Although some dedicated City of Heroes players have created their own graphic serials based on their in-game escapades with painstakingly assembled screenshots, Apple is exploring how to simplify the process, according to a recent patent application. If Apple can pull it off, customized ebooks of players' online adventures from their PCs/consoles (or DVRs, DVD players, cable converter boxes, satellite receiver, or streaming video play) will be easily available.
Here's a (dry) summary of the proposal:
Quote:
Apple's patent generally relates to systems and method for generating a book, e-book, or comic book from data recorded from a videogame. In accordance with one disclosed embodiment, data may be recorded from a videogame executed on an electronic device. The recorded data may include character information, dialogue from the videogame, and results and metrics reflecting the performance of the user in the videogame. The recorded data may be inserted into a narrative data structure having pregenerated text. In some embodiments, the recorded data may be used as the basis for selecting among a plurality of pregenerated text.
A book, e-book, or comic book may be produced from the narrative data structure. The electronic device may send the e-book to a user of the electronic device, or send the narrative data structure to a server for printing.
In another embodiment, the recorded data may be sent from the electronic device to a server. The server may generate a narrative data structure from the recorded data. The server may send an e-book to the electronic device and/or to a user of the electronic device. Additionally, the server may print a book from the narrative data structure, and the book may be mailed to a user.
What this boils down to is that Apple is contemplating how to a create a virtual analog to their popular iPhoto application, right down to its ability to organize people's real-life photo collections and turn them into printable albums. Significantly, the type of game the patent uses as an example is an RPG. That genre offers the kind of character customization, branching plot lines, dialogue trees, achievements, etc. that readily translate into personalized narratives - which thus far, average players have been able to store only in their heads.
When one considers how videogames and comic books share a similar combination of text and imagery to tell their stories, this ought to be a natural.
Although some dedicated City of Heroes players have created their own graphic serials based on their in-game escapades with painstakingly assembled screenshots, Apple is exploring how to simplify the process, according to a recent patent application. If Apple can pull it off, customized ebooks of players' online adventures from their PCs/consoles (or DVRs, DVD players, cable converter boxes, satellite receiver, or streaming video play) will be easily available.
Here's a (dry) summary of the proposal:
A book, e-book, or comic book may be produced from the narrative data structure. The electronic device may send the e-book to a user of the electronic device, or send the narrative data structure to a server for printing.
In another embodiment, the recorded data may be sent from the electronic device to a server. The server may generate a narrative data structure from the recorded data. The server may send an e-book to the electronic device and/or to a user of the electronic device. Additionally, the server may print a book from the narrative data structure, and the book may be mailed to a user.
When one considers how videogames and comic books share a similar combination of text and imagery to tell their stories, this ought to be a natural.