IM Contact List Entry for Game Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current Instant Messaging (IM) applications lack an efficient interface to seamlessly switch between IM conversations and ongoing games, making it difficult to manage and switch between multiple gaming sessions and conversations.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a contact list entry in the IM interface to designate a game in progress, allowing users to easily switch between IM conversations and game applications using game-in-progress data, enabling simultaneous management of conversations and games.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If users switch between IM conversations and game applications using separate interfaces, then game functionality is available, but interface complexity increases and switching efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the IM contact list interface with the game management interface by displaying game information (current game, opponent, status) directly within the contact list entry. This integration allows users to access both IM and game functionalities through a single unified interface, eliminating the need to switch between separate applications or screens, thereby reducing interface complexity while improving switching efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact list entry is designed to serve multiple functions simultaneously: it displays IM contact information, shows current game status, indicates opponent presence, and provides access to both IM messaging and game play. This multi-functional design consolidates what would traditionally require separate interfaces into a single universal entry point, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and device complexity.
2Productivity
If users manage multiple games and conversations separately, then each activity can be tracked, but time management and context switching efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-displaying game status information (current game, opponent, whether game is in progress) within the contact list entry before the user needs to switch contexts. This advance preparation of information allows users to quickly assess game status and make immediate decisions about whether to switch to the game interface, reducing the time and cognitive effort required for context switching between IM and game activities.
3Adaptability or versatility
If game information is displayed in a separate game interface, then game details are comprehensive, but accessibility from IM interface is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts essential game information (current game identifier, opponent identifier, game status) from the full game interface and displays it directly within the contact list entry. This selective extraction provides users with key game details while remaining in the IM interface, maintaining information accessibility without requiring full game interface complexity, thus improving interface integration while preserving necessary game information.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for using a contact-list entry of an IM contact-list interface to designate an IM game in progress to facilitate switching between an IM conversation and an IM game.