Abstract:
An interactive multimedia trivia and memory game involves the presentation, to multiple players or a single player, of multimedia clips including a visual component and optionally an audio component. The visual component may be a video clip, a photo, an animation, or a table. Each multimedia clip is associated with a plurality of potential questions. During at least one kind of play format, a multimedia clip is randomly selected for presentation to the players. Thereafter, a question is randomly selected, and presented to the players, from among the potential questions associated with the selected multimedia clip. The players accumulate or lose points depending on the correctness or incorrectness of their responses to the presented questions. The amount of points is dependent on how quickly the player responds.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates to a game. More particularly, this invention relates to an interactive trivia and memory game with video game features.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention is directed to an innovative multimedia trivia and memory game that may be played in a variety of settings. The game may, for instance, be adapted as a videogame for the Sony PlayStation2 for Microsoft&#39;s X-Box or other platform. Alternatively, the game may be implemented via the Internet and personal computers. In another embodiment, the game takes the form of a television game show.  
           [0003]    The game typically involves the presentation, to multiple players, of multimedia clips including a visual component and usually, but not necessarily, an audio component. The game can also be played with one participant. The visual component may be a video clip, a photo, an animation, or a table. Each multimedia clip is associated with a plurality of potential questions. During at least one kind of play format, a multimedia clip is randomly selected for presentation to the players. Thereafter, a question is randomly selected, and presented to the players, from among the potential questions associated with the selected multimedia clip. The players accumulate or lose points depending on the correctness or incorrectness of their responses to the presented questions.  
           [0004]    Preferably, the points are characterized in a form indicative of brain size or function. For instance, the points may be called “dendrites.” A player loses or acquires dendrites to the extent that the player is unsuccessful or successful at answering the presented questions. Accordingly, a successful player will be assigned more “dendrites” than a less successful player.  
           [0005]    In a particular embodiment of the present invention, the game combines interesting, edgy video clips with provocative and challenging questions in a fast-paced, witty setting. These clips span subjects and years, and cover the interesting pop culture topics such as popular movies, memorable news events, and exciting sports moments. The associated questions may directly pertain to the content of the movies, news events, or sports moments of the multimedia clips. Or the questions might pertain to persons, events, and information connected to the production of the movies, news events, or sports moments. Alternatively, the questions might pertain to trivia only indirectly relating to the movies, news events, or sports moments. For instance, the players may be quizzed about other events occurring at the same time as, or having a common theme with, the subjects of the movies, news events, or sports moments. There may also be questions related to the specific scenes in the clip, in which the player is tested on what he actually saw or heard.  
           [0006]    A multimedia trivia and memory game in accordance with the present invention may be presented in multiple rounds each employing a different game play that tests players&#39; knowledge, recall, ability to think freely as well as hand/eye coordination through intriguing sights, sounds and questions. In a first type of round, all of the players are competing simultaneously, and the player that controls the question has the first opportunity to answer a question correctly. That player continues until he or she answers a question incorrectly. At that juncture, the other players compete simultaneously with each other to answer that one question correctly. In any case, a winning answer results in an accumulation of dendrites for the player with that answer.  
           [0007]    In the first type of round, a predetermined number of questions are presented. In a second type of round, the round begins with a video and each player quickly tries to verify whether an answer is correct or incorrect. All players who correctly answer a question may enjoy an increase in their respective dendrites, with the increases being proportional to the quickness of responses. In addition, those players who answer incorrectly might lose dendrites.  
           [0008]    In a third type of round, the player with the most dendrites accumulated in the first two rounds is presented with a new multimedia clip. The player accumulates dendrites with each correct answer but loses al dendrites upon answering incorrectly. The player cannot opt out of this round until he has answered all of the questions in the round.  
           [0009]    The questions may be presented in suitable format. One preferred format is the multiple-choice question. This format facilitates the automatic tracking of answers and the automatic tabulation of dendrites. Thus, where the multimedia trivia game is implemented as a video game, each video game control includes a plurality of buttons or touch pad zones corresponding in number to the multiple-choice answers provided per question.  
           [0010]    A multimedia game pursuant to the present invention contemplates an integration of video clips with interesting, engaging, entertaining questions. The game may include collage segments that span categories and innovatively reuse existing footage in new and interesting ways (e.g., athletes named John).  
           [0011]    A multimedia game pursuant to the present invention is cost-effective through re-purpose of existing footage.  
           [0012]    Video clips may be taken from movies, television shows, and music videos that have not yet been publicly released, thereby providing a promotional vehicle for film and music distribution companies.  
           [0013]    The present invention provides the potential for endless extension including specialized niche areas such as Star Trek or segments such as the 60s Decade. The game cane also be done with one player. The participant competes against time and the quicker he responds in each round and question the more dendrites he can win or lose. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for executing an interactive multimedia trivia game in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0015]    As illustrated in FIG. 1, an interactive multimedia trivia game system comprises a memory  12  storing a plurality of multimedia clips of respective subjects. Each of the multimedia clips includes at least a visual component and an audio component of related content. The visual component may be a video sequence, a photograph, a graphical representation, an animation, a table, etc. Memory  12  may also store a plurality of purely audio clips, for instance, excerpts of classical or popular music, motion picture sound tracks, television dialogue, etc.  
         [0016]    For each of the stored multimedia clips stored in memory  12  there is stored, in memory  12  or in a separate memory  14 , a multiplicity of questions on subject matter related to the respective multimedia clip. The questions may directly pertain to the content of the respective multimedia clips. For instance, in the case of movies, the questions may be about the plot, the characters, or the actors. In the case of news events, the questions may relate to the participants, the time, the place, or the action. In the case of sports events, the questions may concern the teams, the players names, positions, and statistics, the score, etc.  
         [0017]    Alternatively, the questions stored in memory  12  or  14  pay pertain to persons, events, and information connected to the production or generation of the movies, news events, or sports moments. For instance, movie questions may involve the producers, directors, cinematographers, special effects employed, screen writers, etc., sports questions may contemplate the managers, owners, cities, etc., and news questions may be directed to events prior to and after the events depicted in the multimedia clips.  
         [0018]    The questions associated with a multimedia clip might pertain to trivia only indirectly relating to the movie, news event, or sports moment embodied in the multimedia clip. Such questions may relate to other events occurring at the same time as, or having a common theme with, the subjects of the movies, news events, or sports moments.  
         [0019]    As further illustrated in FIG. 1, memory  12  is connected to a selection module  16  operative to select a multimedia clip from among the clips stored in memory  12 . The selection may be entirely random or partially random. In the latter case, a selection may be made from a particular class of clips, such as movies clips or sports clips, stored in memory  12 . The selection of a class of clips may be made by selection module  16  in accordance with instructions from a class selector  18  in turn receiving signals from a control input  20 .  
         [0020]    Selection module  16  is operatively connected to a video monitor  22  for communicating at least a portion of the selected multimedia clip to a plurality of players. Video monitor  22  may be a television set, in the case of a video game implementation, or a computer monitor, in the case of an Internet implementation. Where the trivia game takes the form of a game show, video monitor  22  may be a projection screen.  
         [0021]    Where the interactive multimedia trivia game system is a video game, the various components of the system including memories  12  and  14  and selection module  16  are located in part on the video game cartridge. Where the multimedia trivia game system is an Internet game, the various components of the system including memories  12  and  14  and selection module  16  may be located on a server computer remote from the user computers of the various players.  
         [0022]    Upon the displaying of a selected multimedia clip on monitor  22 , a question selector  24  connected to memory  14  (or  12 ) at least partially randomly selects a first question from among the questions stored for the displayed multimedia clip. Selector  24  is operatively connected to monitor  22  or to some other player interface device such as a loudspeaker or digital display (neither shown) for communicating the selected questions to the players.  
         [0023]    The players have access to actuators  26  such as buttons for indicating an answer to the communicated question. A scanner module  28  monitors activation of the actuators  26  by the players to determine the answers of the players and, in the case of a head-to-head competition, the order in which the players answer. Scanner module  28  may incorporate a timer (not separately shown) for determining the lags between the communication of a question and the responses of the various players. Module  28  is operatively connected to a comparator module  30  which compares the players&#39; answers with correct answers from memory  14  (or  12 ). Comparator  30  and module  28  are operatively connected to a scoring unit  32  which determines the players&#39; scores in accordance with their correct and incorrect responses. Scores may be communicated to the players via video monitor  22 .  
         [0024]    The multimedia clips stored in memory  12  may have both a visual component and an audio component, only a visual component, or only an audio component. Video monitor  22  is associated with a loudspeaker (not separately shown) for communicating any audio component of a multimedia clip to the players. In any case, memory  14  (or  12 ) stores questions pertaining to the respective multimedia clips.  
         [0025]    Memory  14  may additionally store a set of queries for each of at least some of the questions, the queries being related to the respective correct answer. Upon determining receipt of a correct response for one of the selected questions, comparator  30  induces question selector  24  to randomly select a query from among the queries stored for the question which was just answered. Question selector  24  communicates the selected query to at least one of the players via video monitor  22  or other output device. Scanner module  28  and comparator  30  then monitor the actions of one or more players to determine whether a correct response to the selected query has been given. Scoring unit  32  modifies the score of one or more players in accordance with the respective players&#39; success at correctly answering the query.  
         [0026]    The scores are communicated to the players as accumulations of “dendrites” or other measurement of brain size, function, and power.  
         [0027]    Various components of the interactive multimedia trivia game system of the drawing may be implemented as a digital processor or computer  34 .  
       EXAMPLE 1  
       [0028]    A first round of a video-clip trivia game, exemplarily called a Head-to-Head round, commences with a short edited 30-second video clip relating to the O. J. Simpson criminal-trial verdict where the jury found him not guilty in the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson. The selected video clip may, for instance, be a court room scene at the time the verdict is announced, showing the reactions of the family, friends, jurors, and attorneys. Alternatively, the video clip selected for presentation to the players may be the news footage of the car chase scene.  
         [0029]    As the clip ends, the players are presented with a series of four quick questions about O. J. Simpson, the trial, other events that happened at the same time, and other topics that relate somehow, someway, to the displayed video-clip. For each question, the players are given four answers to choose from. Each player&#39;s task is to control the question and pick the right answer(s). For each correct answer, a player amasses “dendrites” (points) that increases the size and power of the respective player&#39;s brain. For each incorrect answer, the player loses dendrites and helps the other players by eliminating an incorrect answer.  
         [0030]    Other clips cover a wide range of topics, illustratively including Richard Nixon&#39;s historic resignation speech, amusing antics from The Simpson&#39;s TV show, Neil Armstrong&#39;s Walk on the Moon, etc.  
         [0031]    A second round of play, termed “The Bonus Round,” starts off with another 30-second video clip. In this round, there are four videos followed by fast paced questions and answers. You verify each answer for a particular question selecting it as either correct or incorrect with your keypad device. Each player competes and acts quickly to answer the question.  
         [0032]    The player who led with the most dendrites in the first two rounds moves on to a third round, the BrainSqueezer round. This round consists of a single video clip and six questions. As the lead player correctly answers the questions, he or she wins more dendrites. If this lead player answers a question incorrectly, he or she loses all the dendrites won in this round.  
         [0033]    Dendrites won in a game are passed into succeeding rounds.  
         [0034]    An interactive multimedia trivia game as described hereinabove is extendible to a variety of different topics, time periods, question formats, etc., that can be either highly specific or general. In addition, expanding the offering enables the enterprise to be cost effective by allowing for reuse of licensed footage, sound stock, etc. Table 1 lists examples of games.  
                   TABLE 1                       Title   Focus                   BrainSqueeze ™ I: The Adventure Begins   All topics, decades, subjects       BrainSqueeze ™ Meets the NBA   NBA teams, players, high-           lights       BrainSqueeze ™ Meets the Simpsons   Simpson&#39;s TV show charac-           ters, stories, trivia       BrainSqueeze ™: You are Here The 80&#39;s:   1980s events, moments,       The Me Generation   places       BrainSqueeze ™ Laffs   Current and classic comedy           classics from television,           movies, radio and clubs       BrainSqueeze ™ Goes Rock-n-Roll   Events, artists - precious and           absurd, moments in           rock-n-roll music       Extreme BrainSqueeze ™   Ultimate and most challenging           game       BrainSqueeze ™ You are Here: The 60&#39;s   1960s events, issues, moments       BrainSqueeze ™ goes Country &amp; Western   Events, issues, moments in           Country and Western       Jr. BrainSqueeze ™ (7+)   All topics, time periods,           places for kids       Holy BrainSqueeze ™ !   People, places, events, in           the Bible       BrainSqueeze ™ You Are Here: NYC   Characters, places, events in           the Big Apple       BrainSqueeze ™ Inventions and Fads   Pop culture trends, popular           items, gimmicks, etc.       BrainSqueeze ™: You Squeeze Us   Video parodies done by           BrainSqueeze ™ following       BrainSqueeze ™: So You are in High   Life and times of a teenager       School       BrainSqueeze ™: Love and Marriage   Lessons from fiction and           nonfiction couples       BrainSqueeze ™ Goes to the Front Lines:   Civil War events, issues,       Civil War (or any war)   moments       BrainSqueeze ™ Goes Classical   Classical music, e.g., Mozart       BrainSqueeze ™ Meets the NFL   NFL teams, players, high-           lights       BrainSqueeze ™: Heroes and Villains   Acclaimed heroes and noto-           rious villains       BrainSqueeze ™ at the Galleries   Modern and classic art       BrainSqueeze ™: Fashion and Flair   Clothing, fashion, models           including golfwear to           bowling shirts to haute           couture                  
 
         [0035]    Each interactive multimedia trivia game includes a minimum number of multimedia clips, and a minimum number of questions per clip. One business advantage of the use of video clips is the ability to cost effectively access existing video footage through licensing. These arrangements can facilitate the offering of a broad range of products where there is some overlap in content across different products. Licensing arrangements are generally necessary for development and release of specific targeted products such as The Simpsons, the NBA, the NFL, etc.  
         [0036]    The existence of public news archives ensures ample resources political news and events clips. The following list provides examples of footage that is accessible through Public News Archives:  
         [0037]    Walk on the moon  
         [0038]    Nixon resignation  
         [0039]    O J Simpson Verdict  
         [0040]    Kennedy inauguration speech  
         [0041]    FDR speech on Pearl Harbor  
         [0042]    Princess Diana&#39;s funeral  
         [0043]    McCarthy hearings  
         [0044]    Monkeys in space  
         [0045]    Reagan inauguration and hostage release  
         [0046]    Bill Clinton “I didn&#39;t have sexual relations” speech  
         [0047]    Lindbergh Flight  
         [0048]    McDonald&#39;s opening in Beijing  
         [0049]    Brooklyn Bridge construction  
         [0050]    Robert Frost reading poem  
         [0051]    Dan Quayle spelling “potatoe” 
         [0052]    Scopes trial  
         [0053]    Mark Twain  
         [0054]    Civil War  
         [0055]    An interactive multimedia trivia game as contemplated herein may also include music clips. The following list includes sample music footage that might be t included in games:  
         [0056]    Festivals: Live Aid, Farm Aid, Woodstock  
         [0057]    Awards: Grammies  
         [0058]    Beatles  
         [0059]    Jimi Hendrix  
         [0060]    Janis Joplin  
         [0061]    Michael Jackson  
         [0062]    U2  
         [0063]    Ricky Martin  
         [0064]    Bob Dylan  
         [0065]    Madonna  
         [0066]    Diana Ross  
         [0067]    Whitney Houston  
         [0068]    An interactive multimedia trivia game as contemplated herein may also include sports footage in a number of its games: basic games, time-focused games (Decades) and sports-focused games (e.g., NBA, NFL, etc.). The following is a list of example sports clips that could be included:  
         [0069]    Baseball: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe Dimaggio  
         [0070]    Olympics: Jesse Owens, Dream Team, Mary Lou Retton, Michael Jackson, Peggy Flemming, Dorothy Hamill, Picabo Street  
         [0071]    Boxing: Mohammed Ali, George Foreman  
         [0072]    Football: Joe Theisman, O J Simpson, Jim Brown, Joe Namath, Barry Saunders, Marshall Faulk, Doug Flutic, Jim Kelly, Bruce Smith  
         [0073]    Hockey: Bobby Orr, Gil Pereault, Domenic Hasek  
         [0074]    Basketball: Michael Jordan, Shaquille O&#39;Neal,  
         [0075]    Soccer: Mia Hamm, Pele  
         [0076]    Tennis: Anna Kornikova, Venus Williams, Arthur Ashe, John MacEnroe, Jimmy Connors  
         [0077]    Golf: Tiger Woods, Jack Nicholas  
         [0078]    An interactive multimedia trivia game as contemplated herein may also include clips from popular television shows. The following list provides examples of shows for possible inclusion:  
         [0079]    The Simpsons  
         [0080]    I Love Lucy  
         [0081]    Star Trek  
         [0082]    Cheers  
         [0083]    Seinfeld  
         [0084]    MASH  
         [0085]    Brady Bunch  
         [0086]    In addition to straight video clips, an interactive multimedia trivia game as contemplated herein may also include collage clips that blend footage. These clips most often focus on a theme, rather than an individual, time period or event. The following lists example collage topics:  
         [0087]    College fads: from streaking to goldfish to stuffing telephone booths  
         [0088]    Hair Styles through the years  
         [0089]    Great inventions  
         [0090]    Things that move  
         [0091]    Coca-Cola (or some other company who product places) through the years  
         [0092]    Periodic table  
         [0093]    Money from around the world  
         [0094]    New York City celebration  
         [0095]    London  
         [0096]    Ancient Greece  
         [0097]    Decade  
         [0098]    Dinosaurs  
         [0099]    Women heroes  
         [0100]    Each interactive multimedia trivia game disk contains the following:  
                                                       Total video material    25 minutes           Total distinct video clips    60 clips           Distinct questions per clip    40 questions per clip           Total questions   2400 questions                      
 
         [0101]    [0101]                                                                                         Questions/   Total           Round   Clip   clip   questions                                        Head to head   4   4   16           Bonus   4   4   16           BrainSqueezer   1   6   6           Total   9       38                        
         [0102]    Total number of games per disk: in excess of 60 (based on total number of questions for the clips). Where a group of multimedia or video clips are to be licensed for use in a specialized game, the license might also entail the use of the clips in a general game. This provides a built-in kind of promotion for users to acquire the specialized game where the users start with the general game. Thus, some of the video clips and still shots in a game dedicated the Simpsons or other television show would also be used in a general game where subjects other than television shows would also be included.  
         [0103]    Although the invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments and applications, one of ordinary skill in the art, in light of this teaching, can generate additional embodiments and modifications without departing from the spirit of or exceeding the scope of the claimed invention. It is to be noted, for instance, that the method described herein is suitable for educational purposes. The use of the tern “game” to describe the method is not intended to restrict use of the invention to pure entertainment situations. Instead, a game as described herein may be used in an institutional setting as part of a heuristic program.  
         [0104]    Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions herein are proffered to facilitate comprehension of the invention and not to limit or circumscribe the scope thereof.