Location-Based Game Rewards Using Verified Merchant Purchases
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current gaming platforms do not incentivize players to purchase real-world goods or services from real-world vendors, lacking a mechanism to track or verify such transactions, and thus fail to engage players beyond visiting specific locations.
Innovation Solution
A location-based reality game platform that associates players with funds, monitors their geographic coordinates, and rewards them for purchasing real-world merchant offers by verifying transactions through a transaction processing entity, using a system that tracks and processes payment data to activate in-game rewards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If players visit real-world locations to collect digital goods in location-based augmented reality games, then player engagement with virtual and real environments is improved, but there is no mechanism to track or verify real-world purchases by players at merchant locations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a transaction processing entity as an intermediary between the game platform and real-world merchants. This intermediary receives location data from players, matches it with merchant information, and verifies purchases through payment transaction data. The intermediary enables the system to track and verify real-world purchases without requiring direct integration between the game platform and each merchant, thus resolving the information loss problem while maintaining player engagement.
2Productivity
If the system tracks player location and verifies real-world purchases, then player engagement and merchant revenue are improved, but the system complexity increases due to need for transaction processing and data verification
Solution Approach 1:
The transaction processing entity serves multiple functions: it receives location data from players, matches locations with merchant information, verifies purchases through payment data, and activates in-game rewards. By consolidating these multiple functions into a single intermediary system, the patent reduces overall system complexity compared to having separate systems for location tracking, merchant verification, and reward management. This multi-functional approach maintains high player engagement while managing complexity effectively.
3Adaptability or versatility
If merchants participate in the incentive program without implementing additional computing infrastructure, then merchant adoption is improved, but the system must rely on existing payment processing systems for transaction verification
Solution Approach 1:
The system leverages existing payment processing infrastructure to verify transactions. Instead of requiring merchants to implement additional computing infrastructure, the transaction processing entity uses standard payment data from existing systems to verify purchases. This self-service approach allows merchants to participate in the incentive program using their existing payment processing capabilities, maintaining high reliability through established verification methods while avoiding the complexity of new infrastructure implementation.
Data Source
AI summary
Computer-implemented methods and systems are provided for hosting a location-based virtual environment in which one or more users can participate. Geographic coordinates of the user in real world using data provided by a positioning system may be determined. The real world geographic coordinates of the user may be mapped to virtualized coordinates of an avatar in the virtual environment. The user's real world geographic coordinates may be compared to real world geographic coordinates of one or more entities having a presence in the virtual environment. The user may be presented with options for accepting or activating a first reward from the list of rewards. Responsive to the user selecting the first reward, the first reward may be activated for a first time period in association with one or more goods or services offered by the first entity. The user is rewarded in response to verifying the user has purchased the offered goods or services during the first time period.