipment (¶50, ¶69, Fig. 8, the game tracks and displays the state of game skills (See Fig. 3A, wherein when a character uses a skill there is an associated visual communication action which visually shows the location or effect of the use of the skill), wherein displaying an equipment control is in response to a preset display trigger event (¶30, ¶55, ¶62, ¶120, in response to a user input the system determines the context of the game and selects an actions from a among a plurality of possible actions based on the current context of the game (e.g., when an item is within a predetermined distance from the character the system triggers the display of contextual controls)), and wherein the equipment control is displayed at a position associated with the at least one of the equipment skill trigger control or the equipment skill state control (¶148, ¶166-170, Fig. 14A, the display of the equipment replacement interface 1409 is displayed at position 1401C based on a target location (e.g., determined with reference to the center of the screen) and based on a distance between the item and the player’s character)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to apply the positional display of item controls, as taught by Alderman, to the equipment replacement system of Heller, in order to provide less complex menu navigation, thereby reducing the burden of players to navigate the menus during gameplay (Alderman, ¶29-31)).
Regarding claims 2, 11 and 17, Heller discloses that which is discussed above, and further discloses that:
the displaying the equipment replacement control in response to the preset display trigger event comprises:
determining, in response to the game skill corresponding to the target virtual equipment being in an unavailable state, whether the target virtual equipment satisfies a replacement condition of the replacement equipment corresponding to the target virtual equipment (¶21-22, ¶40, the system compares the personalization selections against information reflecting allowable prisonizations).
However, Heller does not specifically disclose:
displaying, in response to determining that the target virtual equipment satisfies the replacement condition, the equipment replacement control of the target virtual equipment at the position associated with the at least one of the equipment skill trigger control or the equipment skill state control.
Alderman teaches:
a graphical user interface for a video game (¶184-185, Fig. 17, inventory menu 1700), and displaying, in response to determining that target virtual equipment satisfies a replacement condition (¶55-58, ¶62, ¶105-108, game state condition (i.e., a game entity being within a threshold distance or in a specific state) is the trigger for displaying the contextual controls, (i.e., the system determines if the character is within the threshold distance before displaying it’s associated icon)), the equipment replacement control of the target virtual equipment at the position associated with the at least one of the equipment skill trigger control or the equipment skill state control (¶50, ¶55-62, Fig. 3A, when the entity is within the threshold distance the system displays the equipment replacement interface at a target location based on a distance between the item and the player’s character).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to apply the positional display of item controls, as taught by Alderman, to the equipment replacement system of Heller, in order to provide less complex menu navigation, thereby reducing the burden of players to navigate the menus during gameplay (Alderman, ¶29-31)).
Regarding claims 6, 15 and 21, Heller discloses that which is discussed above, however, does not specifically disclose that:
the replacing, in response to the trigger operation on the equipment replacement control, the target virtual equipment with the corresponding replacement equipment comprises:
displaying, in response to a first trigger operation on the equipment replacement control, the replacement equipment corresponding to the target virtual equipment;
determining, in response to a second trigger operation consecutive to the first trigger operation, that one piece of the valid replacement equipment as target replacement equipment; and
replacing, in response to the second trigger operation terminating action, the target virtual equipment with the target replacement equipment.
Alderman teaches:
a graphical user interface for a video game (¶184-185, Fig. 17, inventory menu 1700), and wherein a first interaction with a button (i.e., a first trigger operation) reveals the contextual communication options (¶55, ¶177-179, Fig. 16, the first contextually aware menu 1600 can be opened via a first input to display options to the player) and a second interaction with the button (i.e., a second trigger operation) which selects the menu option (¶55, ¶177-179, Fig. 16, options displayed in the first contextually aware menu 1600 may be selected by a user through a second user input).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to apply the positional display of item controls, as taught by Alderman, to the equipment replacement system of Heller, in order to provide less complex menu navigation, thereby reducing the burden of players to navigate the menus during gameplay (Alderman, ¶29-31)).
Regarding claims 7 and 16, Heller discloses that which is discussed above, and further discloses that:
the setting the replacement equipment for the part or all of the virtual equipment in the initial equipment scheme comprises:
providing an equipment setting control on the virtual equipment setting interface (¶21-24, the user is provided controls that allow the user to modify the character’s equipment loadout);
selecting selectable equipment in response to a third trigger operation on the selectable equipment (¶21-24, equipment items are selectable through user actions such as clicking or activating user interface elements (i.e., third trigger operation) associated with the equipment options); and
setting, in response to a fourth trigger operation on the equipment setting control, the selectable equipment as the replacement equipment for the part or all of the virtual equipment in the initial equipment scheme (¶40, activating a configuration or assignment control applies the selected equipment to the character (i.e., fourth trigger operation)).
Claim(s) 3-5, 12-14 and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Heller et al (U.S. 2013/0331180) in view of Alderman et al (U.S. 2021/0031106) as applied to the claims above, and further in view of Ganetakos et al (U.S. 2011/0265041).
Regarding claim 3, 12 and 18, Heller discloses that which is discussed above, however, does not specifically disclose that:
displaying, when determining that the target virtual equipment satisfies the replacement condition, the equipment replacement control of the target virtual equipment at the position associated with the equipment skill trigger control and/or the equipment skill state control comprises:
determining game resource data of the target virtual equipment and replacement resource data of the replacement equipment corresponding to the target virtual equipment, and obtaining remaining resource data;
obtaining consumable resource data by performing a resource calculation on the game resource data and the remaining resource data; and
if the consumable resource data is greater than or equal to the replacement resource data, determining that the target virtual equipment satisfies the replacement condition, and displaying the equipment replacement control of the target virtual equipment at the position associated with the equipment skill trigger control and/or the equipment skill state control.
Ganetakos teaches:
a user interface used to provide a virtual world with which a user can interact, including a radial menu for interacting with characters in the virtual world (¶4), the user interface includes an in-game personal management tool, including in-game equipment storage (¶32, ¶37, portrait tool 210 which is the main hub for the player’s in-game management tools, including the player’s “Backpack” which holds the user’s items which are used during gameplay and the “My Items” button which toggles visibility for the backpack user interface screen when selected), wherein the user interface further includes display of the player’s available resource values (¶105-110, Fig. 22-25, virtual currencies (e.g., in-game cash 2215, village fund 2220, eStore points 2225), wherein items in the virtual world have associated costs and are purchasable by the player, if the player has sufficient resources (¶28, ¶68, the user may earn virtual cash to use to purchase or trade for items to use in the game (i.e., the system must compare the user’s available virtual currencies to the cost of the item to be purchased to determine if the user has sufficient virtual currency to complete the purchase).
Alderman teaches:
a graphical user interface for a video game (¶184-185, Fig. 17, inventory menu 1700), and
displaying, the equipment replacement control of the target virtual equipment at the positions associated with the equipment skill trigger control and/or the equipment skill state control (¶50, ¶55-62, Fig. 3A, when the entity is within the threshold distance the system displays the equipment replacement interface at a target location based on a distance between the item and the player’s character).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to integrate Ganetakos’s resource-based item availability logic to Heller’s equipment-replacement system in order to control availability of replacement equipment based on a player’s available resources and further integrate with Alderman’s contextual UI display logic, thus resulting in a system which display the equipment replacement control at the positions associated with the equipment skill trigger control and/or equipment skill state control when the replacement condition is met, thereby provide player’s with more relevant equipment replacement controls, based on available resources, thus leading to less complex menu navigation and reducing the burden of players to navigate the menus during gameplay (Alderman, ¶29-31)).
Regarding claims 4, 13 and 19, Heller discloses that which is discussed above, however, does not specifically disclose that:
determining whether the target virtual equipment satisfies the replacement condition comprises:
determining game resource data of the target virtual equipment and replacement resource data of the replacement equipment corresponding to the target virtual equipment, and obtaining remaining resource data;
obtaining consumable resource data by performing a resource calculation on the game resource data and the remaining resource data; and
determining, in response to a value of the consumable resource data being less than a value of the replacement resource data, that the target virtual equipment does not satisfy the replacement condition; and
the method further comprises:
displaying, in response to determining that the target virtual equipment does not satisfy the replacement condition, the replacement equipment corresponding to the target virtual equipment in grey.
Ganetakos teaches:
a user interface used to provide a virtual world with which a user can interact, including a radial menu for interacting with characters in the virtual world (¶4), the user interface includes an in-game personal management tool, including in-game equipment storage (¶32, ¶37, portrait tool 210 which is the main hub for the player’s in-game management tools, including the player’s “Backpack” which holds the user’s items which are used during gameplay and the “My Items” button which toggles visibility for the backpack user interface screen when selected), wherein the user interface distinguishes between valid and invalid actions based on resource sufficiency (¶109-110, Fig. 22-25, resource fields (e.g., in-game cash 2215, village fund 2220, eStore points 2225) determine whether an item can be purchased or used, elements which are unavailable, such as unpurchased inventory slots are greyed out).
Alderman teaches:
a graphical user interface for a video game (¶184-185, Fig. 17, inventory menu 1700), and
displaying, the equipment replacement control of the target virtual equipment at the positions associated with the equipment skill trigger control and/or the equipment skill state control (¶50, ¶55-62, Fig. 3A, when the entity is within the threshold distance the system displays the equipment replacement interface at a target location based on a distance between the item and the player’s character).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to integrate Ganetakos’s resource-based item availability display logic to Heller’s equipment-replacement system in order to control display availability of replacement equipment based on a player’s available resources and further integrate with Alderman’s contextual UI display logic, thus resulting in a system which display the equipment replacement control at the positions associated with the equipment skill trigger control and/or equipment skill state control when the replacement condition is met, thereby provide player’s with more relevant equipment replacement controls, based on available resources, thus leading to less complex menu navigation and reducing the burden of players to navigate the menus during gameplay (Alderman, ¶29-31)).
Regarding claims 5, 20 and 14, Heller discloses that which is discussed above, however, does not specifically disclose:
determining, in response to the target virtual equipment corresponding to a plurality of replacement equipment, valid replacement equipment and invalid replacement equipment from the plurality of replacement equipment;
displaying the valid replacement equipment differentially, and displaying the invalid replacement equipment in grey; and
determining a target position of the valid replacement equipment to be the position associated with the at least one of the equipment skill trigger control or the equipment skill state control, and displaying the equipment replacement control of the target virtual equipment at the target position.
Ganetakos teaches:
a user interface used to provide a virtual world with which a user can interact, including a radial menu for interacting with characters in the virtual world (¶4), the user interface includes an in-game personal management tool, including in-game equipment storage (¶32, ¶37, portrait tool 210 which is the main hub for the player’s in-game management tools, including the player’s “Backpack” which holds the user’s items which are used during gameplay and the “My Items” button which toggles visibility for the backpack user interface screen when selected), wherein the user interface displays actions differently based on whether they are valid or invalid actions based on resource sufficiency (¶109-110, Fig. 22-25, resource fields (e.g., in-game cash 2215, village fund 2220, eStore points 2225) determine whether an item can be purchased or used, elements which are unavailable, such as unpurchased inventory slots are greyed out).
Alderman teaches:
a graphical user interface for a video game (¶184-185, Fig. 17, inventory menu 1700), and
displaying, the equipment replacement control of the target virtual equipment at the positions associated with the equipment skill trigger control and/or the equipment skill state control (¶50, ¶55-62, Fig. 3A, when the entity is within the threshold distance the system displays the equipment replacement interface at a target location based on a distance between the item and the player’s character).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to integrate Ganetakos’s resource-based item availability display logic to Heller’s equipment-replacement system in order to control display availability of replacement equipment based on a player’s available resources and further integrate with Alderman’s contextual UI display logic, thus resulting in a system which display the equipment replacement control at the positions associated with the equipment skill trigger control and/or equipment skill state control when the replacement condition is met, thereby provide player’s with more relevant equipment replacement controls, based on available resources, thus leading to less complex menu navigation and reducing the burden of players to navigate the menus during gameplay (Alderman, ¶29-31)).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The Applicant is directed to the attached "Notice of References Cited" for additional relevant prior art. The Examiner respectfully requests the Applicant to fully review each reference as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON PINHEIRO whose telephone number is (571)270-1350. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00A-4:30P ET.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dmitry Suhol can be reached on (571) 272-4430. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Jason Pinheiro/ Examiner, Art Unit 3715
/DMITRY SUHOL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3715
Prosecution Insights