Turn-Based Game Backtracking Mechanism for Limited Display Resources
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Solution Overview
Problem
Designing computer-implemented match games that are engaging and challenging on devices with limited display resources, such as smartphones, while providing visual complexity and effective user feedback, is challenging due to limited interaction possibilities and resource constraints.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented device and method that allows game elements to be moved between positions on a game board, updating a count value for each move, and displaying information about the number of positions moved, with the processor determining when the selected element can no longer be moved, and visually distinguishing game elements that satisfy game rules, allowing for dynamic gameplay and board updates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the game board displays more game elements to increase complexity and engagement, then the visual distinctness and player engagement improve, but the display resource consumption increases beyond the capacity of limited devices
Solution Approach 1:
The game board is divided into multiple pages or sections that can be navigated through. Instead of displaying all game elements simultaneously on a limited screen, the system segments the display into manageable portions (current page, previous page, next page) allowing complex game states to be represented across multiple displays while maintaining a clean, focused view on the limited device screen
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a temporal dimension to the display by implementing pagination and backtracking capabilities. Players can navigate between different pages (past, present, future states) of the game board, effectively adding a time-based dimension to the spatial display constraints. This allows the game to convey more information than would fit on a single screen by distributing it across multiple time-based views
2Ease of operation
If the game provides detailed feedback and visual distinctions to enhance player engagement and understanding, then the user engagement improves, but the resource consumption and interface complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Visual feedback and distinctions are applied locally to specific game elements and their corresponding positions across different pages, rather than globally across the entire interface. Matched elements, selected elements, and navigational elements receive targeted visual treatment (highlighting, coloring, positioning) while maintaining a clean overall interface. This allows rich feedback without overwhelming the limited display resources
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces visual indicators and navigational elements as intermediaries that mediate between the complex game state and the player's understanding. These intermediaries (such as page indicators, selection highlights, and navigation cues) provide structured feedback without requiring the entire interface to become complex, acting as a buffer between the game's internal complexity and the user's perception
3Adaptability or versatility
If the game allows multiple move options and backtracking to increase strategic depth, then the gameplay complexity improves, but the number of possible game states and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-calculates and prepares multiple possible game states and their corresponding displays before the player needs to see them. By anticipating future game states (next page, previous page) and preparing their visual representations in advance, the system enables strategic backtracking and multiple move options without requiring complex real-time processing when the player makes decisions
Solution Approach 2:
The game interface dynamically adapts its display based on the player's current position and actions. The system flexibly manages the visibility and accessibility of different pages and move options, allowing the interface to expand and contract as needed. This dynamic approach enables complex strategic gameplay while maintaining efficient resource usage by only activating and processing the game states that are currently relevant to the player's situation
Data Source
AI summary
A computer implemented device has a display which displays game elements of a computer implemented game board. A use selects via a user interface a game element and moves that game element. A processor will update a count value for each move made. When the count reaches a certain value, the use is prevented from making further moves. If a user back tracks, the count value is correspondingly updated.