Offer Wall System for External Activity Payments in Online Games
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Solution Overview
Problem
Players in online games often struggle to unlock upper levels without spending hard currency, as they are reluctant to use virtual currency and external third-party sites for in-game promotions, leading to delays and difficulties in progression.
Innovation Solution
A system that allows players to perform external activities instead of spending virtual currency, presented through an interface with 'offer walls' that provide sets of proposed activities tailored to specific game actions, using virtual items, time, or virtual currency, which can be used to satisfy in-game costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If players spend virtual currency to unlock upper levels, then progression speed is improved, but player willingness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary payment system that acts as a mediator between players and the game system. Instead of directly spending virtual currency, players perform external activities (watching ads, completing surveys, downloading apps) that are facilitated through a third-party platform. This intermediary mechanism converts unwilling virtual currency expenditure into willing external activity completion, resolving the contradiction between progression speed and player willingness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs disposable external activities as substitute payment methods. Players can complete temporary, one-time external tasks (viewing advertisements, completing short surveys) to earn virtual currency or directly unlock game content. These short-living external actions replace the need for persistent virtual currency investment, enabling progression without the psychological burden of spending real-value virtual currency.
2Quantity of substance
If players use third party sites for in-game promotions, then virtual currency acquisition is improved, but player convenience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the third-party activity platform with the in-game experience by integrating the offer wall directly into the game interface. Players can access external promotional activities without leaving the game environment, and the system automatically correlates completed external activities with in-game rewards. This combination maintains virtual currency acquisition benefits while eliminating the need for players to manually navigate between separate third-party sites, thereby improving convenience.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an in-game intermediary system that manages the connection between external activities and in-game rewards. Rather than requiring players to directly interact with external third-party sites, the in-game intermediary handles activity submission, verification, and reward distribution automatically. This intermediary layer shields players from the complexity of external site navigation while still enabling virtual currency acquisition through external activities.
3Adaptability or versatility
If players complete external activities instead of spending virtual currency, then player autonomy is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the payment system into distinct functional modules: an offer wall module for presenting external activities, an activity tracking module for monitoring completion, a reward calculation module for determining virtual currency awards, and an integration module for connecting with the game economy. This segmentation allows player autonomy in choosing external activities while managing system complexity through modular design, where each module handles a specific aspect of the transaction independently.
Data Source
AI summary
One aspect of the disclosure relates to providing players of an online game the option of performing one or more activities external to the online game instead of spend virtual currency to accomplish a specific action in the game. This option is presented through an interface that creates and displays separate “offer walls” for separation actions in the game. The activities may thematically correspond to the type of action the player wants to perform.