Virtual and real world content creation, devices, systems and methods

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to apparatus, systems, and methods for enabling users to create virtual and real-world game content to provide players with physically engaging virtual content anchored to real-world locations. Content creators are provided with a set of "drag-and-drop" modular assets (e.g., encounter tiles, content tiles, creatures, chests, rooms, vehicles, etc.) that can be aggregated together to form complete content collections (e.g., dungeons, levels, puzzles, etc.) through which players can engage in gameplay via the real world. Each individual modular asset can include a set of in-game challenge criteria that must be met to complete the in-game challenge associated with that asset.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62 / 890,502, filed on August 22, 2019, entitled “Virtual and Real-World Content Creation, Apparatus, Systems and Methods,” and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63 / 014,977, filed on April 24, 2020, entitled “Virtual and Real-World Content Creation, Apparatus, Systems and Methods,” the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to gaming and, more particularly, to devices, systems, and methods for enabling users to create virtual and real-world gaming content. Background Art

[0004] The background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the subject matter of the present invention. No admission is made that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, nor is an admission made that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.

[0005] Location-based augmented reality (AR) games are becoming increasingly popular. Such games require players to physically move toward real-world locations in order to play the game by engaging with game content anchored at those real-world locations. While many computer games generally offer tools or editors to allow content creators or other users to create new content for the game (often referred to as "modding"), such techniques typically require fairly advanced computer skills. Only dedicated individuals willing to overcome the learning curve associated with such tools can and do create content.

[0006] There are many AR content development tools available. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010 / 0164990, filed internationally by Van Doom on August 15, 2006, and entitled “System, Apparatus, and Method for Augmented Reality Glasses for End-User Programming,” describes an environment in which end-user programmers can visualize their surroundings. However, end users must be technically proficient to create the desired content. Another complex authoring tool is described in European Patent Application EP 2 490 182, filed by Ooi et al. on February 6, 2012, entitled “Authoring of Augmented Reality.” In Ooi’s approach, creators must navigate complex menus and interfaces to create the content they desire.

[0007] Further efforts have been made to provide access to AR content. For example, U.S. Patent No. 8,682,879, filed by Kim et al. on April 16, 2010, entitled "Marker Search System for Augmented Reality Service," describes a system in which a search engine returns markers in response to a keyword search. The markers can be recognized by a device, and in turn, the device can obtain web content based on the markers. The content (e.g., an image) can then be overlaid on the device's display. While useful in accessing AR services, Kim still fails to provide insight into how a layperson can easily generate their own AR content.

[0008] Berry et al. have taken things a step further, as described in the paper “The Augmented Composer Project: The Music Table” (Proceedings of the Second IEEE and ACM International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR 2003)). Berry describes a system in which users can learn music through an AR system. Users create card patterns, and the AR system converts these patterns into musical phrases, while also overlaying AR content on the card images. Unfortunately, Berry’s approach only utilizes individual pieces of music bound to the cards. Furthermore, Berry’s approach does not provide for interaction between AR content. For example, the musical patterns generated by the cards are simply individual pieces of music played at the same time, rather than interconnected functional elements that can be used to create more complex content. Summary of the Invention

[0009] Known games still do not allow players or other users to easily create content that allows players to fully engage with the real world from a physical, real-world perspective. Providing physically engaging virtual content is considered advantageous because this type of content will promote player well-being through physical interaction with game content, promote player mental health through social interaction with other players, and create opportunities for further revenue streams.

[0010] Unfortunately, content creation tools remain beyond the reach of unskilled or non-technical users. Location-based computer games would ideally utilize easy-to-use methods or tools for non-technical people to create content for others, where the content can be tied to real-world physical entities (e.g., physical objects, physical real-world locations, buildings, etc.).

[0011] This document describes an apparatus, system, and method for enabling users to create virtual and real-world game content. Content creators or users can be provided with a set of "drag-and-drop" modular assets (e.g., encounter tiles, content tiles, creatures, chests, rooms, vehicles, treasures, equipment, resources, spells, etc.) that can be aggregated to form a complete content collection (e.g., dungeons, levels, puzzles, mini-games, etc.) that players can use to participate in the game, whether virtually and / or in the real world. Game content can be published to a game server to allow players to participate in the game or to allow other content creators to enhance the game content.

[0012] Depending on the specific configuration, the present disclosure may provide numerous advantages. These and other advantages will be apparent from the disclosure contained herein.

[0013] The phrases "at least one," "one or more," and "and / or" are open-ended expressions that operate both conjunctively and disjunctively. For example, each of the expressions "at least one of A, B, and C," "at least one of A, B, or C," "one or more of A, B, and C," "one or more of A, B, or C," and "A, B, and / or C" refers to A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B, and C together. When each of A, B, and C in the above expressions refers to an element (such as X, Y, and Z) or a class of elements (such as X1-Xn, Y1-Ym, and Z1-Zo), the phrases are intended to refer to a single element selected from X, Y, and Z, a combination of elements selected from the same class (e.g., X1 and X2), and a combination of elements selected from two or more classes (e.g., Y1 and Zo).

[0014] The term "a" or "an" entity refers to one or more of that entity. Thus, the terms "a" (or "an"), "one or more," and "at least one" can be used interchangeably herein. It should also be noted that the terms "comprising," "including," and "having" can be used interchangeably.

[0015] The foregoing is a simplified overview of the present disclosure to provide an understanding of some aspects of the present disclosure. This overview is neither an extensive review nor an exhaustive review of the present disclosure and its various aspects, embodiments, and configurations. It is neither intended to identify the key or important elements of the present disclosure nor to describe the scope of the present disclosure, but is intended to present the selected concepts of the present disclosure in a simplified form as an introduction to the more detailed description presented below. As will be understood, other aspects, embodiments, and configurations of the present disclosure may utilize one or more features set forth above or described in detail below, individually or in combination. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The accompanying drawings are incorporated into and form a part of the specification to illustrate several examples of the present disclosure. Together with the description, these drawings explain the principles of the present disclosure. The accompanying drawings illustrate only preferred and alternative examples of how the present disclosure may be made and used, and should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure to only the examples shown and described. Further features and advantages will become apparent from the following more detailed description of various aspects, embodiments, and configurations of the present disclosure, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings referenced below.

[0017] Figure 1 is an illustration of placing encounter tiles on a real-world map from a game perspective in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 2A is an example dungeon tile showing brick terrain and waterways represented in a 2D isomorphic perspective according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 2B is an example dungeon tile showing grass terrain represented in a 2D isomorphic perspective according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 2C is an example dungeon tile showing rocky terrain represented in a 2D isomorphic perspective according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 3A is an illustration of a dungeon tile layout model according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 3B is a rendered tile arrangement including paths, water, characters, monsters, traps, levels, bridges, and chests according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 3C is a rendered tile arrangement including a path, water, traps, checkpoints, bridges, and chests according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] Figure 3D is a rendered tile arrangement including a path, lava, a level, and a bridge according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0025] Figure 4A is an illustration of a dungeon arrangement including block-like tiles deployed and rendered on a mobile device in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0026] Figure 4B is a prototype dungeon tile layout with combat elements according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0027] Figure 5 is a block diagram of a system according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0028] Figure 6 is a flow chart of a process for creating game content according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] Figure 7 is a flowchart of a process for creating content according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0030] Figure 8 is a flow chart of a process for playing a game according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0031] Figure 9 is a block diagram of a remote gaming server according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0032] Figure 10 is a block diagram of a system including a mobile device, a wearable device, a remote gaming server, and a communication network according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0033] Figure 11 is an illustration of placing encounter tiles on a real-world map from a game perspective in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] Figure 12A is an example dungeon tile showing brick terrain and waterways represented in a 2D isomorphic perspective according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0035] Figure 12B is an example dungeon tile showing grass terrain represented in a 2D isomorphic perspective according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0036] Figure 12C is an example dungeon tile showing rocky terrain represented in a 2D isomorphic perspective according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0037] Figure 13A is an illustration of a dungeon tile layout model according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0038] Figure 13B is a rendered tile arrangement including paths, water, characters, monsters, traps, levels, bridges, and chests according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0039] Figure 13C is an illustration of a model and two rendered tile arrangements according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0040] Figure 14A is an illustration of a dungeon arrangement including block-like tiles deployed and rendered on a mobile device in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0041] Figure 14B is a prototype 3D dungeon tile layout with combat elements according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0042] Figure 15 is a prototype dungeon tile layout with combat elements according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0043] Figure 16 is an illustration of a player pressing a record button to record a path on a real-world map from a game perspective according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0044] Figure 17 is an illustration of a panel for placing encounter tiles on a real-world map from a game perspective, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0045] Figure 18 is an illustration of a path drawn by a player as they move on a real-world map from a game perspective, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0046] Figure 19 is an illustration of a player placing an encounter tile on a real-world map from a game perspective according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0047] Figure 20 is an illustration of a player selecting another encounter tile to place on a real-world map from a game perspective according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0048] Figure 21 is an illustration of a player placing another encounter tile on a real-world map from a game perspective according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0049] Figure 22 is an illustration of a player further along a path after placing an encounter tile on a real-world map from a game perspective in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0050] Figure 23 is an illustration of a player further along a path on a real-world map from a game perspective according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0051] Figure 24 is an illustration of a player traveling back along a path on a real-world map from a game perspective, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0052] Figure 25 is an illustration of a player continuing along a path on a real-world map from a game perspective according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0053] Figure 26 is an illustration of a player selecting a third encounter tile to place on a real-world map from a game perspective according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0054] Figure 27 is another illustration of a player placing an encounter tile on a real-world map from a game perspective according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0055] Figure 28is an illustration of a player pressing a stop button to stop recording a path on a real-world map from a game perspective according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0056] Figure 29 is an illustration of an example confirmation box for stopping recording a path on a real-world map from a game perspective, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0057] Figure 30 is an illustration of a player confirming a stop to recording a path on a real-world map from a game perspective according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0058] Figure 31 is an illustration of a save button for saving a path record on a real-world map from a game perspective according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure; DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] Before explaining any embodiment of the present disclosure in detail, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of the construction and arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or shown in the accompanying drawings. The present disclosure can have other embodiments and can be practiced or executed in various ways. In addition, it should be understood that the words and terms used herein are for descriptive purposes and should not be considered restrictive. The use of "including," "comprising," or "having" and its variations herein is meant to cover the items listed thereafter and their equivalents and additional items. Further, the present disclosure can use examples to illustrate one or more aspects thereof. Unless otherwise expressly stated, the use or listing of one or more examples (which can be expressed as "for example," "by way of example," "eg," "such as," or similar language) is not intended to and does not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0060] All publications identified herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. To the extent that a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.

[0061] The following description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present subject matter. No admission is made that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed subject matter, nor is any admission made that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.

[0062] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to computer-based games, and more particularly, to apparatus, systems, and methods for enabling users to create virtual and real-world game content. Game content can include various digital assets (e.g., textures, objects, software instructions, data structures, etc.) that can reside in a memory of a computing device and / or be executed on a processor.

[0063] A player is a person or entity that plays a game, and an avatar is a player's in-game avatar. A content creator is a person or entity that uses modular assets to create game content arrangements (e.g., dungeon encounters, puzzles, etc.) that players participate in. A user can be a player or content creator who uses tools or software to create content or play a game. Content arrangements can also be automatically generated while a player plays the game, pre-generated before a player plays the game, and / or a combination of automatically generated content, pre-generated content, and user-generated content.

[0064] Content creators or users may be provided with a set of "drag-and-drop" modular assets (e.g., encounter tiles, content tiles, creatures, chests, rooms, vehicles, etc.) that can be aggregated together to form complete content collections (e.g., dungeons, levels, puzzles, mini-games, etc.) through which players can engage with the game, whether virtually and / or in the real world. Each individual modular asset may include a set of in-game challenge criteria that must be met to complete the in-game challenge associated with that asset. The in-game challenge criteria are defined in terms of attributes associated with the game (e.g., game level, score, damage, etc.). Further, in-game challenge criteria may also be equated with or otherwise mapped to real-world physical entities sensed via one or more sensors associated with the player (e.g., mobile device sensors and / or wearable device sensors, including cameras, GPS receivers, accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, proximity sensors, ambient light sensors, microphones, touch screen sensors, pedometers, barcode readers, QR code sensors, air humidity sensors, barometers, heart rate sensors, thermometers, Geiger counters, etc.).

[0065] The following discussion is presented from the perspective of a dungeon tile. A dungeon tile represents a single game and / or challenge primitive, and loosely represents a single unit of game area; for example, a single cell or room. One or more dungeon tiles can be combined to form a dungeon tile arrangement. However, in some embodiments, tiles can be blocks or have other dimensions that can be integrated or combined together. Although tiles are shown, it should be understood that tiles are one type of modular asset. The disclosed subject matter also relates to other types of modular assets (e.g., characters, non-player characters, animals, ships, vehicles, monsters, objects, chests, doors, bridges, executable code, game events, game signals, scenes, AI, etc.).

[0066] Figure 1 It is an illustration of placing encounter tiles on the real-world map 150 from the game perspective. When the content creator travels on the path 154, the places the content creator has traveled are shown as lines 158, and the current position is shown as arrows 166. Along this path, the content creator can place encounter tiles, and the player can use these encounter tiles to enter the encounter. For example, along line 158, encounter tile 162 is placed. By using the selection hand 170, the content creator can select an encounter tile 174 to place at the current location. Each encounter tile can be associated with a completed arrangement, and / or the content creator can create content for the encounter tile after placing it on the real-world map 150 from the game perspective. The real-world map 150 from the game perspective can be associated with a real-world map that corresponds to features that the player may encounter when traveling in the real world (e.g., roads, trails, lakes, streams, buildings, parks, sports fields, artwork, historical sites, important weather sites, etc.).

[0067] Figure 2A2 is an example dungeon tile 200 showing a brick terrain and a waterway represented in a 2D isomorphic perspective. The dungeon tile 200 includes an arrangement of four content tiles (tiles 204, 208, 212, and 216). Content tile 204 is a square tile made of interlocking bricks, and content tile 208 is an arched convex tile made of interlocking bricks with two arched convex edges and two straight edges, wherein the two straight edges are interlocked with adjacent tiles. The arched convex tile can also be interlocked with one or more arched concave tiles, or can indicate an edge of the dungeon tile 200 that the player cannot pass through. The brick terrain of content tile 212 includes the starting point of the waterway, and the brick terrain of content tile 216 shows the continuation of the waterway to form a stream, creek, or river. When a content tile has no adjacent tile at the edge with the end of the waterway, a waterfall can be displayed. As a character travels through a waterfall, the character may lose lives, may lose health (e.g., debuffs, auras, etc.), may exit an encounter, may be blocked from further progress, or may experience other in-game consequences.

[0068] Figure 2B 2 is an example dungeon tile 220 showing grass terrain in a 2D isomorphic perspective. Dungeon tile 220 includes an arrangement of four content tiles (including content tile 224 and content tile 228), each of which shows grass terrain. Content tile 224 is a square tile with a surface texture similar to grass. Content tile 228 is an arched tile with two arched convex sides and two straight sides, wherein the two straight sides interlock with adjacent tiles. Figure 2A As depicted, the arched convex tile may also interlock with one or more arched concave tiles, may represent an edge of the dungeon tile 220, or may be connected to another portion of the dungeon tile 220 via a bridge.

[0069] Figure 2C 2 is an example dungeon tile 232 showing rocky terrain in a 2D isomorphic perspective. Dungeon tile 232 includes an arrangement of four content tiles, including content tile 236 and content tile 240, each of which shows rocky terrain. Content tile 236 is a square tile with a surface texture similar to interlocking rocks. Content tile 240 is an arched tile with two arched convex sides and two straight sides, wherein the two straight sides interlock with adjacent tiles. Figure 2A and Figure 2B As depicted, the arched convex tile may also interlock with one or more arched concave tiles, may represent an edge of the dungeon tile 232, or may be connected to another portion of the dungeon tile 232 via a bridge.

[0070] Figure 3Ais an illustration of a model of a dungeon tile layout 300. Dungeon tile layout 300 provides further illustration of how multiple dungeon tiles can be combined into larger encounters as represented by the dungeon tile layout. Each tile or piece can be placed next to one or more adjacent tiles to form a clustered set. Dungeon tile set 304 includes content tiles 304A through 304Y. River bend content tile 308A is a rendering of content tile 304D, and edge tile content tile 308B is a rendering of content tile 304F. Other modular assets include water 312, path 316, levels 320 and 336, and bridge 328. Water 312 can be a stream, creek, river, and / or the like that a player can cross by using bridge 328, swimming, jumping, using a boat, or otherwise. Further, crossing water 312 may require specific skills (e.g., swimming, jumping, resilience, etc.) and / or one or more specific assets (e.g., a boat, rope, etc.). Similarly, crossing bridge 328 may require fighting monster 374 (e.g. Figure 3B ), or engaging with non-player characters 357 (as Figure 3D shown).

[0071] Level 320 may represent an entrance or entry into dungeon tile arrangement 300, and level 336 may represent an exit or way out from dungeon tile arrangement 300. Rendered wall 332 is the wall shown on tile 304R and attached to level 336. Water source 340 is rendered using water source 324. Water source 340 may prevent the user from leaving, or may represent a puzzle that the player must solve in order to use water source 340 as an exit. The exit may allow the player to return to a world-view map, such as the game-view real world 150.

[0072] Figure 3B Rendered tile layout 350 includes a character 354, a path 362, water 366, a monster 374, a combat location 382, ​​a trap 386, gates 358 and 390, a bridge 370, and a chest 378. Rendered tile layout 350 may be a rendering of the model dungeon tile layout 300, including additional modular assets. Rendered tile layout 350 illustrates a possible rendering of the final dungeon tile layout and modular assets ready for presentation to the player, and also illustrates a more advanced tile layout with combat elements. This layout also includes a monster 374 and illustrates a possible combat format. Traps 386 may present puzzles, riddles, challenges, or other obstacles that the player must overcome before continuing on path 362. Combat location 382 may indicate a location near bridge 370 and, for example, may be or correspond to a trigger point that, when the character reaches this trigger point, requires the player to engage monster 374.

[0073] A gate 358 may be an entrance from the world-view map to the rendered tile arrangement 350. A gate 390 may represent an exit or way out from the rendered tile arrangement 350. An exit may allow the player to return to the game-view real-world map 150, or may allow the player to proceed to another level of the game.

[0074] Figure 3C 362, water 366, gates 358 and 390, bridge 370, chest 378, and trap 386. This illustrates how the disclosed tile layout can be used to create different instanced encounters for deployment or release in the game by varying the textures, content of each tile, or arrangement of the tiles. Trap 386 can present a puzzle, riddle, or other obstacle that the player must overcome before continuing on path 362. Combat location 382 can indicate a location near bridge 370, and when the player's character reaches this location, some in-game event can be triggered.

[0075] A level 358 may be an entrance from the world-view map to the rendered tile arrangement 350. A level 390 may represent an exit or way out from the rendered tile arrangement 350. An exit may allow the player to return to the world-view map, such as the game-view real-world map 150, or may allow the player to proceed to another level of the game.

[0076] Figure 3D 325 is a rendered tile arrangement including a volcano 329, a path 331, lava 333, gates 337 and 353, and bridges 341 and 345. Bridge 341 allows the player to cross lava 333 flowing from volcano 329, and bridge 345 allows the player to cross from one part of a dungeon encounter to another, the two parts being separated by a chasm 349. Lava 333 is an obstacle similar to a river, but may require a different skill set to cross (e.g., swimming may not be enough, but jumping or rowing may be). Non-player characters 357 may provide advice or may represent puzzles or riddles. Gate 337 may be an entrance, and gate 353 may be an exit from a dungeon encounter.

[0077] A gate 337 may be an entrance from the world-view map to the rendered tile arrangement 325. A gate 353 may represent an exit or way out from the rendered tile arrangement 325. An exit may allow the player to return to the world-view map, such as the game-view real-world map 150, or may allow the player to proceed to another level of the game.

[0078] exist Figures 3A to 3DIn the example presented in , there are several features that should be noted, which represent challenges to the player. The main features that should be noted include: paths (e.g., paths 316, 331, or 362), rivers (e.g., rivers of water 312 or 366, or rivers of lava 333), monsters 374, locked doors (e.g., levels 336, 353, or 390), and locked chests (e.g., chest 378). For the purposes of discussion, each of these features represents a challenge to the player, although in some embodiments, one or more features may not represent a challenge to the player, and in some embodiments, one or more of these challenges may be optional. Other features corresponding to in-game challenges may also be provided. For example, a path is a simple challenge because the player's character (e.g., character 354) only needs to traverse the path. The river represents a more challenging aspect of the dungeon, which may further challenge the player by requiring the character 354 to have a swimming skill, a jumping skill, or a boat asset; otherwise, the character 354 attempting to cross the river by means other than a bridge (e.g., bridges 328, 341, 345, 358, or 390) may actually drown or be swept away. Monsters 374 may be the most challenging features in the dungeon and may require the player to defeat monsters 374 in combat. Doors (e.g., gates 336, 353, or 390), rocks (e.g., traps 386), and chests 378 may be traps where the player may need to detect the trap, disarm it, and then unlock or pick a lock.

[0079] In each of these cases, the challenge criteria for each feature is described in terms of the following in-game attributes: moving character 354, character swimming skill, character lockpicking skill, character combat kills, in-game time, in-game movement, etc. However, in accordance with the techniques and inventive subject matter disclosed herein, satisfaction of these challenges may also be mapped to or otherwise correspond to real-world features or activities associated with the player and / or associated with a real-world environment that is integrated or bound to the game.

[0080] For example, consider a layout with an entrance (e.g., gate 320 or 358) starting at the bottom left corner and Figures 3A to 3C The path has an exit at the door in the upper left corner of the arrangement (e.g., gate 336 or 390), and an entrance starting from the lower right corner of the arrangement (e.g., gate 337) and Figure 3D353 ). From the perspective of the game, the challenge criteria (no monsters 374) may only require the player to move the character 354 from the starting point to the end point, which will take a time corresponding to the speed of the character 354 in the game. From the perspective of the real world, each tile portion of the path may have a corresponding real-world challenge criterion. For example, the starting point may require the player to be physically located at the real-world coordinates (e.g., longitude and latitude, S2 cell identifier, zip code, street intersection, relative position to other real-world features, orientation, etc.) determined by the GPS sensor in the player's cellular phone or other mobile device (e.g., mobile device 504, etc.). This physical real-world requirement enables the player to initiate an encounter. The total path length (the sum of the path lengths of each tile) may require the player to walk (or run) an equal or related distance in the real world, which is also based on the movement of the player's mobile device or based on the corresponding sensor data obtained. Still further, in order to complete the path challenge, the player may have to stop physically moving at a second real-world location. With respect to deployment, for example, the first and second real-world locations may be mapped to the entrance and exit of a jogging trail.

[0081] Speaking of rivers, there are also a number of interesting in-game attributes that can be mapped to real-world challenge features. For example, the flow of a river and its length can be mapped to a real-world hill that requires the player to run up the hill (i.e., swim upstream) within a certain amount of time; for example, a requirement based on elevation changes sensed via a sensor. In order to cross a river, there may be a joint requirement that the player's character 354 possess an in-game swimming skill (i.e., at least one in-game criterion) and that the player physically cross the real-world river (i.e., at least one real-world criterion) by walking or running across a bridge. In some embodiments, a waterproof wearable device (e.g., wearable device 556, ring, Stride sensor, Moov Ankle fitness tracker, A wireless heart rate monitor, etc.) is used to track the player's movements while the player is actually swimming in a pool or other body of water (e.g., water 312 or 366), which can correspond to swimming across a river in the game. Thus, in this example, both the in-game challenge criteria and the real-world challenge criteria must be met to wade or cross the river. For purposes of the present disclosure, a player can use one or more wearable devices (each of which includes one or more sensors) to influence / impact interactions with the challenge tile. The wearable device can be a device worn around the head, feet, legs, waist, chest, hands, or other body parts.

[0082] Interestingly, the method of mapping game features to real-world features (in this case, water features) provides some revenue opportunities. Regarding rivers, the real-world challenge criteria may require the player to be in or on a body of water near a boat rental. The boat rental company can sponsor the challenge. The player can rent a boat (perhaps based on a discount obtained by proving game play (e.g., displaying a quick response (QR) code link to the rental company's website, etc.)) and then spend a certain amount of time on the water. The rental company will generate revenue from the rental, and the gaming company will generate revenue from the rental company due to the sponsored challenge.

[0083] Now consider the door and chest 378, both of which are assumed to be trapped and locked. Assuming the player's character 354 has detected the trap (e.g., an in-game skill check, etc.), in order to disarm the trap, the player may have to complete one or more real-world challenges. Similarly, using one or more mobile device sensors, the player may be required to run a set distance within a certain amount of time, or otherwise engage in one or more physical activities. Alternatively, the player may have captured an image (e.g., a sponsored product) of a specified object (e.g., a sponsored product). logo, cans, toys, collectible cards, action figures, etc.). Once the trap has been properly dealt with, the player may be presented with another physical challenge that must be overcome to open the lock. The physical challenge may include moving the player's mobile device to undergo a set of prescribed motions, which are sensed by an accelerometer in the device. If the player's movements match the accelerometer data identification characteristics required by the lock, the lock is considered to have been opened. Further, the in-game lock picking skills may come in handy in matching the identification characteristics required by the lock. If the character's 354 skill is low, the matching requirements may be strict, requiring a tight tolerance on the set identification characteristics. If the character's 354 skill is high, the matching requirements may be relaxed so that the sensed identification characteristics require less tolerance to match the real-world challenge identification characteristic standards.

[0084] Monster 374 (perhaps the most challenging feature of a dungeon encounter) has many opportunities to map challenge criteria to the real world. First, monster 374 may be able to move and chase character 354, which may require the player to physically run away. Second, fighting monster 374 may require that a sensed player health metric (e.g., heart rate) change by a desired amount. For example, if a health sensor (e.g., In one embodiment, the player's character 354 may strike a monster 374 if the player's heart rate increases by 10% for 30 seconds using an Apple Watch, Garmin Vivoactive, and / or the like. Third, the player may be required to move their mobile device according to a specific action (as in the lock picking example mentioned above) to initiate a combat strike or cast a spell. Naturally, there are many other possible ways to map in-game challenges to real-world standards, all of which are within the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, it should be understood that the mapping from in-game challenge standards to real-world challenge standards can take many different forms and does not have to be a one-to-one mapping or a mapping with the same challenge mode. For example, an in-game swimming challenge does not necessarily have to be mapped to a real-world swimming challenge, but can be mapped to a running challenge, a walking challenge, a home repair challenge, mowing the lawn, or other non-swimming modes.

[0085] Regardless of the nature of the in-game challenge, the corresponding real-world standard can be defined in terms of sensor data obtained from the real world via one or more sensors. The sensor data can represent virtually any sensed data modality, including acceleration data, movement data (e.g., IMU, etc.), location data (e.g., GPS, differential GPS, and / or other location information, including cellular tower signals, wireless Internet signals, sensors, IP addresses, network environment data, etc.), image data, video data, temperature data, biometric data, elevation data, stress or strain data (e.g., mechanical properties, etc.), magnetic data, audio data, chemical data, wireless / network data, olfactory data, radar data (e.g., XENSIV TM 60GHz radar chip, etc.), rate of change of data, higher order derivatives of data, or any other type of sensing data in a wide range of patterns.

[0086] In most embodiments, it is expected that players will play the game via a mobile device while interacting with the real world. Example mobile devices include computing devices (such as cellular phones, smartphones, tablet computers), health sensors (e.g., and / or the like), a watch, a handheld device, a PDA, a vehicle (e.g., sports equipment, a bicycle, smart boxing equipment, a skateboard, roller skates, an electric bike, a kayak, a snowboard, a scooter, a car, a ball, a hockey puck, a stick, etc.), or other type of mobile or portable device. Further, such a mobile device may include one or more sensors capable of capturing a digital representation of the player and / or the player's environment. Example sensors include a magnetometer, an accelerometer, a GPS sensor, an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a compass, a camera (e.g., a CCD, CMOS, etc.), a thermometer, an ammeter, a Hall probe, a blood pressure monitor, a heart rate monitor, a brainwave sensor, a piezoelectric sensor, a strain or strain gauge, a polarization filter, a microphone, a gyroscope, a proximity sensor, a compression sensor, a tension sensor, a strain sensor, a sound sensor, an audio sensor, an airflow sensor, a pedometer, an EEG, a stretch sensor, an infrared sensor, a touch sensor (e.g., a capacitive sensor, a resistive sensor, a touch screen, etc.), or other type of sensor. Mobile devices may include or be coupled to such sensors to collect, acquire, or otherwise obtain corresponding digital data to support determining whether the player has met the real-world requirements of the challenge. Although the preferred embodiment focuses on players using mobile devices, it is also contemplated that the sensor platform used to sense the player can be an external device or non-mobile device, which may include a game console, computer, set-top box, appliance, vehicle, security system, or other typical fixed computing device carrying one or more sensors.

[0087] It should be understood that the sensor platform providing the digital representation can take a wide range of configurations. In some scenarios, the mobile device includes all relevant sensors (e.g., sensors incorporated into a smartphone, etc.). In other scenarios, the sensors are incorporated into a personal mobile device; such as a smartphone with a camera and GPS and a smartphone with biometric sensors. In still other cases, the sensor platform may operate as a personal area network (PAN), where multiple sensors or devices communicate with a hub device, which then communicates with a local or remote game server, or some combination of the two. For example, a smartphone may operate as a hub, and sensors or other devices placed on or around a player communicate with the smartphone (e.g., via 801.11ad, via The smartphone can then connect to the remote gaming server via a network connection (e.g., via 3G, 4G, 5G, WiFi, etc.). Figure 10 Still further, the sensor may be located further away from the player and sense the real-world environment. Thus, the sensor data may also include temperature data, weather data, traffic data, or other types of real-world environment data.

[0088] In the context of computer game development, each tile represents a data object instance that is instantiated in the memory of a mobile device or other computer game device and then presented on the device's display. Each instance is a data structure with one or more members and / or methods determined by the corresponding class definition. An instance can have in-game challenge criteria defined in terms of in-game value, which is derived from the game itself, player actions, or other in-game features. It should be understood that each asset may have zero, one, two, or more in-game challenge criteria, where each challenge criterion can represent a different aspect of the game. For example, returning to the example of a tile with a monster challenge, the tile itself may have a simple path challenge and require defeating monster 374. With respect to the data structure instance, these two criteria can be represented by the following pseudocode:

[0089]

[0090] Here, two in-game challenge criteria must be met to complete the entire tile challenge. Note that "AND" represents the logical AND operator. Other logical operators may include OR, NOT, XOR, NAND, IF-THEN-ELSE, or other types of logical operators. An asset (e.g., tile, monster, chest, etc.) can have any practical number of criteria. In this example, 100 represents any practical in-game distance unit (e.g., meters, miles, kilometers, pixels, feet, etc.).

[0091] With respect to the present subject matter, each in-game challenge criterion can have corresponding real-world criteria that may also need to be met for the challenge to be considered overcome, wherein these real-world criteria are defined in terms of sensor data representing the real world, obtained from one or more sensors as previously discussed. Returning to the TileChallengeCritieria discussed above, each component criterion can be represented by one or both of an in-game criterion and a real-world criterion. For example:

[0092]

[0093] In these examples, the definition of challenge criteria is based on both in-game and real-world. These criteria can be defined using any number of criteria (in-game, real-world or any combination of the two). It should be noted that these criteria also utilize logical operators. This feature is considered to be very advantageous for real-world game play and cause-based game play. Use logical operator OR to indicate that any one of the in-game criteria or real-world criteria can be met to meet the total challenge criteria. This is useful because it allows players to "cache" dungeons or other encounters in their mobile devices (or other computing platforms) for playing later, which is commonly referred to as "playing on the couch." For example, players can walk to a physical, real-world park where a virtual dungeon instance is placed. However, the player may not have time to complete the encounter at that time. When obtaining permission or other authorizations, the player can cache the encounter by making the device and / or game encounter the instance stored in the memory of the device, and later use the pure (strictly) in-game feature to play the encounter. The example use of introducing AND is to illustrate that encounter designers or content creators can require both the real world and the game as needed. Therefore, it should be understood that any combination of in-game, real-world, or other criteria may be used to create a complete set of challenge criteria for tiles, modular assets, or content arrangements.

[0094] Detecting the satisfaction of these challenge criteria can be implemented using any typical programming techniques. In some embodiments, the satisfaction of challenge criteria can be monitored using a listener registered in the game application. As the data changes, the game application can then check the listener queue to see if any criteria are met. If so, the listener can trigger an event notification or simply call the corresponding registered function call.

[0095] The in-game standards mapped to real-world standards can take many forms. In some embodiments, the nature (or pattern) of the in-game standards is directly related to real-world requirements. For example, the distance traveled in the game can be mapped to the relevant distance in the real world. More specifically, the in-game standards may require the player's character 354 to travel 100 miles, which will be related to one percent of the distance in the real world (e.g., 1 mile). However, as mentioned above, the pattern of the standards does not need to be a corresponding pattern in the real world. This is an advantageous approach because game players may have different physical abilities. Consider the case where a player lacks the ability to walk or run in the real world. In this case, the real-world standards can be manifested as player-specific requirements, which may require the player to shake their mobile device a certain number of times, such as shaking 100 times to travel 100 miles. The shaking of the mobile device can be detected via sensor data obtained from the accelerometer in the mobile device. Therefore, various aspects of the subject matter of the present invention include mapping the in-game standards to one or more real-world patterns and / or mapping to real-world patterns that are specific to the player or that address the player's impairment (such as visual impairment, physical impairment, hearing impairment, emotional impairment, or other impairment).

[0096] To make the app and challenges more immersive for the user, filters or lenses can be applied to the real-world environment. These lenses or filters can correspond to a tile or set of tiles at the user's current location. For example, these lenses or filters can be similar to or lenses and filters. These lenses or filters will modify the way the user sees and hears the real-world environment. Each tile or set of tiles can have one or more filters and lenses associated with it that tell the device how to enhance the environment seen through the camera. Anything displayed, played, or spoken by the device can be enhanced. For example, if the tile or set of tiles is of an elf city, the voices can be changed to sound like elves, faces can be morphed into elves (e.g., giving them pointy ears), and all structures visible through the camera can be morphed into more organic structures. If the tile or set of tiles is of an alien environment on a different planet, the voices can be changed to sound like aliens; people's faces can be morphed to look like aliens by modifying their eyes and / or lips and / or by adding antennas to their heads; structures can be changed to look more like alien structures; the color of the sky and clouds can be changed; and all sounds can be modified to sound more like alien sounds. The lens or filter can reflect the environment, event (e.g., heat wave, snowstorm, haunted house or park at Halloween, Santa Claus Village at Christmas, rock concert, etc.), season (e.g., summer, fall, wet, dry, etc.), time of day, and weather. For example, if there is a heat wave and drought, the plains tileset can be replaced with a desert tileset, and the environment can be enhanced to look more like a desert; cracks can be added to the ground; and / or a yellow tint can be added to everything, making the vegetation in the environment look lifeless.

[0097] Additionally, filters or lenses can have different effect strength levels. At lower levels, they can very slightly modify an object, while at the highest level, they can completely replace the object, with all levels in between possible. The strength level of a lens or filter can be determined by factors such as how complete the tileset is for the user who created the challenge, the skill level of the user who created the challenge, the popularity of the challenge, the skill level of the user attempting to complete the challenge, device limitations, time of day, and the similarity of the tiles or tileset to the actual environment. The effect strength level can have only two states, based on whether the environment matches the tileset and / or the degree of their match (e.g., a forest matches a forest, but a forest does not match a city). Tilesets can have many different effect levels. For example, the effectiveness level can be determined using a lookup table (such as the one below), or the effect level can be determined using a formula based on the total count (e.g., item count, item density, item change rate, etc.) of similar features shared by the tileset and the environment (e.g., trees, land, water, vegetation, elevation, wildlife, temperature, climate, etc.).

[0098]

[0099]

[0100] The filter or lens can also be determined by the style of the tile set. For example, if the tile set has a cartoon style, everything can be modified to look like a cartoon. Possible style filters that can be applied include, for example: cartoon, dark, evil, old, young, mature, happy, emotional, mood, fantasy, alien race, and / or other, and / or any combination thereof.

[0101] In addition, the challenge criteria can involve two or more players, not just a single player. The real-world criteria for a tile (or other asset) may require multiple players to cooperate or even compete against each other to meet the requirements of the challenge criteria. For example, a tile or arrangement may be a battle location between two opposing in-game forces (e.g., two in-game guilds, two in-game gangs, two or more in-game opponents, etc.). The challenge criteria for the tile and / or battle may require players from both factions to participate in a real-world sporting event (e.g., baseball, basketball, golf, ultimate Frisbee, curling, golf, etc.). The winner of the real-world sporting event will then be recorded in the game and the game will be advanced accordingly.

[0102] Thus far, the term "challenge" has been used in the context of game challenges. It should be understood that the nature of the challenge may vary greatly depending on the core use case context. It is contemplated that the disclosed techniques may be applied to other contexts outside of gaming. For example, these concepts may be applied to education, physical therapy, rehabilitation, physical education, military training, software development, on-the-job training, home repair, housework, rally racing, mental illness treatment, or other types of use cases. From an "in-game" perspective, a challenge can represent almost any condition required for game play, including conditions associated with tiles, blocks, characters, non-player characters (NPCs), environments, villages, vehicles, animals, monsters, game world elements (e.g., fire, earth, wind, water, Gaia, etc.), starships, content placement, meta-game data, mini-games, or other aspects of the game.

[0103] A tile represents a possible modular asset. In some cases, a tile may be visible in the sense that it is rendered on a display, such as Figures 3A to 3DHowever, in other embodiments, the tiles may be invisible or hidden and may represent containers to which other assets are anchored. This approach is advantageous because it allows the construction or creation of content that can be used in augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and / or virtual reality (VR) games, where aspects of the real world form the basis of the content (e.g., physical world features, terrain, buildings, signs, etc.). Alternatively, invisible features may be represented as sounds or vibrations of a mobile device. Still further, the invisible content may include executable code (e.g., scripts, modules, logic loops, etc.) that can be used to create more complex encounters. For example, visible tiles may be connected together via invisible "loops," where the loop (i.e., executable code) takes input from the state of each visible tile to determine the output state or activation of additional content.

[0104] McKinnon et al., U.S. Patent No. 10,140,317, entitled "Wide Area Augmented Reality Location-Based Services," filed on October 26, 2017 (the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference), describes how tiles to which AR / MR / VR content is bound can be used to segment real-world areas and how real-world areas can be viewed from the perspective of the tiles and the device. The techniques disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 10,140,317 can be applied to the present subject matter by combining invisible tiles and AR / MR / VR content with in-game and real-world challenge criteria.

[0105] As previously mentioned, the disclosed technology can be applied to modular assets other than dungeon tiles. Other types of in-game modular assets include blocks, creatures, monsters, animations, video cutscenes, images, decorations, audio content, trees, stones, liquids, vehicles, puzzles, circuits, logic gates, switches, generators (e.g., monster spawners, etc.), soundtracks, or other types of assets that can be instantiated within the game.

[0106] Arrangements of tiles or other modular assets can be created using one or more software-supported editing tools on one or more computing devices (e.g., cell phones, tablet computers, computers with browsers, set-top boxes, game consoles, etc.). In some embodiments, a user interface is presented to a user (e.g., a player, content creator, etc.) on a display, through which the user can manipulate and combine tiles to form a desired arrangement. For example, the user interface can display available tiles or other assets for use. The user can then drag and drop tiles into pre-established grid locations. When adding new adjacent tiles, if necessary, the editing tool can check whether two adjacent tiles are compatible by comparing their edges or interface properties (e.g., to verify that paths are connected, waterways are connected, grass is next to grass, etc.), thereby ensuring continuity within the arrangement. Furthermore, if multiple grid locations need to be filled, the user can fill the area with a single fill action, i.e., using one or more types of base tiles or filler tiles (e.g., grass tiles, rock tiles, brick tiles, etc.) to fill the area.

[0107] As mentioned above, content creation tools may include one or more validation utilities to ensure that assets fit together properly. Each modular asset, such as a tile, may include in-game properties that define the characteristics or capabilities of each asset's interface with other assets. For example, a tile asset may have multiple edges that link to the edges of other assets. Each edge will have defining attributes, which may include path definitions, terrain type definitions, theme types (e.g., science fiction, fantasy, horror, puzzle, drama, romance, etc.), capabilities (e.g., procedural features, executable code, etc.), callable APIs, or other features. If two edges that fit together have complementary characteristics, the validation facility will allow the two tiles to fit together. If these characteristics are not complementary, the validation facility will not allow the two tiles to fit together. From another perspective, a monster asset may include an attribute that describes the monster's preferred terrain type. If a content creator attempts to place a monster on a tile that does not have a specific terrain type attribute, the validation facility will notify the content creator of the conflict. The results of this validation can be enforced to resolve the conflict, or the content creator may be able to override the conflict to advance their desired story. Still further, the ability of content creators to override such restrictions may be based on a "fee" (e.g., subscription, micro-transaction, etc.) paid to achieve such override.

[0108] The verification facility can be implemented in a variety of ways. In some embodiments, the asset will include required attributes and / or optional attributes that can be checked by the verification facility through a lookup table. In other embodiments, the asset may include one or more interface contracts that define allowed interface capabilities. The interface contract defines the services or capabilities that the asset interface must provide, as well as the services or capabilities that the asset expects to obtain from other assets. The astute reader will understand that this approach is a modification of the API contract concept. The approach is believed to be useful because it reduces the burden on content creators to debug their content arrangements by ensuring that the asset arrangements are technically sound. In some scenarios, the verification facility can be turned off as desired by the content creator.

[0109] The panel of tiles or other modular assets in the editing tool can have many possibilities. In some scenarios, the set of modular assets available to the content creator is limited compared to the total complete set based on one or more criteria, perhaps based on a licensing level (which may be related to an in-game achievement level or a subscription level) or a certification level. The tile set or modular assets can be collectible in the sense that the player or the player's character 354 must collect the assets, and each asset has a rarity associated with it (e.g., basic, common, uncommon, rare, ultra rare, unique, chaser, set, etc.). As the player collects assets or pays for assets, the player's asset panel grows. In order to obtain or otherwise collect assets, the player may have to meet one or more collection criteria, which, similar to challenge criteria, are based on in-game attributes and / or real-world attributes. For example, in order to collect a unique tile, the player may have to be the first person to travel to multiple geographic locations in a region within a given time frame, for example, by traveling to Southern California in a week. and Additionally, or alternatively, players may simply purchase assets, or purchase sponsored products that generate assets in response to the transaction being verified.

[0110] Given that modular assets and tiles may come in sets, these sets of modular assets and tiles may be able to create synergistic effects. Therefore, when combined together, they can confer in-game (or real-world) rewards to adjacent tiles. Further, completed tile sets (e.g., collecting all mountain tiles, collecting all temple tiles, etc.) may also have a combined effect. For example, in embodiments where assets are dynamic or can change over time based on game features, synergistic assets may have a greater impact on the game. Consider a mountain monster placed in a mountain tile. Due to the synergistic effect of the mountain tile (i.e., both the monster and the tile have the "mountain" terrain type), the monster may have higher health. If the same monster is placed in a plain tile, the monster's health may be reduced because the terrain types do not match. Still further, adjacent tiles or assets may also confer rewards on the monster based on its attributes.

[0111] In some particularly contemplated embodiments, tiles (or modular assets) can be tied to physical real-world collectible objects, such as action figures, trading cards, game tokens, models, player registration objects, or other real-world items. For example, consider collectible tiles combined with a real-world collectible card game. The card game (which may be a standalone tabletop game) may include cards representing locations or challenges that must be overcome in the card game to advance in the computer game. Further, the cards may be printed with identifiable features (e.g., images, pictures, QR codes, barcodes, etc.) or other types of identifiers (which may be unique identifiers). When players purchase cards, they can not only play the real-world card game, but can also scan these cards with their mobile devices using computer vision techniques (e.g., OpenCV, SIFT, TILT, DoG, HoG, Canny edges, etc.).

[0112] Example mobile device computer recognition techniques can be found in US Pat. No. 7,016,532, entitled “Image Capture and Identification System and Process,” by Boncyk et al., and associated sub-files, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Example edge detection techniques can be found in US Pat. No. 10,229,342, entitled “Image-Based Feature Detection using Edge Vectors,” by Song et al., which is also incorporated by reference in its entirety. Once these cards are identified, players can obtain corresponding asset or tile information to create content such as encounters. Physical cards can also be printed or manufactured and distributed with rare items to create richer gameplay / real-world experiences. Still further, these cards can be placed adjacent to each other to form a desired complete encounter experience arrangement, such as a dungeon challenge. A mobile device can scan this arrangement to create a specific instance of that encounter. Thus, the cards become part of the editing tool. Example techniques that may be adapted for use in supporting card-based content creation are described in US Pat. No. 9,892,560, filed Sep. 11, 2015, by Wiacek et al., entitled “Marker-based augmented reality authoring tools,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0113] Once the layout is complete to the satisfaction of the content creator, the creator can deploy or publish an instance of the layout. In some scenarios, the layout will be bound to a geographic location (e.g., a park, a scenic spot, a building, a sculpture, etc.). In other cases, the layout can be bound to an object (e.g., a toy, a vehicle, etc.) or other types of items. Depending on the nature of the editing tool and the corresponding game software, the layout can be compiled into a package for download or upload. In some cases, the package may include a serialized data file that defines the layout in the form of a markup language (e.g., YAML, JSON, XML, etc.) that can be sent to other computing devices over a network. The layout can be stored in one or more content servers that index the layout or other content based on location information (e.g., geographic coordinates, S2 cell identifier, elevation, vSLAM data, IMU data, etc.).

[0114] It should be understood that placements can be tested using a variety of techniques before deployment. Content creators can make instances available to gang members, guild members, in-game friends, or other players through limited releases that require authorization to access the content. Editing tools can include alpha or beta testing facilities to support the release of instances to desired individuals or groups. Once testing is complete to the content creator's satisfaction, the content creator can publish the instances to the game servers, which then provide encounters to other players. In some cases, published encounters may also have in-game or real-world requirements that must be met before other players can engage with the content; for example, having a specific geographic location or recognizable image features. Once other gamers meet any initial criteria, they can then receive the published placement or associated content; for example, being in the correct geographic location. Given that premium locations are a limited commodity, gamers can rate published content, making it easy to obtain the highest-rated or most interesting content in a given location. Alternatively, locations can be reserved based on a fee schedule or auction.

[0115] A version of the idea editing tool could also capture the properties of the local real-world area, perhaps from Maps, Google Street View, (See URL www.openstreetmap.org). The physical structures of the area (e.g., roads, sidewalks, yards, parks, rivers, streams, forests, and / or other physical structures) can then be used to create in-game layout templates. For example, if a content creator wishes to create an encounter near a park, the editing tool can download a map of the park (perhaps from Map) and create a subdivided tile layout with paths that simulate a walkway through a park that can be rendered as a forest path. Content creators can then fill in the template with additional or different tiles to meet their content needs. For example, a local real-world pond can form an in-game liquid feature template. For example, a content creator can use this template to instantiate a lava pool (e.g., Lava333).

[0116] Continuing with the concept of creating templates, Real-world features and metadata obtained by mapping services such as bots can be mapped to in-game features. In some scenarios, real-world features can be assigned attributes representing the properties of the feature (e.g., tuples, name-value pairs, metadata, hierarchically arranged attributes, namespaces, and / or other assigned attributes). For example, a biome such as a forest area can be represented by a boundary defined by a vector storing longitude and latitude coordinates and an attribute describing the forest type. The level of detail may be fractal to some extent. Forest attributes may include flora type (e.g., tree type, shrub type, relative abundance of each type, etc.) or fauna type (e.g., predator type, prey type, insect type, relative population number, etc.). Such attributes can be directly mapped to in-game tile features and / or affect the gameplay of the corresponding tile. In-game tiles anchored to the geographic location of a real-world forest can be assigned virtual plants, virtual animals, or virtual resources (e.g., wood, herbs, etc.) corresponding to the actual location determined by the real-world attributes of the real-world forest. However, it is also conceivable that the virtual features of a tile (or tile arrangement) do not necessarily have to correspond to real-world features. Other types of biomes can include desert, water, ocean, jungle, mesa, plains, savanna, tundra, mountain, hills, urban, air, space, lunar, or other types of biomes. A full range is contemplated, from accurate mapping to real-world properties to no mapping to real-world properties at all.

[0117] Consider scenarios where tile arrangements, tile sets, or tile panels are anchored to real-world areas (such as a local park), but the properties of those tile sets are different from the real world. As previously mentioned, the boundaries of the park can be defined in terms of a set of real-world coordinates. When a mobile device is within that area, the tiles can be rendered using that boundary. Although the area is actually a park, the area can be mapped to different types of areas or biomes in the game. The mapping can change over time to suit the needs of the game. For example, a game may include one or more in-game events that change the properties of a biome or environment. In a fantasy game, players can band together to cast an in-game spell that turns a desert into a forest, or in a science fiction game, players can deploy terraforming equipment to change the properties of the environment. While the boundaries of the park do not change, the in-game properties of the environment or biome can be changed or modified. Such changes can occur intentionally (e.g., by game designers, programmers, game players, content creators, etc.), occur periodically (perhaps seasonally), occur irregularly, occur in response to in-game events, occur in response to real-world events (e.g., news reports, natural disasters, charity walks, seasons, weather, and / or other real-world events), or occur based on other conditions. This method of mapping real-world features to in-game features is believed to be advantageous because it provides game content in which players can compete with each other to map the in-game world to their expectations; for example, one gang may want a park to become a forest so that they can harvest wood, while a second gang may want the park to become a desert so that they can mine minerals.

[0118] Once the content creator deploys or otherwise publishes their layout, the content creator may receive some form of compensation for their work. In this scenario, the game server (or other computer) may also operate as a transaction server, which receives compensation from the player and transfers the compensation to the content creator's account. It should be understood that compensation can take many different forms. It is conceivable that compensation can include monetary transactions, game score transactions, reaction transactions (e.g., likes, emojis, likes, etc.), in-game currency, virtual currency, tips, cryptocurrency or other forms of exchange. Still further, tiles or other modular assets may also include features that allow advertisers to inject promotions into the tiles. For example, if a tile includes a building with a poster on the wall, the poster may have empty (NULL) content, and advertisers can access this empty content via the game server. Assuming the advertiser pays a fee, the advertiser can inject its promotional content into the poster, so that the promotional content can be presented in the game. Part of the fee may be paid to the content creator, while the other part may be paid to the game company that runs the game server.

[0119] In some embodiments, content creators who deploy or otherwise publish their placements may be required to pay a maintenance fee, may be required to maintain a current subscription to the game, and / or may be required to receive a certain minimum threshold of positive user feedback to keep encounters available on the remote game server(s). Additionally, story content may utilize placements that are positively reviewed, and players with higher-rated placements may receive higher rewards.

[0120] It is also conceivable that modular assets could include challenge criteria that rely on distributed ledger technology (e.g., blockchain, hashgraph, chained data structure, directed acyclic graph, etc.). The advantage of this approach is that players experiencing the content may earn cryptocurrency rewards for defeating content challenges. The act of playing the content can essentially be the act of mining cryptocurrency. This can be achieved by calling a hash function for each action taken by the player, where the hash value can be considered a pseudo-random number. If the hash value has a specific value (similar to the identification feature of proof of work, but more precisely, proof of game play), the player can be rewarded with corresponding tokens. Furthermore, the player's actions can be notarized on a distributed ledger (e.g., Hyperledger, IOTA, Ethereum, Bitcoin, hashgraph, etc.) as a form of "proof of game play." This reward can be provided in addition to or in lieu of the typical rewards for the content. By providing additional rewards, it is expected that players will want to participate in the content multiple times.

[0121] As previously mentioned, the disclosed method specifically provides for playing games within a virtual game structure as well as in the real world. Due to the nature of having dual challenge standards (i.e., in-game standards and real-world standards), players have multiple options in how they can interact with the dual challenge standards. One function arising from these capabilities includes allowing players to archive or cache encounters for later replay, as previously mentioned. Once the player receives permission or authorization from the game server (possibly based on the player's geographic location), the player's device can receive the cached content. The cached content can be received via a markup language as described above. It should be noted in particular that, given that the content arrangement is based on modular asset primitives, the serialized description of the arrangement may be very small and may only include the necessary information to re-instantiate the arrangement. For example, rather than sending all files such as audio files, textures, etc., the serialized data may only include asset identifiers (e.g., GUIDs, UUIDs, serial numbers, tokens, etc.). The local device can use the identifiers and re-instantiate the arrangement based on locally stored supporting files such as textures and / or audio files.

[0122] Figure 4A is an illustration of a dungeon layout 400 including block-like tiles deployed and rendered on a mobile device. Figure 54. An example mobile device 504 and wearable device 556 are shown in FIG. Dungeon layout 400 includes content tiles, such as content tiles 404 and 408. The top portion of content tile 408 is shown as square 408A, and the side portion is shown as square 408B. Typically, the side portion of a content tile is shown when there are no adjacent content tiles (e.g., edge tiles).

[0123] Character 412 can move in one of three directions, as shown by circles 416A-C. Monster 420 can react to the actions or lack of actions of character 412. Circle 416A is located on a portion of path 404. Health display 424 shows the health of monster 420 during combat (e.g., 10 / 10), and health display 428 shows the health of character 412. Display 432 shows the title of dungeon layout 400, "Giant Zombie," and display 434 generally shows additional content.

[0124] For example, dungeon layout 400 can be presented on a smartphone display. Although this particular layout is rendered as a 3D image on a smartphone display, it should be understood that the layout can be rendered according to other dimensions. For example, the layout can be rendered as a 2D tile set, 2.5D (e.g., isomorphic views, etc.), 3D, etc. Interestingly, a 4D tile set can be rendered, where the 3D view represents a single 3D cross-section of the 4D space. As a person moves, the person's movement can be detected by sensors in the mobile device (e.g., GPS, IMU, visual simultaneous localization and mapping (vSLAM), etc.) and cause the 3D cross-section to change. Therefore, one aspect of the inventive subject matter is considered to include 4D tiles, and includes providing content creators with access to 4D tiles.

[0125] Figure 4B 4 is a prototype dungeon tile layout with combat elements 450. Prototype tile layout 450 illustrates a possible rendering of the final dungeon tile layout and modular assets ready for presentation to the player, and illustrates a more advanced prototype tile layout (ie, in tile form) with combat elements.

[0126] Prototype dungeon tile layout 450 includes content tiles, such as content tiles 454A-C. Figure 4AAs shown, health display 424 shows the health status (e.g., 64 / 120) of monster 466 during combat, and health display 428 shows the health status of character 462. Display 432 shows the title "Goblin" of prototype dungeon layout 450. Character 462 can move in one of the two directions shown in circle 468A and 468B. If character 462 moves to circle 468B, character 462 can go to circle 470A or 470B next time it moves. Boulder field 454 can limit the movement of character 462, or can require the use of skills to overcome obstacles. Opening 458 is another obstacle that can cause character 462 to lose life, lose health value, prevent movement, require the use of skills to overcome, etc.

[0127] Figure 5 5 is a block diagram of a system 500. The system 500 includes a mobile device 504 and a wearable device 556. The mobile device 504 includes a first memory 512, a sensor data receiver 524, one or more sensors 528, a display 532, a wireless communication interface 536, a processor 540, a second memory 548, and a user interface 544. For example, the first memory 512 and the second memory 548 can be disk drives, optical storage devices, solid-state storage devices such as random access memory (RAM) and / or read-only memory (ROM), which can be programmable, flash-updatable, etc. The mobile device 504 is shown as including hardware elements that can be electrically coupled via a bus or network 502.

[0128] Mobile device 504 may be or include a computing device (such as a cellular phone, smartphone, tablet computer), a health sensor (e.g., and / or the like), a watch, a handheld device, a PDA, a vehicle, equipment (e.g., sports equipment, a bicycle, smart boxing equipment, a skateboard, roller skates, an electric bike, a kayak, a snowboard, a scooter, a car, a ball, a hockey puck, a stick, etc.), or other type of mobile or portable device.

[0129] A wearable device 556 is shown that includes hardware elements that may be electrically coupled via a bus or network 580. Bus or network 580 may be the same as or similar to bus or network 502. The hardware elements of wearable device 556 include a processor 560, a wireless communication interface 564, one or more sensors 568, and a memory 572. Although Figure 5 Only one wearable device 556 is shown in FIG, but embodiments of the present disclosure encompass systems 500 including two or more wearable devices 556.

[0130] The first memory 512, the second memory 548 and the memory 572 can be connected to Figure 9Memory 908 is the same or similar to that shown. First memory 512 includes encounter tiles 516 and content tiles 520. As previously described, encounter tiles 516 can be associated with completed layouts, and / or content creators can create content for encounter tiles after placing them on the real-world map from the game's perspective. Each encounter tile 516 includes a layout with one or more content tiles 520.

[0131] The instructions 552 of the second memory 548 include the operating system and instructions for executing Figure 6 、 Figure 7 and / or Figure 8 The instructions 552 are executed on the processor 540 and may include instructions for communicating with the wearable device 556 and Figure 9 The content creation server 900 communicates with the software shown.

[0132] The processor 540 of the mobile device 504 and the processor 560 of the wearable device 556 can communicate with Figure 9 The processors 904 shown are the same or similar.

[0133] Sensors 528 and 568 may be the same or similar. In this example embodiment, sensor 528 is incorporated into a separate mobile device 504, which may be, for example, a smartphone with a camera and GPS, or any other mobile device described herein. Sensor 568 is incorporated into wearable device 556, which may be, for example, a wearable device with a biometric sensor. or any other wearable device described herein. One or both of sensors 528 and 568 may include any type of sensor described herein, and / or a camera, a GPS receiver and / or other location sensor, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, a proximity sensor, an ambient light sensor, an optical sensor, a near field communication sensor, a tension sensor, a strain sensor, a sound sensor, a stretch sensor, an orientation sensor, a position sensor, a microphone, a touch screen sensor, a pedometer, a barcode reader, a QR code sensor, an air humidity sensor, a barometer, a heart rate monitor sensor, a thermometer, a Geiger counter, and the like. Sensor data receiver 524 retrieves sensor data from one or more sensors 528 and provides the sensor data to processor 540.

[0134] In still other cases, sensors 528 and 568 comprise a sensor platform that can operate as a personal area network (PAN), wherein multiple sensors or devices communicate with a hub device, which then communicates with a remote gaming server, as previously described. For example, a smartphone can operate as a hub, and sensors or other devices placed on or around a player communicate with the smartphone (e.g., via 801.11ad, via Still further, the sensor may be located further away from the player and sense the real world environment. Thus, the sensor data may also include temperature data, weather data, traffic data, or other types of real world environment data.

[0135] Wireless communication interfaces 536 and 564 can use Wi-Fi, Typically, the mobile device 504 and the wearable device 556 communicate directly via radio frequency signals 576A and 576B. Alternatively, the mobile device 504 and the wearable device 556 may communicate via a network, such as a Figure 10 Communication network 1004 is shown. Wearable device 556 can transmit real-world sensor data from sensor 568 to mobile device 504 via wireless communication interface 564.

[0136] In some embodiments, mobile device 504 and wearable device 556 can communicate via a wired connection. Alternatively, wearable device 556 can be a drone that includes one or more sensors, and the sensor data is transmitted to mobile device 504 via wireless communication interface 564 to wireless communication interface 536 of mobile device 504.

[0137] Mobile device 504 includes a display screen 532. Display screen 532 can be any display capable of displaying information, such as a touch screen, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, a plasma display, etc. User interface 544 includes one or more input devices (e.g., a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen, etc.). In some embodiments, wearable device 556 includes a display screen similar to or identical to display screen 532.

[0138] Figure 66 is a flow chart of a process 600 for creating game content. Process 600 begins at step 604 and includes arranging content tiles in an encounter space. At step 604, a content creator's mobile device receives first location information corresponding to a physical location via a sensor data receiver. At step 608, the mobile device displays one or more encounter tiles from a set of encounter tiles. The displayed encounter tiles may include a subset of available encounter tiles, wherein the subset is selected based on the first location information. At step 612, the content creator selects an encounter tile from the displayed encounter tiles. At step 616, the selected encounter tile is associated with a physical location in the computer game based on the first location information. At step 620, the mobile device displays the encounter space corresponding to the selected encounter tile and the associated content space. The encounter space is divided into multiple content spaces. At step 624, the content creator selects one of the multiple content spaces. At step 628, the multiple content tiles are displayed to the content creator on a display screen. One of the content tiles may correspond to real-world challenge criteria that require satisfying real-world sensor data and in-game challenge criteria that may be satisfied without the real-world sensor data.

[0139] At step 632, the content creator selects a content tile and associates the selected content tile with the selected content space. In step 636, the selected content tile is displayed in the associated content space. In step 640, the user selects a second content tile from the subset of content tiles and associates it with the second selected content space. The subset of content tiles can be selected based on the characteristics of the selected content space or content tiles adjacent to the selected content space. In step 644, the second selected content tile is displayed in the second selected content space. In step 648, the orientation of the first or second content tile relative to the first or second content space is adjusted. For example, the adjusted orientation can align first and second content tiles that are about to be adjacent. The verification facility can verify the combination of content tile type, position, and alignment to be used when publishing to a remote game server (such as Figure 7 ) or during tile layout.

[0140] Game content creation can be done in platforms such as Figure 5 Executed on a mobile device such as the mobile device 504 shown, or in conjunction with a Figure 9 The remote game server 900 shown may be implemented by one or more game servers. The remote game server may provide game content to players for participating in the game content, or provide game content to content creators for enhancing the game content.

[0141] Figure 77 is a flow diagram of a process 700 for creating game content. The process 700 begins at step 704. In step 704, a user associates standard content tiles with respective ones of a plurality of content spaces to create a standard content tile arrangement within an encounter space. The content creator may select content tiles from a subset having a plurality of standard content tiles. One or more standard content tiles may have virtual challenge criteria and real-world challenge criteria, wherein the real-world criteria require satisfying sensed real-world data. In step 708, the completed encounter is published. Publishing may include transmitting information defining the completed encounter from the user's mobile device to a game server (such as a server). Figure 9 The user-generated encounters can be uploaded to a remote game server 900 (shown) for incorporation into the gameplay. The completed encounters and / or games can be streamed to the player via a Twitch channel. The published user-generated encounters can be reviewed by other users, and user feedback can be used to decide whether to keep the user-generated encounter or remove it from the plurality of encounters.

[0142] Figure 8 800 is a flow chart of a process 800 for playing a game. The process 800 begins at step 804. In step 804, for example, Figure 5 The mobile device 504 is shown with a display screen 532 displaying a map including encounter tiles to the user. The map may be as shown in FIG. Figure 1 The world perspective map of the game perspective. In step 808, process 800 determines whether the user's mobile device is within a predetermined distance of an encounter tile displayed on the map. The encounter tile can represent game content created by the user according to process 600 and / or 700. In step 812, the user input is a request for an encounter tile. For example, the user can save or cache the encounter tile for later play, avoid or skip the encounter tile, or participate in the encounter tile. In step 816, when the user participates in the encounter tile, the completed encounter space is displayed.

[0143] At step 820, process 800 determines whether the user meets the virtual and physical challenge criteria. Physical challenges may include moving a predetermined distance, climbing a predetermined elevation, achieving a predetermined heart rate, logging a predetermined number of steps, moving the mobile device in a predetermined pattern, performing a predetermined exercise, reaching a predetermined location, and / or purchasing a predetermined product. Physical challenges may include using a treadmill, an omnidirectional treadmill, and / or other fitness equipment. Based on this determination, the game state is updated at step 824.

[0144] Figure 9is a block diagram of a remote gaming server 900. Remote gaming server 900 is shown as including hardware elements that may be electrically coupled via a bus or network 902. These hardware elements may include: one or more central processing units (CPUs) 904; memory 908; a communication interface 928; a user database 932; storage device(s) 934; and a computer-readable / storage media reader 938. Memory 908 may be, for example, a disk drive, an optical storage device, a solid-state storage device such as a random access memory (RAM) and / or a read-only memory (ROM), which may be programmable, flash-updatable, and the like.

[0145] The memory 908 may be further connected to a computer-readable / storage media reader 938. The computer-readable / storage media reader 938 may be further connected to computer-readable storage media, which (and in some embodiments, storage device(s) 934) may represent remote, local, fixed, and / or removable storage devices and storage media for temporarily and / or more permanently containing computer-readable information. Furthermore, as disclosed herein, the term "storage media" may refer to one or more devices for storing data, including read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, magnetic core memory, magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, and / or other machine-readable media for storing information.

[0146] Remote game server 900 may also include software elements, shown as currently located within memory 908, including incomplete encounter tiles 912, standard content tiles 916, encounters 920, and instructions 924. Incomplete encounter tiles 912 include user-created game encounter tile arrangements that may still require further development or have not yet been released. Encounters 920 include game encounter tile arrangements created by the gaming system and / or user-created published game encounter tile arrangements. Incomplete encounter tiles 912 and encounters 920 include standard content tiles 916. Alternatively, as Figure 5 As described, game encounter tile layouts may be stored on a mobile device as content creators develop game content.

[0147] Instructions 924 include an operating system and instructions for executing Figure 6 、 Figure 7 and / or Figure 8924 can be stored in (a plurality of) storage devices 934.

[0148] Examples of the processor 904 described herein may include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: 800 and 801, with 4G LTE integration and 64-bit computing 620 and 615, with 64-bit architecture A7 processor, M7 motion coprocessor, series, Core TM Processor series, Processor series, Atom TM Processor series, Intel Processor series, i5-4670K and i7-4770K 22nm Haswell, i5-3570K 22nm Ivy Bridge, FX TM Processor series, FX-4300, FX-6300 and FX-8350 32nm Vishera, Kaveri processor, Texas Jacinto C6000 TM Automotive infotainment processors, Texas OMAP TM Automotive-grade mobile processors, Cortex TM -M processor, Cortex-A and ARM926EJ-S TM processors, other industry equivalent processors, and may use any known or future developed standards, instruction sets, libraries and / or architectures to perform computing functions.

[0149] The communication interface 928 may allow for communication with Figure 10 The communication interface 928 may support a communication network 1004, another network, and / or any other computing device described above in conjunction with the computer environment described herein. The communication interface 928 can be connected to a network technology such as ZigBee, Ethernet, LTE and / or GSM, and / or can utilize a dedicated Ethernet connection, fiber optic and / or other wired or wireless network connection. Figure 5 The communication interface 536 and / or communication interface 564 shown are identical or similar. The communication interface 928 can be a cloud interface to a cloud service or a cloud application programming interface (API). Additionally or alternatively, the communication interface 928 can include a graphical user interface (GUI) and an input / output device that allows interaction with a user. It should be understood that the alternative embodiments of the communication interface 928 can have many variations different from the above-described embodiments. For example, custom hardware can also be used and / or specific elements can be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software such as applets), or both.

[0150] Storage device(s) 934 may be used to store primitives, rule sets, real-world challenge criteria, in-game challenge criteria, encounter tiles, content tiles, encounters, graphical elements, processor instructions, operating systems, or other data.

[0151] User database 932 can be any type of database, including relational, hierarchical, object-oriented, NoSQL, XML, and / or flat file databases. User database 932 includes a database server, such as SQL Server, SQLite, Oracle Database, Sybase, Informix, MySQL, MongoDB, or other databases. User database 932 can be used to store user information, including user login IDs, user authentication information, user preferences, user game data, user subscription information, or other data.

[0152] Figure 10 1 is a block diagram of a system 1000 including a mobile device 504, a wearable device 556, a remote game server 900, and a communication network 1004. The mobile device 504 can be used to create content and publish the content to the remote game server 900 via the communication network 1004, or retrieve game content. The mobile device 504 can use sensor data from one or more sensors in the wearable device 556 to determine whether the real-world challenge has been met. In addition, location sensors in the mobile device 504 and / or the wearable device 556 can be used to determine the user's location during game content creation and / or game play.

[0153] When representing challenges on a map instead of just drawing icons on the map (e.g. Figure 1 and Figure 20), the entire map area adjacent to the icon representing the challenge may be enhanced based on the type of tile or tile set used for the challenge. For example, if a rock tile set is used, the color or attributes of the area surrounding the icon representing the challenge (e.g., icon 162) on the map area may be modified by changing the color or attributes of the area surrounding the icon representing the challenge (e.g., icon 162) to gray. Figure 1 and / or Figure 20 As another example, when a forest tile set is used, the same map area can be changed to green, and trees and other vegetation can be added to the map. By adding and combining all the different tile sets for different challenges used for that area, the changes to the map can be cumulative (e.g., see U.S. Patent No. 10,403,051, filed on November 9, 2018, entitled "Interference Based Augmented Reality Hosting Platforms," ​​which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, for interference-based AR content). Different colors can represent different tile set types. For example, dark green can represent forests and woods; light green can represent grasslands and plains; yellow can represent deserts and sand; red can represent lava and volcanic rock; blue can represent water and oceans; and silver can represent industry and cities. For overlapping challenges, the colors can be blended.

[0154] The communication network 1004 may include, for example, Wi-Fi, The communication network 1004 may be a network technology such as ZigBee, Ethernet, LTE and / or GSM, and / or may utilize a dedicated Ethernet connection, fiber optic and / or other wired or wireless network connection. Additionally, the communication network 1004 may be a cloud network that allows access to cloud services.

[0155] Additional details of this application are as follows Figures 11 to 31 shown. Specifically, Figure 11 yes Figure 1 alternative depictions of; 12A to 12C They are Figures 2A to 2C alternative depictions of; 13A to 13C yes Figures 3A to 3D Alternative depictions of; and FIG. 14A to FIG. 14B yes Figures 4A to 4B Alternative depiction of . Figure 15 Here's another example of a dungeon layout. Figures 16 to 31 Shows the application Figure 1 A series of additional steps that describe placing encounter tiles on the real-world map from the game's perspective. More specifically, Figures 16 to 27 More details on the above combination Figure 1A process is described in which a user's real-world path 158 is tracked on a real-world map 150. At various points along the user's path 158, the user may, at his or her discretion, place encounter tiles (e.g., encounter tiles 162, 174). The number of encounter tiles that the user is able to place may be based on, for example, the length of the path 158 and / or the player's level / rank. Furthermore, as discussed above, placing a tile on the map may trigger or otherwise cause the map to be enhanced (e.g., by changing the color and / or attributes of the map) in the area immediately surrounding the tile, based on the type of tile. Thus, for example, a wilderness tile may cause trees to appear on the map around the tile, a desert tile may cause sand to appear on the map around the tile, and so on. Figures 28 to 31 As shown, when the user is finished, the user can select the "Stop" button, which will cause a prompt to be displayed to the user asking if the user wants to complete the path, while providing the option to "Finish" the path or "Continue" to create the path. If the user selects "Continue", the "Stop" button is displayed again, and the user can continue to create the path. If the user selects "Finish", the "Stop" button will be replaced by a "Save" button, which, if pressed, will save the newly created dungeon. However, the user can continue to edit the dungeon, including placing more encounter tiles and / or filling the encounters represented by the encounter tiles with additional content.

[0156] A digital content creation system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a first memory storing an encounter tile set having one or more encounter tiles, a content tile set having one or more content tiles; a sensor data receiver; a user interface; a display screen; a processor; and a second memory storing instructions for execution by the processor that, when executed, cause the processor to: receive real-world location data via the sensor data receiver, the real-world location data corresponding to a physical location; display one or more encounter tiles from the encounter tile set on the display screen based on the location data; receive confirmation of a selected encounter tile from the displayed one or more tiles of the encounter tile set from the user interface; and associate the selected encounter tile with the physical location in a computer game.

[0157] Aspects of the aforementioned digital content creation system may include: wherein the second memory stores additional instructions for execution by the processor, which, when executed, cause the processor to perform the following operations: display an encounter space corresponding to the selected encounter tile on the display screen, the encounter space being divided into a plurality of content spaces; wherein the second memory stores additional instructions for execution by the processor, which, when executed, cause the processor to perform the following operations: display one or more content tiles from the set of content tiles on the display screen, at least one of the content tiles corresponding to a real-world challenge criterion that needs to meet real-world sensor data and that is not required to meet real-world sensor data. associating, based on a first indication received from the user interface, a first selected content tile of the one or more displayed tiles from the set of content tiles with a first selected content space in the plurality of content spaces; displaying the first selected content tile in the first selected content space; and associating, based on a second indication received from the user interface, a second selected content tile of the one or more displayed tiles from the set of content tiles with a second selected content space in the plurality of content spaces; and displaying the second selected content tile in the second selected content space; wherein the second memory stores additional instructions for execution by the processor, the additional instructions being When executed, the processor is caused to perform the following operations: adjusting the orientation of the first selected content tile relative to the first selected content space based on a signal received from the user interface; wherein the first content tile space is adjacent to the second content tile space, and further, wherein the second content tile can be associated with the second content tile space only if the second characteristic of the second content tile matches the first characteristic of the first content tile; wherein the second memory stores additional instructions for execution by the processor, which additional instructions, when executed, cause the processor to perform the following operations: displaying a content tile from the set of content tiles in each of the plurality of content spaces, the displayed content tile at least one content tile in the computer game corresponds to a real-world challenge criterion that requires satisfying real-world sensor data and an in-game challenge criterion that can be satisfied without the real-world sensor data; receiving real-world sensor data from the sensor data receiver; determining whether the at least one in-game challenge criterion is satisfied, and based on the real-world sensor data, determining whether the at least one real-world challenge criterion is satisfied; and updating a game state of the computer game based on the determination; wherein the real-world challenge criterion corresponds to a change in physical location, and the real-world sensor data includes location data; wherein the real-world challenge criterion corresponds to heart rate, and the real-world sensor data includes pulse data;Wherein, at least the sensor data receiver, the user interface, the display, the processor, and the second memory are provided in a mobile device, and the mobile device further includes a position sensor, a barometer, or an accelerometer; and wherein at least the sensor data receiver, the user interface, the display, the processor, and the second memory are provided in a mobile device, and the system further includes: a wearable device including a sensor, wherein the mobile device is configured to receive real-world sensor data from the sensor of the wearable device via the sensor data receiver.

[0158] A method for creating and using linked content according to another embodiment of the present disclosure includes: receiving first location information detected by a location sensor at a processor of a mobile device; displaying a plurality of encounter tiles for a computer game on a screen of the mobile device; associating a selected encounter tile from the plurality of encounter tiles with a physical location based on the first location information; displaying an encounter space corresponding to the selected encounter tile on the screen, the encounter space including a plurality of content spaces; receiving a selection of one of the plurality of content spaces via a user interface; displaying a plurality of content tiles on the screen, at least one content tile from the plurality of content tiles having a first virtual challenge criterion and a first physical challenge criterion; and associating the selected content tile from the plurality of content tiles with the selected content space.

[0159] Aspects of the aforementioned method include: wherein the plurality of encounter tiles displayed on the screen include a subset of available encounter tiles, the subset being selected based on the first location information; wherein the plurality of content tiles displayed on the screen include a subset of available content tiles, the subset being selected based on characteristics of the selected content space or content tiles adjacent to the selected content space; wherein the first physical challenge criterion can be satisfied only when evidence of a completed physical challenge is received at the processor of the mobile device; wherein the physical challenge includes at least one of the following: walking a predetermined distance, climbing a predetermined elevation, reaching a predetermined heart rate, recording a predetermined number of steps, moving the mobile device in a predetermined pattern, performing a predetermined movement, reaching a predetermined location, or purchasing a predetermined product; wherein the evidence of the completed physical challenge is received from a position sensor, an altitude sensor, an accelerometer, a heart rate monitor, an optical sensor, a position sensor, an orientation sensor, or a near field communication sensor; further comprising: associating content tiles with respective ones of the plurality of content spaces to generate a completed physical challenge. the complete encounter corresponding to the selected encounter tile; and publishing the completed encounter via the wireless communication interface of the mobile device; further comprising: displaying a map and an encounter tile on the screen, the encounter tile being located at a specific location on the map; determining, with the processor, whether the mobile device is located within a predetermined distance of the specific location based on second location information received from the location sensor; requesting user input regarding the encounter tile; displaying, based on a signal generated by the user interface, a completed encounter space corresponding to the encounter tile, the completed encounter space comprising an arrangement of content tiles, at least one of the content tiles comprising a second virtual challenge criterion and a second physical challenge criterion; determining, with the processor, whether the second virtual challenge criterion is met and, based on sensed real-world data received via the sensor data interface, whether the second physical challenge criterion is met; and further comprising: updating a game state of the computer game based on the determination regarding the second virtual challenge criterion and the second physical challenge criterion.

[0160] A system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a processor; a communication interface configured to send and receive data via a communication network; and a user database including information about each of a plurality of users; and a memory storing: a first plurality of incomplete encounter tiles; a first plurality of standard content tiles, one or more of the first plurality of standard content tiles having a virtual challenge criterion and a real-world challenge criterion, the real-world challenge criterion requiring satisfaction of sensed real-world data; a first plurality of encounters, wherein each encounter in the first plurality of encounters corresponds to a completed encounter tile, the first plurality of encounters corresponding to a completed encounter tile; a completed encounter tile linked to a specific geographic location and including a user-configured arrangement of standard content tiles within the encounter space; instructions for execution by the processor that, when executed, cause the processor to: receive a user-generated encounter via the communication interface; add the user-generated encounter to the first plurality of encounters, wherein each encounter in the first plurality of encounters is available to at least a subset of the plurality of users via the communication interface; receive a request for the user-generated encounter from a user in the subset of the plurality of users via the communication interface; and send the user-generated encounter to the user in the subset of the plurality of users via the communication interface.

[0161] A gaming system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a processor; and a computer memory coupled to the processor and having a set of processor-executable instructions stored thereon, the set of processor-executable instructions including: a set of instructions for identifying an available communication network based on information received from a communication interface of a mobile device; a set of instructions for establishing a connection with the communication network via the communication interface; a set of instructions for receiving first location information detected by a location sensor via the communication interface and the communication network; a set of instructions for displaying a plurality of encounter tiles for a computer game on a screen of the mobile device; a set of instructions for associating a selected encounter tile from the plurality of encounter tiles with a physical location based on the first location information; and a set of instructions for determining a physical location of the selected encounter tile. A set of instructions for displaying an encounter space corresponding to the selected encounter tile on the screen, the encounter space including a plurality of content spaces; a set of instructions for receiving a selection of one of the plurality of content spaces via a user interface; a set of instructions for displaying a plurality of content tiles on the screen, at least one content tile of the plurality of content tiles having a first virtual challenge criterion and a first physical challenge criterion; a set of instructions for associating a selected content tile of the plurality of content tiles with the selected content space; a set of instructions for associating the content tiles with respective content spaces of the plurality of content spaces to generate a completed encounter, the completed encounter corresponding to the selected encounter tile; and a set of instructions for publishing the completed encounter via a communication interface of the mobile device.

[0162] Any one or more of the aspects / embodiments as substantially disclosed herein.

[0163] Any one or more of the aspects / embodiments as substantially disclosed herein may be combined with any one or more other aspects / embodiments as substantially disclosed herein.

[0164] The one or more apparatuses are adapted to perform any one or more of the above aspects / embodiments as substantially disclosed herein.

[0165] Any of the steps, functions, and operations discussed herein can be performed continuously and automatically.

[0166] The apparatus, systems, and methods of the present disclosure have been described in terms of enabling users to create virtual and real-world gaming content. However, to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present disclosure, the foregoing description omits many known structures and devices. This omission should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claimed disclosure. Specific details are set forth to provide an understanding of the present disclosure. However, it should be understood that the present disclosure may be practiced in a variety of ways, not limited to the specific details set forth herein.

[0167] Furthermore, while the embodiments presented herein illustrate various system components being collocated, certain components of the system may be remotely located in distant portions of a distributed network such as a LAN and / or the Internet, or within a dedicated system. Thus, it should be understood that the components of the system may be combined into one or more devices (such as servers, communication devices), or collocated on specific nodes of a distributed network (such as an analog and / or digital telecommunications network, a packet-switched network, or a circuit-switched network). Based on the foregoing description and for computational efficiency reasons, it should be understood that the components of the system may be arranged at any location within the distributed network of components without affecting the operation of the system.

[0168] Furthermore, it should be understood that the various links connecting the elements may be wired or wireless links, or any combination thereof, or any other known or later developed element(s) capable of supplying data to and / or transmitting data from the connected elements. These wired or wireless links may also be secure links and capable of transmitting encrypted information. For example, the transmission medium used as the link may be any suitable carrier of an electrical signal (including coaxial cable, copper wire, and optical fiber), and may take the form of sound or light waves, such as those generated during radio wave and infrared data communications.

[0169] While the flow charts have been discussed and presented with respect to a particular sequence of events, it should be understood that changes, additions, and omissions may be made to this sequence without materially affecting the operation of the disclosed embodiments, configurations, and aspects.

[0170] Many variations and modifications of the disclosure may be used. Some features of the disclosure may be provided without others.

[0171] In yet another embodiment, the systems and methods of the present disclosure may be implemented in conjunction with a special-purpose computer, a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller and (multiple) peripheral integrated circuit components, an ASIC or other integrated circuit, a digital signal processor, a hard-wired electronic or logic circuit (such as a discrete component circuit, a programmable logic device or gate array (such as a PLD, PLA, FPGA, PAL)), a special-purpose computer, any similar device, or the like. In general, any (multiple) devices or apparatuses capable of implementing the methods presented herein may be used to implement various aspects of the present disclosure. Exemplary hardware that may be used for the present disclosure includes computers, handheld devices, phones (e.g., cellular phones, Internet-enabled phones, digital phones, analog phones, hybrid phones, etc.), and other hardware known in the art. Some of these devices include a processor (e.g., a single or multiple microprocessors, etc.), memory, non-volatile storage devices, input devices, and output devices. In addition, alternative software implementations may be constructed to implement the methods described herein, including but not limited to distributed processing or component / object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtual machine processing.

[0172] In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods can be readily implemented in conjunction with software using functional or object-oriented software development environments that provide portable source code that can be used on a variety of computer or workstation platforms. Alternatively, the disclosed systems can be implemented partially or completely in hardware using standard logic circuits or VLSI designs. Whether software or hardware is used to implement a system according to the present disclosure depends on the speed and / or efficiency requirements of the system, the specific functionality, and the specific software or hardware systems or microprocessor or microcomputer systems utilized.

[0173] In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be implemented in part in the form of software that can be stored on a storage medium and executed on a programmed general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, etc. that cooperates with a controller and memory. In these cases, the systems and methods of the present disclosure may be implemented as a program (such as an applet, or CGI scripts), implemented as a resource resident on a server or computer workstation, implemented as a routine embedded in a dedicated measurement system or system component, etc. The system may also be implemented by physically incorporating the system and / or method into a software and / or hardware system.

[0174] Although this disclosure refers to specific standards and protocols to describe the components and functions implemented in the embodiments, this disclosure is not limited to such standards and protocols. Other similar standards and protocols not mentioned herein exist and are considered to be included in this disclosure. In addition, the standards and protocols mentioned herein, as well as other similar standards and protocols not mentioned herein, are periodically replaced by faster or more efficient equivalents having substantially the same functions. Such replacement standards and protocols having the same functions are considered to be equivalents included in this disclosure.

[0175] The present disclosure includes, in various embodiments, configurations, and aspects, parts, methods, processes, systems, and / or devices substantially as depicted and described herein, including various embodiments, subcombinations, and subsets thereof. After understanding the present disclosure, those skilled in the art will understand how to proceed and use the systems and methods disclosed herein. The present disclosure includes, in various embodiments, configurations, and aspects, providing devices and processes in the absence of items not depicted and / or described herein or in its various embodiments, configurations, or aspects (including in the absence of such items that may have been used in previous devices or processes), so as to, for example, improve performance, achieve ease of use, and / or reduce implementation costs.

[0176] The foregoing discussion of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. The foregoing is not intended to limit the present disclosure to the form or forms disclosed herein. For example, in the foregoing detailed description, various features of the present disclosure are combined together in one or more embodiments, configurations, or aspects for the purpose of simplifying the present disclosure. Features of the embodiments, configurations, or aspects of the present disclosure may be combined in alternative embodiments, configurations, or aspects other than those discussed above. This approach to the present disclosure should not be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed disclosure requires more features than those expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as reflected in the following claims, inventive aspects may have fewer features than all of the features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment, configuration, or aspect. Accordingly, the appended claims are hereby incorporated into this detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0177] In addition, although the description of the present disclosure includes descriptions of one or more embodiments, configurations, or aspects and certain variations and modifications, other variations, combinations, and modifications are also within the scope of the present disclosure after understanding the present disclosure, such as are within the skill and knowledge of those skilled in the art. It is intended that rights be obtained that include alternative embodiments, configurations, or aspects within the permitted scope, including alternative, interchangeable, and / or equivalent structures, functions, ranges, or steps to the claimed structure, function, range, or steps, regardless of whether such alternative, interchangeable, and / or equivalent structures, functions, ranges, or steps are disclosed herein, and it is not intended to publicly dedicate any patentable subject matter.

Claims

1. A digital content creation system comprising: a first memory storing an encounter tile set having one or more encounter tiles and a content tile set having one or more content tiles; sensor data receiver; User interface; Display screen; processor; as well as a second memory storing instructions for execution by the processor, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the processor to perform the following operations: receiving real-world location data via the sensor data receiver, the real-world location data corresponding to a physical location; selecting one or more encounter tiles from the set of encounter tiles based on the real-world location data and the user data; forming a clustered set of adjacent encounter tiles, wherein each encounter tile in the set of encounter tiles includes a plurality of edges defining attribute characteristics of the corresponding encounter tile; validating the aggregated set of encounter tiles based on the attribute characteristics of adjacent tiles to confirm that the adjacent tiles in the aggregated set of encounter tiles include complementary edges that fit together; In response to the verifying, displaying on the display screen one or more encounter tiles from the encounter tile set based on the position data; receiving, from the user interface, confirmation of a selected encounter tile from the displayed one or more tiles of the encounter tile set; In a computer game, associating the selected encounter tile with the physical location; Displaying an encounter space corresponding to the selected encounter tile on the display screen, wherein the encounter space is divided into a plurality of content spaces; displaying, on the display screen, content tiles from the set of content tiles in each of the plurality of content spaces, at least one of the displayed content tiles corresponding to real-world challenge criteria that require satisfying real-world sensor data and in-game challenge criteria that can be satisfied without the real-world sensor data; receiving real-world sensor data from the sensor data receiver; determining whether the at least one in-game challenge criterion is satisfied, and determining whether the at least one real-world challenge criterion is satisfied based on the real-world sensor data; as well as A game state of the computer game is updated based on the determination.

2. The digital content creation system according to claim 1, wherein: The second memory stores additional instructions for execution by the processor, which, when executed, cause the processor to: associating, based on a first indication from the user interface, a first selected content tile from the displayed content tiles with a first selected content space from the plurality of content spaces; Displaying the first selected content tile in the first selected content space; as well as associating a second selected content tile from the displayed content tiles with a second selected content space from the plurality of content spaces based on a second indication received from the user interface; as well as The second selected content tile is displayed in the second selected content space.

3. The digital content creation system according to claim 2, wherein: The second memory stores additional instructions for execution by the processor, which, when executed, cause the processor to: Based on a signal received from the user interface, an orientation of the first selected content tile relative to the first selected content space is adjusted.

4. The digital content creation system according to claim 2, wherein: The first content tile space is adjacent to the second content tile space, and further, the second content tile can be associated with the second content tile space only if the second characteristic of the second content tile matches the first characteristic of the first content tile.

5. The digital content creation system according to claim 1, wherein: The real-world challenge criterion corresponds to a change in physical location, and the real-world sensor data includes location data.

6. The digital content creation system according to claim 1, wherein: The real-world challenge criterion corresponds to heart rate, and the real-world sensor data includes pulse data.

7. The digital content creation system according to claim 1, wherein: At least the sensor data receiver, the user interface, the display screen, the processor and the second memory are provided in a mobile device, the mobile device further comprising a position sensor, a barometer or an accelerometer.

8. The digital content creation system according to claim 1, wherein: At least the sensor data receiver, the user interface, the display screen, the processor, and the second memory are provided in a mobile device, the system further comprising: A wearable device comprising a sensor, wherein the mobile device is configured to receive real-world sensor data from the sensor of the wearable device via the sensor data receiver.

9. The digital content creation system according to claim 1, wherein: The real-world sensor data includes acceleration data.

10. The digital content creation system according to claim 1, wherein: The real-world sensor data includes image data or video data.

11. The digital content creation system according to claim 1, wherein: The real-world sensor data includes biometric data.

12. The digital content creation system of claim 1, wherein: The real-world sensor data includes elevation data.

13. The digital content creation system of claim 1, wherein: This real-world challenge standard is player-specific.

14. The digital content creation system of claim 1, wherein: Each displayed content tile is associated with one or more filters or lenses.

15. The digital content creation system according to claim 1, wherein: This real-world challenge standard requires multiple players to cooperate or compete against each other.

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