Patent Application
20090149265
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer mediated entertainment content. More particularly, the present invention relates to customizing entertainment content.
2. Background Art
To paraphrase Bill Murray's character in the movie “Mad Dog and Glory,” theme parks are the expediters of our dreams. The success of theme parks, such as Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., or Disney World, in Orlando, Fla., to attract visitors from around the world is testimony to the effectiveness with which those venues have captured a collective imagination and rendered it as simulated reality. The very success of these enterprises in identifying themes that are mutually attractive to a broad cross section of the population highlights one of the challenges faced by a theme park seeking to attract visitors, the challenge of offering in-park experiences exploring themes and having features that are generally appealing.
One way in which theme parks have responded to this challenge in the past is by diversifying the selection of attractions available to guests. By offering a variety of attractions of different types, and even among attractions of a similar type, presenting those experiences through a variety of themes, a broad spectrum of entertainment preferences may be catered to. For example, a single theme park may offer rollercoaster ride type attractions, water ride type attractions, entertainment-based attractions, midway game type attractions, as well as other distinctive types of experiences, in an effort to accommodate a variety of aesthetic sensibilities. Within a particular type of attraction, for example a rollercoaster type ride, the experience may be offered as a child's fantasy adventure, such as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride; presented with a traditional fairy tale backdrop, as in the Matterhorn bobsled ride; or be given a futuristic spin, like Space Mountain, all of which are offered as alternative rollercoaster type attractions at the Disneyland theme park.
That the previously described approach to meeting a spectrum of entertainment preferences has historically been successful is evidenced by the worldwide popularity of Disneyland and other theme parks as vacation destinations. However, the advent of programmable portable entertainment products and devices, and the almost limitless variety of entertainment options they offer, have raised public expectations regarding the level of personal selection and customizability available to an entertainment consumer. As theme park guests begin to apply some of these heightened expectations fed by the increasing ubiquity of personal entertainment devices, theme parks may be forced to offer an ever greater variety of experiences in order to continue to provide the high level of entertainment satisfaction they have traditionally been identified with.
One strategy for meeting this new challenge is to increase the number and continue to diversify the types of attractions available in-park. Due to cost and resource constraints, however, there is a practical limit to how many distinct physical attractions a theme park venue can support. As a result, and in the face of greater consumer demand for individual choice, it may no longer suffice for a theme park to offer a universal in-park experience to be commonly shared by all guests, no matter how artfully selected or designed that common experience may be. Consequently, in order to continue to provide the public with a high level of entertainment satisfaction, theme parks may be compelled to find a way to provide a variety of distinct experiences from a single in-park attraction.
Accordingly, there is a need to overcome the drawbacks and deficiencies in the art by providing a solution enabling a theme park guest to enjoy a customized experience when interacting with an in-park attraction.
A method and system for customizing a theme park experience, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims.
The features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, wherein:
The present application is directed to a method and system for customizing a theme park experience. The following description contains specific information pertaining to the implementation of the present invention. One skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention may be implemented in a manner different from that specifically discussed in the present application. Moreover, some of the specific details of the invention are not discussed in order not to obscure the invention. The specific details not described in the present application are within the knowledge of a person of ordinary skill in the art. The drawings in the present application and their accompanying detailed description are directed to merely exemplary embodiments of the invention. To maintain brevity, other embodiments of the invention, which use the principles of the present invention, are not specifically described in the present application and are not specifically illustrated by the present drawings. It should be borne in mind that, unless noted otherwise, like or corresponding elements among the figures may be indicated by like or corresponding reference numerals.
According to the embodiment of
In one embodiment, the custom virtual theme park experience produced using customized theme park design content 120 may be hosted for the enjoyment and evaluation of a community of users, i.e., other users such as user 138. In that embodiment, for example, the custom virtual theme park experience may be stored in custom virtual theme park experience storage 112 and hosted to an online community on theme park experience design content server 110, accessible through packet network 128. There, members of the online community may enjoy the custom virtual theme park experience produced by user 138, and indicate their level of enjoyment by providing a rating feedback. Similarly, user 138 may access custom virtual theme park experiences produced by other users and stored in custom virtual theme park experience storage 112, and provide a rating feedback. Subsequently, one or more of the custom virtual theme park experiences could be adapted as a customized theme park experience, for enjoyment by user 138 and others as visitors to a theme park. Selection of a custom virtual theme park experience for adaptation as a customized theme park experience may be made based on the popularity of the virtual theme park experience among members of the community of users, for example, or based on other criteria.
In another embodiment, system 100 might be utilized to produce a customized theme park experience personal to user 138. In that embodiment, user 138 might personalize a guided tour of a theme park by selecting a tour guide and a focus of the tour, such as exciting rollercoaster rides, for example. For instance, a prospective visitor to Disneyland, in Anaheim, Calif., might customize a virtual tour of the most exciting new rollercoaster rides guided by Walt Disney himself. Unlike the previously described embodiment, the present example involves a personal custom virtual theme park experience. That custom virtual theme park experience could then be stored in custom virtual theme park experience storage 112, and adapted as a customized theme park experience available to user 138 as an in-park experience on a subsequent visit, perhaps to be enjoyed in conjunction with a headset or head mounted video display. According to the present embodiment, the customized theme park experience may be associated with a user access code, making it possible for user 138 to retrieve his or her personalized experience at the theme park, for enjoyment in-park.
It is noted that although client computer 130 is represented as a personal computer (PC) in
As shown in
Turning now to
Theme park experience design content server 210, custom virtual theme park experience storage 212, and customized theme park experience design content 220 correspond respectively to theme park experience design content server 110, custom virtual theme park experience storage 112, and customized theme park experience design content 120, in
In the present embodiment, interactive custom virtual theme park experience design application 222b, motifs database 224b, and customizable features database 226b are located in client memory 236, having been received from theme park experience design content server 210 via communication link 214. In the present embodiment, communication link 214 represents download of interactive custom virtual theme park experience design application 222a, motifs database 224a, and customizable features database 226a over a packet network, for example. In another embodiment, communication link 214 may represent transfer of interactive custom virtual theme park experience design application 222a, motifs database 224a, and customizable features database 226a from a CD-ROM or other portable computer readable storage medium. Once transferred, the various customized theme park experience design content components, including interactive custom virtual theme park experience design application 222b, motifs database 224b, and customizable features database 226b may be stored in client memory 236 and run locally on client computer 230. It is noted that communication link 214 is shown as a two-way communication, to correspond to transfer of a custom virtual theme park experience produced on client computer 230 to custom virtual theme park experience storage 212 residing on theme park experience content server 210.
Controller 232 may be the central processing unit for client computer 230, for example, in which role controller 232 runs the client computer operating system, launches web browser 234, and facilitates execution of interactive custom virtual theme park experience design application 222b. Web browser 234, under the control of controller 232, may execute interactive custom virtual theme park experience design application 222b to enable a user of client computer 230 to customize a theme park experience by selecting assets from customizable features database 226b, and assembling the selected customizable features with a theme park experience motif designated from among predetermined motifs contained in motifs database 224b.
Implementation of the embodiment of
By downloading customized theme park experience design content 220 and running interactive custom virtual theme park experience design application 222b, a user of client computer 230 can designate a shooting game contained as a predetermined motif in motifs database 224b, as the a template from which to design a custom virtual theme park experience. Having designated a shooting game as the designated motif, the user of client computer 230 may select customizable features, such as a jungle warfare backdrop, targets, target values, etcetera, from customizable features database 226b. Interactive custom virtual theme park experience design application 222b can then mediate assembly of the designated motif and selected customizable features to produce a jungle warfare shooting game customized by the user of client computer 230.
The custom jungle warfare shooting game produced by the user of client computer 230, in
Starting with step 310 in
Designation of a theme park experience motif in step 310 establishes a theme and template for subsequent customization steps. For example, the menu of customizable features available in a subsequent step may be determined by the particular motif designated in step 310. The designated motif is chosen from among predetermined motifs contained in a motifs database accessible through the interactive custom virtual theme park design application utilized by client computer 230. Examples of theme park experience motifs might include shooting games, dramatic entertainments, or instructional presentations such as guided tours.
The exemplary method of flowchart 300 continues with step 320, which comprises selecting one or more customizable features associated with the designated motif from among features contained in a customizable features database. Returning to the example of a jungle warfare shooting game described in relation to
Flowchart 300 continues with step 330, comprising assembling the designated motif and the selected features into a custom virtual theme park experience suitable for adaptation as a customized theme park experience. Suitability of the custom virtual theme park experience for adaptation as a customized theme park experience for enjoyment in-park is assured by provision, as part of customized theme park experience design content 220, of predetermined theme park experience motifs and associated customizable features. In step 330, the features selected in step 320 are harmonized and integrated with the motif designated in step 310 to produce a custom virtual product. Continuing with the example of the jungle warfare shooting game, step 330 corresponds to completion of a computer game version of a jungle warfare shooting game playable by a user of computer 230, for example.
Following step 340 of flowchart 300 comprises hosting the custom virtual theme park experience for enjoyment by a community of users. After the designated motif and selected customizable features have been assembled in step 330 to produce a custom virtual theme park experience, the custom virtual theme park experience may be stored in custom virtual theme park experience storage 212 on theme park experience design content server 210. According to the present embodiment, that custom virtual theme park experience is made accessible to a community of users who may enjoy it, by playing a computer version of the jungle warfare shooting game, for example. After enjoying the custom virtual theme park experience produced by the user of client computer 230, the community of users may register their level of enjoyment of the experience by providing rating data in step 350. Rating may occur on a scale of one to five stars, for example, with five stars being the highest rating. Individual user ratings may be collated to determine an overall rating corresponding to the popularity of the custom virtual theme park experience among the community of users.
Continuing with step 360 of flowchart 300, step 360 comprises choosing a custom virtual theme park experience for adaptation to a customized theme park experience for enjoyment in-park. As in the exemplary method corresponding to flowchart 300, a custom virtual theme park experience can be chosen for adaptation based on its popularity among the community of users. That popularity may be shown by the rating performed in step 350. Using the exemplary rating system described previously, perhaps only the best of the best custom virtual theme park experiences, as indicated by five star ratings, are to be chosen for adaptation as in-park attractions. In another embodiment, however, other criteria, such as convenience of implementation, or potential synergy with other theme park related products or promotions may provide the criteria by which custom virtual theme park experiences are chosen for adaptation as in-park customized theme park experiences.
In step 370, the custom virtual theme park experience chosen in step 360 is adapted as a customized theme park experience. Adaptation may comprise digital translation of a computer game for integration with a theme park ride, as in the case of the jungle warfare shooting game/theme park water ride embodiment described previously. In another embodiment, adaptation may include creating digital or animatronic characters to correspond to characters in a custom virtual dramatic entertainment produced by a user of client computer 230. In yet another embodiment, adaptation may comprise providing a tour including a video simulation of a personalized tour guide by means of a head mounted display unit, for example.
Turning now to
Thus, the present application discloses a method and system for customizing a theme park experience. By enabling an individual computer user to designate a theme park experience motif for customizing, one embodiment of the present invention allows a prospective theme park guest to become involved in designing a type of attraction of interest to them. By further enabling the computer user to select customizable features associated with the designated motif and assemble those elements, one embodiment of the present invention permits an individual computer user to produce a custom virtual theme park experience suitable for adaptation as a customized theme park experience for enjoyment in-park, in accord with their personal entertainment preferences. Moreover, by allowing other interested members of a community to enjoy a virtual version of the theme park experience and provide rating feedback, one embodiment of the present invention helps to assure that customized theme park attractions provided in-park are appealing to a broad spectrum of theme park guests.
From the above description of the invention it is manifest that various techniques can be used for implementing the concepts of the present invention without departing from its scope. Moreover, while the invention has been described with specific reference to certain embodiments, a person of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that changes can be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention. It should also be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described herein, but is capable of many rearrangements, modifications, and substitutions without departing from the scope of the invention.
