摘要:
In an embodiment, if a departing player requests to leave a game before the game is complete, a waiting player is selected and the waiting player replaces the departing player in the game. Replacing the departing player with the waiting player includes assigning a play state of the departing player to the waiting player. The play state is then updated in response to game control input events received from the waiting player. In various embodiments, the waiting player is selected based on skill levels, play styles, time preferences, or game stage preferences of the players, or based on an input criteria specified by the departing or remaining players. In various embodiments, the play state may include a location within the game, an inventory, or a score.
摘要:
A method that emphasizes at least one drop destination for a selected entity based upon monitored drop destinations. Drop destinations may be emphasized by generating a plurality of path vectors between the selected entity and at least a portion of the plurality of drop destinations. Generally, by emphasizing drop destinations, the potential drop destinations for the selected entity may be anticipated and emphasized to the user, which may increase the likelihood that the user will drop onto the desired drop destination. Moreover, a user may choose one of the drop destinations by dropping the selected entity along the path vector associated with the desired drop destination. As such, drag and drop operations may be successfully completed with fewer mouse movements and/or less precision, often resulting in fewer accidental drops.
摘要:
An apparatus, program product, and method collect musical preference data from a plurality of digital media players and generate therefrom a “collaborative” playlist of media files. The collaborative playlist may be used, for example, to identify and play back media files that most, if not all, of the users of the digital media players would likely find enjoyable.
摘要:
A palette is displayed that includes widgets. A specification of a first widget selected from among the widgets in the palette is received along with a first widget location, a keyword, and a keyword location. Pages are found that, when rendered, include a term located at a term location and an element located at a respective element location, where the term matches the keyword and the element matches the first widget. In various embodiments, the identifiers of the pages are sorted based on distances between the first widget location and the element location, distances between the keyword location and the term location, differences between widths and heights of the first widget and the element, and/or based on matches between the visual attribute for the first widget and a visual characteristic for the element.
摘要:
An apparatus, program product and method that emphasize a least one drop destination for a selected entity based upon monitored drop destinations. Drop destinations may be emphasized by generating a plurality of path vectors between the selected entity and at least a portion of the plurality of drop destinations. Generally, by emphasizing drop destinations, the potential drop destinations for the selected entity may be anticipated and emphasized to the user, which may increase the likelihood that the user will drop onto the desired drop destination. Moreover, a user may choose one of the drop destinations by dropping the selected entity along the path vector associated with the desired drop destination. As such, drag and drop operations may be successfully completed with fewer mouse movements and/or less precision, often resulting in fewer accidental drops.
摘要:
Embodiments of the invention may be used to place a targeted advertisement on a billboard (or other advertising location) in an immersive virtual environment by determining the interests of a group of users at a given location to calculate an advertisement matching the whole group. The selected advisement may be based not only on the sum of individual interests for the avatars present in the particular location, but also current interaction between the avatars. As groups of users communicate with one another within a virtual world, the substance of their communications may contribute to what advertisement is selected and presented to the avatars at the advertising location.
摘要:
Embodiments of the invention provide techniques for generating song playlists for use in an immersive virtual environment. Generally, playlists may be generated based on stored music preference data. The music preference data may be generated by storing user interactions with specific songs. The user interactions may be associated with characteristics of the user's situational context within the virtual world. The music preference data may be indexed by song name, and/or by musical properties. Subsequently, the music preference data may be used to generate a playlist adapted to the user's current situation within the virtual world.
摘要:
Embodiments of the invention may be used to enhance the presentation of a virtual environment for certain users, e.g., a visually impaired user. Because users may visit, and revisit, locations within the virtual environment, the state of elements in the virtual environment may change. Accordingly, audible descriptions of an object, person or environment, may be adjusted to prevent redundant or unnecessary descriptions. For example, when the user encounters a given element a second time, rather than describe each characteristic of the element, only changes to the characteristics of the element are described.
摘要:
An apparatus, program product and method utilize a brokering service for use in controlling the incorporation of likeness data for an individual into a media presentation. The brokering service maintains a plurality of rulesets respectively associated with a plurality of individuals. Each ruleset is used to restrict or otherwise control the incorporation of likeness data associated with an associated individual into media presentations, typically through the inclusion of one or more rules configured to define conditions under which the likeness data for the associated individual may or may not be incorporated into a media presentation. The brokering service is capable of responding to requests for selected rulesets for different individuals by communicating the rulesets to various requesting entities.
摘要:
Embodiments of the invention may be used to generate a benchmark profile for a computing job configured to execute on distributed systems. The benchmark profile may be used to predict the performance of components of a computing job for a variety of different distributed computing system architectures. A profiling tool evaluates the computing job to identify the particular performance characteristics of the application and match this with benchmarks that are most representative of the identified performance characteristics and store them in the benchmark profile. The identified benchmarks may then be run on different configurations of a distributed computing system in order to predict the performance of the application for a variety of scenarios.