Method and apparatus for coordinating an interactive computer game with a broadcast television program
US6783460B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 26, 2002 |
| Grant date | Aug 31, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 26, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA63F2300/8082
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
In order to allow viewers to interact with a television broadcast, a central control establishes a virtual environment in which viewers participate with characters designed by them. Viewers can create a character with the aid of a computer and then submit the character to the television show on disk or transmit the character via a web site. In order to create characters, a user “preprograms” a character by setting certain parameters and characteristics. Thereafter, the character would operate autonomously. During the television broadcast, some of the characters submitted to the television show or web site can be selected for appearance on the show by any conventional means, such as by lottery, sequentially or based on the merits of characters submitted to the television show, etc. Characters may also be submitted before the show and selected based on a “virtual interview.”
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.