Interactive video distribution systems – Video distribution system with upstream communication – Receiver
Reexamination Certificate
1998-01-07
2001-07-10
Faile, Andrew (Department: 2611)
Interactive video distribution systems
Video distribution system with upstream communication
Receiver
C725S137000, C725S142000, C345S215000, C348S563000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06260194
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to interactive entertainment systems and, in particular, to such systems in which the user is able to control, directly or indirectly, the path of a narrative or plot line.
An example of such a system providing direct control is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,131 to Robert M. Best, and comprises a motion picture system in which the viewer is treated as a character in the narrative. At branch points in the narrative, a character on screen will ask a question of the viewer: the viewer is provided with a hand held menu screen on which two or more command words appear, which words are amongst the limited vocabulary of a speech recognition unit of the system. The branch taken by the narrative will depend on how the viewer responds to the on-screen characters question, that is to say which of the command words is spoken by the viewer. The multiple story lines are held on optical disc as independently addressable video frames, blocks of compressed audio and/or cartoon graphics.
A drawback of systems such as that of Best is that the options presented to the user when prompting a choice will often, to some extent, tell the user what is going to happen next. Whilst this may be a desirable feature in games-oriented entertainments where the user is attempting to direct the selected pathway such as to reach a particular goal, in story-based narrative entertainments, such “give away” interaction can greatly reduce the users sense of anticipation, surprise and enjoyment.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel method of, and apparatus for, interacting with a narrative based entertainment, where the process of interacting does not require the user to specify what is to happen next.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a method for user control of an interactive entertainment apparatus, where the apparatus presents to the user a branch structured narrative, and user input determines which path is followed at at least one narrative branch point, characterised in that the user is enabled to selectively capture one or more predetermined information items from the narrative and subsequently recall the or each information item, and at at least one subsequent branch point the selection of the branch path followed is made by the apparatus in dependence on the occurrence or otherwise of user-directed recall of a predetermined one or ones of the said captured information items.
With such a technique, the user is no longer required to directly specify which path the narrative will take: instead the user is required to decide which information to capture, and when to re-introduce it to the narrative, with no clear indication being given or certainty for the user as to what effect the re-introduction will have.
Also in accordance with the present invention there is provided an interactive entertainment apparatus operable to output sequences of image frames comprising a user-influenced path through a branch structured narrative, the apparatus comprising: a source of image frame data for all branch structure paths of the narrative; branch storage means for data defining the narrative branch structure; user operable input means; branch selection means coupled to the branch store and operable to determine when the narrative reaches a branch point and to call one of two or more image frame sequences from the image frame data source in dependence on the user input; and an output for the selected image frame sequences; characterised in that the apparatus further comprises narrative memory means operable to capture and subsequently recall one or more predetermined information items from the narrative in response to user input, with the or each predetermined information item having a respective information value associated with it, wherein the branch selection means is further operable to detect the or each user-directed recall of an information item and, for at least one branch point of the narrative, the branch selection is made in dependence on the information values of said recalled information item or items.
The apparatus may suitably include at least one character memory assigned to a character of the narrative, in which memory is stored a respective character value: with such a memory, user-directed recall of at least one captured user information item may cause that character value to be modified by the respective information item value and, for at least one branch point of the narrative, the branch selection may suitably be made in dependence on the modified character value.
The recall of information items may suitably be associated with a “flashback” of the portion of the narrative from which they were obtained. To enable this, the or each captured information item stored in the narrative memory may include a call address for an image frame sequence, with the recall of an information item triggering recall from source and output of the respective stored image frame sequence. Alternatively, where a large storage capacity is available to the narrative memory, the or each captured information item stored in the narrative memory may include a sequence of image frames, with the recall of an information item triggering output of the respective stored image frame sequence. Audio flashbacks may be provided instead of, or in addition to, the visual replays and different treatments may be applied to the flashbacks as will be described.
The apparatus may be provided with image generation means coupled to the narrative memory which generate a visual artefact pertaining to the or each captured information item and present the or each artefact overlying a part of an image frame. These artefacts may suitably be reduced size still image frames taken from the narrative.
To maintain storage and computational capacity of the apparatus within acceptable limits, the user may only be permitted to capture and recall information items from the narrative during predetermined periods specified by the branch structure. To alert the user to these interaction periods, an image generation means as described above may be used to generate a visual indicator during them.
To further control storage levels, a limit may be placed on the number of captured information items which the user may hold at any given time and, where this said limit has been reached, the capture of a further information item may result in the deletion of the stored first-captured information item. Alternatively, to increase the users choice, when the said limit has been reached, the user may be enabled to delete a selected one or ones of the captured and stored information items prior to capture of a further information item.
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Cole Richard S.
Freitag Rosa
Rankin Paul J.
Shiels Martin A.
Brown Reuben M.
Faile Andrew
Thorne Gregory L.
U.S. Philips Corporation
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