U.S. patent application number 14/729775 was filed with the patent office on 2015-09-24 for systems and methods for interacting with virtual nodes within a geographic area.
The applicant listed for this patent is Kirk A. Damman, Benjamin J. Siders. Invention is credited to Kirk A. Damman, Benjamin J. Siders.
Application Number | 20150265932 14/729775 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49946971 |
Filed Date | 2015-09-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150265932 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Siders; Benjamin J. ; et
al. |
September 24, 2015 |
Systems and Methods for Interacting With Virtual Nodes Within a
Geographic Area
Abstract
Systems and methods for playing video games on mobile devices
wherein the elements of a virtual video game world are associated
with locational coordinates in the real world and the placing,
removing, and interacting with a video game elements depends upon
the mobile device's physical proximity to the real world coordinate
associated with the video game element.
Inventors: |
Siders; Benjamin J.; (St.
Peters, MO) ; Damman; Kirk A.; (St. Louis,
MO) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Siders; Benjamin J.
Damman; Kirk A. |
St. Peters
St. Louis |
MO
MO |
US
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
49946971 |
Appl. No.: |
14/729775 |
Filed: |
June 3, 2015 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
13943525 |
Jul 16, 2013 |
9078103 |
|
|
14729775 |
|
|
|
|
61672591 |
Jul 17, 2012 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
463/31 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 4/025 20130101;
A63F 13/216 20140902; A63F 13/30 20140902; A63F 13/92 20140902;
G06F 3/048 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A63F 13/92 20060101
A63F013/92; A63F 13/216 20060101 A63F013/216; G06F 3/048 20060101
G06F003/048; A63F 13/30 20060101 A63F013/30 |
Claims
1. A method for playing a video game comprising: providing a mobile
device carried by a user and having a display and video game
software, said mobile device communicating over a data network, and
said mobile device having a real world location and said mobile
device communicating with a geolocation system; providing a
database having data about one or more game elements, said data
including a real world geolocation coordinate for each one of said
one or more game elements, said geolocation coordinate for each one
of said one or more game elements being a geolocation coordinate in
the real world defined by said geolocation system; providing a
remote server communicating over a data network and communicating
with said database; said mobile device determining its geolocation
coordinates with said geolocation system; in response to said user
moving a distance such that said mobile device detects a change in
the geolocation coordinates of said mobile device, said mobile
device determining the new geolocation coordinates of said mobile
device and transmitting said new geolocation coordinates to said
remote server; in response to receiving said transmitted
geolocation coordinates, said remote server selecting one or more
of said one or more game elements from said database, said
selection based at least in part upon a comparison of said received
geolocation coordinates to said geolocation coordinates for each of
said one or more game elements; transmitting to said mobile device
data about said selected game elements, said data about said
selected game elements comprising said geolocation coordinates for
each of said selected game elements; in response to receiving said
data about said selected game elements, said video game software
causing said mobile device to display on said display a user
interface, the content of said user interface based at least in
part on at least one of said geolocation coordinates for each of
said selected game elements.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein said comparison of said received
geolocation coordinates to said geolocation coordinates for each of
said one or more game elements comprises a computation of the
distance between said received geolocation coordinates and each of
said geolocation coordinates for each of said one or more game
elements.
3. The method of claim 3, wherein a game element is selected from
said database only if said computed distance for said game element
is less than or equal to a pre-defined threshold.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein said user interface content
comprises a representation of at least one of said selected game
elements.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein said user moving comprises
walking.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein said mobile device transmits said
new geolocation coordinates to said remote server only if said
mobile device detects a change in the geolocation coordinates of
said mobile device such that said mobile device calculates that
said mobile device has moved a distance greater than to equal to a
pre-defined threshold.
7. The method of claim 1, said method further comprising: mobile
device transmitting to said remote server geolocation coordinates
for said mobile device and data about a user interaction with said
video game software; said remote server selecting at least one of
said one or more game elements from said database based at least in
part upon said received geolocation coordinates and said received
data; transmitting to said mobile device data about said selected
game elements; said mobile device displaying a user interface
comprising content based at least in part on at least one of said
geolocation coordinates for each of said selected game elements.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS(S)
[0001] This application is a Continuation of U.S. Utility patent
application Ser. No. 13/943,525, filed Jul. 16, 2013, which in turn
claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.
61/672,591, filed Jul. 17, 2012. The entirety of both documents is
expressly incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] This disclosure is related to the field of software
applications and mobile computing, particularly software for
entertainment purposes such as playable video games on mobile
devices capable of determining their approximate location on, in,
or above the Earth.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Mobile devices are now commonly equipped with geolocation
capabilities. Geolocation is, for purposes of this application, the
ability for hardware or software to determining the approximate
locational coordinates of a person, device, or other thing in, on,
or above the Earth. While any device capable of geolocation using
any geolocation technology or system is specifically contemplated
herein, at present most geolocation technology makes use of
orbiting satellites to determine the location of a geolocation
receiver on Earth. Examples of these systems include GPS, GLONASS,
Galileo, Beidou, COMPASS, IRNSS, and QZSS. Of these, GPS presently
is the most mature and advanced system and enjoys the widest
deployment and implementation on mobile devices in the United
States. There are also non-satellite based geolocation systems,
such as geolocation by Internet Protocol address (see, e.g.,
www.geobytes.com).
[0006] Geolocation technology may be included in almost any type of
device. Commercial uses of geolocation technology include
navigation systems, mobile phones, tablet computers, e-book
readers, portable and hand-held gaming systems, portable and
hand-held audio players, beepers, pagers, and laptop computers.
There are also extensive non-commercial uses for geolocation
technology in mobile devices, such as law enforcement and military
applications, which could implement the present invention.
Geolocation technology can also be implemented in devices that are
not conventionally thought of as "mobile," but which nevertheless
can be mobilized and/or miniaturized to make use of the present
invention, including without limitation desktop PCs and console
gaming systems.
[0007] Most mobile devices include a microprocessor capable of
executing computer instructions to run software applications.
Applications are typically loaded unto the device by the
manufacturer, distributor, vendor, or end-user/consumer. This is
generally done through a wire, cable, or over a wireless
connection.
[0008] On many mobile devices, these applications have the ability
to access and use the geolocation feature of the mobile device to
determine the geolocation coordinates for the location of the
device. On many mobile devices, these applications are playable
video games or other types of entertainment software. On many
mobile devices, these applications have the ability to communicate
with other devices over a network, including the Internet, using
wired and/or wireless network connections.
[0009] Despite the portability of a mobile device and the
widespread access to the Internet, playing a video game on a mobile
device is still a sedentary experience. The location of the player
or the device at the time that the player is playing the game does
not have any impact on the game play experience. That is, the game
play experience is the same regardless of where the player is
located at the time that the player plays the game. The only source
of information about the game that is relevant to the player's
gaming experience is the information displayed on the mobile device
by the gaming application itself. As such, games generally require
that, while the player is playing the game, the player must focus
primarily or exclusively on the device itself, and not the world
around him, in order to play the game successfully and fully enjoy
the game play experience.
[0010] Thus, while the player is playing the game, the player must
generally remain still and focused on the mobile device. If the
player is not still, he either risks injury to himself or others
for lack of concentration on his environment while focused on the
mobile device, or he plays the game ineffectively and does not
fully enjoy the game play experience for lack for concentration on
the mobile device while focused on the real-world environment. This
means that mobile gaming is "mobile" only in the sense that the
player moves the sedentary experience of playing a video game to a
location other than the player's living room, but the game play
itself is not a "mobile" experience.
[0011] This is true even with motion-sensing entertainment
technologies, such as the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Kinekt, which
use the motion of the player or a controller as input to the game.
These are "motion"-sensing technologies, not "mobile" technologies.
The player's motion may be an input but the player is still
confined to a single location, such as his living room where the
motion-sensing game console is located, while playing the game.
Even using these motion-sensing technologies, the player still is
not going anywhere and the game play experience, while involving
motion, does not involve mobility.
SUMMARY
[0012] The following is a summary of the invention in order to
provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention.
This summary is not intended to identify key or critical elements
of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. The
sole purpose of this section is to present some concepts of the
invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed
description that is presented later.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING(S)
[0013] FIG. 1. shows a schematic of an embodiment of systems and
methods for interacting with virtual nodes within a defined
geographic area.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)
[0014] Described herein, among other things, are systems and
methods for placing, detecting, removing, and otherwise interacting
with an element of a computer application running on a mobile
device, where the player's interaction(s) with an element of the
game is governed at least in part by the relationship between a
geographic location in the real world associated with that element
and the geographic location of the player's mobile device running
the computer application. This is done by using the geolocation
capability of a mobile device in an application such that some or
all of the interactive game elements are associated with a
geolocation coordinate in the real world, and the application
determines which of these elements the user may interact with by
comparing the geolocation coordinates of the mobile device with the
geolocation coordinates associated with the game elements, and
allowing the player to interact only with the game elements whose
geolocation coordinates are sufficiently proximate to the mobile
device's coordinates, as defined by the rules of the application,
for the player to interact with those game element.
[0015] In this manner, the real world because the "game board" for
the game and the invention thus incorporates the real world into
the game play experience. That is, the real-world environment in
which the player is located at the time that he is playing the game
is itself an input to the game such that the game play experience
is fully or partially dependent on that location. The present
invention thus allows gaming to become truly "mobile" in that the
player's focus and concentration is on his surroundings and
real-world environment and on moving from location to location, and
not merely focusing on the screen of a mobile device while away
from home.
[0016] This disclosure is intended to teach by way of example and
not by way of limitation. As a preliminary matter, it should be
noted that while the description of various embodiments of the
system and method will discuss application of the system primarily
in the context of games and entertainment on mobile phones, this in
no way limits the application of the system to use in only games
and entertainment applications, nor to mobile phones. Rather, any
application which could utilize the present invention is
contemplated, and any device capable of accompanying the user is
contemplated.
[0017] The preferred embodiment of the invention is a playable
video game or entertainment software application, but any
application capable of implementing the present invention is
contemplated.
[0018] For sake of clarity, all software applications utilizing the
present invention, whether or not a playable video game or
entertainment software application, shall be referred to herein by
the shorthand terms "geogame" or "geogaming."
[0019] The term "remote server" should be understood to mean one or
more computer systems accessed over a network which provide
services in support of a geogame such as remote servers, database
servers, authentication servers, and the like. While in the
preferred embodiment, remote servers are used for storage and
retrieval of game data and the implementation of the geogame's
rules and logic, these functions may be served in a manner other
than through network communication with a remote server. By way of
example and not limitation, game data and/or program logic may be
stored, retrieved, and executed from local storage or memory, such
as storage media included in the mobile device or a device
connected to the mobile device, such as by cable, direct coupling,
or a short-range wireless protocol, such as Bluetooth. For sake of
simplicity, the invention shall be described with reference to the
preferred embodiment wherein a remote server is utilized, but such
references should be understood to include other implementations as
well.
[0020] The term "application" should be understood to include both
the actual application and/or interface running on the mobile
device and software running on other devices as well in support of
the application, such as remote servers.
[0021] FIG. 1. shows a schematic of an embodiment of systems and
methods for interacting with virtual nodes within a defined
geographic area. A user (103) has a mobile device (102) with a
display (105), and the display displays the user interface (117)
for a geogaming application (104). The real-world location (111) of
the mobile device (102) is determined using the geolocation
receiver (115) in the mobile device (102) and a geolocation system
(101), such as GPS. The real-world coordinates (111) of the mobile
device (102) are transmitted to the remote server (107) through the
mobile device's (102) wireless network connection (116) to a
network (106) such as the Internet. The remote servers (107)
consult the master list (109) of game elements (113) stored in the
remote server's (107) memory (108), and the remote servers (107)
compare the locational coordinates (111) of the mobile device (102)
to the locational coordinates (112) associated with the game
elements (113). The remote servers (107) determine which game
elements (113) have locations (112) close enough to the mobile
device's (102) location (111) that the user (103) can interact with
those game elements (112). Data about the qualifying game elements
(114) is transmitted back to the mobile device (102) through the
network (106) using the device's (102) wireless network connection
(116), and the geogaming application (104) processes the data and
updates the user interface (117) to display that data on the
display (105) of the mobile device (102) according to the rules and
design of the application (104). Once the user (103) has a list of
nearby game elements (112), he can use the user interface (117) to
attempt to interact with them. When the user (103) attempts to
interact with a particular game element (113) through the user
interface (117), the application (104) will send data identifying
the particular game element (112) and such other data as is
necessary according to the rules of the game to determine the
result (if any) of the interaction, to the remote server (107)
through the mobile device's (111) wireless network connection (116)
to the Internet (106). The remote servers (107) again verify that
the mobile device (102) is close enough to that particular game
element (113) by comparing the location (111) of the device (103)
to the location (112) associated with that particular game element
(112), and if the distance is appropriate according to the game
rules, the remote servers (107) will determine the outcome of the
interaction, update the master list (109) in memory (108) as
necessary, and transmit updated game state information back to the
mobile device (103) through its wireless connection (116) to the
internet (106). If the distance is not appropriate according to
game rules, the remote server (107) will not change the game state
information in the master list (109), and may optionally transmit
to the mobile device (103) through its wireless connection (116) to
the internet (106) an error code, message, or other information
about the distance not being appropriate. Although the gameplay
experience of the mobile application (104) is generally comprised
of a series of the transactions described above, not all user (103)
interactions with the mobile application (104) will require that
the application (104) communicate with the remote servers (107), as
certain data may be cached locally on the mobile device (102), or
the game rules simply may not necessitate server (107)
communication. It should also be noted that the remote server (107)
memory (108) generally will contain multiple sets of authoritative
data (109) in addition to the authoritative list (109) of game
elements (113) and locations (112), to reduce or prevent user (103)
tampering or hacking.
[0022] The specific implementation of a geogame will vary, but the
general architecture is that a geogaming application runs on the
mobile device and the application provides to the player a user
interface displaying information about the current state of the
game according to the game rules and the player's current location.
The geogaming application detects the real-world locational
coordinates of the mobile device using the mobile device's
geolocation capability and transmits those locational coordinates,
along with additional information if and as required by the
application, to a remote server over a network. The remote server
contains an authoritative master list of the game elements and
their associated real-world locational coordinates and can
determine, using the game rules and locational coordinates of the
mobile device, the game elements with which the user may detect or
otherwise interact. Generally, this determination will involve a
calculation of the mobile device's physical proximity to the
real-world locational coordinates associated with each game element
and, optionally, other factors depending on the rules of the
particular geogaming application.
[0023] After the remote server determines which game elements the
user may detect and/or interact with, the remote server transmits
information about these game elements, typically their location
and, optionally, any other information required by the rules of the
particular geogaming application, the mobile device over the
network.
[0024] The geogaming application on the mobile device processes
this information according to the rules of the particular geogame,
generally by displaying to the user some indication or
representation of the game elements with which the user may
interact and their location in the real world, along with such
other options and choices available to the user for interacting
with each game element, as allowed by the rules of the particular
geogaming application.
[0025] Depending on the user's distance from the locational
coordinates associated with any particular game element, the user
may need to physically move toward (or away from, as the case may
be) those locational coordinates in order to interact with the
associated game element.
[0026] When the user elects to interact with a particular game
element, the locational coordinates of the mobile device are again
transmitted to the remote server over the network. The remote
server will calculate the physical proximity of the mobile device's
locational coordinates to the locational coordinates associated
with the particular game element with which the user elected to
interact.
[0027] If that distance is not appropriate for the requested
interaction, as defined by the rules of the particular geogame, the
remote server software will not process the requested interaction.
Optionally, the remote server may transmit to the mobile device
information that the user's location is inappropriate for the
requested interaction, such as by sending an error code or error
message, which the application on the mobile device may then
optionally convey in some fashion to the user.
[0028] If that distance is appropriate for the requested
interaction, as defined by the rules of the particular geogame, the
remote server will process the requested interaction, determine the
outcome of the interaction according to the rules of the particular
geogame, and update the game state information in the master list
as necessary to reflect the outcome of the interaction. By way of
example and not limitation, this update may include adding,
removing or modifying the game elements in the authoritative master
list, or adding, removing, or modifying other game data. The remote
server generally transmits the updated game state information to
the mobile device application software over the network, and the
mobile device may convey this updated information to the user in
some fashion, such as by reflecting the changed game state in the
user interface. The remote server optionally may also determine if
any other players should be provided with the updated game state
information and, if so, for each such user, transmits the updated
game state information to the mobile device for those users.
[0029] Not all users of the geogaming application need to share
access to the same set of game elements in the game. In an
embodiment, a player can request, setup, create, or otherwise form
a "private game" and limit which other players may have access to
the game elements associated with that "private game." By way of
example and not limitation, a player may limit the other players by
quantity, identity, proximity, or any other filter allowed or
implemented by the particular geogaming application. This "private
game" is known as an "instance" of the game.
[0030] The game elements in different "instances" are not
accessible to players who are not invited or approved to
participate in that instance. However, in an embodiment, a game may
implement "spectator" rules where non-participants in the game may
be able to detect and monitor the game elements, game state, and/or
the progress of the players.
[0031] The locational coordinates for the set of game elements
associated with a given instance may or may not overlap with the
locational coordinates for the set game elements associated with
any other instance, depending on the particular geogaming
application.
[0032] The possible coordinates in the real world with which a game
element can be associated may be confined to a specific
geographical region.
[0033] This may be made possible by allowing the user to select a
pre-defined location whose coordinates are already known, such as
"Central Park, New York."
[0034] The player may also define the possible coordinates by
"fencing off" a gaming location using a user interface, such as by
drawing a closed polygon on a map whose interior is the set of all
possible locational coordinates for the game elements.
[0035] The player may also define the possible coordinates by
"fencing off" a gaming location using a mobile device to set the
vertices of a closed polygon the device. The player does this by
physically moving to each real-world location that is a vertex of
the closed polygon whose interior is the set of all possible
locational coordinates for the game elements, and using the mobile
device to set a "fencepost" at each such vertex. By way of example
but not limitation, if the player wishes to create an instance
where all game elements are located within a football field, the
player goes to one corner of the field, and sets a "fencepost," and
then to an adjacent corner and sets a "fencepost," and so forth
until the player has visited each of the four corners. Once done,
the application determines whether the coordinates form a closed
polygon and, if so, the playing "field" is established.
[0036] The game elements may be randomly or automatically generated
by the application or may be placed, set, or otherwise created and
defined by human users, including without limitation players and
administrators.
[0037] A given geogame may offer additional features, depending on
the supported features of the particular mobile device. For
example, a device with an accelerometer, such as an iPhone, which
is capable of detecting the device's orientation and motion, may
require the player to perform some physical action with the device
in order to interact with game elements. By way of example and not
limitation, the device may have to be oriented lengthwise and
twisted to simulate the unlocking of a door with a key, or held in
the palm and flipped forward, as though lobbing a rock. By way of
example and not limitation, the mobile device may provide
vibrational feedback, or use other features, such as a built-in
camera, camera flash, light, for a particular geogame.
[0038] To void data clutter, a game instance with whose game
elements no user has interacted for some pre-determined period of
time may be automatically removed from the data server.
[0039] Games may be single-player or multi-player.
[0040] The range of behavior of a given game element is nearly
limitless. By way of example and not limitation, game elements may
be spontaneously created or destroyed, in pre-defined or random
locations, have pre-defined or random attributes or
characteristics, may be fixed in one location, may wander on a
predetermined or random path or in response to use movement or
interaction, players may be able to move them, destroy them, alter
them, create them, and/or clone them. A game element may have
artificial intelligence.
[0041] A particular geogame may feature badge and achievement
systems whereby players collect accolades by accomplishing certain
feats within the game, which may but need not be associated with
particular locations or locational coordinates as well.
[0042] A game element may, but need not be, analogous to a physical
object. By way of example and not limitation, a geogame may allow
the player to acquire or improve certain virtual goods within the
application only while the mobile device's locational coordinates
are sufficiently proximate to a particular location. By way of
example and not limitation, the user may only be able to purchase a
"chainsaw" weapon in the geogame while he is physically located in
or near a hardware store in the real world. By way of example and
not limitation, the user may only be able to improve the "chainsaw"
weapon in the geogame if he is physically located in or near a
specific hardware store.
[0043] In an embodiment of the invention, the game elements may be
located anywhere on, in, or above the Earth, limited only by the
range or set of locations for which geolocation is possible.
[0044] In an embodiment of the invention, the game elements may be
located in a defined geographic region. By way of example and not
limitation, this region may be an office building, elementary
school, public park, parade route, or any other shape or
configuration or set of shapes or configurations.
[0045] In an embodiment of the invention, all users of the game
application share a single pool of game elements to interact
with.
[0046] In an embodiment of the invention, different subsets of the
users of the game application share separate and independent pools
of game elements, such that there are multiple "instances" of the
game taking place, which may or may not overlap in geographical
space, and the users not participating in a given instance cannot
interact with the pool of game elements shared by the users who are
participating in that instance.
[0047] In an embodiment of the invention, the players are in
competition with each other.
[0048] In an embodiment of the invention, the players are in
cooperation with each other.
[0049] In an embodiment of the invention, an instance of the game
is limited in duration such that the game expires at a certain time
or upon the happening of a certain condition, and no further
interaction with the elements associated with that instance is
possible by a user.
[0050] In an embodiment of the invention, a user can define the
real-world geographical locations in which the game takes
place.
[0051] In an embodiment of the invention, a user can define the
real-world geographical locations in which the game takes place
using an interface to draw, set, or otherwise enter or define the
vertices of a closed polyhedron such that all game elements must be
associated with a location within the interior of the closed
polyhedron.
[0052] In an embodiment of the game, certain actions can be taken
only when the player is in a specific location. For example, a
player in an adventure roleplaying application may be able to
safely store and retrieve equipment in the game only while the
mobile device is located at his home.
[0053] In an embodiment of the invention, the coordinates of the
game elements are determined, generated by, and/or stored on the
mobile device's memory systems.
[0054] In an embodiment of the invention, coordinates of the game
elements are determined, generated by, and/or stored on a remote
server or application server.
[0055] In an embodiment of the invention, the mobile device
receives the coordinates or other game data from a remote server
over a network, and the remote server maintains a master list of
the game's elements and locations which is updated in response to
user actions which add, remove, or change the elements and/or
locations.
[0056] In an embodiment of the invention, an application using the
above remote server operates in the absence of a network by caching
locations during periodic updates and transmitting user actions to
the remote server while the application has access to the
network.
[0057] In an embodiment of the invention, the network is the
Internet.
[0058] In an embodiment of the invention, the rules and logic for
playing the game are primarily or exclusively contained on a remote
server.
[0059] In an embodiment of the invention, the user interface to the
game is an application running on the mobile device.
[0060] In an embodiment of the invention, the user interface to the
game is a web site accessible on the mobile device.
[0061] In an embodiment of the invention, accelerometers or other
motion-sensing technologies are used to incorporate player gestures
or to otherwise incorporate the orientation of the mobile device
into the game rules or game play experience.
[0062] In an embodiment of the invention, a user can place game
elements, using the current location of the mobile device, or by
otherwise defining or setting the location of an element.
[0063] While the preferred embodiment of the invention is as a
playable video game or entertainment software application, there
are many types of implementations which can make use of this
invention. By way of example and not limitation, these include the
aforementioned minesweeper game, Easter egg hunts, a bomb squad
game, adventure games, virtual tag, role-playing games (including
MMORPG-style games), treasure hunts and treasure maps, geo-caching,
sports, Quiddich, "invisible ink" and hidden messages, mysteries
and problem- or puzzle-solving games, live-action board games,
self-guided walking tours, team-building exercises, and
orienteering.
[0064] By way of example and not limitation, an embodiment of the
present invention is a "minesweeper" game in which the player
detects and neutralizes virtual mines. Each "mine" will have a
real-world locational coordinate associated with it and players
will not be able to interact with any given "mine" (e.g., attempt
to disarm it) in the game software on their mobile device unless
the device itself is sufficiently physically proximate, as defined
by the game rules, to the real-world location associated with that
particular virtual mine.
[0065] While the invention has been disclosed in conjunction with a
description of certain embodiments, including those that are
currently believed to be the preferred embodiments, the detailed
description is intended to be illustrative and should not be
understood to limit the scope of the present disclosure. As would
be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, embodiments
other than those described in detail herein are encompassed by the
present invention. Modifications and variations of the described
embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope
of the invention.
* * * * *
References