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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
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 of this title, 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 1-4, 7, 14 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pineda et al (U.S. Patent No. 11,007,439 B1) in view of ROSSI et al (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2022/0126206 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Pineda discloses a method for interaction processing of a virtual item (Col 1, lines 21-38, a method, implemented by one or more processors, comprising: executing a multiplayer gameplay session of a video game application where multiple players control in-game characters interacting within a virtual environment; changing a first character from a normal state to a preliminarily defeated state at a first location in the virtual environment, wherein the first character is controlled by first user inputs provided by a first player on a first team; generating a respawn activation item for the first character; receiving second user inputs from a second player on the first team controlling a second character to acquire the respawn activation item; …), comprising:
displaying at least one idle virtual item in a virtual scene (Col 15, lines 61-64, FIG. 8 shows an example illustrated screenshot 800 from the first player's first-person perspective observing the second character's inventory container 801);
moving a first virtual object in the virtual scene (Col 12, lines 46-62, FIG. 3 shows an example illustrated screenshot 300 of a first player's field of view during a first part of a game showing characters in a normal mode. The illustration 300 shows a third-person perspective of a virtual 3D environment in the game as displayed to the first player. The illustration 300 shows a first character 301 ... The first character 301 is controlled by the first player ...) in response to a movement operation on the first virtual object (Col 5, lines 55-60, “Player” refers to real-world users (e.g., people) playing a video game as opposed to characters that fictitiously exist in the video game … “Character” refers to an entity fictitiously existing in a video game as opposed to real-world users, people, or players; Col 9, lines 58-64, FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B show a block diagram of an example process for changing character states in a video game … At block 201, a video game engine can be executed with characters in normal states. The characters in normal states can include a first character controlled by a first player. In a normal state, the characters can respond to user inputs to move according available movement actions); and
displaying a pickable prompt of the idle virtual item (Col 16, lines 1-5, when the first player arrives within a threshold distance of the inventory container 801 containing the respawn activation item, the first player can be prompted to provide a user input, such as pressing a particular button, to acquire the respawn activation item. As shown in FIG. 8, “Pick up Player 2’s Banner”) when there is no obstacle between the idle virtual item and the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object (FIG. 4A; Col 13, lines 4-12, FIG. 4A shows an example illustrated screenshot 400 of the first player's first-person ... the first player is able to perform a variety of actions. A user interface of the first player shows a shotgun 402A. Thus, the shotgun 402A is the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object “The first character 301”. Col 15, lines 61-67, FIG. 8 shows an example illustrated screenshot 800 from the first player's first-person perspective observing the second character's inventory container 801. In the example screenshot 800, the first player has arrived at the first location of the second character's recovery timer icon 703B, where the second character's inventory container 801 is also located).
However, Pineda does not specifically disclose emitting a detection ray at a position of an equipped virtual item of the first virtual object, wherein a direction of the detection ray is consistent with an orientation of the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object;
determining whether there is an obstacle between the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object and an idle virtual item based on the detection ray.
In additional, ROSSI discloses (Abstract, embodiments of the present provides methods and systems for presenting user-specific advertising material in a virtual environment in response to a digital trigger. A method includes presenting a virtual environment to a user, wherein the user has a presence in the virtual environment as an avatar capable of activating one or more digital triggers …) emitting a detection ray (FIG. 5; paragraph [0091], ray-casts (or lines-traces) may be projected from the in-game camera to the tile presenting the advertising material to determine what the user can and cannot see on the screen they are viewing ...) at a position of an equipped virtual item of the first virtual object (FIGS. 1 and 2; paragraph [0084], a hypothetical camera on ... Thus, the hypothetical camera is an equipped virtual item of the first virtual object “avatar”), wherein a direction of the detection ray is consistent with an orientation of the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object (Paragraph [0091], ray-casts (or lines-traces) may be projected from the in-game camera to the tile presenting the advertising material to determine what the user can and cannot see on the screen they are viewing, and this can detect if the view of the advertising material is obstructed. As discussed above, a hypothetical camera on the head of the avatar. Thus, the direction of the detection ray is consistent with an orientation of the “hypothetical camera” of the “avatar”);
determining whether there is an obstacle between the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object and an idle virtual item based on the detection ray (Paragraph [0091], ray-casts (or lines-traces) may be projected from the in-game camera to the tile presenting the advertising material to determine what the user can and cannot see on the screen they are viewing, and this can detect if the view of the advertising material is obstructed).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the respawn systems and methods in video games taught by Pineda incorporate the teachings of ROSSI, and applying the user-specific advertising material in a virtual environment taught by ROSSI to cast ray from the game camera on the head of the avatar to the tile presenting the advertising material for determining if the view of the advertising material is obstructed. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Pineda according to the relied-upon teachings of ROSSI to obtain the invention as specified in claim.
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Pineda in view of ROSSI discloses everything claimed as applied above (see claim 1), and Pineda further disclose further comprising:
determining that the idle virtual item is located in a direction consistent with an orientation of the first virtual object (Col 15, lines 28-33, FIG. 7 shows an example illustrated screenshot 700 of the first player's first-person perspective from a second location while the second player is preliminarily defeated. The first player's user interface shows the second character's respawn activation item icon 701 … Col 15, lines 34-47, the second character's respawn activation item icon 701 can be seen by any player in the second player's team. The second character's respawn activation item 701 can appear at the first location in the virtual environment where the second character's respawn activation item can be obtained by a teammate. In some implementations, the second character's respawn activation item icon 701 can be seen over walls or other opaque objects);
detecting a distance between the first virtual object and the idle virtual item (Col 16, lines 62-67 – Col 17, lines 1-9, a computer system can determine distances from a player's character to nearby respawn locations) during the movement operation (Col 9, lines 58-64, FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B show a block diagram of an example process for changing character states in a video game … At block 201, a video game engine can be executed with characters in normal states. The characters in normal states can include a first character controlled by a first player. In a normal state, the characters can respond to user inputs to move according available movement actions).
However, Pineda does not specifically disclose determining whether there is an obstacle between the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object and the idle virtual item in response to that the detected distance is less than a distance threshold.
In additional, ROSSI discloses determining whether there is an obstacle between the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object (FIGS. 1 and 2; paragraph [0084], a hypothetical camera on or near the head of the avatar (simulating eye level),) ... Thus, the hypothetical camera is an equipped virtual item of the first virtual object “avatar”) and the idle virtual item (Paragraph [0091], referring to FIG. 5, the user view of tile for presenting the advertising material may be obstructed or obscured by components 40 of the virtual environment 1 that are part of the computer game. In embodiments of the invention, ray-casts (or lines-traces) may be projected from the in-game camera to the tile presenting the advertising material to determine what the user can and cannot see on the screen they are viewing, and this can detect if the view of the advertising material is obstructed, and this functionality would be comprised within the plug-in for the tile inserted in the game during development. FIG. 5(i) shows an avatar 30 seen by the user of a screen with a first-person perspective view (based on an in-game camera behind the avatar) that has entered the activation zone for the tile presenting the advertising material 10,11, but there are other game components not linked to the tile in the virtual game environment that are blocking the view of the advertising material 40 …) in response to that the detected distance is less than a distance threshold (Paragraphs [0084]-[0085], FIG. 2 exemplifies the process of FIG. 1(B) in a virtual environment 1 that is a computer game … FIG. 2(A) shows a schematic (i) and a game view (ii) of a virtual environment 1, wherein the object is a tile for advertising material 10 that has a 3D activation zone 20 in the shape of a sphere surrounding the tile, wherein the tile cannot be seen in the game by the in-game camera 31 because the avatar 30 is not within the activation zone. In the embodiment shown, the tile 10 is essentially a 2D billboard/poster/canvas type object, wherein the advertising material 11 is projected on the tile. In FIG. 2(B), the avatar 30 enters the activation zone 20 and the tile 10 becomes visible to display the advertising material 11, which is viewed from the perspective of the in-game camera 31. Thus, the activation zone 20 defines a threshold distance of the advertising material 10. When the avatar 30 enters the activation zone 20, “the distance between the avatar and the advertising material is less than a distance threshold”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the respawn systems and methods in video games taught by Pineda incorporate the teachings of ROSSI, and applying the user-specific advertising material in a virtual environment taught by ROSSI to measure whether the avatar enter an activation zone for the tile to display the advertising material and detect the advertising material obstructed by components, and doing so would have been providing obstacle detection between the first virtual object and the idle virtual item, then direct the avatar move within the virtual environment and around the obstacle in a full view of the advertising material. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Pineda according to the relied-upon teachings of ROSSI to obtain the invention as specified in claim.
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Pineda in view of ROSSI discloses everything claimed as applied above (see claim 1).
However, Pineda does not specifically disclose further comprising:
determining whether there is an obstacle between the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object and the idle virtual item based on a real-time position of the first virtual object during a movement of the first virtual object based on the movement operation.
In additional, ROSSI discloses further comprising:
determining whether there is an obstacle between the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object (FIGS. 1 and 2; paragraph [0084], a hypothetical camera on or near the head of the avatar (simulating eye level),) ... Thus, the hypothetical camera is an equipped virtual item of the first virtual object “avatar”) and the idle virtual item based on a real-time position of the first virtual object (Paragraph [0091], referring to FIG. 5, the user view of tile for presenting the advertising material may be obstructed or obscured by components 40 of the virtual environment 1 that are part of the computer game. In embodiments of the invention, ray-casts (or lines-traces) may be projected from the in-game camera to the tile presenting the advertising material to determine what the user can and cannot see on the screen they are viewing, and this can detect if the view of the advertising material is obstructed, and this functionality would be comprised within the plug-in for the tile inserted in the game during development. FIG. 5(i) shows an avatar 30 seen by the user of a screen with a first-person perspective view (based on an in-game camera behind the avatar) that has entered the activation zone for the tile presenting the advertising material 10,11, but there are other game components not linked to the tile in the virtual game environment that are blocking the view of the advertising material 40 …) during a movement of the first virtual object based on the movement operation (Paragraph [0090], the user may direct their avatar move within the virtual environment ...).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the respawn systems and methods in video games taught by Pineda incorporate the teachings of ROSSI, and applying the user-specific advertising material in a virtual environment taught by ROSSI to measure whether the avatar enter an activation zone for the tile to display the advertising material and detect the advertising material obstructed by components, and doing so would have been providing obstacle detection between the first virtual object and the idle virtual item, then direct the avatar move within the virtual environment and around the obstacle in a full view of the advertising material. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Pineda according to the relied-upon teachings of ROSSI to obtain the invention as specified in claim.
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Pineda in view of ROSSI discloses everything claimed as applied above (see claim 1).
However, Pineda does not specifically disclose wherein emitting the detection ray comprises:
emitting the detection ray at the position of the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object by using a camera component bound on the equipped virtual item.
In additional, ROSSI discloses wherein emitting the detection ray comprises:
emitting the detection ray (Paragraph [0091], ray-casts (or lines-traces) may be projected from the in-game camera to the tile presenting the advertising material to determine what the user can and cannot see on the screen they are viewing, and this can detect if the view of the advertising material is obstructed. As discussed above, a hypothetical camera on the head of the avatar. Thus, the direction of the detection ray is consistent with an orientation of the “hypothetical camera” of the “avatar”) at the position of the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object by using a camera component bound on the equipped virtual item (FIGS. 1 and 2; paragraph [0084], a hypothetical camera on or near the head of the avatar (simulating eye level),) ... Thus, the hypothetical camera is an equipped virtual item of the first virtual object “avatar”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the respawn systems and methods in video games taught by Pineda incorporate the teachings of ROSSI, and applying the user-specific advertising material in a virtual environment taught by ROSSI to cast ray from the game camera on the head of the avatar to the tile presenting the advertising material for determining if the view of the advertising material is obstructed. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Pineda according to the relied-upon teachings of ROSSI to obtain the invention as specified in claim.
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Pineda in view of ROSSI discloses everything claimed as applied above (see claim 1), and Pineda further disclose wherein the displaying the pickable prompt of the idle virtual item comprises:
displaying pickable prompts of one or more of a plurality idle virtual items (FIG. 8; Col 16, lines 1-5, when the first player arrives within a threshold distance of the inventory container 801 containing the respawn activation item, the first player can be prompted to provide a user input, such as pressing a particular button, to acquire the respawn activation item. As shown in FIG. 8, “Pick up Player 2’s Banner”) when the plurality of idle virtual items are located in a direction consistent with the orientation of the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object (FIG. 4A; Col 13; lines 14-15, A user interface of the first player shows a shotgun 402A; Col 15, lines 61-64, FIG. 8 shows an example illustrated screenshot 800 from the first player's first-person perspective observing the second character's inventory container 801) and there is no obstacle between the plurality of idle virtual items and the equipped virtual item (Col 15, lines 61-67, FIG. 8 shows an example illustrated screenshot 800 from the first player's first-person perspective observing the second character's inventory container 801. In the example screenshot 800, the first player has arrived at the first location of the second character's recovery timer icon 703B, where the second character's inventory container 801 is also located).
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Pineda in view of ROSSI discloses everything claimed as applied above (see claim 1), and Pineda further disclose wherein the displaying the pickable prompt of the idle virtual item comprises:
displaying the pickable prompt of the idle virtual item through a target display style (Col 17, lines 39-46, FIG. 11 shows an example illustrated screenshot 1100 from the first player's first-person perspective as the first player's character is using the respawn activation item at a respawn location. The screenshot 1100 shows a respawn beacon 1101 at the respawn location in the virtual environment indicated by the respawn location interface icon 1104, a respawn interaction prompt 1102, and a respawn progress bar 1103), wherein the target display style indicates that the idle virtual item is in a pickable state (Col 17, lines 47-59, the first player's character has reached the respawn location indicated by the respawn location interface icon 1104. A respawn beacon 1101 can be present at the respawn location. In other implementations, any other item, structure, sign, symbol, or the like can be present to mark the respawn location …).
Regarding claim 19, Pineda discloses an electronic device (Col 19, lines 12-20, FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a computing system 1500 according to the present disclosure … The computing system 1500 may include a game device …), comprising:
a memory, configured to store executable instructions (Col 20, lines 20-31, program code can be stored in ROM 46, RAM 48 or storage 40 (which might comprise hard disk, other magnetic storage, optical storage, other non-volatile storage or a combination or variation of these) … part of the program code can be stored in storage 40, and/or on removable media such as game media 12 (which can be a CD-ROM, cartridge, memory chip or the like, or obtained over a network or other electronic channel as needed). In general, program code can be found embodied in a tangible non-transitory signal-bearing medium); and
a processor (Col 19, lines 31-35, computing system 1500 may include a separate graphics processor 24. In some cases, the graphics processor 24 may be built into the processing unit 20 …), configured to, when executing the executable instructions stored in the memory (Col 20, lines 32-67, random access memory (RAM) 48 (and possibly other storage) is usable to store variables and other game and processor data as needed … All of the processes described herein may be embodied in, and fully automated via, software code modules executed by a computing system that includes one or more computers or processors. The code modules may be stored in any type of non-transitory computer-readable medium or other computer storage device …), implement:
displaying at least one idle virtual item in a virtual scene Col 15, lines 61-64, FIG. 8 shows an example illustrated screenshot 800 from the first player's first-person perspective observing the second character's inventory container 801);
moving a first virtual object to move in the virtual scene (Col 12, lines 46-62, FIG. 3 shows an example illustrated screenshot 300 of a first player's field of view during a first part of a game showing characters in a normal mode. The illustration 300 shows a third-person perspective of a virtual 3D environment in the game as displayed to the first player. The illustration 300 shows a first character 301 ... The first character 301 is controlled by the first player ...) in response to a movement operation on the first virtual object (Col 5, lines 55-60, “Player” refers to real-world users (e.g., people) playing a video game as opposed to characters that fictitiously exist in the video game … “Character” refers to an entity fictitiously existing in a video game as opposed to real-world users, people, or players; Col 9, lines 58-64, FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B show a block diagram of an example process for changing character states in a video game … At block 201, a video game engine can be executed with characters in normal states. The characters in normal states can include a first character controlled by a first player. In a normal state, the characters can respond to user inputs to move according available movement actions); and
displaying a pickable prompt of the idle virtual item (Col 16, lines 1-5, when the first player arrives within a threshold distance of the inventory container 801 containing the respawn activation item, the first player can be prompted to provide a user input, such as pressing a particular button, to acquire the respawn activation item. As shown in FIG. 8, “Pick up Player 2’s Banner”) when there is no obstacle between the idle virtual item and the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object (FIG. 4A; Col 13, lines 4-12, FIG. 4A shows an example illustrated screenshot 400 of the first player's first-person ... the first player is able to perform a variety of actions. A user interface of the first player shows a shotgun 402A. Thus, the shotgun 402A is the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object “The first character 301”. Col 15, lines 61-67, FIG. 8 shows an example illustrated screenshot 800 from the first player's first-person perspective observing the second character's inventory container 801. In the example screenshot 800, the first player has arrived at the first location of the second character's recovery timer icon 703B, where the second character's inventory container 801 is also located).
However, Pineda does not specifically disclose emitting a detection ray at a position of an equipped virtual item of the first virtual object, wherein a direction of the detection ray is consistent with an orientation of the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object;
determining whether there is an obstacle between the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object and an idle virtual item based on the detection ray.
In additional, ROSSI discloses (Abstract, embodiments of the present provides methods and systems for presenting user-specific advertising material in a virtual environment in response to a digital trigger. A method includes presenting a virtual environment to a user, wherein the user has a presence in the virtual environment as an avatar capable of activating one or more digital triggers …) emitting a detection ray (FIG. 5; paragraph [0091], ray-casts (or lines-traces) may be projected from the in-game camera to the tile presenting the advertising material to determine what the user can and cannot see on the screen they are viewing ...) at a position of an equipped virtual item of the first virtual object (FIGS. 1 and 2; paragraph [0084], a hypothetical camera on ... Thus, the hypothetical camera is an equipped virtual item of the first virtual object “avatar”), wherein a direction of the detection ray is consistent with an orientation of the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object (Paragraph [0091], ray-casts (or lines-traces) may be projected from the in-game camera to the tile presenting the advertising material to determine what the user can and cannot see on the screen they are viewing, and this can detect if the view of the advertising material is obstructed. As discussed above, a hypothetical camera on the head of the avatar. Thus, the direction of the detection ray is consistent with an orientation of the “hypothetical camera” of the “avatar”);
determining whether there is an obstacle between the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object and an idle virtual item based on the detection ray (Paragraph [0091], ray-casts (or lines-traces) may be projected from the in-game camera to the tile presenting the advertising material to determine what the user can and cannot see on the screen they are viewing, and this can detect if the view of the advertising material is obstructed).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the respawn systems and methods in video games taught by Pineda incorporate the teachings of ROSSI, and applying the user-specific advertising material in a virtual environment taught by ROSSI to cast ray from the game camera on the head of the avatar to the tile presenting the advertising material for determining if the view of the advertising material is obstructed. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Pineda according to the relied-upon teachings of ROSSI to obtain the invention as specified in claim.
Regarding claim 20, Pineda discloses a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, storing executable instructions, the executable instructions, when executed by at least one processor (Col 19, lines 12-20, FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a computing system 1500 according to the present disclosure … The computing system 1500 may include a game device …; Col 20, lines 20-31, program code can be stored in ROM 46, RAM 48 or storage 40 (which might comprise hard disk, other magnetic storage, optical storage, other non-volatile storage or a combination or variation of these) … part of the program code can be stored in storage 40, and/or on removable media such as game media 12 (which can be a CD-ROM, cartridge, memory chip or the like, or obtained over a network or other electronic channel as needed). In general, program code can be found embodied in a tangible non-transitory signal-bearing medium), causing the at least one processor (Col 19, lines 31-35, computing system 1500 may include a separate graphics processor 24. In some cases, the graphics processor 24 may be built into the processing unit 20 …; Col 20, lines 32-67, random access memory (RAM) 48 (and possibly other storage) is usable to store variables and other game and processor data as needed … All of the processes described herein may be embodied in, and fully automated via, software code modules executed by a computing system that includes one or more computers or processors. The code modules may be stored in any type of non-transitory computer-readable medium or other computer storage device …) to implement:
displaying at least one idle virtual item in a virtual scene (Col 15, lines 61-64, FIG. 8 shows an example illustrated screenshot 800 from the first player's first-person perspective observing the second character's inventory container 801);
moving a first virtual object to in the virtual scene (Col 12, lines 46-62, FIG. 3 shows an example illustrated screenshot 300 of a first player's field of view during a first part of a game showing characters in a normal mode. The illustration 300 shows a third-person perspective of a virtual 3D environment in the game as displayed to the first player. The illustration 300 shows a first character 301 ... The first character 301 is controlled by the first player ...) in response to a movement operation on the first virtual object (Col 5, lines 55-60, “Player” refers to real-world users (e.g., people) playing a video game as opposed to characters that fictitiously exist in the video game … “Character” refers to an entity fictitiously existing in a video game as opposed to real-world users, people, or players; Col 9, lines 58-64, FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B show a block diagram of an example process for changing character states in a video game … At block 201, a video game engine can be executed with characters in normal states. The characters in normal states can include a first character controlled by a first player. In a normal state, the characters can respond to user inputs to move according available movement actions); and
displaying a pickable prompt of the idle virtual item (Col 16, lines 1-5, when the first player arrives within a threshold distance of the inventory container 801 containing the respawn activation item, the first player can be prompted to provide a user input, such as pressing a particular button, to acquire the respawn activation item. As shown in FIG. 8, “Pick up Player 2’s Banner”) when there is no obstacle between the idle virtual item and the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object (FIG. 4A; Col 13, lines 4-12, FIG. 4A shows an example illustrated screenshot 400 of the first player's first-person ... the first player is able to perform a variety of actions. A user interface of the first player shows a shotgun 402A. Thus, the shotgun 402A is the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object “The first character 301”. Col 15, lines 61-67, FIG. 8 shows an example illustrated screenshot 800 from the first player's first-person perspective observing the second character's inventory container 801. In the example screenshot 800, the first player has arrived at the first location of the second character's recovery timer icon 703B, where the second character's inventory container 801 is also located).
However, Pineda does not specifically disclose emitting a detection ray at a position of an equipped virtual item of the first virtual object, wherein a direction of the detection ray is consistent with an orientation of the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object;
determining whether there is an obstacle between the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object and an idle virtual item based on the detection ray.
In additional, ROSSI discloses (Abstract, embodiments of the present provides methods and systems for presenting user-specific advertising material in a virtual environment in response to a digital trigger. A method includes presenting a virtual environment to a user, wherein the user has a presence in the virtual environment as an avatar capable of activating one or more digital triggers …) emitting a detection ray (FIG. 5; paragraph [0091], ray-casts (or lines-traces) may be projected from the in-game camera to the tile presenting the advertising material to determine what the user can and cannot see on the screen they are viewing ...) at a position of an equipped virtual item of the first virtual object (FIGS. 1 and 2; paragraph [0084], a hypothetical camera on ... Thus, the hypothetical camera is an equipped virtual item of the first virtual object “avatar”), wherein a direction of the detection ray is consistent with an orientation of the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object (Paragraph [0091], ray-casts (or lines-traces) may be projected from the in-game camera to the tile presenting the advertising material to determine what the user can and cannot see on the screen they are viewing, and this can detect if the view of the advertising material is obstructed. As discussed above, a hypothetical camera on the head of the avatar. Thus, the direction of the detection ray is consistent with an orientation of the “hypothetical camera” of the “avatar”);
determining whether there is an obstacle between the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object and an idle virtual item based on the detection ray (Paragraph [0091], ray-casts (or lines-traces) may be projected from the in-game camera to the tile presenting the advertising material to determine what the user can and cannot see on the screen they are viewing, and this can detect if the view of the advertising material is obstructed).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the respawn systems and methods in video games taught by Pineda incorporate the teachings of ROSSI, and applying the user-specific advertising material in a virtual environment taught by ROSSI to cast ray from the game camera on the head of the avatar to the tile presenting the advertising material for determining if the view of the advertising material is obstructed. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Pineda according to the relied-upon teachings of ROSSI to obtain the invention as specified in claim.
Claims 8-9 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Pineda et al (U.S. Patent No. 11,007,439 B1) in view of ROSSI et al (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2022/0126206 A1) in view of Alderman et al (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2021/0031106 A1).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Pineda in view of ROSSI discloses everything claimed as applied above (see claim 7), and Pineda further disclose 8wherein the displaying pickable prompts of one or more of the plurality of idle virtual items (FIG. 8; Col 16, lines 1-5, when the first player arrives within a threshold distance of the inventory container 801 containing the respawn activation item, the first player can be prompted to provide a user input, such as pressing a particular button, to acquire the respawn activation item. As shown in FIG. 8, “Pick up Player 2’s Banner”; FIGS. 4B and 9B; Col 17, lines 12-24, The screenshot 910 shows an inventory menu 905 containing the rifle icon 412B, the grenade icon 413, and the health kit icon 415 illustrated in FIG. 4B, as well as other inventory items such as ammunition. By selecting items from the inventory menu 905, the first player can acquire the selected item) comprises:
obtaining a distance between the first virtual object and an idle virtual item (Col 16, lines 62-67 – Col 17, lines 1-9, a computer system can determine distances from a player's character to nearby respawn locations) during the movement operation (Col 9, lines 58-64, FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B show a block diagram of an example process for changing character states in a video game … At block 201, a video game engine can be executed with characters in normal states. The characters in normal states can include a first character controlled by a first player. In a normal state, the characters can respond to user inputs to move according available movement actions).
However, Pineda does not specifically disclose sorting the distances between the plurality of idle virtual items and the first virtual object, and selecting an idle virtual item corresponding to a minimum distance for pickable prompting.
In additional, Alderman discloses (Paragraph [0003], … obtaining a first target location in a virtual environment based at least in part on inputs provided by a first user; detecting a first in-game unit of a first unit type within a first threshold distance from the first target location; selecting a first communication action based at least in part on: detecting the first in-game unit of the first unit type within a first threshold distance from the first target location and a first priority associated with the first unit type and associated with the first communication action …) sorting the distances between the plurality of idle virtual items and the first virtual object (Paragraphs [0116]-[0120], FIG. 5B shows example illustrations 550, 560 of the gameplay from the player's perspective from the video game in which target locations can be determined. The illustration 550 includes target location 501, a pistol 511, a pistol icon 513, a first ammo box 515, a second ammo box 517, an energy cell 519, 3D distances R1, R2, R3, and R4 measured from the target location 501 according to an <X, Y, Z> axis … The distance R1 is a 3D distance in the 3D environment between the target location 501 and the pistol 511. The distance R2 is a 3D distance in the 3D environment between the target location 501 and the first ammo box 515 … In the illustrated example in FIG. 5B, the pistol 511 is the closest to the target location 501), and selecting an idle virtual item corresponding to a minimum distance Paragraph [0120], if more than one candidate item is within its respective threshold distance and none of the items have a higher priority, then the item that is the closest to the target location 501 and/or more recently interacted with can be selected as the item to communicate about).
It's noted that Alderman does not disclose “pickable prompting”. However, Pineda further disclose displaying a pickable prompt of the idle virtual item when the first player arrives within a threshold distance of the respawn activation item. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the respawn systems and methods in video games taught by Pineda in view of ROSSI by applying the method for sending contextually aware communications in a video game taught by Alderman to determine distances between the target location and the plurality of idle virtual items; then select the an idle virtual item corresponding to the closest distance to the target location. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Pineda in view of ROSSI according to the relied-upon teachings of Alderman to obtain the invention as specified in claim.
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Pineda in view of ROSSI discloses everything claimed as applied above (see claim 7), and Pineda further disclose wherein the displaying pickable prompts of one or more of idle virtual items (FIG. 8; Col 16, lines 1-5, when the first player arrives within a threshold distance of the inventory container 801 containing the respawn activation item, the first player can be prompted to provide a user input, such as pressing a particular button, to acquire the respawn activation item. As shown in FIG. 8, “Pick up Player 2’s Banner”; FIGS. 4B and 9B; Col 17, lines 12-24, The screenshot 910 shows an inventory menu 905 containing the rifle icon 412B, the grenade icon 413, and the health kit icon 415 illustrated in FIG. 4B, as well as other inventory items such as ammunition. By selecting items from the inventory menu 905, the first player can acquire the selected item).
However, Pineda does not specifically disclose comprises:
obtaining a matching degree between each idle virtual item and the usage preference, based on usage preference of the first virtual object for virtual items; and
sorting the matching degrees between the plurality of idle virtual items and the usage preference, and selecting an idle virtual item corresponding to a highest matching degree for pickable prompting.
In additional, Alderman discloses the method further (Paragraph [0003], … obtaining a first target location in a virtual environment based at least in part on inputs provided by a first user; detecting a first in-game unit of a first unit type within a first threshold distance from the first target location; selecting a first communication action based at least in part on: detecting the first in-game unit of the first unit type within a first threshold distance from the first target location and a first priority associated with the first unit type and associated with the first communication action …) comprises:
obtaining a matching degree between each idle virtual item and the usage preference (Paragraphs [0116]-[0121], FIG. 5B shows example illustrations 550, 560 of the gameplay from the player's perspective from the video game in which target locations can be determined. The illustration 550 includes target location 501, a pistol 511, a pistol icon 513, a first ammo box 515, a second ammo box 517, an energy cell 519, 3D distances R1, R2, R3, and R4 measured from the target location 501 according to an <X, Y, Z> axis … The distance R1 is a 3D distance in the 3D environment between the target location 501 and the pistol 511. The distance R2 is a 3D distance in the 3D environment between the target location 501 and the first ammo box 515 … In the illustrated example in FIG. 5B, the pistol 511 is the closest to the target location 501 … a game engine can repeatedly determine the target location, calculate and compare distances of nearby units to respective threshold distances, and update the item to communicate about in accordance with the comparison results and priorities in real time as the game progresses in response to receiving user inputs that change where a user is focusing on), based on usage preference of the first virtual object for virtual items (Paragraph [0094], FIG. 3A also illustrates associations between threshold distances to a target location and unit types. As further described with respect to FIG. 2, FIG. 4, FIG. 5A, and FIG. 5B, the target location, priority tiers, and threshold distances can be used to determine which unit a player is focusing on and likely wants to communicate about … From among units within the threshold distance from the target location for each unit type, a player can be determined to want to communicate about the highest priority unit that is closest to the target location); and
sorting the matching degrees between the plurality of idle virtual items and the usage preference (FIG. 4; paragraphs [0105]-[0107], …Blocks 410 and 415 can be combined and implemented in a variety of ways and sometimes together or in reverse order. In some implementations, blocks 410 and 415 can be combined. For example, a first search can be performed for any highest priority units within their respective threshold distances from the target location, and if none are found, then subsequent searches can be performed for items of subsequent priority tiers within their respective threshold distances from the target location until at least one item is found. In an alternative implementation, all items are first identified within one or more respective threshold distances. Then, among the identified items, a second search can be performed to determine which of those items are of the highest priority), and selecting an idle virtual item corresponding to a highest matching degree Paragraph [0108], if one unit is identified as having a higher priority tier than other units within their respective threshold distances from the target location, then the one unit can be set as the unit to communicate about).
It's noted that Alderman does not disclose “pickable prompting”. However, Pineda further disclose displaying a pickable prompt of the idle virtual item when the first player arrives within a threshold distance of the respawn activation item. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the respawn systems and methods in video games taught by Pineda in view of ROSSI by applying the method for sending contextually aware communications in a video game taught by Alderman to determine distances an priority levels between the target location and the plurality of idle virtual items; then select the an idle virtual item having a higher priority tier than other units within their respective threshold distances from the target location. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Pineda in view of ROSSI according to the relied-upon teachings of Alderman to obtain the invention as specified in claim.
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Pineda in view of ROSSI discloses everything claimed as applied above (see claim 1).
However, Pineda does not specifically disclose further comprising:
binding a timer on the idle virtual item, wherein the timer is configured to start timing when the idle virtual item is displayed in the virtual scene; and
stopping the display of the idle virtual item in the virtual scene if the idle virtual item is not picked up within a set time period recorded by the timer.
In additional, Alderman discloses the method further (Paragraph [0003], … obtaining a first target location in a virtual environment based at least in part on inputs provided by a first user; detecting a first in-game unit of a first unit type within a first threshold distance from the first target location; selecting a first communication action based at least in part on: detecting the first in-game unit of the first unit type within a first threshold distance from the first target location and a first priority associated with the first unit type and associated with the first communication action …) further comprising:
binding a timer on the idle virtual item, wherein the timer is configured to start timing when the idle virtual item is displayed in the virtual scene (Paragraphs [0135]-[0136], FIG. 9 shows an example illustrated screenshot 900 of a player's field of view with ping icons indicating the locations of various items … The various items 903, 907, 911, 915, 919, 923, 927, and 929 can be focused on by the player and communicated about by providing the user input for sending contextually aware communications …; paragraph [0243], the visual marker is configured to be displayed for an initial length of time); and
stopping the display of the idle virtual item in the virtual scene if the idle virtual item is not picked up within a set time period recorded by the timer (Paragraph [0138], the visual markers of pinged items, such as icons at the item locations, can disappear under multiple conditions. Some markers can disappear).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the respawn systems and methods in video games taught by Pineda in view of ROSSI by applying the method for sending contextually aware communications in a video game taught by Alderman to set an initial length of time for each idle virtual item and stop the display of the idle virtual item if the item is not picked up after a timeout duration. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Pineda in view of ROSSI according to the relied-upon teachings of Alderman to obtain the invention as specified in claim.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-6, 10-13 and 16-18 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Dependent claim 5 depends upon independent claim 1 and recites additional limitations of “determining that the obstacle exists between the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object and the idle virtual item when the detection ray intersects with a collider component bound on an obstacle; and determining that the obstacle does not exist between the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object and the idle virtual item when the detection ray does not intersect with the collider component bound on the obstacle” for supporting the determining whether there is an obstacle between the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object and the idle virtual item based on the detection ray.
Dependent claim 6 depends upon independent claim 1 and recites limitations of “after the controlling the first virtual object to move in the virtual scene”. In additional, the claim specifically recites limitations of “displaying a non-pickable prompt of the idle virtual item when the idle virtual item is located in the direction consistent with an orientation of the equipped virtual item of the first virtual object and there is an obstacle between the idle virtual item and the equipped virtual item” to support it.
Dependent claim 10 depends upon dependent claim 7 and recites additional limitations of “obtaining a frequency that each idle virtual item is used by other virtual objects; and sorting the frequencies that the plurality of idle virtual items used by other virtual objects, and selecting an idle virtual item corresponding to a maximum frequency for pickable prompting” for supporting the displaying pickable prompts of one or more of the plurality of idle virtual items.
Dependent claim 11 depends upon dependent claim 7 and recites additional limitations of “obtaining a performance parameter of each idle virtual item in the virtual scene; and sorting the performance parameters of the plurality of idle virtual items in the virtual scene, and selecting an idle virtual item corresponding to a maximum performance parameter for pickable prompting” for supporting the displaying pickable prompts of one or more of the plurality of idle virtual items.
Dependent claim 12 depends upon dependent claim 7 and recites additional limitations of “obtaining a type of a held virtual item of the first virtual object; and performing pickable prompting on an idle virtual item when a type of the idle virtual item is different from the type of the held virtual item” for supporting the displaying pickable prompts of one or more of the plurality of idle virtual items.
Dependent claim 13 depends upon dependent claim 7 and recites additional limitations of “obtaining a character assigned to the first virtual object in a team; and performing pickable prompting on an idle virtual item when a type of the idle virtual item matches the character” for supporting the displaying pickable prompts of one or more of the plurality of idle virtual items.
Dependent claim 16 depends upon independent claim 1 and recites additional limitations of “using the held virtual item as an idle virtual item when a second virtual object is attacked in the virtual scene and loses a capability of a held virtual item; and displaying at least one virtual item dropped by the second virtual object at a position wherein the second virtual object is attacked” for supporting the displaying at least one idle virtual item in the virtual scene.
Dependent claim 17 depends upon independent claim 1 and recites additional limitations of “using a held virtual item as an idle virtual item when a second virtual object discards at least one held virtual item in the virtual scene; and displaying the discarded virtual item at a position wherein the second virtual object discards the held virtual item” for supporting the displaying at least one idle virtual item in the virtual scene.
Dependent claim 18 depends upon independent claim 1 and recites additional limitations of “using a held virtual item as an idle virtual item when a teammate of the first virtual object places the held virtual item at a placement position in the virtual scene, wherein the idle virtual item is configured to be picked up by the first virtual object; and displaying the at least one idle virtual item placed by the teammate at the placement position in a map of the virtual scene” for supporting the displaying at least one idle virtual item in the virtual scene.
However, the search results failed to show the obviousness of the claims as a whole. None of the prior art cited alone or in combination provides the motivation to teach the limitations recited in above claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Xilin Guo whose telephone number is (571)272-5786. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 9:00 AM-5:30 PM EST.
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/XILIN GUO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2616
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