Abstract: A network-based gaming system includes a website hosted by a web server connected to the network, the website including a member login interface, a social graph application program interface (API), and at least one hyperlink to a multi-dimensional game served by a game server connected to the network and a social graph information reader accessible to the game server, the social graph information reader for identifying one or more players of the game by correlating identification information provided or known about the players with social graph data aggregated about the players, and a game configuration interface resident on and executable from the digital medium accessible to the game server, the game configuration interface enabling a member to configure rules pertaining to game and or game object recognition of, and treatment of certain players of the game determined to be friends of the member.

Abstract: A game system involves software executing from a machine-readable physical medium on a computerized appliance, an interactive interface provided by the software and accessible to a client, enabling the client to participate in a video game incorporating an avatar associated with the client, a jumbled association of parts of a specific vehicle represented in a scene in the video game, and one or more trigger devices available to the client, individual trigger devices associated with different specific vehicles. Applying a trigger device from the one or more devices to the association of parts, if the device is associated with that specific vehicle, causes the parts to rearrange in the interactive interface into a recognizable vehicle operable by the avatar manipulated by the client.

Abstract: A set of atomic three dimensional objects that can be joined together in a workspace to form one or more complex three dimensional objects, each atomic object includes one or more object join features parameterized to enable joining with one or more parameterized join features of another atomic object in the set of objects, and a shape that may be modified according to one or more parametrically defined constraint attributes. A user may reshape and or resize one or more of the atomic three dimensional objects prior to joining the three dimensional objects together at the appropriate parameterized join features to form one or more of the complex three dimensional objects.

Abstract: A method for presenting prioritized navigation links in an interactive display presented by an enterprise hosting a web site including places as destinations of the navigation links has steps for (a) identifying a person interacting with the interactive display, which is presented by software executing on a computerized appliance from a machine-readable medium; (b) determining characteristics of the person's interactive behavior with the web site; (c) determining characteristics of the places; (d) comparing the characteristics of the places with the characteristics of the person's interactive behavior to determine a likely preference for places to the person; and (d) presenting the navigation links in a descending order of preference in the interactive display to the person accessing the interactive display.

Abstract: A three-dimensional virtual world is provided and includes an avatar representing an accusing party in an infringement case over one or more three-dimensional game objects, an avatar representing an accused party in the infringement case, a virtual space arena containing the objects in dispute, a jury box containing avatars representing a jury assembled to preside over the infringement case, and an avatar representing a judge for instructing the jury and for rendering a judgment in the case based on jury input. The jury observes the objects and object functionalities through demonstration of the objects in the virtual arena and supplies an opinion relative to the likeness of the objects to one another according to instruction given by the judge and wherein the judge renders a verdict based on statistical analysis of the opinions collected from the jury.

Abstract: A computerized server managing a Virtual Environment (VE) has a network port for communicating with remote computerized appliances, a plurality of virtually-defined rigid objects in the VE, including one or more avatars representing persons in the VE, a physics simulation engine executing from a machine-readable medium, for calculating object states and properties, including motion of virtually-defined rigid objects, and a mechanism for assigning and tracking identification of remote computerized appliances connected via the network port, each remote appliance capable of physics simulation. The server responds to signals from the remote computerized appliances to assign individual ones of the virtually-defined rigid objects to individual ones of the remote computerized appliances for physics simulation, and the server simulates all virtually-defined objects in the VE that are not assigned to at least one of the remote computerized appliances.

Abstract: The present invention pertains to a method and apparatus for building online games. In one embodiment, the method may include providing a user interface that facilitates user selection of parts, and placing a set of parts selected by a user in a three-dimensional (3D) world. The method may also include joining parts within the set based on their proximity to each other in the 3D world to form one or more models for a game, and sending a model file for each of these models to a server via a network for use by various users.