U.S. Patent No. 10,546,406: User Generated Character Animation
Issued January 28, 2020, to Activision Publishing Inc.
Filed/Priority to May 9, 2016
Overview:
U.S. Patent No. 10,546,406 (the ‘406 patent) relates to using player-made virtual characters, objects, or scenes in game animations. The ‘406 patent details a method of supplying video animation by first obtaining several poses of a virtual character from an image. The user provides several drawings, each showing the virtual character in the different poses. Several user-drawn poses of a virtual character and user-defined labels describing the drawings are extracted. Each of the drawings is the classified by the labels and ordered in a predefined animation sequence. Finally, the ‘406 patent displays an animation of the virtual character made out of the user’s drawings.
The ‘406 patent might be familiar as partially implemented in Skylanders: Imaginators, which encourages imagination in character creation for the game. The user creation abilities were ultimately limited to ensure child-appropriate content in the game, but there are some games that offer a mechanic similar to the ‘406 patent, such as Drawn to Life.
Abstract:
Images of user drawn virtual characters, virtual objects, or virtual scenes may be used in providing display of animations. The animations may be displayed over other images or in a virtual world of video game play.
Illustrative Claim:
- A method of providing a video animation, comprising: obtaining information of a plurality of poses of a virtual character by receiving an image of a scene taken by an imaging device; processing the image to extract: a plurality of user drawn visual representations of the virtual character from the image, and a plurality of user defined labels for the plurality of user drawn visual representations, wherein each of the plurality of user drawn visual representations shows the virtual character in one of the plurality of poses, and wherein each of the plurality of user defined labels is descriptive of one of the plurality of user drawn visual representations; classifying each of the plurality of user drawn visual representations using the extracted plurality of user defined labels; ordering, by a processor, at least some of the extracted plurality of user drawn visual representations in a predefined animation sequence of user drawn visual representations based on the classified plurality of user drawn visual representations; and displaying an animation of the virtual character on a display device, wherein the animation of the virtual character includes a display of the virtual character in the predefined animation sequence of user drawn visual representations.