DETAILED ACTION
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3, 5-11, 14-15, and 18-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by evidence of computer program “Final Fantasy XIII” (SquareEnix) hereinafter “FFXIII”. The evidence constituting FFXIII consists of 1) Game Manual for the Playstation 3 version of Final Fantasy XIII (FFXIII Manual) which described the FF13 software and is dated with a 2010 copyright, 2) YouTube video by Cloud7b titled “Final Fantasy XIII – Crystarium” (Cloud7b) which shows functionality of the FF13 software, 3) YouTube video by Benymbru titled “Crystarium Sounds” (Benymbru) which shows functionality of the FFXIII software, and 4) Finalfantasy.fandom.com webpage “Crystarium System” (Fandom) which described functionality of the FFXIII software.
In Reference to Claims 1, 18, and 19
FFXIII teaches an electronic device, comprising a processor, a storage medium, and a bus, where the storage medium stores a machine-readable instruction executable by the processor; and when the electronic device runs, the processor communications with the storage medium through the bus, and the processor executes the machine-readable instructions, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, wherein a computer program is stored on the computer-readable storage medium, which is run by a processor, and a method for interaction processing in a game (FFXIII manual page 2 “Playstation 3 system” which teaches turning on a Playstation 3 device and inserting a disc with the Final Fantasy XIII software into the design and executing it at the PS3’s main menu in order to run the game software), which includes receiving a trigger operation performed by a user on a target node (FFXIII manual page 36 “Follow the Path. Hold down the X button to advance along the current path of crystogenesis. As you reach and obtain new crystals, your character with learn new abilities and increase attributes accordingly. Note that that CP will be consumed as you progress. When the supply is depleted, you will have to obtain more CP in combat before proceeding any further.” See also Cloud7b at 0:48 which states “As you can see, the Ruin crystal is illuminated. Illuminated crystals represent known abilities” at 0:54 which states “The crystal next to Ruin is still dimmed, but by extending the line of crystogenesis to reach it, Lighting can obtain the crystal and its benefits” and 1:10-1:12 which shows the player pressing the X button to extend the line to the next crystal and illuminate it whereby a dialogue box appears which states “Strength increased by 4.” Where examiner considers the next node on the line to be illuminated to be the target node), wherein the target node is a node in a target strategy tree in the game (Cloud7b at for example 0:48 and Benymbru throughout which show the Crystarium interface includes various branching paths. As such it constitutes a target strategy tree and the crystals are nodes in that tree); determining a boot node of the target node in response to the trigger operation (Cloud7b at 0:48-1:14 which shows where the target node becomes illuminated and is now the last illuminated node on the line.), and entering a first operation interface corresponding to the boot node (See Cloud7B at 0:44, 2:05, 3:01, and Benymbru at 0:10 which show that when the tree structure interface is opened it opens at this last illuminated node and FFXIII Manual page 36 “Select a role with the directional button and confirm with the X button, and a cursor will appear on the most recently obtained crystal in that role.”); and displaying a first trigger control for the boot node on the first operation interface, wherein the first trigger control is a control configured for performing a predetermined function for a virtual element corresponding to the boot node in the game (FFXIII manual page 36 “Follow the Path” which states “As you reach and obtain new crystals, your character will learn new abilities and increase attributes accordingly” as well as Cloud7b which 0:48-1:14 which shows “X Advance Crystogenesis” and a pop-up window stating “Strength Increased by 4”. See also Benymbru which shows similar line advancement and pop-up messages throughout).
In Reference to Claims 2 and 21
FFXIII teaches where the trigger operation comprises a selection operation performed by the user on a second trigger control on a second operation interface corresponding to the target node, and the second trigger control is configured a control for performing a predetermined function for a virtual element corresponding to the target node in the game (FFXIII Manual page 36 “Follow the Path” and Cloud7b 0:48-1:14 which teaches the player provides an input operation to choose spend “CP” to advance the line in the crystarium skill tree and illuminate crystals to learn new abilities and attributes for that virtual character in the game. See also FFXIII Manual Page 36 “Choose Your Role” and Page 37 “Direct the Course” which teach that the player has choices in which strategy tree to spend CP on and in the direction in the tree at branching points where the line advances).
In Reference to Claim 3
FFXIII teaches wherein the target node is a node in the target strategy tree that satisfies following conditions each node on a specified node path in the target strategy tree has been triggered, wherein the specified node path is a path from a parent node of the target node to a root node of the target node, and a node being triggered refers to that a predetermined function has been performed on a virtual element corresponding to the node in the game; and a trigger condition corresponding to the target node belongs to a target constraint condition (FFXIII Manual Pages 36-37 which teach where the Skill tree advances along the line to the next unilluminated node on the line, and where the player’s selected character gains abilities and attributes based on the illuminated nodes. See also Cloud7b 2:05 which shows that the illuminated line extends back to a root node, and Benymbru at 0:17 that shows that when the player entirely fills up a branch the game jumps back to the junction with an available unilluminated node in order to advance the line. Examiner considers being the next unilluminated node on the selected line to constitute a “target constraint condition.”)
In Reference to Claim 5
FFXIII teaches wherein each node in the target strategy tree is provided with a corresponding constraint condition; and wherein the step of determining the boot node of the target node comprises: screening out a first candidate node from nodes of the target strategy tree according to a target constraint condition; determining the boot order based on the first candidate node; and determining the boot node of the target node from the nodes of the target strategy tree based on the boot order, wherein the boot node is a next node to the target node in the boot order for the target strategy tree (FFXIII Manual pages 36-37, as well as Clou7b and Benymbru which show that the line advances from the last illuminated node to the next unilluminated node along the lines as the player holds the x button, illuminating nodes as it goes. See also Benymbru at 0:17 that shows that when the player entirely fills up a branch the game jumps back to the junction with an available unilluminated node in order to advance the line. Where examiner considers these lines of nodes a boot order for the nodes. See Fandom Page 2 which teaches “Each character's Crystarium growth level corresponds to the progress of the story. After defeating certain bosses, the Crystarium levels up, enabling players to advance through the layout and possibly upgrade their stats and learn new abilities, but enhancing stats and learning skills is still dictated by each role's level. The player is limited to the abilities and bonuses within each Crystarium level.” And pages 3-4 “Expanding the Crystarium” which teaches “The characters' Crystaria expand to the next level after certain bosses are defeated” and which listed of a timeline of events in game which unlock each Crystarium state. Examiner considers the stage unlocks a constraint condition for the respective names at each Crystarium Stage and where nodes in the locked stages are screened out from the “candidate” nodes on the currently unlocked stages of the Crystarium).
In Reference to Claim 6
FFXIII teaches wherein the step of determining the boot order based on the first candidate node comprises determining a first sub-order of the first candidate node; and determining the first sub-order as the boot order (FFXXIII Manual and Cloud7b and Benymbru which teach where the player unlocks nodes one by one along the illuminated line as described above).
In Reference to Claim 7
FFXIII teaches wherein the target constraint condition comprises a first time constraint condition (Fandom pages 2-4 which teaches Crystarium stages which unlock over time in the game as described above); wherein the step of determining the first sub-order of the first candidate node comprises: determining a traversal order for the target strategy tree according to a preset traversal rule; and forming the first sub-order corresponding to all first candidate nodes by performing traversal on each first candidate node in the target strategy tree according to the determined traversal order; wherein the first candidate node is a node, a trigger condition of which belongs to the first time constraint condition, in the target strategy tree (FFXIII Manual, Cloud7B and Benymbru as described above which teach that the player advances node by node along the line illuminating crystals. Fandom which teach that Stages unlock as the story progresses, which examiner considers a “time constraint condition.” See also Benymbru at 0:09 which shows the Crystarium is at “Stage 8 and shows the illuminated line extending through a large number of planes of crystals in the Crystarium. And Cloud7B at 0:48 where the Crystarium is at Stage 1 and shows only one plane available. Further examiner considers the selection of the branch direction as taught by FFXIII Manual page 37 to be part of the determined traversal order).
In Reference to Claim 8
FFXIII teaches wherein a position of the first candidate node in the boot order is before other nodes (See Cloud and Benymbru throughout which show additional unilluminated nodes beyond the next and nearby unilluminated nodes. See also Fandom which teaches that additional stages are unlocked over time in the game and Cloud7B at 0:48 and Benymbru at 0:09 which show examples of the illuminated line extending through one or more unlocked stages).
In Reference to Claim 9
FFXIII teaches determining a first sub-order of the first candidate node and a second sub-order of a second candidate node; wherein the second candidate node is a node, a trigger condition of which belongs to a second time constraint condition, in the target strategy tree; and constructing the boot order according to the first sub-order and the second sub-order, wherein the second sub-order is after the first sub-order (FFXIII Manual, Cloud7B and Benymbru which teach advancing along the unilluminated line of nodes one by one as described above. And Fandom pages 2-4 which teaches the Crystarium stage unlocks based on events in the game which examiner considers to be “a second time constraint condition.” Note that although it is called a “second” time constraint condition this is the only time constraint condition recited in Claim 9.
In Reference to Claim 10
FFXIII teaches wherein the target constraint condition comprises the second time constraint condition; and the second sub-order of the second candidate node comprises: determining a traversal order for the target strategy tree according to a preset traversal rule; and forming the second sub-order corresponding to all second candidate nodes by performing traversal on each second candidate node in the target strategy tree according to the determined traversal order (FFXIII Manual, Cloud7B and Benymbru as described above which teach that the player advances node by node along the line illuminating crystals. Fandom which teach that Stages unlock as the story progresses, which is the constraint condition and second time constraint condition. See also Benymbru at 0:09 which shows the Crystarium is at “Stage 8 and shows the illuminated line extending through a large number of planes of crystals in the Crystarium. And Cloud7B at 0:48 where the Crystarium is at Stage 1 and shows only one plane available. Further examiner considers the selection of the branch direction as taught by FFXIII Manual page 37 to be part of the determined traversal order).
In Reference to Claim 11
Final Fantasy XIII teaches where the step of entering the first operation interface corresponding to the boot node comprises: automatically selecting the boot node to enter the first operation interface corresponding to the boot node (See Cloud7B at 0:44, 2:05, 3:01, and Benymbru at 0:10 which show that when the tree structure interface is opened it opens at this last illuminated node and FFXIII Manual page 36 “Select a role with the directional button and confirm with the X button, and a cursor will appear on the most recently obtained crystal in that role.”).
In Reference to Claims 14 and 20
Final Fantasy XIII teaches receiving a selection operation performed by the user on the first trigger control; in response to the selection operation on the first trigger control, determining a trigger condition corresponding to the boot node; and in response to the trigger condition being satisfied, performing the predetermined function for the virtual element corresponding to the boot node (FFXIII Manual Page 36 “Hold down the X button to advance along the current path of crystogenesis. As you reach and obtain new crystals, your character with learn new abilities and increase attributes accordingly.”).
In Reference to Claim 15
Final Fantasy XIII teaches where the boot node is a node (See Cloud7B as described above where the crystals are nodes) and, a trigger condition of which belongs to a first time constraint condition (Fandom pages 2-4 which teaches the unlocking of Crystarium stages based on game story progress), in the target strategy tree; and the first operation interface is a simplified interface comprising the first trigger control for the boot node (See Cloud7B at 1:12 which shows an interface box popup describing the benefits of the newly acquired node. See also Benymbru throughout which shows similar interface boxes as new nodes are unlocked); wherein the method further comprises: in response to a selection operation on the first trigger control, determining a next node to the boot node in the boot order for the target strategy tree, and entering a third operation interface corresponding to the node (FFXIII Manual, Cloud7B and Benymbru which teaches holding X to advance along the line of nodes one by one, as described above. See in particular Benymbru, for example from 0:10 – 0:30 which teaches open and displaying a new interface box popup which described the attributes or abilities gained at each nodes as each node in line is unlocked.).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 4 and 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over FFXIII, in view of Jeong et al., US/2021/0342831.
In Reference to Claim 4
FFXIII teaches displaying a tree structure interface for the target strategy tree, wherein the target node in the target strategy tree is displayed in the tree structure interface (See Cloud7b and Benymbru throughout which show the tree structure interface showing the crystal nodes and the illuminated and unilluminated lines connecting them.). And teaches displaying an interface element corresponding to the target node in response to a selection operation performed on the target node in response to a selection operation performed on the target node on the tree structure interface (Cloud7b 0:48-1:14 and Benymbru at 0:12 which show the player advancing the line via their input to enter the next crystal and cause it to be illuminated and generate a pop-up box in the interface describing the newly unlocked attribute or ability). Further, FFXIII teaches navigating menus and information screens (Page 37 “Choose your role” Page 38 and Cloud7B from about 0:16 – 0:40 which shows the player navigating and selecting various menus to open to new interfaces and view additional information). However, FFXIII does not explicitly teach the player “entering” the second operation interface.
Jeong et al. teaches a game system where a player can select a skill or other game element and provide an input to enter a second operation interface corresponding to the selected skill and item (Fig. 6A and Par. 113 “when an item is selected from a list of items, the execution screen 601 including detailed information on the selected item may be displayed. For example, the equipment level, grade, and name of the selected item may be displayed on the execution screen 601. In addition, information on the physical attack power and potential abilities of the selected item may be displayed on the execution screen 601.” See also Par. 114-115 which teaches that the second interface includes additional control buttons for allowing the player to perform functions related to the selected element including to acquire the game element).
It would be desirable to modify the method of FFXIII to include entering a second interface with additional available controls corresponding to the selected skill node as taught by Jeong et al. in order to allow the player to obtain and easily read more detailed information about a skill to acquire and confirm their acquisition. Particularly for game abilities that are more complex than a simple attribute increase and more detail information may be necessary to understand what the skill does.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the invention to modify the method of FFXIII to modify the method of FFXIII to include entering a second interface with additional available controls corresponding to the selected skill node as taught by Jeong et al.
In Reference to Claim 12
FFXIII and Jeong et al. teach a method as described above in reference to Claim 4. Wherein the first operation interface is entered in a following manner in response to the trigger operation, switching an interface to exit from a second operation interface corresponding to the target node (FFXIII and Jeong et al. which teaches opening a second interface corresponding to the target node as described above. See also Jeong et al. Fig. 6A which shows an “X” box in the upper righthand corner for closing the second interface and is standard in computer interfaces), and displaying a tree structure interface (Cloud7B and Benymbru as described above in reference to claim 1); and automatically selecting the boot node on the displayed tree structure interface to enter the first operation interface corresponding to the boot node (See Cloud7B at 0:44, 2:05, 3:01, and Benymbru at 0:10 which show that when the tree structure interface is opened it opens at this last illuminated node and FFXIII Manual page 36 “Select a role with the directional button and confirm with the X button, and a cursor will appear on the most recently obtained crystal in that role.”).
In Reference to Claim 13
FFXIII and Jeong et al. teach further comprising at least one of: in response to the interface being switched, controlling the tree structure interface to perform movement on a screen to display the boot node in the target strategy tree on the screen; or in response to the boot node being automatically selected, creating a window, and displaying the first operation interface corresponding to the boot node in the created window (See Cloud7B around 0:44, 2:05, 3:01, and Benymbru at 0:09-0:12 which show movement on the screen to display the boot node, the last illuminated crystal, on screen).
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over FFXIII, further in view of by evidence of computer program “Dragon Age: Inquisition” (Electronic Arts) hereinafter “DAI”. The evidence constituting DAI consists of 1) Dragonage.fandom.com webpage “Archery Abilities” (DAI fandom) described features of the DAI software, and 2) Reddit.com webpage “Why do Spells and Abilities have more than 2 Upgrades now?” (DAI Reddit) describing functionality of the DAI software.
In Reference to Claim 16
FFXIII teaches wherein the boot node is a node (See FXIII, Cloud7B and Benymbru as described above), a trigger condition of which belongs to a second time constraint condition, in the target strategy tree (Fandom pages 2-4); and in response to a selection operation on the first trigger control, determining any selected virtual element as the virtual clement corresponding to the boot node, to perform the predetermined function for the virtual element corresponding to the boot node (FFXIII Manual page 36 “As you reach and obtain new crystals, your character with learn new abilities and increase attributes accordingly.”).
DAI teaches a game program with a skill tree comprised of nodes (DAI Fandom, See the screenshot on page 1) where the first operation interface is an editing interface comprising the first trigger control for the node and a plurality of candidate virtual elements; wherein the method further comprises: receiving a selection operation for any candidate virtual element in the plurality of candidate virtual elements on the first operation interface (DAI Fandom pages 1-4 which teach abilities from the skill tree interface , such as “Long Shot” and “Leaping Shot” and where there are two “upgrades” available for each skill. For example “Archer’s Lance” or “Eagle Eye.” See DAI Reddit which teaches “After I installed all DLC's, I noticed that I can now choose between 2 separate Secondary upgrades in my skill Trees. Why is this?” and “The extra upgrade is a feature of the Trespasser DLC. They are actually not technically separate upgrades, you pay only 1 skill point and you get both, but you can only have one at a time active. You can change which upgrade is active any time you are not in combat.” Where examiner considers the selection of upgrade on the skill tree interface to be active to be an editing interface for receiving selection of a virtual element from a plurality of candidate virtual elements).
It would be desirable to modify the method of FXIII to include an editing interface for allowing the player to select from alternative but mutually exclusive upgrade as a node in the skill tree as taught by DAI in order to increase the enjoyment of the user by adding on extra layer of strategy and customization for the character abilities unlocked in the game.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing of the invention to modify the method of FXIII to include an editing interface for allowing the player to select from alternative but mutually exclusive upgrade as a node in the skill tree as taught by DAI.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CARL V LARSEN whose telephone number is (571)270-3219. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday; 10:00 am - 6:30 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dmitry Suhol can be reached at (571) 272-4430. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CARL V LARSEN/ Examiner, Art Unit 3715
