Patents Examined by Michael A Cuff
  • Patent number: 11325046
    Abstract: Systems and methods for determining seller reputation for users of an online gaming platform are disclosed. Exemplary implementations may: execute an instance of the game; monitor sales transactions; determine a sales metric that represents a sales reputation ascribed to a given user; monitor in-game actions of the given user that do not include sales transactions; determine in-game action metrics for the monitored in-game actions; and determine a combined reputational score based on the sales metric and the in-game action metrics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: Mythical, Inc.
    Inventor: Rudy Koch
  • Patent number: 11308759
    Abstract: One aspect of the disclosure relates to implementing a system to encourage cross platform operation in an online game. The online game may provide the ability to provide incentives for participating in cross platform game play. The system may monitor the player's performance on a particular console and provide incentives to accomplish tasks through game play on a different platform than the player is currently operating to play the game.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: Kabam, Inc.
    Inventors: Clifford J. Harrington, Kent Wakeford
  • Patent number: 11305187
    Abstract: A game system reduces a compensation parameter by a consumption amount set for a game medium and sets the medium to be useable, increases the parameter to up to an upper limit of a predetermined value when a predetermined increase condition is satisfied, stores a normal game medium in which the set consumption amount is equal to or less than the value, and a special game medium in which the set consumption amount is more than the value in a storage unit as the medium in association with a player, reduces the parameter by a given reduction amount and increases an accumulated parameter in accordance with the reduction amount, and sets the special medium to be useable by reducing the compensation and/or accumulated parameters so that a sum of reduction amounts of the compensation and accumulated parameters together is equal to the consumption amount set for the special medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT INC.
    Inventor: Hiroki Kasawa
  • Patent number: 11278812
    Abstract: An example game apparatus executes an opponent information screen process of generating an image of an opponent information screen showing an opponent character and an opponent additional character, and executes a player information screen process of generating an image of a player information screen showing a player character and an additional character selected as an own additional character added to the player character according to an operational input. The image of the opponent information screen contains an opponent character image of the opponent character, an opponent additional character image of the opponent additional character, an own icon image, and an own type icon image. The image of the player information screen contains a player character image of the player character, an own additional character image of the selected own additional character, the own type icon image, an opponent icon image, and an opponent type icon image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: NINTENDO CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Masahiro Sakurai
  • Patent number: 11278794
    Abstract: A shooting game control method, which is executed by a computer incorporated in a device including a display and a touch panel, includes accepting a touch operation on the touch panel; displaying a first frame indicative of a shooting effective range on the display in accordance with a position of the touch operation; accepting an instruction for an attack on an attack target in a state in which the first frame is displayed; determining whether the attack target in a game image displayed on the display is within the first frame or not, at a time point when the instruction for the attack has been accepted; and controlling the attack on the attack target in the game image in accordance with a result of the determining.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: GREE, Inc.
    Inventors: Yuichi Tsuchiya, Norihiro Sawada, Tadashi Nagano, Takeshi Arakawa
  • Patent number: 11273381
    Abstract: First, an indication sign displayed on a display screen is moved so as to reach a first position at a predetermined timing. Next, when an operation input to an input section is performed at the predetermined timing, a parameter related to the indication sign is changed. Furthermore, when the parameter related to the indication sign does not satisfy a first condition after the parameter is changed, the indication sign is moved to a position different from the first position, and then is moved toward the first position again.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: Nintendo Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroki Morishita, Tetsuro Matsuzaki, Toshitaka Muramatsu
  • Patent number: 11219833
    Abstract: This application discloses an information synchronization method performed at a server. The method includes: identifying a virtual scene of a game currently running at the server, the virtual scene including a virtual object, a first object and a second object within a field of view of a virtual object; obtaining first attribute information of the first object and second attribute information of the second object, in response to detecting a change of attribute information of the first object and the second object; determining a first distance between the virtual object and the first object and a second distance between the virtual object and the second object; and synchronizing the first attribute information and the second attribute information with a terminal corresponding to the virtual object based on the first distance between the virtual object and the first object and the second distance between the virtual object and the second object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Assignee: TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventors: Jun Tang, Yue Zhang
  • Patent number: 11207591
    Abstract: A gamepad control method, a storage medium, and a gamepad. The method comprises: when a hand approaches a gamepad, a sensor (11) acquires a first sensing signal; and generate a low-level signal according to the first sensing signal to control the gamepad to be started according to the low-level signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignee: JRD Communication (Shenzhen) LTD.
    Inventor: Kaijun Shi
  • Patent number: 11192033
    Abstract: Systems and methods to provide and use proof of in-game participation by unique digital articles are disclosed. Exemplary implementations may execute instances of a game; manage player accounts associated with the players; record usage information pertaining to player-owned unique digital articles on a permanent registry; determine whether in-game player-controllable virtual items participated in in-game events; generate sets of video information depicting the in-game player-controllable virtual items participating in the in-game events; and record references to the sets of video information on the permanent registry such that the video information is accessible for viewing by users of the permanent registry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Assignee: Mythical, Inc.
    Inventors: Rudy Koch, John Linden
  • Patent number: 11188760
    Abstract: A computerized method and system for videogame clip detection and capturing on a mobile computing device includes receiving a user consent for capturing screen content by a content capture executable. The method and system includes executing the content capture executable in a background and monitoring processing operations in a foreground of the mobile computing device. Upon detecting gameplay from a gaming executable executing in the foreground, buffering screen content of the gameplay of the gaming executable in a first memory device for a first period of time. After gameplay, the method and system includes executing the content capture executable in the foreground, including receiving a clip generation command from the user and generating a videogame clip from at least a portion of the screen content in the first memory device. Therein, in response to a clip distribution command, the clip is distributed across a networked connection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: Medal B.V.
    Inventors: Ted R Williams, Wilhelmus W. A. de Witte, Brandon Paul Cohen
  • Patent number: 11185770
    Abstract: A method of and system for handling latency issues encountered in producing real-time entertainment such as games of skill synchronized with live or taped televised events is described herein. There are multiple situations that are dealt with regarding latencies in receiving a television signal with respect to real-time entertainment based on the unfolding games played along with the telecasts. Systemic delays, arbitrarily imposed delays of a broadcast signal and variances in the precise broadcast times of taped television programs have to be equalized so as to provide fair entertainment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: Winview, Inc.
    Inventors: David B. Lockton, Mark K. Berner, Mark J. Micheli, David Lowe
  • Patent number: 11167215
    Abstract: A server determines, for each player, whether or not a sanction as a sanction target player is to be imposed based on a state or an action of an operation target player character of the player concerned. When it is determined that the sanction is to be imposed, sanction control processing is executed that provides a terminal owned by a player who differs from the sanction target player with player-related information of the sanction target player as the sanction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Atsushi Nakano, Sho Aita, Yuki Mizuhori
  • Patent number: 11170611
    Abstract: A method of gaming comprising: determining which of a plurality of gaming devices, each operable for independent play of one or more games, are eligible for an additional game; initiating an additional game; and determining in response to initiation of the additional game, which eligible gaming devices will participate in the initiated additional game, the determination including a random determination in respect of at least one of the eligible gaming devices to determine whether the respective eligible gaming device will participate in the additional game.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2021
    Assignee: Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Limited
    Inventor: Sek Joung
  • Patent number: 11154786
    Abstract: Embodiments of the systems and methods disclosed herein provide a game that includes at least two users that each have a preconfigured set of playable virtual entities. The users draw playable virtual entities from each of their respective sets of playable virtual entities, and can play the playable virtual entities in one or more battles to facilitate moving a virtual positional marker towards a goal or shooting a goal, wherein the battle procedures are based on a turn priority. Certain attributes are associated with the playable virtual entities so that playable virtual entity effects, OVR values, and salary values can affect which playable virtual entities are in a deck and how the playable virtual entities are affected by the location of the virtual positional marker and/or other playable virtual entities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2021
    Assignee: ELECTRONIC ARTS INC.
    Inventor: YoungSeok Yoo
  • Patent number: 11148061
    Abstract: A method for displaying a video game to spectators includes receiving votes from spectators to remove a player from a video game. The method also includes determining whether the number of votes received to remove the player from the video game meets a threshold level required to trigger removal of the player from the video game. If the number of votes received to remove the player from the video game meets the threshold level required to trigger removal of the player from the video game, the method includes generating a command configured to cause the player to be removed from the video game. The method also can include animating the removal of the player and providing visual cues to other players or spectators as to why the player was removed from the video game.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2021
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventors: Steven Osman, Katrine Chow
  • Patent number: 11123636
    Abstract: A method of runtime animation substitution may include detecting, by a processing device of a video game console, an interaction scenario in an instance of an interactive video game, wherein the interaction scenario comprises a target animation associated with a game character. The method may further include identifying, by the processing device, a valid transitional animation. The method may further include causing, by the processing device, the valid transitional animation to be performed by the game character in the instance of the interactive video game.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: Electronic Arts Inc.
    Inventors: Simon Sherr, Brett Peake
  • Patent number: 11123642
    Abstract: A method for user matching is provided. A matching request is received from a client. The matching request includes an application identifier and a user identifier. When the application identifier indicates that a matching mode for the matching request is an asynchronous mode, a matching queue identifier is obtained based on the matching request, the user identifier is added to a matching queue corresponding to the matching queue identifier, a predetermined number of user identifiers is selected from the matching queue, a matching result is generated that includes an identifier of a matching group of the selected predetermined number of user identifiers, and the matching result is sent to the client. The predetermined number of user identifiers includes the user identifier in the matching request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Company Limited
    Inventors: Lei Wang, Tongtong Huang, Wu Hu
  • Patent number: 11127257
    Abstract: A computer server system for use in placing wagers on live sporting events is described herein. The server system includes a database and a server computer. The database includes a list of user account records and a list of wagering event records. Each wagering event record including a receiving book ID and information associated with a wagering event including one or more betting lines. The receiving book ID associated with a receiving booking entity associated with the wagering event. Each user account record including a unique user ID and a home book ID. The home book ID associated with a home booking entity. The server computer is programmed to generate a unique booking record including a unique session ID, a home book ID, a receiving book ID, and a wagering event record associated with a wager.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2021
    Assignee: SBCC IP LLC
    Inventors: Michael J. Russell, Vic Salerno
  • Patent number: 11110345
    Abstract: A hand held controller for a games console comprising an outer case and at least one control located on the controller. The controller is shaped to be held in at least one hand of a user such that the at least one control is operable by the user. The at least one control extends through an aperture provided in the outer case, and wherein the controller comprises a removable buffer mounted within the aperture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: Ironburg Inventions Limited
    Inventors: Simon Burgess, Duncan Ironmonger
  • Patent number: 11097184
    Abstract: A game controller includes a joystick that accepts end user inputs and has illumination provided at the game controller surface encircling the joystick to provide indications to an end user, such as a locally-determined game controller status or a game application end user energy state. The illumination is provided from light emitting diodes disposed within the game controller interior on a flexible printed circuit board and coupled to a base of an annular light guide by a gasket to direct illumination into the annular light guide. Non-translucent treatment at the light guide on the game controller surface defines a translucent region at which illumination is presented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
    Inventors: Philip M. Seibert, Kevin M. Turchin, Enoch Chen, Gerald R. Pelissier, Christopher A. Torres, Chia Yuan Chang