Tag-Based Interaction Management for Virtual Environments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Managing complex interactions between numerous objects in video games is cumbersome and prone to errors, as existing approaches often require manual updates and one-to-one relationships, leading to inefficiency and potential errors in creating realistic gameplay experiences.
Innovation Solution
A universal tagging and filtering system that allows developers to specify interactions using custom tags and rules, enabling dynamic updates and sharing of rules across objects, which simplifies the management of interactions and behaviors in virtual environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual updates are used for each individual object interaction, then customization and control over specific interactions are improved, but time consumption and potential for errors increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments interactions into reusable templates that can be independently defined and then applied to multiple objects. Each interaction template represents a discrete, manageable unit of behavior that can be customized once and reused numerous times, eliminating the need to manually update each object individually while maintaining full control over specific interaction behaviors.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates universal interaction templates that can serve multiple objects simultaneously. A single interaction template definition can be applied to numerous different objects throughout the virtual environment, allowing one template to perform the function of what would otherwise require many individual configurations. This multi-functional approach dramatically reduces time consumption while preserving customization capabilities.
2Manufacturing precision
If one-to-one relationships are established for each object interaction, then precision and control over specific interactions are improved, but system complexity and difficulty of management increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces interaction templates as intermediary elements between objects and their interaction behaviors. Instead of directly managing complex one-to-one relationships between every pair of objects, the templates act as mediators that define standardized interaction patterns. This intermediary layer simplifies management by providing a hierarchical structure where templates manage the complexity, while still allowing precise control over how specific objects interact through template selection and configuration.
3Adaptability or versatility
If individual object interactions are customized manually, then uniqueness and specificity of each interaction are improved, but consistency across similar objects deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by allowing specific objects to have tailored configurations through selective template application. Each object can be assigned appropriate interaction templates based on its specific requirements, maintaining uniqueness where needed. Meanwhile, objects with similar requirements automatically inherit consistent behavior from shared templates, ensuring consistency across similar objects. This localized customization approach balances both uniqueness and consistency effectively.
4Reliability
If comprehensive interaction rules are implemented for all objects, then realism and immersion of gameplay are improved, but computational resources and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes parameters by implementing a hierarchical template structure that allows comprehensive interaction rules to be defined once at the template level, then efficiently instantiated for multiple objects. This parameter change from individual object configuration to template-based configuration dramatically reduces computational overhead while maintaining the ability to implement realistic and immersive gameplay interactions across all objects in the virtual environment.
Data Source
AI summary
A design platform facilitates development and management of interactions and events involving objects in a virtual environment, such as a gaming environment. Each object, or type of object, can have one or more tags applied. The tags are used to determine a rule to enforce when an event occurs with respect to an object, or the object interacts with another object in the environment. This can include, for example, determining an animation, sound, or action to trigger for the object. A set of rules can be defined, where each rule is associated with a set of tags. A custom expression can provide logic to be evaluated to determine which rule to apply for an interaction, where the script can specify certain tags, or groups or tags, that must be present, or not present, for the rule to apply. The tags for a given object can be updated dynamically during gameplay.