Game UI Player Icon Sorting by Messaging Activity

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Solution Overview

Problem

Traditional online games lack efficient mechanisms for players to filter and prioritize communication with other players based on messaging activity, leading to cumbersome manual processes and suboptimal social interactions.

Innovation Solution

A game user interface that displays player icons sorted by messaging activity, allowing players to communicate through a communication user interface that automatically updates based on recent interactions, game achievements, and online status, enabling seamless communication with frequently contacted friends and others.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If players manually filter and search for other players in a user interface listing, then they can identify appropriate players to communicate with, but the process becomes cumbersome and time-consuming

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of player communicationVSAvoidtime spent filtering players

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system pre-sorts player icons based on messaging activity data before the player needs to communicate. This preliminary organization eliminates the need for manual filtering and searching, allowing players to immediately see and select from already-prioritized contacts, thus resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and time consumption

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system automatically performs the filtering and prioritization task that would otherwise require manual player input. By using messaging activity data to self-organize the player list, the system serves the sorting function autonomously, freeing the player from the cumbersome manual process while maintaining operational simplicity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

2Adaptability or versatility

If the system presents a comprehensive list of all players capable of receiving messages, then players have access to all possible communication partners, but the interface complexity and difficulty of finding specific players increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecommunication options availableVSAvoiduser interface complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The comprehensive player list is segmented into prioritized groups based on messaging activity. Instead of presenting one flat complex list, the system divides players into segments (frequently contacted, occasionally contacted, rarely contacted), allowing players to access different segments based on their communication needs while reducing the apparent complexity of the interface

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The player list dynamically reorganizes itself based on messaging activity data. The sorting and prioritization automatically adjusts as communication patterns change, allowing the interface to adapt to player behavior without requiring manual reconfiguration. This dynamic reorganization maintains versatility while reducing complexity through automatic adaptation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS10406447B2System and methods to display icons based on messaging activity

Publication Date: 2019.09.10 ZYNGA INC

AI summary

A system, computer-readable storage medium storing at least one program, and a computer-implemented method to load a game user interface is provided. A request is received from a second player to access a game user interface for a computer-implemented game. First player messaging activity information associated with messaging activity of the first player is accessed. During loading of the game user interface, a chat interface is displayed to enable text communication between the first and second player. Concurrently, a loading progress indicator is displayed.