Virtual Activity Region Proximity Control for Group Play
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Solution Overview
Problem
Facilitating group activities in virtual environments can be cumbersome, especially for younger audiences, due to complex user interfaces and difficulties in joining or leaving group activities without a lobby system.
Innovation Solution
A virtual world application that defines a region around a leading avatar for a group activity, allowing participation only within this region, with visual cues like a halo effect, and manages audio playback based on avatar location and participation, enabling users to join or leave activities conveniently without a lobby system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a lobby system is used to manage group activities, then group activity management becomes more organized, but the user interface becomes more complex and harder to use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the lobby system from the group activity participation process. Instead of requiring users to go through a lobby to join or leave group activities, the system allows direct participation by detecting avatar proximity to the activity region, thereby eliminating the complex lobby interface while maintaining reliable activity management
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables avatars to automatically join or leave group activities based on their proximity to the activity region without requiring manual lobby interactions. The avatar's location relative to the region automatically determines participation status, making the system self-regulating and eliminating the need for complex lobby management interfaces
2Reliability
If a lobby system is required to join or leave group activities, then activity participation is more controlled, but the process becomes more cumbersome and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-defines activity regions with clear spatial boundaries before activities begin. Avatars can see and navigate toward these predefined regions, allowing them to quickly join activities by simply moving to the correct location without time-consuming lobby procedures
Solution Approach 2:
Avatars automatically join or leave group activities based on their proximity to activity regions without requiring manual lobby interactions. This self-service mechanism eliminates the time-consuming process of manually joining or leaving activities through a lobby system
3Ease of operation
If visual and audio cues are added to indicate activity regions, then the immersive experience is enhanced, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses visual cues such as color changes or graphical indicators to mark activity regions in the virtual environment. These visual markers make it easy for users to identify where to go to join activities without requiring complex interface controls
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces complex mechanical or procedural systems (like lobby interfaces) with sensory-based cues (visual and audio). Users can identify and join activities through natural sensory perception of the virtual environment rather than navigating complex system interfaces
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are disclosed to facilitate group activities in a virtual environment. An indication is conveyed of a region surrounding a first avatar as being a group activity region, upon detecting that the first avatar is leading a first group activity in the virtual environment. The region is defined by proximity to the first avatar. A second avatar is allowed to participate in the first group activity with the first avatar in the region, only when the second avatar is within the region surrounding the first avatar in the virtual environment.