Patents Examined by William H McCulloch, Jr.
  • Patent number: 11964205
    Abstract: According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer device comprising: a user interface controllable to display to a user a gameboard of multiple user selectable game elements of at least two types; and a processor configured to: generate a user activatable booster object for display on the user interface; detect a user input to activate the booster object; activate the booster object to generate a booster effect; wherein the processor is further configured, on activation of the booster object, to generate the booster effect by detecting a group of game elements in a region defined on the gameboard; and sort the game elements in the group to display game elements of a matching type adjacent one another in the region to generate a sorted configuration of game elements in the region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: KING.COM LIMITED
    Inventors: Dennis Gustafsson, Gerardo Basurto, Walid Fayad
  • Patent number: 11957974
    Abstract: Described herein is a cloud-based gaming system in which graphics processing operations of a cloud-based game can be performed on a client device. Client-based graphics processing can be enabled in response to a determination that the client includes a graphics processor having a performance that exceeds a minimum threshold. When a game is remotely executed and streamed to a client, the client is configurable to provide network feedback that can be used to adjust execution and/or encoding for the game.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Makarand Dharmapurikar, Rajabali Koduri, Vijay Bahirji, Toby Opferman, Scott G. Christian, Rajeev Penmatsa, Selvakumar Panneer
  • Patent number: 11951390
    Abstract: A method of rendering a virtual environment is disclosed. First application data is received. The first application data includes first graph data. The first graph data corresponds to a first state of an application. Second application data is received after the first application data. The second application data corresponds to a second state of the application. The first application data and the second application data are analyzed to determine a change in the first graph data associated with the second application data. An island subgraph within the first graph data that includes the change is determined. Second graph data is generated for the second state. The generating of the second graph data includes partially reconstructing the first graph data. The partial reconstructing includes rebuilding the determined island subgraph. The generated second graph data is communicated for rendering of the virtual environment in the second state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: Unity IPR ApS
    Inventors: Janus Lynggaard Thorborg, Toulouse de Margerie, Wayne Johnson
  • Patent number: 11954976
    Abstract: A bonus providing element distinct from an underlying game enables bonus awards to players at two or more player positions of the underlying game based upon receipt of a predetermined triggering outcome in the underlying game by the bonus providing element providing an indication of at least three individual random indicators, such as: a) a first random indicator configured to provide an identification of a first award to be awarded to qualifying players of the players of the underlying game; b) a second random indicator configured to provide an identification of a single one of the two or more player positions; and c) a third random indicator configured to provide an identification of a second award to be awarded to the player at the single one of the two or more player positions indicated by the second random indictor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: AGS LLC
    Inventor: Jamie Abrahamson
  • Patent number: 11954982
    Abstract: Systems and methods which operate in at least two modes, such as an arcade mode and a hybrid arcade/wagering mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: IGT
    Inventor: Cameron A. Filipour
  • Patent number: 11951408
    Abstract: A computer device configured to: (a) render a game level in which a game board comprises a plurality of user selectable game elements of at least two types; (b) detect that a user has caused two user selectable game elements of the same type to be removed; (c) execute a refill process to refill vacancies on the game board after the game elements have been removed; (d) detect that a user has attained at least one objective of the game level by causing removal of certain user selectable game elements after a refill process; (e) access from a store a first portion of an object to be rendered on the display, the first portion associated with the at least one objective of the game level; and (f) in an environment view, render the first portion of the object within a representation of the virtual environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: KING.COM LTD.
    Inventors: Miguel Navio, Marta Cortinas, Michele Airoldi
  • Patent number: 11944908
    Abstract: An object is to provide a user with motivation to enjoy waking up in the morning and guide the user to sufficient awakening by generating a breeding event in a breeding game of a virtual life form when the user wakes up in the morning. A game server that manages progress of a breeding game of a virtual life form can provide a user with motivation to enjoy waking up in the morning and guide the user to sufficient awakening by generating a breeding event in a breeding game of a virtual life form when the user wakes up in the morning. The game server includes circuitry configured to acquire a wake-up time of a user; and a update the breeding game in accordance with the acquired wake-up time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: THE POKEMON COMPANY
    Inventors: Takayuki Shindo, Satoshi Ogawa, Kaname Kosugi, Marie Shuto, Koya Nakahata
  • Patent number: 11941948
    Abstract: Table-based gaming actions are disclosed where additional prizes or other gains can be awarded after spinning of a first reward determining wheel of chance by spinning of one or more further wheels of chance where the further spinnings are enabled by a previous spin outcome landing on an outcome selecting segment that awards a partial reward and also awards the spinning of the next successive wheel of chance. Each of the successive wheels of chance is different from the others such that a variety of reward possibilities is provided. For one embodiment, a bonus awarding segment of the first wheel has a highest probability of occurrence and a lowest initial payout value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: AGS LLC
    Inventors: Andrew Price Pawlak, Eric Ivan Effros
  • Patent number: 11935364
    Abstract: An electronic gaming system is capable of forming a multi-player group to play a game; receiving, from a first gaming device, first game play information for a first game played by a first player member of the multi-player group on the first gaming device; determining that the first game play information comprises a first winning outcome corresponding to a first winning outcome; in response, allocating the first winning outcome among the first and second player members; and notifying a second gaming device of the second player member that the second player member has received the second portion of the first winning outcome.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: IGT
    Inventors: Fei Yi, Wei Gong
  • Patent number: 11925861
    Abstract: A spectator system may provide for spectating in online gaming. The spectator system may receive, at a spectator server, game state data from a game simulation server hosting an online game for one or more players, generate one or more spectator game state data corresponding to one or more spectator devices and output the one or more spectator game state data to the spectator devices. The spectator server may further output the game state data to another spectator server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: Electronic Arts Inc.
    Inventors: Yuval Noimark, Jeffrey E. Skelton, Henrik Karlsson, Eneko Bilbao
  • Patent number: 11925867
    Abstract: A processor is capable of assessing plural driving assessment items with mutually different details on the basis of driving operations of a vehicle. A game is displayed at a display part of an operation terminal by execution of a game application. The processor assigns modification factors generated in accordance with assessment results of the driving assessment items to a character in the game.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Masato Endo
  • Patent number: 11925862
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for playing on a player of a client device (11) a content streamed in a network (1), said content consisting of a sequence of segments available in a plurality of quality levels, the player being configured so as to choose the quality level of the segments as a function of at least one parameter representative of a segment reception rate, according to an Adaptive BitRate, ABR, logic of the player; the client device (11) comprising a first buffer (M1) for storing segments in a format adapted for transferring within the network (1), the method being characterized in that it comprises performing by a processing unit (110) of the client device (11): (a) receiving from the player a request for a current segment at a first quality level; (b) estimating, fora second quality level, an optimal response delay such that providing the requested current segment at the expiration of said optimal response delay will cause the player to request according to its ABR logic a next segme
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: Streamroot
    Inventors: Hiba Yousef, Alexandre Storelli
  • Patent number: 11918898
    Abstract: Embodiments include a system that incorporates the subject disclosure may include, for example, detecting a current trigger during a video game and determining a group of players involved in the current trigger. Further embodiments include recording a trigger clip of game content for each player in the group of players resulting in a group of trigger clips. Each trigger clip of the group of trigger clips is a portion of game content that includes the current trigger from a perspective of each player of the group of players. Additional embodiments include providing the group of trigger clips to a group of gaming devices over a communication network. Each gaming device of the group of gaming devices is associated with one player of the group of players. Additional embodiments are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2024
    Assignee: STEELSERIES ApS
    Inventors: Jeffrey Nicholas Mahlmeister, Thane Kurt Woidan, Thomas J. Panfil, Tino Soelberg
  • Patent number: 11908267
    Abstract: An electronic gaming machine includes a display device and a processor configured to execute instructions stored in a memory, which when executed by the processor, cause the processor to generate a game-state-retention sign based upon a plurality of game variables representing a state of a wagering game, where the game-state-retention sign includes a first two-dimensional machine-recognisable image that encodes the plurality of game variables. When executed, the instructions also cause the processor to display the game-state-retention sign on the display device for image capture by a handheld player device, where the handheld player device is configured to display a game-continuation sign generated from the game-state-retention sign for resuming play of the wagering game.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Limited
    Inventor: Natalie Bryant
  • Patent number: 11896907
    Abstract: A multiplayer software “wrapper” is provided around a conventional single-player modality game. The wrapper allows multiple players, each with their own player device, to share a common multiplayer game session. The single player game is hosted on a game server and is coded to support only a single player device. The wrapper provides a multiplayer interface to the single-player game in a way that does not require any modification of the underlying game code or game server architecture. A centralized and automated gameplay system sits between, on the one hand, the multiple player devices and, on the other hand, the gameplay server hosting the single player. The gameplay system collects game instructions from multiple player devices and determines single-player inputs to the game based on the game instructions from the multiple player devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: Gecko Garage Ltd
    Inventors: Karolina Pelc, Cristina Turbatu
  • Patent number: 11896902
    Abstract: Various aspects of the subject technology relate to systems, methods, and machine-readable media for changing music of a video game based on a player's emotion. The method includes receiving indicators of emotion comprising in-game attributes of a player in a video game. The method also includes predicting an emotion of the player based on the indicators of emotion from the video game. The method also includes receiving original music from the video game. The method also includes determining an original tone of the original music. The method also includes determining a transformed tone based at least in part on the emotion of the player that was predicted. The method also includes transforming the original tone of the original music to the transformed tone. The method also includes generating transformed music from the original music based on the transformed tone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: Electronic Arts Inc.
    Inventors: Jie Sheng, Hulya Duygu Yigit, Chong Zhao
  • Patent number: 11896899
    Abstract: This disclosure describes, in part, techniques for providing network applications. For instance, system(s) may install a network application on a first virtual server. The system(s) may then receive first data representing events that occurred during a first launching of the network application on the first virtual server. Using the events, the system(s) may generate second data for optimizing a second launching of the network application on a second virtual server and store the second data in one or more databases. As such, after installing the network application on the second virtual server, the system(s) may provide the second virtual server with the second data so that the second virtual server may use the second data to optimize the second launching of the network application. In some examples, using the second data reduces the amount of time that it takes for the second virtual server to launch the network application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Kunjan Shridhar Naik, Brian Fisher, Mickey Ottis Williams, Clifford Julius Berger, Skyler J. Brown, Peter Han, Greg Roberts
  • Patent number: 11896913
    Abstract: A chess-like game played by at least two or as many players as possible on a non-polyhedron or a polyhedron rotating surface wherein a number of chess boards are connected to each other, back-to-back and wrapped around the said rotating surface so that the rows of at least two chess boards are parallel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Inventor: Craig Wallace Coulter
  • Patent number: 11872484
    Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to provide a game device, etc., that improves the operability of an operation unit. The game device comprises: a storage unit that stores an image of a first object; a display unit that displays an image of at least the first object; first and second operation units for outputting operation information on the basis of a player action; a determination unit that determines whether or not the output operation information fulfills a prescribed condition; an identification unit that identifies, as an object operation unit, the operation unit that output operation information fulfilling the prescribed condition, out of the first and second operation units; and an object control unit that changes the first object displayed on the display unit, in accordance with the operation information from the object operation unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: GREE, INC.
    Inventors: Hitoshi Imai, Gaku Kawamura
  • Patent number: 11872498
    Abstract: A virtual pet breeding system that allows users of the game to buy virtual pets for their account which can be bred to obtain or generate new virtual pets (offspring) that are added to the user's account, wherein at least some of the offspring can materialize into a physical toy or object for the user to enjoy in the real world. In particular, some virtual offspring will be paired with a redemption code which allows the user to order and/or receive a real world/physical item resembling the virtual offspring that was produced from the virtual breeding.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: GANZ
    Inventors: Howard Ganz, Karl Joseph Borst