- Number
- 10702778
- Published
- 2020-07-07
- Filed
- 2013-03-21
- Assignee
- Disney Enterprises, Inc.
- Inventors
- Rowe; James, Nixon; Travis
- CPC
- A63F13/577; A63F13/537; A63F13/35
- Verdict
- Set aside game navigation map feature, generic
- Source
- Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline
Abstract
Objects in a virtual space may be non-traversable such that traversal by characters of the virtual space through such objects is not permitted by the physics of the virtual space. Objects may be relocated during interactive gameplay. A navigation map of the virtual space is updated interactively, e.g. after an object has been relocated, by determining which regions are traversable or non-traversable, the boundaries of these regions, and which boundaries separate adjacent traversable regions. The updated navigation map may be queried on behalf of a non-player character in the virtual space, e.g. to determine where to go and/or how to get there.
Background
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE(1) This disclosure relates to creating and updating navigation maps of a virtual space, and, in particular, dynamically updating navigation maps in response to non-traversable objects being relocated in the virtual space.BACKGROUND(2) Conventionally, in a multi-character (networked) game, characters may interact in the same instance of the game. Users or players may interact with non-player characters (NPC), typically controlled through Artificial Intelligence (AI). NPCs actions and movements may be governed by the same or similar rules (e.g. physics rules) as characters controlled by human players. For example, characters may be not permitted to walk through walls or other types of non-traversable objects. The terms traversable and navigable may be used interchangeably herein.(3) Typically, the map of the virtual space is similar if not the same for all players. That is, the terrain is mostly the same, even if some smaller objects may be in different locations for different players. Some games allow a player to design his own terrain prior to engaging other characters interactively. For example, a player may design a battlefield, usually in a separate mode of operation that is different from interactive gameplay.(4) One way to guide characters through a virtual space may be by constantly checking and/or detecting whether an individual character collides with another character or an object of the type that the individual character is not permitted to t
Claims
1. A computer-implemented method for interactively updating navigation maps during interactive gameplay in a virtual space, the method being implemented in a computer system comprising one or more physical processors and electronic storage storing machine-readable instructions, the method comprising: storing, within the electronic storage, a navigation map of the virtual space, wherein the navigation map includes multiple regions, the regions including: traversable regions that physics of the virtual space permit characters to traverse, and non-traversable regions that correspond to non-traversable objects located in the virtual space through which traversal by the characters of the virtual space is not permitted by the physics of the virtual space; obtaining instructions to modify a location of a first non-traversable object in the virtual space, wherein the instructions are obtained via a communications network from a client computing platform associated with a user of the virtual space during interactive gameplay by the user in the virtual space; determining, responsive to the instructed modification, a set of the non-traversable regions, the set of the non-traversable regions comprising one or more of the non-traversable regions, wherein the set of the non-traversable regions includes a first non-traversable region that corresponds to the modified location of the first non-traversable object; determining, responsive to the instructed modification, a set of the traversable regions, the set of the traversable regions comprising one or more of the traversable regions; defining boundaries for the set of the traversable regions, wherein individual ones of the boundaries separate adjacent regions; determining, responsive to the instructed modification, which of the defined boundaries of the set of the traversable regions are traversable boundaries, wherein individual ones of the traversable boundaries separate adjacent traversable regions; updating, responsive to the instructed modification, the navigation map to reflect the determined set of the non-traversable regions, the determined set of the traversable regions, and the traversable boundaries; and querying, on behalf of a non-player character in the virtual space, the updated navigation map such that the non-player character traverses traversable regions based on the updated navigation map subsequent to obtaining the instructed modification.
10. A system configured to interactively update navigation maps during interactive gameplay in a virtual space, the system comprising: electronic storage configured to store a navigation map of the virtual space, wherein the navigation map includes multiple regions, the regions including: traversable regions that physics of the virtual space permit characters to traverse, and non-traversable regions that correspond to non-traversable objects located in the virtual space through which traversal by the characters of the virtual space is not permitted by the physics of the virtual space; one or more physical processors configured by machine-readable instructions to: obtain instructions to modify a location of a first non-traversable object in the virtual space, wherein the instructions are obtained via a communications network from a client computing platform associated with a user of the virtual space during interactive gameplay by the user in the virtual space; determine a set of the non-traversable regions, the set of the non-traversable regions comprising one or more of the non-traversable regions, wherein the set of the non-traversable regions includes a first non-traversable region that corresponds to the modified location of the first non-traversable object; determine a set of the traversable regions, the set of the traversable regions comprising one or more of the traversable regions; define boundaries for the set of the traversable regions, and determine which of the defined boundaries of the set of the traversable are traversable boundaries, wherein individual ones of the boundaries separate adjacent regions, and wherein individual ones of the traversable boundaries separate adjacent traversable regions; update the navigation map to reflect the determined set of the non-traversable regions, the determined set of the traversable regions, and the traversable boundaries; and query the updated navigation map on behalf of a non-player character in the virtual space such that the non-player character traverses traversable regions based on the updated map subsequent to the modification of the location of the first non-traversable object.