Game Device Selection Screen Using Tree Structure Visualization
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Users face difficulty in selecting the appropriate reproduction data item from a large number of stored options due to the lack of clear relationship visualization between these items, making it hard to grasp their association and progress in a game.
Innovation Solution
A game system and device that displays a selection screen showing each reproduction data item in association with others, using a tree structure to represent the parent-child relationship between them, allowing users to easily recognize and select the desired data item.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a large number of reproduction data items are stored in the game system, then the user can access more game states and progress points, but the user becomes confused and cannot easily recognize the relationships between these data items
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dimensionality change by transitioning from a one-dimensional linear list display to a two-dimensional tree structure display. This allows reproduction data items to be organized hierarchically with parent-child relationships visually represented through indentation, connecting lines, and hierarchical positioning. The tree structure adds a spatial dimension to the display, enabling users to comprehend complex relationships among multiple reproduction data items without increasing cognitive load.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces visual intermediaries such as connecting lines, hierarchical indentation, and structural markers that mediate between the raw reproduction data items and the user's understanding. These visual elements act as intermediaries that explicitly represent the parent-child relationships and progression paths, making the relationships between data items immediately recognizable without requiring users to mentally trace through multiple items.
2Device complexity
If reproduction data items are displayed in a simple list format, then the display is simple and easy to implement, but the user cannot grasp the relationship between reproduction data items
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by adding a hierarchical dimension to the display structure. Instead of a flat one-dimensional list, the selection screen employs a two-dimensional tree structure where vertical positioning and indentation represent hierarchical levels. This additional spatial dimension enables the display to convey relationship information without significantly increasing implementation complexity, as the tree structure can be rendered using standard graphical interface elements and layout techniques.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the reproduction data items into hierarchical groups based on their parent-child relationships. Each parent reproduction data item and its child items form a segmented subtree within the overall tree structure. This segmentation allows the display to organize numerous items into manageable hierarchical units, preserving relationship information while maintaining display clarity and avoiding overwhelming the user with a single undifferentiated list.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus provide for a game server carrying out actions, including: generating a selection screen that presents a plurality of reproduction data items, each for reproducing a state of a respective point in time during execution of a game and allowing a user of a game device to select one of the reproduction data items, each reproduction data item representing a respective state of the game achieved by the user while engaged in game play on the game device, the selection screen presenting a first reproduction data item, which is one of the plurality of reproduction data items, in association with a second reproduction data item, wherein the selection screen provides an indication to the user of whether the second reproduction data item reproduces a state of a point in time at which the game has progressed with reference to the state reproduced by the first reproduction data item; and transmitting the generated selection screen to the game device over a network such that the game device may display the received selection screen on a display device.