U.S. patent application number 13/163490 was filed with the patent office on 2012-12-13 for multimedia memory game.
This patent application is currently assigned to NXP B.V.. Invention is credited to David Marechal, Alexis Watine.
Application Number | 20120315967 13/163490 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 47293624 |
Filed Date | 2012-12-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120315967 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Watine; Alexis ; et
al. |
December 13, 2012 |
MULTIMEDIA MEMORY GAME
Abstract
The invention relates to a method of playing and configuring a
multimedia memory game; to a computer program product comprising
computer-executable instructions for carrying out the steps of a
method of playing and configuring a multimedia memory game; to a
mobile device; to an electronic data carrier; and to a multimedia
memory game comprising a mobile device, a first electronic data
carrier and a second electronic data carrier. During a turn of the
game, the content stored on the first electronic data carrier is
read and the content stored on the second electronic data carrier
is read. Then it is verified whether the first content and the
second content satisfy a predetermined associative relationship.
Only if the first content and the second content satisfy the
predetermined associative relationship, it is concluded that the
turn is successful. The predetermined associative relationship may
be preconfigured or configured by a user.
Inventors: |
Watine; Alexis; (Periers sur
le Dan, FR) ; Marechal; David; (Cairon, FR) |
Assignee: |
NXP B.V.
Eindhoven
NL
|
Family ID: |
47293624 |
Appl. No.: |
13/163490 |
Filed: |
June 17, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
463/9 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63F 2011/0081 20130101;
A63F 2009/247 20130101; A63F 2009/2486 20130101; A63F 9/183
20130101; A63F 2009/186 20130101; A63F 2011/0083 20130101; A63F
1/04 20130101; A63F 2009/245 20130101; A63F 2009/2479 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/9 |
International
Class: |
A63F 9/24 20060101
A63F009/24 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 8, 2011 |
EP |
11290263.0 |
Claims
1. A method of playing a multimedia memory game comprising a set of
electronic data carriers, wherein a turn of the game comprises:
reading first content stored on a first electronic data carrier of
the set; reading second content stored on a second electronic data
carrier of the set; verifying whether the first content and the
second content satisfy a predetermined associative relationship;
and only if the first content and the second content satisfy the
predetermined associative relationship, concluding that the turn is
successful.
2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first content
comprises at least one of the following content types: text,
drawing, photo, video, sound, color, vibration.
3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second content
comprises at least one of the following content types: text,
drawing, photo, video, sound, color, vibration.
4. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first content and
the second content comprise user-defined content.
5. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electronic data
carriers are NFC tags or RFID tags.
6. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the predetermined
associative relationship is determined by a user before the start
of the game.
7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein, upon concluding that
the turn is successful, a point is awarded, and wherein the
multimedia memory game is played by repeating turns until a
predetermined amount of points has been awarded.
8. A non-transitory computer program product comprising
computer-executable instructions for carrying out the steps of a
method as claimed in claim 1.
9. A multimedia memory game comprising a mobile device and a set of
electronic data carriers, wherein the mobile device is arranged to
perform the following operations during a turn of the game: read
first content stored on a first electronic data carrier of the set;
read second content stored on a second electronic data carrier of
the set; verify whether the first content and the second content
satisfy a predetermined associative relationship; and conclude that
the turn is successful only if the first content and the second
content satisfy the predetermined associative relationship.
10. A multimedia memory game as claimed in claim 9, wherein the
first content comprises at least one of the following content
types: text, drawing, photo, video, sound, color, vibration.
11. A multimedia memory game as claimed in claim 9, wherein the
second content comprises at least one of the following content
types: text, drawing, photo, video, sound, color, vibration.
12. A multimedia memory game as claimed in claim 9, wherein the
first content and/or the second content comprises user-defined
content.
13. A multimedia memory game as claimed in claim 9, wherein the
electronic data carriers are NFC tags or RFID tags.
14. A multimedia memory game as claimed in claim 9, wherein the
predetermined associative relationship is determined by a user
before the start of the game.
15. A multimedia memory game as claimed in claim 9, wherein the
mobile device is further arranged to play the game by awarding a
point upon concluding that a turn is successful and by repeating
turns until a predetermined amount of points has been awarded.
16. A multimedia memory game as claimed in claim 9, wherein the
first content comprises a first identifier value which identifies
the first electronic data carrier, and the second content comprises
a second identifier value which identifies the second electronic
data carrier; wherein the mobile device comprises a memory unit for
storing first data content corresponding to the first identifier
value and second data content corresponding to the second
identifier value; wherein the mobile device is further arranged to
retrieve the first identifier value from the first electronic data
carrier and the second identifier value from the second electronic
data carrier and to match the first identifier value to the first
data content and the second identifier value to the second data
content; and wherein the mobile device is further arranged to
verify whether the first content and the second content satisfy the
predetermined associative relationship by verifying whether the
first data content and the second data content satisfy said
predetermined associative relationship.
Description
[0001] This application claims the priority under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119 of European patent application no. 11290263.0, filed on
Jun. 8, 2011, the contents of which are incorporated by reference
herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The so-called memory game is a popular game which appeals to
the short-term human memory. The memory game can be played by at
least two players. Basically, the aim of the memory game is to find
matching pairs of substantially equal pictures which are printed on
cards. The player who finds the highest amount of matching pairs
wins the game.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] More specifically, the game is played as follows. Initially
the cards are placed in a two-dimensional array on a surface, for
example, on a table or a desk. All cards are face down, so that all
pictures are hidden from sight. During a turn, a player uncovers
two pictures by turning two cards face up. If the pictures are the
same, i.e. if the cards contain a matching pair, the turn is
successful. If the pictures are not the same, the turn is
unsuccessful and the player turns the two cards face down again.
The position of the pictures in the array has to be remembered by
the players in order to increase the probability that their next
turn will be successful. If a player's turn is successful, he earns
a point and removes the two cards from the array. The player who
uncovers the highest amount of matching pairs earns the highest
amount of points and wins the game.
[0004] In general, conventional card-based memory games typically
only present visual information to the user, for example pictures.
Furthermore, they typically contain only a limited number of
printed items on the cards.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] In accordance with the invention, a method of playing a
multimedia memory game using electronic data carriers is
provided.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The invention will be described in more detail with
reference to the appended FIGs., in which:
[0007] FIG. 1 shows a conventional card-based memory game;
[0008] FIG. 2 shows a multimedia memory game according to the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0009] In an embodiment in accordance with the invention, the first
content comprises at least one of the following content types:
text, drawing, photo, video, sound, color, vibration.
[0010] In an embodiment in accordance with the invention, the
second content comprises at least one of the following content
types: text, drawing, photo, video, sound, color, vibration.
[0011] In an embodiment in accordance with the invention, the first
content and/or the second content comprises user-defined
content.
[0012] In an embodiment in accordance with the invention, the
electronic data carriers are NFC tags.
[0013] In an embodiment in accordance with the invention, the
predetermined associative relationship is determined by a user
before the start of the game.
[0014] In an embodiment in accordance with the invention, upon
concluding that the turn is successful, a point is awarded, and the
multimedia memory game is played by repeating turns until a
predetermined amount of points has been awarded.
[0015] In an embodiment in accordance with the invention, a
non-transitory computer program product is provided which comprises
computer-executable instructions for carrying out the steps of a
method of the kind set forth.
[0016] In an embodiment in accordance with the invention, a
multimedia memory game is provided which comprises a mobile device
and a set of electronic data carriers, wherein the mobile device is
arranged to perform the following operations during a turn of the
game: read first content stored on a first electronic data carrier
of the set; read second content stored on a second electronic data
carrier of the set; verify whether the first content and the second
content satisfy a predetermined associative relationship; and
conclude that the turn is successful only if the first content and
the second content satisfy the predetermined associative
relationship.
[0017] In an embodiment of the multimedia memory game in accordance
with the invention, the first content comprises at least one of the
following content types: text, drawing, photo, video, sound, color,
vibration.
[0018] In an embodiment of the multimedia memory game in accordance
with the invention, the second content comprises at least one of
the following content types: text, drawing, photo, video, sound,
color, vibration.
[0019] In an embodiment of the multimedia memory game in accordance
with the invention, the first content and/or the second content
comprises user-defined content.
[0020] In an embodiment of the multimedia memory game in accordance
with the invention, the electronic data carriers are NFC tags.
[0021] In an embodiment of the multimedia memory game in accordance
with the invention, the predetermined associative relationship is
determined by a user before the start of the game.
[0022] In an embodiment of the multimedia memory game in accordance
with the invention, the mobile device is further arranged to play
the game by awarding a point upon concluding that a turn is
successful and by repeating turns until a predetermined amount of
points has been awarded.
[0023] In an embodiment of the multimedia memory game in accordance
with the invention, the first content comprises a first identifier
value which identifies the first electronic data carrier, and the
second content comprises a second identifier value which identifies
the second electronic data carrier; the mobile device comprises a
memory unit for storing first data content corresponding to the
first identifier value and second data content corresponding to the
second identifier value; the mobile device is further arranged to
retrieve the first identifier value from the first electronic data
carrier and the second identifier value from the second electronic
data carrier and to match the first identifier value to the first
data content and the second identifier value to the second data
content; and the mobile device is further arranged to verify
whether the first content and the second content satisfy the
predetermined associative relationship by verifying whether the
first data content and the second data content satisfy said
predetermined associative relationship.
[0024] FIG. 1 shows a conventional card-based memory game. In this
example, the card-based memory game consists of 16 cards on which
matching pairs of pictures have been printed. A first card 100,
which contains a picture of a sun, has a fixed associative
relationship 104 with a second card 102, which contains the same
picture. A third card 106, which contains a picture of a moon, has
a fixed associative relationship 110 with a fourth card 108, which
contains the same picture. In general, conventional card-based
memory games only present visual information to the user, for
example pictures, and they contain only a limited number of printed
items on the cards.
[0025] FIG. 2 shows a multimedia memory game in accordance with the
invention. The multimedia memory game 200 comprises a set of
electronic data carriers 202, 204, 206, 208 and a mobile device
216. In this example, the electronic data carriers 202, 204, 206,
208 are NFC tags. Although only four electronic data carriers have
been shown, the multimedia memory game 200 may contain a plurality
of electronic data carriers. Passive NFC tags, for example, are
relatively cheap devices which can be obtained from public vendors,
and therefore they are particularly suitable for this purpose.
[0026] The mobile device 216 comprises a processing unit 218 and a
memory unit 220. The mobile device 216 is wirelessly connectable to
a first electronic data carrier of the set 202 via a near field
communication link 212. Furthermore, the mobile device 216 is
wirelessly connectable to a second electronic data carrier of the
set 204 via another near field communication link 214. The mobile
device 216 is also wirelessly connectable to other electronic data
carriers 206, 208 via further near field communication links (not
shown). A non-transitory computer program product, for example a
downloadable game application, may be stored in a memory unit 220
of the mobile device 216. The mobile device 216 also contains a
processing unit 218 for executing the game application.
[0027] The content stored on the first electronic data carrier 202
has a predetermined associative relationship 210 with the content
stored on the second electronic data carrier 204. In this example,
the first electronic data carrier 202 contains a drawing of a sun,
which has a predetermined associative relationship 210 with a
computer-executable sound file "SUNSHINE-REGGAE.SND" stored on the
second electronic data carrier 204.
[0028] The predetermined associative relationship 210 may be
preconfigured in the game application. For example, in case of a
commercial game a user could buy a set of NFC tags in a shop and
then download an application wherein the associative relationships
between the contents stored on said NFC tags are preconfigured. It
is also possible to provide different sets of NFC tags for
different games involving different types of associative
relationships. Alternatively, a single set of NFC tags may be
provided for different game applications. Optionally, in an
embodiment in accordance with the invention, the predetermined
associative relationship 210 may be determined by a user before the
start of the game and then configured in the game application. This
may be implemented as follows. The user will present the first
electronic data carrier 202 to the mobile device 216. Then, the
user will be asked to assign content to the first electronic data
carrier 202, for example said drawing of the sun. Subsequently, the
user will present the second electronic data carrier 204 to the
mobile device 216. The user will be asked to assign content to the
second electronic data carrier 204, for example said
computer-executable sound file. By presenting the second electronic
data carrier 204 after the first electronic data carrier 202 to the
mobile device 216 the associative relationship 210 is automatically
established and stored in the mobile device 216.
[0029] It is noted that the actual data content of the electronic
data carriers 202, 204 may also reside in the memory unit 220 of
the mobile device 216. In that case, the content stored on the
electronic data carriers 202, 204 may be limited to, for example,
identifier values which identify the respective data carriers. The
mobile device 216 may be arranged to retrieve said identifier
values and use them as references to the actual data content stored
in its memory unit 220 and corresponding to the respective
electronic data carriers 202, 204. Then, the step of verifying
whether the first content and the second content satisfy the
predetermined associative relationship may be implemented as
retrieving the identifier values and subsequently verifying whether
the respective data contents referred to by said identifier values
satisfy said relationship.
[0030] There are many examples of associative relationships. For
instance, two identical or similar drawings or photographs may be
paired. Also, two identical or different colors may be paired or
two identical or different words. An example of the latter is a
tool for learning synonyms. Furthermore, photos may be associated
with text, for example photos of family members with names of these
family members. The names of the family members may be composed of
written text or sound, i.e. spoken text. Thus, the memory game is
customizable to a large extent. Another example of an educational
game is a tool for helping children to read by pairing written
words to the corresponding spoken words. Pictures of objects, such
as vehicles, may be associated with a corresponding sound, such as
the corresponding engine noise.
[0031] In an embodiment in accordance with the invention, the
multimedia memory game is also very useful for visually impaired
people, because it allows to associate sounds with vibrations. In
case the mobile device is a phone, a number of beeps may be
associated to a number of vibrations of the phone. Also, a sound
with a given duration may be associated with a vibration of the
same duration.
[0032] Furthermore, it will be appreciated that the invention is
not limited to associative relationships between only two instances
of contents. The invention allows for an extension to associative
relationships between three or more instances of contents.
[0033] The game may be started upon request of a user, for example
via a graphical user interface comprised in the game application,
in an embodiment in accordance with the invention. Optionally, the
game application may be launched automatically when the mobile
device 216 touches, or moves into close proximity of, one of the
electronic data carriers 202, 204, 206, 208. Alternatively, the
game may be started by shaking the mobile device if the device is
equipped with an accelerometer, for example.
[0034] The electronic data carriers 202, 204, 206, 208 may be
placed on a table and they may remain in the same place for a next
game, because new associative relationships may be established for
a given set of electronic data carriers. In other words, the
electronic data carriers 202, 204, 206, 208 need not be reshuffled
for the next game.
[0035] The skilled person will appreciate that each player may use
his own mobile device to participate in the multimedia memory game
200. In that case, the game will be extended with more mobile
devices. Each mobile device will interact with the electronic data
carriers 202, 204, 206, 208. Also, each mobile device will be
equipped with a game application of the kind set forth. In
addition, the game application may be configured on a first mobile
device and subsequently copied to other mobile devices by means of
peer-to-peer data exchange. Furthermore, game application variants
could be downloaded from an application store, for example.
[0036] During a turn of the game, the content stored on the first
electronic data carrier 202 is read and the content stored on the
second electronic data carrier 204 is read. Then it is verified
whether the first content and the second content satisfy the
predetermined associative relationship 210. Only if the first
content and the second content satisfy the predetermined
associative relationship 210, it is concluded that the turn is
successful. In this example, it is verified whether the drawing of
the sun stored on the first electronic data carrier 202 has a
predetermined associative relationship 210 with the sound file
"SUNSHINE-REGGAE.SND" stored on the second electronic data carrier
204. If this relationship indeed exists, it is concluded that the
turn is successful. Upon concluding that a turn is successful a
point may be awarded to the player. The game may continue, for
example, until one of the players has been awarded a given amount
of points. In this way, a very flexible and user-friendly
multimedia memory game can be realized.
[0037] The above-mentioned embodiments in accordance with the
invention, illustrate rather than limit the invention, and the
skilled person will be able to design many alternative embodiments
without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the
claims, any reference sign placed between parentheses shall not be
construed as limiting the claim. The word "comprise(s)" or
"comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps
other than those listed in a claim. The word "a" or "an" preceding
an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such
elements. The invention may be implemented by means of hardware
comprising several distinct elements and/or by means of a suitably
programmed processor. In a device claim enumerating several means,
several of these means may be embodied by one and the same item of
hardware. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in
mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a
combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
[0038] 100 first card [0039] 102 second card [0040] 104 first
association [0041] 106 third card [0042] 108 fourth card [0043] 110
second association [0044] 200 multimedia memory game [0045] 202
first electronic data carrier [0046] 204 second electronic data
carrier [0047] 206 further electronic data carrier [0048] 208
further electronic data carrier [0049] 210 predetermined
associative relationship [0050] 212 first read/write connection
[0051] 214 second read/write connection [0052] 216 mobile device
[0053] 218 processing unit [0054] 220 memory unit
* * * * *