Intellectual Property Law

Patent: U.S. Pat. No. 6,729,954 (Attack Power)

Battle Method with Attack Power Based on Character Group Density

Issued May 4, 2004, assigned to Koei Co., Ltd.

Summary:

Although the Sam Fishers, John Matrixs, Solid Snakes, and John Rambos of the world would gladly demonstrate how false this premise is, this patent contends a soldier?s attack and defense strength synergizes with the number of surrounding support soldiers. For example, a bow soldier?s attack strength is increased according to the number of surrounding bow soldiers transverse to the enemy?s army. Therefore, five archers in a line parallel to the enemy?s army would have an attack strength greater than five archers in a line perpendicular to the enemy army. This causes individual soldiers within a formation to have a variable attack/defense strength (displayed to a user by the soldier?s color). The differences in the attack/defense strength are due to changes in the soldier?s support area. The support area is defined by their relative position in the overall formation, the predefined size and shape of the support area, and the type of soldiers in the current soldier?s support area (e.g., archer, foot soldier, etc.). Additionally, different types of soldiers have support areas of different shapes. Interestingly, the patent manages to offend a plethora of game characters by capping a soldier?s attack/defense strength at a maximum value to prevent it from exceeding the strength of ?an actual person.?

Exemplary Claim:

A character group battle method in which a plurality of characters that are displayed in a three-dimensional virtual space form groups of friends and enemies that battle against one another, comprising the steps of:

calculating the position of each of the characters in the three-dimensional virtual space;

calculating the character number of the other one or more friend characters existing in a predetermined region about the character; and

calculating at least one of an attack or a defense value respectively expressing at least one of an attack power or a defense strength of the character on the basis of the character number.

Full post as published by Patent Arcade on July 30, 2007 (boomark / email).