Patent ID: 9186582
Filing Date: 2015-11-17
Classification: A63F

Abstract:
1. A method of breeding virtual animals in an online game that is accessed through a website of game networking system that supports the online game, the method comprising: receiving instructions for initiating an animal breeding in the online game, the instructions being received through a game interface of a user machine corresponding to a player in the online game, the game interface being enabled by communications with the website of the game networking system that supports the online game, the instructions including a selection of a male animal and a female animal of a virtual animal type, and each of the selected animals being visually characterized by a corresponding parameter set that includes one or more color parameters; generating, with at least one computer, a plurality of potential-offspring-animal parameter sets from the male-animal parameter set and the female-animal parameter set, the potential-offspring-animal parameter sets visually characterizing a corresponding plurality of potential offspring animals of the virtual animal type; selecting from the potential-offspring-animal parameter sets an offspring-animal parameter set that visually characterizes an offspring animal of the virtual animal type; changing at least one parameter in the offspring-animal parameter set based on a comparison of the at least one parameter with a parameter record that includes a predetermined number of parameters corresponding to previously generated offspring-animal parameter sets, the at least one parameter being changed in response to a threshold test for a number of occurrences of the at least one parameter within the parameter record, and the parameter record being stored in a computer-readable medium in the at least one computer; providing values from the offspring-animal parameter set to the user machine corresponding to the player in the online game after changing the at least one parameter in the offspring-animal parameter set; and providing a source artwork for the offspring animal to the user machine to enable generating a display of the offspring animal at the game interface of the user machine by substituting combinations of color-channel values corresponding to the offspring-animal parameter set for color-channel values in the source artwork.