Patents

U.S. Patent 5,634,849 ("Games")
Issued: Jun. 3, 1997
Title: Content-On-Demand Interactive Video Method and Apparatus.

Abstract:
A method and system for providing a player of a video game an automatically customized version of an interactive video game responsive to the player's content preferences in at least one category of possibly unsuitable content. A content-on-demand interactive video game method principally comprises establishing a player's content preferences responsive to at least one category of possibly unsuitable content; providing an interactive video game comprising gaming software, and a segment map defining, responsive to the at least one category of possibly unsuitable content, a plurality of content segments of the interactive video game; and automatically selecting, responsive to the gaming software, content segments from the plurality of content segments responsive to an application of the player's content preferences to the segment map.

Claims:

• 1. An interactive video game system comprising:

  • preferencing means for establishing a player's content preferences responsive to at least one content category, said at least one content category including a violence category;
  • providing means for providing an interactive video game comprising gaming software and a segment map directly defining, responsive to said at least one content category, a plurality of video segments of said interactive video game wherein said plurality of video game segments comprises at least one parallel video segment;
  • processing means for automatically selecting video segments from said plurality of video segments responsive to said gaming software and an application of said player's content preferences to said segment map; and
  • retrieving and buffering means for retrieving the selected video segments and for seamlessly skipping a retrieval of a non-selected video segment responsive to said gaming software.

• 2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:
  
  
  • identifying means for identifying video segments of said plurality of video segments responsive to said player's content preferences;
  • determining means for allowing an editor to determine the suitability for said player of each of the identified video segments without a requirement for said editor to view a non-identified video segment; and
  • wherein said processing means is further responsive to the suitability determination.

• 3. An interactive video game system comprising:
  
  
  • preferencing means for establishing a player's content preferences responsive to at least one content category, said at least one content category including a violence category;
  • providing means for providing an interactive video game comprising gaming software directly defining a plurality of content segments of said interactive video game responsive to said at least one content category wherein said plurality of content segments comprises at least one parallel content segment;
  • processing means for selecting content segments from said plurality of content segments responsive to an application of said player's content preferences to said gaming software; and
  • retrieving and buffering means for retrieving the selected content segments and for seamlessly skipping a retrieval of a non-selected content segment responsive to said gaming software.

• 4. The system of claim 3, further comprising:
  
  
  • identifying means for identifying content segments of said interactive video game responsive to said player's content preferences;
  • determining means for allowing an editor to determine the suitability for said player of each of the identified content segments without a requirement for said editor to view a non-identified content segment; and
  • wherein said processing means is further responsive to the suitability determination.

• 5. A method of playing an interactive video game comprising the steps of:
  
  
  • establishing a player's content preferences responsive to at least one content category, said at least one content category including a violence category;
  • providing an interactive video game comprising gaming software, said gaming software directly defining, responsive to said at least one content category, a plurality of content segments of said interactive video game wherein said plurality of content segments comprises at least one parallel content segment;
  • automatically selecting content segments from said plurality of content segments responsive to an application of said player's content preferences to said gaming software; and
  • retrieving the selected content segments and seamlessly skipping a retrieval of a non-selected content segment responsive to said gaming software.

• 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:
  
  
  • identifying content segments of said plurality of content segments responsive to said player's content preferences;
  • allowing an editor to determine the suitability for said player of each of the identified content segments without a requirement for said editor to view a non-identified content segment; and
  • wherein said automatically selecting is further responsive to the suitability determination