Patent ID: 9633465
Date: 2017-04-25
CPC Classifications: G06T

Claim:
1. A method for degrading the appearance of avatars in a virtual universe, comprising: specifying a point of interest, the point of interest being a virtual object for which an unobstructed view is desired, within a region of the virtual universe; counting an amount of a plurality of avatars within a predetermined rendering radius of the point of interest; selecting, in response to a determination that the amount of avatars exceeds a predetermined threshold, a set of avatars that includes all of the plurality of avatars within the predetermined rendering radius that are obstructing a view of the point of interest; reducing the obstructing of the view of the point of interest by degrading, in response to the determination, the appearance of only the selected set of avatars within the predetermined rendering radius based on a policy table having a series of avatars at multiple levels of degradation, the degrading comprising applying a first degradation type from at least one of the following degradation types: reducing at least one geometric dimension of each of the set of avatars from the plurality of avatars, or increasing a transparency of each of the set of avatars from the plurality of avatars so that each of the set of avatars from the plurality of avatars is more transparent than virtual universe content of the object of interest; and further degrading, using a second degradation type from the degradation types that is different from the first degradation type, a subset of the selected set of avatars within the predetermined rendering radius that have a second characteristic based on the policy table.