Multi-Controller Input Swapping for Single-Player Game Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Single-player games often leave friends or family members without the opportunity to participate, as physical sharing of controllers can be impractical due to time-critical gameplay or unintended input activation, and secondary players have limited interaction capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that enables seamless control swapping between multiple controllers, allowing inputs from one controller to be transparently swapped with another based on predetermined criteria, such as elapsed time or game operations, facilitating shared gameplay without physical handover.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If physical sharing of controllers is used for single-player games, then multiple users can participate, but time-critical gameplay may be disrupted and unintended inputs may be activated
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces a control swap mechanism as an intermediary between multiple controllers and the single-player game application. This mediator transparently routes inputs from either controller to the game without requiring physical handover, preventing gameplay disruption while enabling multi-user participation. The swap processor monitors and manages controller inputs, ensuring seamless transitions that maintain game continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a virtual copy of the controller interface through software-based control swapping. Instead of requiring physical controller transfer, the system replicates controller functionality through software routing, allowing multiple users to interact with the game through different controllers while the game receives inputs as if from a single continuous controller source.
2Adaptability or versatility
If physical sharing of controllers is used, then multiple users can participate, but unintended input activation may occur during handover
Solution Approach 1:
The control swap mechanism acts as an intermediary that manages controller input routing without requiring physical handover. By maintaining software-based control assignment, the system eliminates the handover period where unintended inputs could occur, while still allowing multiple users to participate through controlled swapping based on predetermined criteria.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary setup by establishing control swap rules and criteria before multi-user gameplay begins. Controllers are pre-configured and registered with the system, and swap conditions are predetermined, eliminating the need for spontaneous physical handovers that could trigger unintended inputs during the transition process.
3Adaptability or versatility
If remote participation is enabled, then distance limitations are mitigated, but network connectivity and latency may affect gameplay responsiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates virtual controller representations that replicate local controller functionality for remote users. Through software-based control swapping and input routing, remote controllers are copied and integrated into the local system architecture, allowing remote participants to interact with the game with responsiveness comparable to local controllers, minimizing the impact of network latency.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of interactive control comprises the steps of establishing connection with two or more controllers, comprising at least a first controller and a second controller, receiving inputs from the first controller to interact with a single-user application, initializing a control swap scheme, the scheme comprising selecting inputs from the first controller to provide to the single-user application as inputs from the first controller, and in response to a predetermined criterion, selecting inputs from the second controller to provide to the single-user application as inputs from the first controller.