Visual identity mechanisms
AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorsMichal Bortnik, Henry Paul Morgan, Steven Dale Lamb, Vincent H. Curley
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Mechanisms for visual identification of a user in a gaming environment. For example, a digital image is used to identify a user, whether the user is on-line or off-line. This digital image is easily verifiable as an appropriate and non-offensive image because it May come form a controlled digital image source (or set of sources). The digital image is also revocable in a variety of gaming environment contexts by a gaming authority. Lastly, the digital image is changeable depending on the context of the gaming environment, in one aspect, being configured to be visible to the entire gaming environment in one form, and being visible to a subset of the gaming environment in another form.
Claims20
A system for identifying a user in a gaming environment, the system comprising:
- a digital card for storing the user's gaming information;
- and
- a user-customizable digital image stored on the digital card, wherein the digital image is verifiable as a gaming environment image by examining a set of digital image sources,
- wherein the digital image visually distinguishes the user from all other users in the gaming environment;
- wherein the digital image is revocable from the gaming environment by a gaming authority that is providing the gaming environment to ensure the digital image is appropriate for users in the gaming environment,
- wherein the digital image is configured to correspond to at least two contexts of the gaming environment,
- wherein the digital image has at least a dual nature and is configured to have a first appearance in a first context of the at least two contexts and a second appearance in a second context of the at least two contexts, and
- wherein the first context corresponds to a first set of users and the second context corresponds to a second set of users.
A computer-implemented method for identifying a user in a gaming environment, the computer-implemented method comprising:
- providing a user-customizable digital image that is verifiable as a gaming environment image by examining a digital image source, wherein the digital image visually distinguishes the user from all other users in the gaming environment, and wherein the digital image is revocable from the gaming environment by a gaming authority that is providing the gaming environment to ensure that the digital image is appropriate for users in the gaming environment;
- and
- configuring the digital image to correspond to at least two contexts of the gaming environment, wherein the digital image has at least a dual nature and is configured to have a first appearance in a first context of the at least two contexts and a second appearance in a second context of the at least two contexts, and wherein the first context corresponds to a first set of users and the second context corresponds to a second set of users.
A recordable tangible computer readable medium comprising a tangible physical article having computer-executable instructions for identifying a user in a gaming environment, the computer-executable instructions including instructions for:
- using a user-customizable digital image in a gaming environment, wherein the digital image is verifiable as a gaming environment image by examining a digital image source, wherein the digital image visually distinguishes the user from all other users in the gaming environment, and wherein the digital image is revocable from the gaming environment by a gaming authority that is providing the gaming environment to ensure the digital image is appropriate for users in the gaming environment;
- representing the digital image as a first visual representation in a first context of the gaming environment;
- representing the digital image as a second visual representation in a second context of the gaming environment, wherein the first context corresponds to a first set of users and the second context corresponds to a second set of users;
- and
- revoking the digital image upon a request from another user of the gaming environment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.