Video Game Controller Overlays With Animated Input Indicators
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Solution Overview
Problem
Spectators watching online video game streams cannot see the streamer's interactions with the physical video game controller, leading to difficulty in imitating the streamer's gameplay.
Innovation Solution
A virtual gaming controller is displayed as an overlay on the screen, with graphical indicators showing the user's control inputs on the physical controller, including animated images that change size based on input engagement and release.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a virtual gaming controller overlay is displayed to show control inputs, then spectators can understand the streamer's gameplay, but the display complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the physical gaming controller that is displayed on the screen. This virtual controller replicates the appearance and control elements of the physical device, allowing spectators to see which controls are being pressed. The virtual controller serves as a visual copy that translates physical interactions into observable on-screen representations.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual controller overlay acts as an intermediary between the physical controller and the spectators. Instead of showing the physical controller directly or requiring spectators to infer control inputs from gameplay alone, the system introduces a virtual representation that mediates this information transfer, making control inputs visible and understandable.
2Illumination intensity
If animated images are generated in a larger size when control input is engaged, then the control input is more visible to spectators, but the visual clutter increases
Solution Approach 1:
The size of the animated images on the virtual controller is made dynamic rather than static. When a control input is engaged, the corresponding animated image increases in size to draw attention and improve visibility. When the control is released, the image returns to its normal size. This dynamic sizing allows the interface to adapt its visual prominence based on actual user interaction.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the size parameter of the animated images based on the state of control input. This parameter change allows the same visual element to serve different functions at different times - being prominent when needed (during interaction) and subdued when not needed (at rest), thereby managing visual clutter while maintaining visibility.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods described herein include displaying, on a display, a virtual gaming controller that is a graphical representation of a physical gaming controller being operated by a user. In response to the user interacting with a control input on the physical gaming controller, the control input entered by the user on the physical gaming controller is detected, after which a graphical indicator is displayed on the display, the graphical indicator including an animated image and overlaying a control input on the virtual gaming controller that corresponds to the control input entered by the user on the physical gaming controller. The animated image is generated on the display in a first size in response to detecting that the user engaged the control input of the physical gaming controller, and in a second, smaller, size in response to detecting that the user released the control input of the physical gaming controller.