Patent Grant
8303421
This invention relates to electronic games, and more particularly, to the combination of a device and method for facilitating a game of tag using infrared light communications and a video display shooting game simulating a game of tag using light detection technology wherein active, accessory based configuration is accomplished by communication between the device and the accessory.
As known in the art, infrared electronic games include communication devices for transmission and reception of infrared light signals, operating on the same principle as a remote control for a television. Infrared shooting games typically include two channels of infrared communication, namely, a channel for transmitting an infrared signal (i.e., a tag or shot) and a channel for receiving the transmitted infrared signals. Such infrared electronic shooting games involve two or more players, each equipped with an apparatus for sending infrared signals (e.g., a gun) and an apparatus for receiving infrared signals (e.g., a target), wherein the object of the game is to target and shoot opponents with an infrared signal, thereby scoring a “hit” or a “tag” until only one player or team remains in the game.
Such infrared electronic shooting games are relatively well known and have been available since about 1985. For example, one infrared electronic shooting game sold beginning in about 1986 by WORLDS OF WONDER™, permitted players to fire invisible beams at one another with each player being provided with a game unit for emission of an infrared light beam. In the WORLDS OF WONDER™ game, a target was affixed to each player in order to count the number of “hits” registered by the target associated with each player. In the WORLDS OF WONDER™ game, a player was tagged “out” when six hits were registered for that player. Other infrared electronic shooting games that are known include indoor arena games such as LAZER QUEST™ and the like.
The earliest infrared electronic games had difficulty operating in very harsh environments of direct and indirect sunlight, as well as in the environment of indoor lighting. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,904,621 to Small et. al, for “Electronic Game With Infrared Emitter and Sensor,” issued May 18, 1999, a series of encoded infrared light signals may be sent with an infrared transmitter for providing a “signature” signal substantially longer in duration than abrupt changes in ambient lighting conditions to facilitate gameplay. The disclosed encoding of infrared signals additionally enabled special game and/or device features. However, although such infrared encoding made games more interesting and/or challenging to the participants, infrared electronic shooting games available for purchase by the general public were somewhat limited in functionality and gameplay in comparison to indoor arena games. Therefore, in view of the foregoing, an improved device and method for an infrared electronic shooting game would be welcome.
Prior art infrared electronic games such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,058 to Carter III et. al, for “Simulated Shooting Game With Continuous Transmission of Target Identification Signals,” issued Sep. 22, 1987, traditionally operated on two channels of infrared communication. In such systems, one signal was provided for transmitting an infrared signal while another channel received an infrared signal, thereby limiting the amount of data transmitted between two or more game apparatus. It would be desirable for an infrared electronic game to operate on more than two channels of infrared communication to allow for more complex game features and advanced user options to make the game more interactive and challenging.
Furthermore, it would be desirable for the game apparatus to provide an enhanced user interface for more interactivity between players and between a player and apparatus.
Other variations that can be used to further enhance the game playing experience include active accessory based configuration of hardware and software operation. That is, attaching or removing accessories alters both the look and the operation of the shooting device. This enhances the game by adding variations in weapon types and operation to create more realistic combat situations or more enticing fantasy combat situations. The accessory based configuration also enhances strategic aspects of the game playing experience by allowing players to balance the advantages and disadvantages of each configuration and make tactical decisions regarding specific combat situations. Audio feedback from firing and reloading sounds will also enhance the impression of changed performance.
Software configuration includes such things as firing modes, firing rates, the number of shots between reloads, the number of reloads, the damage per shot (“hit points”), the number of shields, the number of hits that will knock a player out of the game, and the sounds associated with specific events. The firing modes are used to simulate various types of weaponry mechanisms such as bolt-action sniper rifles, semi-automatic guns, burst fire guns such as assault rifles, fully-automatic machineguns, and shotguns.
Hardware configuration includes altering the physical characteristics of the infrared beam such as by changing the electrical current which controls the intensity of the infrared LED, or changing the arrangement of lenses which control the spread angle of the beam.
The prior art includes similar devices that have switches built into the weapon to alter the firing style between semi-automatic and fully automatic firing or to alter the characteristics of the infrared beam. Altering the firing style has been accomplished by using an electrical switch connected to the processor to set semi-automatic or fully-automatic modes and by using a sliding variable resistor to adjust the current and the intensity of the infrared beam. Altering the infrared beam has been accomplished mechanically by using a switch to move a pinhole blinder into or out of the optical path, by using a barrel extension to narrow the beam in a manner similar to using a pinhole, or by using a mechanical switch to move lenses into and out of the optical path.
The prior art does not include devices or systems that alter the number of hit points, provide for adjustable firing rates, allow variable numbers of shots between reloads, or utilize different sound effects for different firing modes, in response to varying physical configurations of the gun. Additionally, the prior art offers no strategic reason not to configure the device for a wide-beam, high power, fully-automatic mode because there is no significant disadvantage to the player for doing so. Moreover, switching between configurations in the prior art did not noticeably alter the appearance of the device.
It would be desirable for the game apparatus to offer the variation in both the software configuration and the hardware configuration described above that does not exist in the prior art. Additionally, it would be desirable for the game apparatus to have a different appearance and to use different sound effects for each variation in the software and hardware configurations.
Electronic shooting games have also been extremely popular for a single user in the form of devices that are attachable to a display, such as a television or a computer. In the prior art, such devices have typically used a photosensor equipped gun to process photo signals and to send processed information to the display. However, the prior art does not include such devices in combination with the type of infrared device described above.
It would be desirable to combine an infrared device for use with two or more players with a single player electronic shooting game device as just described and to provide the variability of configurations described above in a single device. Such a device would provide both increased realism and enjoyment and would also allow a more engaging means for the single player to become familiar with the simulated weapon's operation.
Embodiments of the present invention provide a gun and target device for facilitating a game of tag using infrared light communications between a plurality of players, each player being equipped with a gun and target device. Embodiments of the present invention also allow a single user to use the invention as a video game by attaching the invention to a television or a computer.
As described, the gun and target device includes a pistol-shaped housing with a grip portion with a finger-operable trigger button, a barrel portion and a user-interface including a display such as an LCD screen, and a keypad for programming the device and controlling various game functions. The pistol-shaped housing also encases an electronic controller coupled to two infrared transmitters and two infrared receivers. The first infrared transmitter and first infrared receiver are positioned at the barrel portion of the gun housing and include light lenses for both the source and the detector. The directional infrared source transmits a long-range infrared signal to a remote game participant and the directional infrared detector receives an acknowledgment signal therefrom.
The second infrared transmitter and second infrared receiver are positioned within a hemispherical-shaped dome on the top portion of the gun housing and comprise an omnidirectional infrared source and an omnidirectional infrared detector. The omnidirectional source regularly transmits a short-range infrared signal which communicates team affiliation and other data to one or more remote game participants' devices, allowing said remote game participants' devices to indicate both the presence of the first device and some information about the first device's role and status within the game.
The usage of two transmitters and two receivers each with different characteristics enables each gun and target device to communicate four channels of infrared communication, thus allowing more complex gaming features and advanced user options to make the game more interactive and challenging. The embodiment includes the traditional scheme of communication involving directing a directional infrared signal at an opponent's omnidirectional detector. This action is basis for a “hit” or “tag” being applied to a player. The additional infrared channels allow for more communication (identification, location, statistical and other data) to take place between players before, during, and after a game of infrared electronic tag. For example, data transmitted via the omnidirectional transmitter of a first unit, upon being received by the directional receiver of a second unit, indicates to the second unit that it has been successfully aimed at the first unit and can expect any tags fired by the second unit to be received by the first unit. If the data transmitted from said first unit is indicative of a hit having just been taken, and if the second unit has just fired a tag, the second unit may reasonably conclude that it has successfully tagged the first unit. If the second unit receives this data on its omnidirectional receiver rather than on its directional receiver, then it may reasonably conclude both that it is not aimed at the first unit, and that the first unit is in close proximity to the second unit. The communications between omnidirectional transmitter of a first unit and omnidirectional receiver of a second unit further enable a more convenient means of establishing infrared communication between the two units for exchange of non-tag information so that the users do not have to aim the two units at one another with the precision needed for communicating tags, but instead need only to come within reasonable proximity to one another to facilitate such communications.
The electronic controller within the gun and target apparatus allows for several modes of gameplay for the players to utilize. Using the LCD screen and user-operable buttons, the player that decides to begin a game of infrared electronic tag (a “host” player) chooses the parameters that will govern the rules of the game. Once determined, these parameters are sent from the host player's gun and target device to the other players' gun and target devices via short-range infrared signals. This wireless communication eliminates errors that might otherwise lead to different players not setting identical parameters on their own device and eliminates the need for all players to have advanced knowledge of how to configure the controller. Further, the use of the short-range omnidirectional transmitters and the omnidirectional receivers for this process eliminates the need for the players to maintain proper aim throughout this process.
During game play, the infrared communication between devices provide each player with active feedback. For example, a player will be notified by the gun and target device when that player was tagged by an opponent, or whether that player tagged an opponent successfully. A player will be notified by the device whether a targeted remote player is a “friend” or a “foe.” A player will be notified when a “foe” is in close range of that player, indicating a proximity warning. The electronic controller stores data during gameplay, including a record of tags received and other performance statistics. After a game of infrared electronic tag, the electronic controllers in each players' devices are able to share stored data about the players' performance during the game.
The gun and target device also optionally includes a device, known as a heads-up-display (HUD) or head-mounted display (HMD), adapted for wearing on the head of a player, the HMD device removably coupled to the pistol-shaped housing. The HMD device includes a transparent eyepiece having a see-through display projected by an optical combiner and partial mirror, thereby allowing the player to acknowledge signals from the gun and target device without taking their attention from the gameplay action.
Briefly summarized, the present invention relates to a device combining a gun and target for facilitating a game of tag using infrared light communications between a two or more players, each player being equipped with the device. The device includes two infrared transmitters and two infrared receivers and a shaped housing facilitating handling of the device by a user. The housing includes a grip portion with a finger-operable trigger, a barrel portion and a user-interface including a display and a keypad for programming the device and controlling various game and device functions. A first infrared transmitter is disposed at the barrel portion for transmitting a directional infrared signal to another game participant and a first infrared receiver including collimating optics is disposed at the barrel portion for receiving an acknowledgment signal therefrom in response to the transmitted directional signal. A second infrared transmitter and second infrared receiver are disposed on the housing to facilitate omnidirectional two-way communications between two or more devices. The omnidirectional transmitters and receivers facilitate communications between game players before, during, and after a game of infrared electronic tag such as game setup, player identification and gameplay analysis. Thus, the device operates to enable complex gameplay and advanced user options to make the game more interactive and challenging.
The present invention also provides for active accessory based configuration of the gun hardware and software operation, allowing for increased variation in weapon behavior and appearance.
In a first preferred embodiment, accessories may be removably coupled to the gun and may include choices between one of two barrels, one of two grips, and one of two sights. Upon coupling one or more accessories to the gun, a unique combination of switches are closed thus generating identifying signals which will be received by a first electronic controller housed in the gun to identify which accessories are attached. Consequently, based on the combination of attached accessories, the first electronic controller may determine how the physical configuration will affect the gun's behavior by altering the software configuration to match the hardware configuration and physical appearance. This system is called an “active rail” system as the combination of accessories attached to the gun's mounting rails is actively sensed by the first electronic controller.
In a second preferred embodiment, an accessory may contain a second electronic controller so that when the accessory is attached to the gun there will be a bidirectional channel facilitating communication between the first electronic controller and the second electronic controller. Further, the gun may provide power to the accessory by way of the connection so that the accessory need not contain a power source of its own. This setup allows intelligent processor-to-processor communications between the gun and the accessory and is known as an “intelligent rail” system. As such, this system provides flexibility and may allow the accessory to perform communications based functions such as game definition, scoring, “healing” players, re-arming in games with limited ammunition, and the ability to switch between different infrared LEDs and optical paths.
Additional characteristics of a gun barrel accessory in either preferred embodiment may include additional infrared light emitting diodes (IRLED's) and/or additional lenses in the gun barrel accessory as well as circuitry to inhibit the generation of an infrared signal from the gun so that such a signal may instead be generated in the gun barrel accessory. This configuration may allow for a greater variation in the beam pattern of the infrared signals.
The aforementioned accessories may be interchangeable during game play to alter the hardware and software operation during a particular game. Thus, the player may have added strategic considerations during a game by being able to choose the best characteristics of the simulated weapon that fit a particular battle situation. The preferred embodiment may contain memory for the purpose of recording the number of times a given accessory is used during a particular game. This data may be used by the accessories to record or limit the number of uses of specific accessories by each player during the game.
The present invention further provides for an accessory which allows the game apparatus to be used as an electronic shooting game for a single user when the apparatus is attached to a display, such as a television or a computer. That is, the present invention may be used as a video game for a single user.
In a preferred embodiment, a light detector is built into the housing of an accessory which mounts to the gun below the barrel. The light detector may be used to sense at a distance segments on the screen of a raster scan display. The preferred embodiment also has a video game processor built into the housing for generating video output to display simulated players and scenery on the screen. A first-live-player-operable button may be used to generate a trigger signal to the video game processor. The video game processor may then use the light detector and the trigger signal to determine the orientation of the weapon housing and where the gun was pointing when the player pulled the trigger. Both video and audio output may be transmitted to the raster scan display using standard RCA cables. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the technology for displaying video images and for detecting the point-of-aim of video game guns used in conjunction with such displays is constantly advancing, and that the description specifically of raster-scan CRT type displays and photocell detectors is not intended to limit the preferred embodiment to only this specific technology.
A simulated player data structure may operate with the video game processor to generate video output displaying at least one of the simulated players shooting at the live player. The data structure will determine whether the simulated player hit the live player. A memory data structure may also operate with the video game processor to generate video output showing the real time damage effects to the scenery.
In sum, the present invention relates to a combination of an infrared shooting device for game play between two or more people and a light detecting shooting device for single player video game play. The invention also features accessory based hardware and software configuration of the gun to provide greater variation in the variables defining the characteristics of the weapon.
a-9g illustrate exemplary infrared signal waveforms facilitating infrared shooting game communications between two or more game devices.
Referring now to the drawings and especially
The IR transmitter/receiver dome 26 contains an omnidirectional infrared source and an omnidirectional infrared detector. As shown in
The device 10 includes a first finger-operable trigger 30 positioned on a grip portion 124 of the housing and is optionally protected against accidental activation by trigger guard 31. When a player depresses first finger-operable trigger 30, an infrared signal is transmitted by the directional transmitter 23 in the direction which the gun barrel 24 was aimed. If aligned properly with a remote player's device 10, particularly the omnidirectional infrared receiver 29, a “tag” will be applied to that remote player, the basic object of the game of electronic infrared tag being to tag one's opponents while avoiding being tagged by one's opponents. Further, the grip portion 124 may include a second finger-operable trigger 34 proximate the first finger-operable trigger 30. The second finger-operable trigger 34 operates to actuate a “shield” function known in the art so that the device 10 may temporarily ignore tags received from other devices. As shown in
Located at the rear portion of the housing 20 is a plurality of buttons 48-53 providing a keypad 44. Adjacent the keypad 44 is a display 46, which is angled for facilitating viewing by the user. The keypad 44 and display 46 together provide an interactive, programmable user interface for viewing or programming game parameters. The buttons 48-53 allow the user to navigate through options and information among other things displayed on display 46 in the form of a menu-driven interface structure or the like before, during, and after gameplay. Located just below the keypad 44 is a compartment that is closed with a removably-fastened lid 54. The compartment houses the device's power supply, which in an exemplary embodiment includes a plurality of common-sized (e.g., AA) batteries. The compartment may be opened and closed for the purpose of installing and replacing the batteries, which may be disposable or rechargeable. Located on the underside of grip portion 124 are two interfaces or connectors 56. Each connector 56 may be employed to couple an accessory or supplemental device to the device 10. One such accessory that may be removably coupled to the device 10 via connector 56 is a display interface described hereinafter as a head-mounted display (HMD) device.
As depicted in
An Indoor/Outdoor switch 60 is located on right side of the housing 20 near grip portion 36, as shown in
Referring now to
As shown in the illustrated embodiment of
As known in the art, the controller 410 operates under control of the software code, which may reside in the controller memory (e.g., ROM, RAM), to provide programmable and interactive device functionality and defined gameplay for two or more playsets that is described hereafter in further detail. To this end, the controller 410 receives user signals relative to user inputs from keypad 470 and buttons/switches 471-476 and 481-484 as well as remote signals received from other players/playsets via receivers 430 and 450. In response to receiving the user and remote signals the controller 410 outputs information to the user via display 460, speaker 490, HMD 520-530 and to other players/playsets via transmitters 420, 440. As shown, the system 400 includes a first transmitter 420 linked with the controller 410 and a first receiver 430 linked with the controller 410. The first transmitter 420 may be an infrared (IR) emitting diode or the like known in the art for outputting an IR or near-IR signal, and the first receiver 430 may be an infrared (IR) receiver or the like known in the art for sensing/detecting an IR or near-IR signal. Referring back to
Similarly, the system 400 includes a second transmitter 440 linked to the controller 410 and a second receiver 450 linked with the controller 410. As shown, the second transmitter 440 includes four infrared emitting diodes (IRLEDs) 442 or the like known in the art for outputting an IR or near-IR signal, but fewer or additional IRLEDs may be provided. Referring now to
The second receiver 450 includes three infrared (IR) photodiodes 452 or the like known in the art for detecting/sensing an IR or near-IR signal, but fewer or additional IR photodiodes may be provided. As shown in
The IRLEDs 442 and photodiodes 452 may be coupled to a circuit board 700 disposed within the base of the dome In one exemplary embodiment, the circuit board 700 is a printed circuit board (PCB) including the second receiver module 458 (
As previously mentioned, the playset provides a programmable and interactive user interface. To this end, the system 400 includes a user interface having a display 460 linked to the controller 410 and a keypad 470 linked to the controller 410 for providing human input thereto. As shown in
Each of buttons 471-476 may have one or more functions including a main function and a second function. Second function button 471 enables the second function of buttons 472-476 by holding the second function button 471 while pressing one of the buttons 472-476. By pressing the display button 472 for example, the user may select the type of information displayed on display 460 before, during or after a game. By pressing second function button 471 and display button 472 for example, the user may adjust the contrast of the display 460. The user interface including display 460 and keypad 470 permits a user to configure or otherwise program the functionality of the playset and the gameplay relative to two or more playsets (including rules, teams and other game characteristics discussed hereafter).
As shown in
The playset may be used indoors or outdoors, and to this end the system 400 provides a user-selectable switch 485 to increase or decrease the transmit signal (i.e., tag) strength of the directional transmitter 420 and omni directional transmitter 440. When using the playset indoors, the switch 485 should be in the open state so that directional transmit signals do not reflect and/or scatter thereby accidentally tagging other game participants such as team members. When using the playset outdoors, the switch 485 should be in the closed state so that the directional transmit signals may overcome any ambient IR sources. As shown in
As mentioned previously, the playset may include a user-worn interface such as a head-mounted display (HMD) or heads-up display (HUD) adapted to be worn on the user's head for providing the user with a graphical or iconic interface proximate the user's eye, and facilitating gameplay. As known in the art, the HMD may be removably coupled to the gun by way of a cabled connector. Moreover, the gun may include other connectors or ports for coupling other removable or interchangeable devices/accessories to the gun, such as connector 495 shown in
Referring now to
As is generally well known in the art, toy infrared gun and target systems work by transmitting a coded signal from the transmitter (gun) to the infrared receiver (target). This transmitted information is typically used to send a tag or hit signal to the receiver. If the target receives the appropriate coded infrared signal, a tag is registered. Transmitters will normally focus infrared light into a narrow collimated beam using a lens in front of an infrared light emitting diode (IRLED). Receivers typically use a photodiode or photo detector to receive the coded infrared signal, however, receivers typically do not use any lens in front of the receiving device in order to have a very wide viewing angle. In such well-known infrared gun and target systems, only a one way path exists with the transmitter (gun) sending information to the target (receiver) in what is commonly called “forward IR” communication. It is difficult for the user of the transmitting unit to know that he has accurately landed a tag on the targeted unit if the two are separated by any appreciable distance since neither sound nor light carry well in typical outdoor play environments.
Alternatively known in the art are systems intended for use indoors which make use of a “reverse IR” approach in which each unit continuously transmits a unique omnidirectional identifying signal. The identifying signals from a first unit are then detected by the narrow-angle directional receivers of any second unit which is properly aimed at the first unit. If the user of such a second unit activates their trigger input while said second unit is receiving said identifying signal, the second unit judges itself to have scored a tag on the first unit. However, the first unit cannot know that it has been tagged unless there exists also a game controlling computer which is alerted to the successful tag by the second unit and which then advises the first unit that it has been tagged. Such communication normally is performed using radio-frequency (RF) transceivers.
As just described, indoor systems for infrared shooting games typically known in the prior art employ a separate game control computer linked to all playing devices via wireless RF link. This computer and RF link provide game configuration, real-time scoring, and essentially immediate feedback to each player related to game events such as tagging another player or being tagged by another player. While well suited to indoor arenas, this approach is not well suited to outdoor play in a consumer environment. The added cost of the computer and wireless RF link, the difficulty of setting up the system, the extended ranges (often hundreds to thousands of feet) over which the RF link must function, and the difficulty of meeting these requirements while simultaneously meeting government regulations for RF broadcast systems, makes such an approach too complex and expensive for the home system.
Past home systems have provided the flexibility of variable game configurations by having a first player input a specialized code via a sequence of button presses so as to configure their device for the desired game. These systems have further provided for a method whereby such configuration may then be transmitted over the directional infrared beam of the first player's device to the receivers of the devices of other players in the game. This system however has drawbacks as there is no reliable manner for the transmitting device to know that the receiving device has correctly received the information, and there is therefore also no reliable way to assign unique player ID numbers to each player's device so that the performance of players and teams may be scored. In addition, the ability to define the game is dependant on the ability of the user to memorize a large number of specialized code sequences which must be properly entered into the first player's device without error.
Other home systems allow for configuration of the game on a separate “base unit” with a more user-friendly input and display system. This base unit device then communicates the game definition data to removable “program modules” which are then connected to player units where they in turn control the game definition for each player unit, collect game performance data during the game, and report said game performance data to the base unit at the end of the game for analysis. However, this system relies on the use of both a separate base unit and a plurality of said removable program modules for the transport of the game definition and the game performance data. This is undesirable from the consumer's point of view as it requires the use of a base unit which serves no actual function during the game proper, and it also relies on the secondary purchase of a multiplicity of program modules for each player in the game, and these program modules due to their removable nature are easily lost.
Therefore, it is a desirable goal to provide for a system in which no non-playing devices of any kind are needed to perform game definition or to store, report, or analyze the game performance data. It is further desirable to provide a method by which such game definition and performance analysis may be carried out in a simple and intuitive manner which players of all levels of familiarity with the equipment may be able to enjoy. Further, it is desirable that such additional hardware as would be needed for each player's device to support these features should be minor so as to minimize cost, and that this additional hardware should also provide functions which inherently add variety and interest to the game even if the more advanced functions of game definition and performance analysis are not being utilized by the players. To this end, the present embodiment discloses an apparatus and a method by which all of these goals may be met.
In view of the foregoing description of the gun electronics, the subject toy gun system has multiple communication paths wherein the gun and the target both operate to transmit and receive coded information before (e.g., game setup/joining), during, and after (e.g., gameplay analysis, player/team ranking) the game. By doing so the ideal system is realized in which fully controlled and scored games may be played over considerable outdoor distances while providing immediate feedback for tags successfully landed on opponents and providing the ability to record and rank player and team performances without the requirement for additional potentially expensive computer systems which are not part of the guns or targets themselves.
Assuming that there are two guns, (e.g., gun A and B) the communication paths for tags are as follows: the directional transmitter 420 of gun A transmits coded information that is received by omnidirectional receiver 450 of gun B. In order for gun B to receive the coded information from gun A, the barrel portion of gun A must be optically aligned with the omnidirectional receiver 450 of gun B. In a near-instant acknowledgment of receiving the coded information from gun A, the omnidirectional transmitter 440 of gun B outputs coded information acknowledging a hit, and this information is received by the directional receiver 430 of gun A since the barrel portion of gun A has not moved substantially in the instant between gun B receiving the coded information from gun A and outputting the acknowledgement. As such, two way communication may be achieved between two or more guns. Since the transmit and receive functions of the omnidirectional transmitters are substantially 360 degrees about the users, the orientation or attitude of gun B is inconsequential to achieve communications. This two way optical path can be used for any closed loop communications.
Two or more guns may also communicate directly through the omnidirectional transmitters and omnidirectional receivers, but the communication range is on the order of approximately 25 feet. The advantage of communication through the omnidirectional transmitters and receivers is that there is no need to optically align the guns. Thus, proximity warnings and gameplay features may be enabled as described hereafter.
The gun software uses four infra-red communications channels (two directional and two omnidirectional) to create a multinode network, such that each gun unit (and user) may be identified uniquely, assigned to a team as appropriate, and communicate with other users/game participants in the network as needed. The network of intermittently communicating gun units forms a game. Unit-to-unit communications may be performed either specifically or generically. In a specific communication, the transmitting unit addresses a specific other unit in the game so that any units receiving the transmission other than the intended receiver will know that they should ignore the communication. In a generic communication, the transmitting unit broadcasts information, and such information is accepted and processed by all other units that receive the broadcast data. Such communication options enable two or more gun unit users to enjoy gameplay and device features significantly advanced beyond the traditional game of laser tag. For example, the subject system allows a host gun unit to wirelessly program, through IR transmission, one or more other gun units with the same game definition entered into the first (or “host”) unit by one player. Thus, the host operates to facilitate team games and other advanced and customizable gameplays.
To this end, the host user selects the type of game to play and adjusts the game characteristics using an interactive menu-driven interface. This provides a much more intuitive method to select a game and adjust the game particulars than the cumbersome and complex method of combinations of key press codes or the expensive use of additional game-programming computers as generally known in the art. The host unit is programmed with the game definition by one user, and then the host unit automatically broadcasts/transmits the game definition to all other units wishing to join the game. This joining process eliminates or substantially reduces errors and misunderstandings that might otherwise lead to different players not playing the same type of game. It also simplifies the method of joining a game, so that less experienced players can still participate in complex games without having to go through a complex process of learning how to play/participate.
A multi-player game may begin with an optional “host/join” process, wherein one unit that is designated as the host is programmed with the game definition by one user. Subsequently, the host identifies itself and broadcasts the parameters of the game (e.g., gameplay, rules, etc.) that is about to be played to all other units in an area proximate the host. These other units, known hereafter as the joiners, receive the game definition and may elect to participate by communicating with the host. Each joiner receives the game definition and a unique identification (ID) code. Further, if the game is played in groups of two or more teams the host associates each of the joiner's ID codes with a team ID code, which will later facilitate team ranking and other gameplay analysis. The foregoing pre-game host/joiner communication are performed via the omnidirectional transceivers of the gun units.
After all units that will participate in the game have been joined by the host, the game may start after a delay during which the users take up their initial positions for the game. This initial game delay is identified by a count-down to zero (called the “t-minus countdown”). If the host/join process was used, this countdown is broadcast by the host to all of the joiners so as to synchronize the starting time of the game for all participants. In this manner, all participants in the game will start and end their games together. Further, the host may broadcast information identifying the IDs for all valid units in the game to allow all units to more easily reject spurious communications (e.g., tags received from non joining units or units joined to another adjacent game). Once the t-minus countdown is completed the active phase of the game begins.
During the active phase of the game, the omnidirectional transmitter is used primarily to send “Beacon Signatures” identifying team affiliation of the transmitting unit. As previously mentioned, such a broadcast beacon signature signal allows the other units in the game to “lock-on” to or otherwise target and identify the transmitting unit as friend, foe or neutral (IFF) and to be alerted if an opposing unit is in close proximity but has not been targeted. Further, the omnidirectional transmitter operates to transmit an acknowledgment signal confirming the receipt of any tags by the unit's omnidirectional receiver. As a secondary function, this omnidirectional infrared channel may be used to transfer data between players in a game (e.g., medic-mode transfers) or to identify active-area units (e.g., bases, zones, etc. which perform special functions when in close proximity to players) to the other units in the game.
During the active phase of the game, the directional transmitter is used primarily to send “tag signatures” or tags in response to the user's trigger actuation. As is known, players attempt to “land” these tags on the other players in order to score points, tag-out opponents and win the game. However, this channel may also be used to send directed or specific communications for the purposes of text messaging, programming accessories, etc.
Throughout the game each unit records all meaningful occurrences of the various signatures being transmitted, received, time elapsed before the player is tagged-out, and such other interactions as may be relevant to the final analysis of each unit's gameplay for the purposes of scoring of the game and generating player/team ranking among other things. Once the game has ended either by timing out of the game duration or alternatively if the host manually ends the game, if the host/join process was used to start the game then the host will begin a “debriefing” process whereby it interrogates each individual unit that was joined into the game. Each such joined unit, upon interrogation by the host, reports its collected game data back to the host. Once the host has aggregated all of the available game data, it combines and analyzes the data in order to rank each of the individual players and teams within the game. The host then transmits the rankings back to the joiners for their review. In addition, players can individually call up head-to-head scoring information to determine how they did specifically against each of the other players in the game. If one or more of the joiners does not respond to the host's interrogation, such as, for example, if a joiner had to leave the game before the end for some reason or if the joiner malfunctioned, the host operates to discard or otherwise reconcile any data received from the responsive joiners relative to the non-responsive joiners.
Data exchanged over the various communications channels can be categorized as four basic types: (1) beacon signatures, (2) area signatures, (3) tag signatures and (4) packet data. The device will transmit and receive a series of encoded infrared light signals which form a predetermined signature including an active synchronization pulse of duration X or 2X and a plurality of active data bit pulses, each separated from one another by an inactive pause of duration Y. The data bit pulses represent values of “0” or “1” by having an active period respectively of less than or more than one-half X as determined by the duration of the synchronization pulse. The last inactive pause which follows a series of the active data pulses and identifies the end of the signature will have a duration of greater than 2Y. The active synchronization pulse of duration X or 2X is either 3 ms+/−10% or 6 ms+/−10% respectively and the inactive pause of duration Y is 2 ms+/−10%. The series of active data pulses numbers no less than 5 and no greater than 9 active data pulses. The signature is preceded by a pre-synchronization pulse with an active period of 3 ms+/−10% followed by pause of 6 ms+/10%. The function of this pulse is to allow the receiver to automatically adjust its gain levels to best receive the incoming signal with minimum distortion. The beacon signatures include a 6 ms+/−10% synchronization pulse (2X), and the tag signatures and packet data signatures include a 3 ms+/−10% synchronization pulse (X). To accommodate those receivers which must have a certain period of no detectable signal in order to maintain proper gain levels, the software controlling the transmitters typically enforces on itself a “Special Format Pause” of at least 18 ms+/−10% after the end of each signature before it will begin the next signature.
Beacon signatures are broadcast regularly and automatically during the game by each unit for identifying information about the status of the sending unit (i.e. team affiliation, whether or not the sender has just been tagged, and if tagged with how many hit points). When the beacon signature is received by the directional receiver of another unit, the beacon signature may facilitate a targeting or “locked-on” condition or “hit confirmed” condition in the receiving unit. When received by the omnidirectional receiver of another unit, the beacon signature may facilitate a “proximity warning” condition in the receiving unit.
Area signatures are a modified form of the beacon signatures. Area signatures are always broadcast on the omnidirectional transmit channel, and are used to identify a physical area of special significance within a game, for example, a base, an area being contested, a neutral “safety” area, or such other area as may be defined in the game. When an area signature is received by the directional receiver of another unit, the area signature may facilitate a targeting or “locked-on” condition in the receiving unit (if the area signature signifies a base associated with a team in a game), or may simply be ignored. When received by the omnidirectional receiver of another unit, the area signature facilitates a “special zone” condition in the receiving unit. The software of the receiving unit then uses this special zone condition to enable special processing functions associated with the specific area, such as, for example, recording the cumulative time spent in the area, re-enabling a disabled unit, etc.
Tag signatures are typically transmitted on the directional transmit channel and identify the ID of the sending unit and may also include additional information. For example, a unit may transmit a “mega tag” such that the tag signature includes information that identifies “extra tag points” the user has added to this signature to cause any receiving unit to act as if multiple copies of the single tag signature had been received in rapid succession. When the tag signature is received on the directional receive channel of another unit, these signatures are generally ignored. When the tag signature is received on the omnidirectional channel of another unit, the tag signatures result in the receiving unit processing the signature as one or more “tags” or hits being received from the sending unit, which is recorded for analysis by the host.
Packet data signatures are typically transmitted and received on the omnidirectional infrared channels, and are used to transfer more extensive information than can be represented using the foregoing signatures. Such packet data can be game definitions, player-to-player communications such as medic assistance, text messages, game performance statistics, or other communications. Packet data signatures may be transmitted and received using any combination of the directional and omni directional transceivers. For instance Text Messaging is transmitted from the directional transmitter of the initiating unit and received on the omni directional receiver of the receiving unit while medic assistance communications are transmitted by the omni-directional transmitters and received by the omni-directional receivers.
Exemplary Communications Details
All infrared communications consist of an approximately 38 KHz-40 KHz carrier frequency (hereafter called “38 KHz”) modulated on or off by the data to be transmitted, the resulting signal driving an infrared light emitting diode (IRLED) creating a signal of modulated 38 KHz IR, which when detected by the receivers results in an active-low signal as shown in
Because the integrated circuit receivers used to detect the IR signals may have a problem initially identifying a signal and isolating it from any background or ambient level of IR energy, each signature is preceded by a “Pre-Sync” burst of modulated energy followed by a “Pre-Sync Pause” to allow the receiver to set its gain levels to match the signal that follows. This forms a “throw-away” pulse at the start of each signature which will not affect anything if its duration is distorted as the receiver circuitry tries to properly acquire the incoming signal.
Because the controllers of different units can typically be expected to be running at different speeds from one another, particularly if a low-cost resistor oscillator or R/C oscillator is used for timing, the Pre-Sync Pause is then followed by a Sync pulse of a known duration as perceived by the transmitting unit. This allows the receiving unit to identify what speed the transmitting unit's controller is running at relative to the receiver's controller speed so that variations in timing can be properly accounted for. The Pre-Sync and Pre-Sync Pause help to ensure that the duration of this pulse is exactly as intended by the transmitting unit.
As a result of the foregoing, all signatures consist of a Pre-Sync (PS), a Pre-Sync Pause (PSP), Sync, and a plurality of data bits, as shown in
During a game, all units attempt to cooperate such that data “collisions” will be kept to a minimum. However, it is a fairly common occurrence for the signatures from two or more different units to arrive simultaneously at the omnidirectional receiver of a third unit, causing a corrupted signature to be received by that third unit. During normal game play, such corruption is most frequently seen as the beacon signatures from the other units colliding at the receiver of the third unit, resulting in a signature which looks very much like a valid tag signature. To prevent the receiving unit from interpreting such a corrupted signature as a spurious tag signature, all beacon signatures (including area signatures) use a longer Sync Burst than do the tag or packet data signatures as shown in
As shown in
Area signatures are special cases of the beacon signature in which HF is 0 but X2 and X1 contain at least one “1” bit. These combinations would make no sense as a beacon signature from a player unit, and are thus reserved for the various different area signatures. The area signatures are defined in Table 1.
As shown in
Because each player in a hosted/joined game has a unique ID, all tags taken by every player in a game can be recorded by the unit receiving the tags for analysis, reporting and comparison after the game has ended. This allows each player to know not only how many times he or she was tagged by other players or tagged other players, but the player can also determine exactly who those other players were and how many times he or she tagged or was tagged by each of them.
The following packet data communications may be used for communicating more complex information than the specific information involved in the beacon, area, and tag signatures. Such complex data may be exchanged between two or more units at the beginning of a game to allow a host to automatically program joiners with the details of the game about to be played, to synchronize all players in a game and ensure that they all recognize or know the IDs that will and will not be valid during the game. During a game, such complex data may be exchanged between two or more units to allow players within the game to communicate and even transfer resources or liabilities to one another. After a game, such complex data may be exchanged between two or more units to allow performance data collection, ranking, and comparison of all units, among other things.
Packet data signatures can be any one of three basic types, depending on where they occur in the data stream. The first signature in the data stream (containing the first byte of information) is always a packet type byte, or “Ptype” as shown in
There is normally no specific data-length byte in the packets, as each Ptype tells the receiving unit what the meanings of the data bytes to follow are. Some packets are variable-length and thus do contain a data-length byte of one format or another, but this is not required in packets which are not variable-length. The maximum length of any packet is 22 bytes, including the Ptype and Csum.
Devices for infrared shooting games as are known in the prior art typically use a fixed number of data bits per signature, e.g. 8 bits. The limited number of possible combinations of “0” and “1” bits necessitates the sending of additional data in each signature to identify the type of data represented, for example a basic signature may consist of 8 data bits, but require a preamble of another 8 bits to indicate how this signature is to be interpreted, for example as a tag, as configuration information, as control information such as to disable a player, and so on. With the present described embodiment herein the user may configure various elements of the game by use of the keypad and an interactive text-based menu displayed on the LCD upon completion of game definition the electronic controller will operate via the second transmitter and second receiver to transfer the game definition and assign unique identities to one or more similar devices and cause other devices to begin the game in a coordinated manner. During the game the electronic controller acts to record for later analysis such events as are relevant according to the game definition, for example number of receipts of each valid tag signature or important active-area beacon signature. After the game the electronic controller acts to: interrogate by use of the second transmitter and second receiver each other similar unit which was given the game definition and assigned a unique identity before the game, receive from each such similar unit the relevant game events data recorded in that unit, aggregate this data and calculate performance rankings for the individual players and/or teams of players in the game, broadcast these rankings via the second transmitter to all of the similar units for review by the other human players, and display the relevant game events information and ranking data to the human user via the LCD display. Further, because interference from natural and man-made sources is typically present in the outdoor environment, infrared shooting game devices typically must either send redundant copies of each transmission or else must use lower data rates combined with hardware or software filtering of the received signals to ensure reliable reception of the data.
Because of the difficulty in maintaining line-of-sight infrared communications over time, it is desirable to transmit the required information in the shortest time possible for the required data. To this end, the system disclosed herein uses signatures of variable length so that no time is required for the sending of unnecessary data bits and yet no meaning is lost since the extra information is expressed by the count of bits in the signature. The receiving device may know what type of data was sent by counting the number of data bits received, and thus may know immediately whether the information was intended as a beacon, tag, data byte, or a marker for the start or end of a data packet, without the sending unit having to add additional bits to convey this information. By this means communications time is minimized, maximum reuse of available combinations of bits is achieved, and the ability to perform data type error checking is realized. For example, a value of hexadecimal 00 may represent any of several multiple meanings such as a beacon from a Team 0 player reporting no recent hits taken (5 data bits), a tag of 1 hit point fired by Player 0 on Team 0 (7 data bits), a value of 0 transferred between units as data within a communications packet (8 data bits), or the start of a communications packet which begins the countdown to game in the various participants (9 data bits).
Exemplary Game-programming Communications
As previously mentioned, games are selected and defined through the use of a menu-driven process in which the user inputs data to the system software through the various input buttons, and the software displays prompts and selected values on the displays. In addition to pre-defined games which the user may not modify, the system also allows the user to select games which the user may then customize to his/her own liking. Once the game has been fully defined (either by default or by user modification), this definition is automatically passed from the host to all joiners in the area.
An example of the information transmitted from the Host to the Joiners in order to define the game is as follows:
The foregoing packet defines a special game which will be hosted by a unit calling itself “2C”. The game will last for 15 minutes, and in this game each player will have 50 tags until tagged out, unlimited reloads, 45 seconds of shield time, and 12 mega tags available. The game will be called 2ZON (short for “2 Zones”), and the details of how it will be played are defined by the two Packed Flags bytes that include:
An example of data being transmitted during a text message sequence
The forgoing packet defines a Text Message transmission during gameplay. The receiving unit will display “HELLO” in the alpha numeric LCD display of the receiving unit.
As can be appreciated, the software may allow for additional Packed Flag Bytes to be sent to tell joiner units how to process other situations beyond those already covered in the foregoing description and example. Units encountering situations for which no Packed Flag Bytes are sent will simply ignore the situation and not allow it to affect gameplay. If the game definition broadcast by the host involves dividing the various joining players into functional teams, the joining players may then select a preferred team to associate with. Alternatively, if the joiner has no team preference or the joiner's preferred team is full, the host may assign the joiner to a particular team. After any needed team preference has been supplied, the joiner unit automatically communicates with the host to receive an assigned player ID.
Once the host has determined that all units have been joined into the game (either because no new unit has requested an ID, because the host user has told the host unit that all other units have been joined or because there is no room left in the game for any more units to join), the host initiates a thirty second t-minus countdown and broadcasts the T-minus value along with a set of bytes identifying all units that were successfully joined to the game. When the joiner units receive this broadcast information they will then know when to start the actual game (based on the t-minus countdown value), which signatures are and are not valid in this game (based on the Packet Flag bytes and the list of valid IDs sent with the t-minus value) and how long to play the game (based on the information received in the game definition).
During the T-Minus countdown, an additional feature called “Cloning” may be allowed. In the Cloning process, two units being operated by a single player agree to share a single Player ID and some of the resources and liabilities assigned to the player by the Host. While the first of these two units, called the “Master,” Joins or Hosts the game in the normal fashion, a second unit called the “Slave” listens for the game particulars as transmitted by the host but does not request nor receive a unique Player ID. Instead, once the T-Minus countdown has begun, it is “programmed” by the Master with the Player ID it will use during the game. This process is accomplished by sending and receiving Tag signatures using the directional transceivers during the T-minus countdown period, a time during which tag signatures would otherwise be meaningless as the game has not actually started yet. The Master sends a plurality of basic Tag Signatures which are received by the Slave, and the Slave responds by echoing a plurality of the same Tag Signature but with a different pattern of “extended Information” bits (1 extra tag point). If the Master receives the correct response, it considers the Cloning to have been successful and responds with a single tag signature of the same ID but having yet different “extended information” bits (2 extra tag points), and the Slave upon receiving this signature will consider the Cloning to have been successful. But if the Master does not receive the correct response, it sends a plurality of significantly different Tag Signatures to indicate that the process has failed and must be attempted again. Once the Master and Slave have determined that the Cloning process has been a success, they each divide the number-of-tags-until-out and the number of reloads available per player between themselves (the Master receiving the larger share if it cannot be evenly divided), and the two units will play through the programmed duration of the game with the same basic game definition and Player ID. Once the game has concluded, the Master may collect such data from the Slave as is needed for reporting back to the Host, allowing the Host to properly score a game in which the single player has used multiple game units to achieve his score.
Once the t-minus countdown reaches t-minus-zero (T−00) the game begins automatically and runs for the predetermined game duration or until the host declares an early end to the game (by beginning the debriefing/interrogation process early). During the game all signature interactions that are important to the game, such as tag signatures received, Zone area signatures received and the like are recorded by each unit so that the host unit may compare each player's and each team's gameplay after completion of the game. A player may be “tagged-out” before the game ends in which case his/her unit remains disabled until the end of the game and is then debriefed by the host just as if he/she had not been tagged-out.
When the game ends, the host then interrogates/queries all joiner units initially joined to the game for their recorded data. Each unit being interrogated then reports the requested gameplay data for that unit back to the host. The host combines all of the data received from each joiner unit, processes or otherwise analyzes the data and compares the results for each player (and also for the various teams, if applicable) in the game. The host then, based on the scoring parameters for the game, ranks all of the players and teams. Any joiner unit that is not debriefed by or otherwise does not communicate with the host after the game is treated as a unit that never joined the game. The compiled scores are ranked, and the resulting ranks are transmitted by the host to all joiners. Each player in the game can thus know one or more of the following: how well he or she performed individually (based on the objectives of the game), how well his or her team performed as a team (again based on the objectives of the game) and how well he or she performed individually versus each of the other individuals in the game (based on tags transmitted to the other players versus tags received from other players).
Exemplary Gameplay
CLASSIC LAZER TAG (LTAG)—The object of this game is to be the last player not tagged out. In the Classic LAZER TAG game, all other players are your opponents.
Preset game features include:
No Hosting, game starts immediately at T−10
No Teams or Player ID's
Any number of players may play
15 seconds of Shield time allowed
Unlimited Reloads
12 Mega-Tags
Players are tagged out after taking 10 Tags
No score ranking—last player NOT tagged out wins.
After being tagged out, a player's elapsed time in the game (from the start of the game to the time at which the player is tagged out) is displayed on the player's screen.
CUSTOM LAZER TAG (CUST)—The object of this game is to be the last player not tagged out, while scoring as many tags against your opponents as possible. In the Custom LAZER TAG game, all other players are your opponents. This variation of Classic LAZER TAG allows all game options to be programmable.
Game features include:
Fully hosted, (requires hosting/joining) and supports post-game debriefing
2-24 players may be in the game, players have individual ID's
No Teams, All players are opponents of each other
Time—1-99 minutes, (default=10 min)
Reloads—0-99 or Unlimited (default=Unlimited)
Mega-Tags—0-99 or Unlimited (default=10)
Shields—0-99 seconds (default=15)
Tags—1-99 (default=10)
Ranking is individual only
2-TEAM CUSTOMIZED LAZER TAG (2TMS) and 3-TEAM CUSTOMIZED LAZER TAG (3TMS)—The object of these games is to have the most number of your team's players remain in the game while scoring as many tags as possible on opposing players. In these games, some of the other players are on the same team as you, while others are on one or two opposing teams.
Game features of the foregoing team customized games include:
Fully hosted, (requires hosting/joining) and supports post-game debriefing
2 or 3 teams of up to 8 players per team
Team Tags (selectable)—Yes (Y) or No (N) (default=Y)
Medic Mode (selectable)—Yes (Y) or No (N) (default=Y)
Time—1-99 minutes, (default=15 min)
Reloads—0-99 or Unlimited (default=Unlimited)
Mega-Tags—0-99 or Unlimited (default=10)
Shields—0-99 seconds (default=15)
Tags—1-99 (default=20)
Ranking is individual and team
HIDE AND SEEK (HDSK)—The object of this game is to score as many tags as possible on the other team while seeking them, and avoid taking tags while hiding from them. Players are divided into two teams. At any given time, one team is seeking while the other team is hiding. The teams switch between seeking and hiding every 60 seconds.
Game features include:
Fully hosted, (requires hosting/joining) and supports post-game debriefing
2 teams of up to 8 players per team
Team Tags (selectable)—Yes (Y) or No (N) (default=Y)
Medic Mode (selectable)—Yes (Y) or No (N) (default=Y)
Time—2-98 minutes (minutes in multiples of 2), (default=10 min)
Reloads—0-99 or Unlimited (default=5)
Mega-Tags—0-99 or Unlimited (default=15)
Shields—0-99 seconds (default=30)
Tags—1-99 (default=25)
Ranking is individual and team:
HUNT THE PREY (HUNT)—The object of this game is to score as many tags as possible on the other team while seeking them, and avoid taking as many tags as possible while hiding from them. This game is like Hide and Seek, but with the added complexity that players are divided into three teams. At any given time, your team will be hunting one team while hiding from the other team. Every 60 seconds the hunting direction switches so that you must now hide from the team you were just hunting and hunt the team you were just hiding from.
Game features include:
Fully hosted (requires hosting/joining) and supports post-game debriefing
3 Teams. Up to 8 players on each team
Team Tags (selectable)—Yes (Y) or No (N) (default=Y)
Medic Mode (selectable)—Yes (Y) or No (N) (default=Y)
Time—2-98 minutes (minutes in multiples of 2) (default=10 min)
Reloads—0-99 or Unlimited (default=5)
Mega-Tags—0-99 or Unlimited (default=15)
Shields—0-99 seconds (default=30)
Tags—1-99 (default=25)
Ranking is individual and team:
2-KINGS (2KNG) and 3-KINGS (3KNG)—The object of these games is to tag out the opposing team's King while protecting your own king The Kings on any of the teams are not known to the other teams, but a clue is that the King's device will not send out an identifying (IFF) signal.
Game features include:
Fully hosted (requires hosting/joining) and supports post-game debriefing
2 or 3 Teams. Up to 8 players on each team
Team Tags (selectable)—Yes (Y) or No (N) (default=Y)
Medic Mode (selectable)—Yes (Y) or No (N) (default=Y)
Time—1-99 minutes (default=15 min for 2-KINGS, and 30 min for 3-KINGS)
Reloads—0-99 or Unlimited (default=20)
Mega-Tags—0-99 or Unlimited (default=00)
Shields—0-99 seconds (default=30)
Tags—1-99 (default=15)
Ranking is individual and team:
Zone Games—in Zone games the host's device becomes the Zone TAGGER. The Zone TAGGER does not participate in the game as a player although it still performs all set-up and programming functions and performs the debriefing at the end of the game. The Zone TAGGER creates the Zone by generating a 360° infrared light field using its omnidirectional transceiver. The Zone TAGGER should always be stationary during a game and positioned on a stable surface with the omnidirectional transceiver pointing straight up and level with the ground. The Zone TAGGER should be located in a place so that the Zone can fill a large area without obstructions that may create dead spots within the Zone.
All devices in the game operate to sense the Zone using their omnidirectional transceivers. Devices accumulate “Zone Time” whenever the device can sense the Zone and multiple players may be in the Zone at the same time. A player may remain in the Zone as long as he/she is not “Neutralized.” When a player takes a tag from any other player, whether he/she is in the Zone or not, the tagged player becomes “Neutralized” for 15 seconds. The neutralized device will display “NEUT” on the device display and a fifteen-second countdown. A neutralized player cannot tag other players, be tagged by other players, raise shields or add Mega-Tag power. A neutralized player must leave the Zone within 5 seconds of being tagged and remain completely out of the Zone while neutralized. If a player stays in the Zone or returns to the Zone while neutralized, the Zone will become “hostile” to that neutralized player. A hostile Zone will cause a player's device to take multiple tags from the Zone at a pace fast that may completely tag out the neutralized player from the game within just a few seconds.
OWN THE ZONE (OWNZ)—The object of the game is to accumulate as much Zone Time as possible. Own the Zone is a strategic individual game where all players are opponents. Players should focus on getting into and staying in the Zone as long as possible without getting tagged, rather than attacking the opponents. The player with most Zone Time wins the game. It should be noted that multiple players can be in the Zone at the same time, as long as they can avoid getting tagged.
Game features include:
Fully hosted (requires hosting/joining) and supports post-game debriefing
2-24 players
No Teams. All players are opponents
Time—1-99 minutes, (default=10 min)
Reloads—0-99 or Unlimited (default=15)
Mega-Tags—0-99 or Unlimited, (default=0)
Shields—0-99 seconds (default=45)
Tags—1-99 (default=10)
Ranking is individual only
2-TEAMS OWN THE ZONE (2TOZ) and 3-TEAMS OWN THE ZONE (3TOZ)—The object of the game is to accumulate as much collective Zone Time as possible for the whole team. These two games are played in the same way as the Individual game of Own the Zone except that the players are divided into teams.
Game features include:
Fully hosted, (requires hosting/joining) and supports post-game debriefing
2 or 3 Teams. Up to 8 players on each team
Team Tags—Yes (Y) or No (N) (default=Y)
Time—1-99 minutes, (default=15 min for 2-TEAMS OWN THE ZONE, and 20 min for 3-TEAMS OWN THE ZONE)
Reloads—0-99 or Unlimited (default=15)
Mega-Tags—0-99 or Unlimited, (default=0)
Shields—0-99 seconds (default=45)
Tags—1-99 (default=10)
Score ranking is Individual and Team
Referring now to
In the preferred embodiments, the interfaces between the gun and the accessories may be accomplished via an “active rail” interface or an “intelligent rail” interface.
In the active rail interface, the gun is able to sense the presence or absence of the accessory, and possibly identify the specific accessory present from amongst a list of possible accessories programmed into the gun software in advance. A sensor may be used to detect presence of such apparatus coupled to device, and the electronic controller disposed with software changes the function of the device based on the presence or absence of apparatus. The sensor is provided with appropriate sensing means and may comprise one or more switches. The gun modifies its software functions in a predetermined manner according to the specific combination of accessories which it has detected. The apparatus is thus removably coupled to the device, with the apparatus sending an identifying signal to said first electronic controller when coupled to the device. The device accordingly is provides with at least one game play configuration definition, and its controller may send the game play configuration definition with the combination of one or more apparatus, modifying the game play configuration definition at the electronic controller. The accessory may also alter the electronic circuit of the gun directly, in a manner not directly detected by the gun's processor.
In the intelligent rail interface, the accessory contains a processor and the rail provides for a bi-directional communications link between each accessory's processor and the gun's processor. In this system, the accessory directs how the gun's software will react to the presence of the accessory by directing the gun's software operation. It is this advancement that makes the intelligent system so flexible. The details of exactly what each accessory or combination of accessories will do to the gun's software and hardware functioning does not have to be determined in advance. The line of accessories does not have to be planned out in advance since it is the accessory itself (rather than the gun) that decides how the gun will react to the accessory's presence. Each accessory commands the gun's software to modify whichever element or elements are appropriate.
Active Rail Interface
Upon coupling one or more of the accessories to the device 600, identifying signals are received by a first electronic controller in the device 600 so that the controller may determine which accessories are present. Consequently, the first electronic controller may determine how the software configuration will be modified to best match the combination of accessories present and any effect they may have on the hardware configuration.
The narrow barrel 602 and the wide barrel 604 may also contain an infrared source and collimating lenses as well as circuitry to inhibit the generation of an infrared signal from the device 600 and instead generate it from within the barrel 602, 604. This setup provides the ability to have great variation in the use of the infrared signals with the infrared sources used independently or in combination. Thus, many different weapon types may be simulated.
Accessories such as barrels 602, 604 may further contain circuitry which acts in conjunction with the transmitter section of device 600 to alter the transmitter circuit so as to cause the IR to be generated from an emitter or emitters located in the barrel 602, 604 rather than from the emitter or emitters located in device 600. This would be done so as to allow the emitters in barrels 602, 604 to be matched with lenses or such other optical elements as may be required to produce the exact beam pattern desired, for example to match the visual appearance of the barrel. Further, other accessories such as TV game modules (as discussed later in this description) may use this feature to inhibit IR generation in device 600 when playing against opponents or targets which are merely simulated and have no physical reality, and, further, the signals present within the transmitter circuitry may be monitored by the accessory device for the purposes of determining when the player has directed the device to fire a tag, etc. In addition, this allows for accessories such as simulated land mines or grenades to capture and record the tag signature of the host device and re-transmit it at a later time using their own IR transmitter circuitry.
Each combination of barrel, sight, and grip affects six different variables that define the device 600 behavior. These variables are pattern, hit points, rate of fire, burst size, magazine size, and shield time.
Pattern is a hardware function of the lens and the current level used to drive the infrared emitting diode (IRLED) which generates the tag signatures. The lens, the IRLED, and the resistor which controls the current through the IRLED of the preferred embodiment of the “active rail” system are all integral to the barrel accessory 602, 604. However it will be appreciated that any or all of these elements could be integral to the device 600 and selected or not by micro-controller 624 and/or circuitry within the barrel accessory 602, 604, dependant on the specific accessories attached to device 600. The various patterns that may be used in the preferred embodiment are a 100′ wide angle shot, a 200′ wide angle shot, a 300′ narrow angle shot, and a 400′ narrow angle shot.
Hit points is a software function that controls how many “Mega Tag” points are to be indicated in the tag as described in Table 2.
Rate of fire is a software function that controls how rapidly one shot (tag) may follow the previous shot (tag).
Burst size is a software function that controls the number of shots that will be fired if the player holds the trigger.
Magazine size is a software function that determines the number of shots that may be fired before the device 600 must be reloaded.
Shield time is a software function that determines or modifies the total number of seconds of shield time available to the player at the start of the game.
The next several paragraphs provide examples of how the different combinations of accessories configure the device hardware and software in order to roughly simulate different types of weapons.
When the wide barrel 604, the iron sight 606, and the pistol grip 612 are attached to the device 600, the gun may have the following characteristics: 1) the pattern will be a 100′ wide angle shot; 2) there will be 1 hit point per tag; 3) the rate of fire will be 4 tags per second; 4) the burst size will be 1 tag per trigger pull; 5) the magazine will not need reloading; and 6) the shield time will be twice the shield time programmed at the start of the game. This configuration simulates a fantasy type pistol that never needs reloading.
When the narrow barrel 602, the iron sight 606, and the pistol grip 612 are attached to the device 600, the gun may have the following characteristics: 1) the pattern will be a 300′ narrow angle shot; 2) there will be 2 hit points per tag; 3) the rate of fire will be 4 tags per second; 4) the burst size will be 1 tag per trigger pull; 5) the magazine will need reloading after 10 shots; and 6) the shield time will be the shield time programmed at the start of the game. This configuration simulates a semi-automatic carbine.
When the wide barrel 604, the scope 608, and the pistol grip 612 are attached to the device 600, the gun may have the following characteristics: 1) the pattern will be a 200′ wide angle shot; 2) there will be 2 hit points per tag; 3) the rate of fire will be 4 tags per second; 4) the burst size will be 1 tag per trigger pull; 5) the magazine will need reloading after 10 shots; and 6) the shield time will be the shield time programmed at the start of the game. This configuration simulates a semi-automatic pistol.
When the narrow barrel 602, the scope 608, and the pistol grip 612 are attached to the device 600, the gun may have the following characteristics: 1) the pattern will be a 400′ narrow angle shot; 2) there will be 4 hit points per tag; 3) the rate of fire will be 1 tag per second; 4) the burst size will be 1 tag per trigger pull; 5) the magazine will need reloading after 1 shot; and 6) the shield time will be the shield time programmed at the start of the game. This configuration simulates a bolt-action (single shot) sniper rifle.
When the narrow barrel 602, the scope 608, and the shield grip 610 are attached to the device 600, the gun may have the following characteristics: 1) the pattern will be a 400′ narrow angle shot; 2) there will be 2 hit points per tag; 3) the rate of fire will be 2 tags per second; 4) the burst size will be 1 tag per trigger pull; 5) the magazine will need reloading after 5 shots; and 6) the shield time will be the shield time programmed at the start of the game. This configuration simulates a semi-automatic sniper rifle.
When the wide barrel 604, the scope 608, and the shield grip 610 are attached to the device 600, the gun may have the following characteristics: 1) the pattern will be a 200′ wide angle shot; 2) there will be 1 hit point per tag; 3) the rate of fire will be 5 tags per second; 4) the burst size will be 5 tags per trigger pull; 5) the magazine will need reloading after 20 shots; and 6) the shield time will be one-half the shield time programmed at the start of the game. This configuration simulates a sub-machine gun.
When the narrow barrel 602, the iron sight 606, and the shield grip 610 are attached to the device 600, the gun may have the following characteristics: 1) the pattern will be a 300′ narrow angle shot; 2) there will be 1 hit point per tag; 3) the rate of fire will be 6 tags per second; 4) the burst size will be 10 tags per trigger pull; 5) the magazine will need reloading after 10 shots; and 6) there will be no shield time. This configuration simulates an assault rifle.
When the wide barrel 604, the iron sight 606, and the shield grip 610 are attached to the device 600, the gun may have the following characteristics: 1) the pattern will be a 100′ wide angle shot; 2) there will be 1 hit point per tag; 3) the rate of fire will be 8 tags per second; 4) the burst size will be 10 tags per trigger pull; 5) the magazine will need reloading after 10 shots; and 6) the shield time will be the shield time programmed at the start of the game. This configuration simulates a machine pistol.
Intelligent Rail Interface
As an example of the intelligent rail interface, referring to
As an example of the use of the intelligent rail system, a shotgun module may be attached to the device 614. When the shotgun module is attached an exchange of data occurs between micro-controllers 624, 626 and as a result micro-controller 624 is made aware of the presence of the shotgun accessory 616. When the shotgun barrel 616 is “pumped” by activating the shotgun reload switch 632, micro-controller 626 sends a command to micro-controller 624 to alter the manner in which it responds to the trigger input of device 614. As a result, device 614 will now fire two shots in response to the next trigger pull rather than the customary single shot, and the first of the two shots is a two-point Mega Tag, while the second shot is a standard single-point tag. The shotgun barrel micro-controller 626 inhibits the generation of the infrared signal from the device 614, intercepts the signature data from the device 614, and generates a first infrared signature through a wide angle LED 630 in the shotgun barrel. The shotgun barrel micro-controller 626 then generates a second infrared signature through a narrow angle LED 628 in the shotgun barrel. This produces a shotgun-like pattern. The device 614 then reverts back to a semi-automatic mode and the shotgun module ceases interception or inhibition of the signals from device 614 until the shotgun barrel is pumped again. Other barrel accessories such as machinegun barrel 620 may function in a similar manner but have only a single IRLED and lens, and when pumped command micro-controller 624 to change from semi-automatic firing at a rate of 4 tags per second to fully-automatic firing at a rate of 8 tags per second for the next 10 shots. Non-barrel accessories such as Ammo Box 622 may act to replenish game resources such as ammunition, health, or shields time by sending commands to micro-controller 624 to increase the respective values in memory which represent these resources.
The aforementioned accessories may be interchangeable during game play to alter the hardware and software operation during a particular game. Thus, the player may have added strategic considerations during a game by being able to choose the best characteristics of a simulated weapon to fit a particular battle situation. The device 614 may contain memory for the purpose of recording the number of times a given accessory is used during a particular game. This data may be used to limit or record the number of uses of such an accessory by each player during the game.
Video Game Attachment
Referring now to
While the present invention has been illustrated by a description of various embodiments and while these embodiments have been set forth in considerable detail, it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the appended claims. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that modifications to the foregoing preferred embodiments may be made in various aspects. It is deemed that the spirit and scope of the invention encompass such variations to be preferred embodiments as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art and familiar with the teachings of the present application.
This application is a division and continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/951,025 filed Sep. 27, 2004 which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10951025 | Sep 2004 | US |
| Child | 12335201 | US |
