GB2344539A

GB2344539A - Electronic game with receiver for paging signals

Info

Publication number: GB2344539A
Application number: GB9929068A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ian Foxley
Original assignee: Multitone Electronics PLC
Current assignee: Multitone Electronics PLC
Priority date: 1998-12-08
Filing date: 1999-12-08
Publication date: 2000-06-14
Also published as: GB9826971D0; GB9929068D0

Abstract

An electronic game machine 20 includes a radio paging signal receiver 22. This allows game programs pre-stored in the machine to be enabled by means of a suitably-encoded paging signal when payment arrangements to a games service provider have been agreed. The machine may also include a paging signal transmitter 24 allowing information to be sent to a controlling device and/or to another such game machine. In the latter case, players at different locations may play against each other. The machine may also receive and display conventional pager messages.

Description

ELECTRONIC GAME APPARATUS This invention relates to electronic game apparatus, such as hand-held games machines of the sort used by young people.

With the games machines currently available, for example as shown in Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings, the user will purchase the particular game he wants to play, on a ROM disk. The game and the disk are dedicated to a particular type of machine. Sometimes several games are stored on the same disk. Play can commence after the machine has been switched on using an on/off switch 10, and the appropriate disk has been inserted, by controlling the movement of images on a liquid crystal display screen 12, through operation of switches and/or a joystick 14 on the front panel 15. Left/right and up/down movement is often controlled by a group of four push switches mounted beneath a position key of the joystick 14, which may have a circular shape, similar to that described in Multitone Patent No. GB 2,219,422, or, more usually, may take the form of a + sign, as shown in Figure 1. A mode key 16 may be provided for controlling selection of a particular game and other keys 18 controlling functions required by the game itself ; these functions will differ according to the nature of the game being played but could, for instance, control the speed of movement, level of difficulty or the action of firing a weapon. Some games allow players to compete against each other by having wired connections between the machines.

Individual disks/games can be quite expensive to purchase and many players would not wish to pay for a whole suite of disks at the same time that they initially purchase the machine.

According to the invention there is provided electronic game apparatus comprising means for playing at least one electronic game stored as a program in a memory of the apparatus, and receiving means for receiving a paging signal, the electronic game playing means being responsive to a received paging signal to modify the operation of the game playing means.

In one embodiment of the invention, the game (or each game) program stored in the memory is disabled from being played by the electronic game playing means, receipt of an enabling paging signal which corresponds to that electronic game program acting to enable the program so as to allow playing of the corresponding electronic game.

According to that embodiment of the invention, it is proposed that, instead of purchasing the games on disks, these should be stored in memory contained within the machine. The machine will also contain a paging receiver capable of receiving messages via one of the public wide area paging systems; these systems enable visual messages to be sent to people carrying small battery powered radio receivers at any location in the country.

Additional data, such as the highest score achieved for the respective electronic game, may be delivered by means of the paging signal, the additional data being stored by the apparatus.

In another embodiment of the invention, the apparatus may also include means for transmitting a paging signal, allowing information to be transmitted from the apparatus to a controlling device and/or to another electronic game apparatus. This interchange of data between game machines by means of paging signals may allow players at different locations to play against each other by virtue of the two-way communication between the game machines.

The apparatus may additionally be operable to receive standard paging message signals, and to display messages contained therein.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, throughout which like parts are referred to by like references, and in which: Figure 1 shows an electronic game apparatus viewed from the front; and Figure 2 is an electronic circuit diagram of one embodiment of the invention.

Referring to Figure 2, an electronic game apparatus 20 includes a radio paging signal receiver 22, an optional (see below) radio paging signal transmitter 24, and a microprocessor 26 associated with a decoder 28 and optional encoder 30. Control switches 32 are connected to the microprocessor 26, as is a display driver circuit 34 for the display 12. The apparatus further includes an audio output stage 36, a RAM store 38, a ROM store 40, and an EEPROM store 42. A programming interface 44 is provided for the microprocessor 26.

The radio receiver 22 is operable to receive paging signals via one of the public wide area paging systems. These systems enable messages, such as visual messages, to be sent to people carrying small battery powered radio receivers at any location in the country. Although all the receivers in any one system operate on the same frequency, each one has its own unique radio identity code (RIC) such that information is only decoded by the receiver for which it is intended. Many of the wide area paging systems use the POCSAG code, which offers over two million individual addresses and a data format for transmitting information. A description of the POCSAG code can be found in the Multitone Patents GB 2,144,565 and GB 2,225,140, both dealing with decoding arrangements. A conventional paging receiver comprises radio, audio and decoding circuits, an acoustic transducer, a liquid crystal display, control switches and a battery, all housed in a plastic case ; but only the radio circuits would be needed to provide the paging facility in the games machine (henceforth called the pageable games machine = PGM), because all the other components would already be present and could be adapted to provide a dual function, as can be seen in Figure 2. A mode switch (one of the control switches 32) may allow the choice of"play games"or"receive paging". In"receive paging" mode, the left/right and up/down switches enable the user to scan through the received messages. Thus the apparatus of Figure 2 is capable of using the paging signals both to affect operation of the game playing, and also to receive standard paging messages.

In one embodiment, in order to implement the technique, there will be a games service provider (henceforth called the GSP) who has made an arrangement with one of the manufacturers of games machines for the supply of games software and who will be responsible for selling the PGM.

The GSP must ensure that the games software is compatible with the design of the PGM, in terms of the operation of the controls. At the point of sale, it will be possible for a player to have either a fixed set of games or a chosen variety, programmed in by direct connection to the serial data interface 44.

One or more games may be activated at this time if desired. The enable (activated/non-activated) status is stored in the EEPROM store 42, preferably in encrypted form, to avoid unauthorised change of status; if the enable status was stored in RAM, it would be lost in the event of battery removal.

The player will be able to see, on the display screen 12, the name and a 3 digit code number for each of the games which have been stored, their enable status, the identity code for the PGM and the telephone number of the GSP. The GSP will also have made arrangements with one of the wide area paging operators for the provision of a block of RICs from which each PGM will have its address allocated. When the ptayer wishes to activate any of the non-activated games, they will contact the GSP, stating the identity code of the PGM and the games they wish to play. The GSP will agree the cost (depending on the number and value of the games required) and payment arrangements with the player, before activating the game (s) by means of a control signal sent to the PGM via the paging system. The control signal comprises a specific string of characters depending on the player's selection. The GSP will record the quantities and type of the games which have been activated and use this information as a basis for payment to the games manufacturer.

Since the PGM utilises the paging network for games activation, it is also capable of passing normal paging messages to the player. If a paging call is received whilst the PGM is switched on, but not in"play games" mode, then it will bleep and a message will be displayed on the display screen 12 in the same way as a conventional pager. If a game is in progress, then an icon will appear on the edge of the screen in order to warn the player that a message has been received; the message can be read by selecting"receive paging"but if the player does not wish to interrupt the game then the message can be left in memory store until a more convenient time. Paging messages may be numeric or alpha-numeric and can be entered by DTMF phone, computer terminal or through a bureau service, as available. The PGM need only have a single RIC because the PGM decoder 28 will examine the incoming data in order to determine whether the transmission contains a control signal, intended for games activation, or a conventional paging message.

The data used to activate the games will be encrypted before transmission, in order to avoid unauthorised activation by means of the paging facility; the Multitone Z-Page system is an example of encryption applied to wide area paging systems and the PGM will contain the necessary decryption software.

Additional games information can be transmitted to the PGM via the paging system; for example, the control signal could include the all time highest score achieved in the particular game which is about to be activated or promotional information concerning the release of a new game could be sent as a paging message.

A further aspect of the invention is the ability to upload information to the controlling service, for example the score achieved; this requires the paging system to support the use of two-way paging transceivers and for the PGM to be fitted with the necessary radio transmitter circuit 24. The two-way communication facility also enables two or more players at separate locations to play against each other. The mode key enables selection of additional options such as"store","address","message"and "transmit".

One player who wishes to play another, will use the mode key to select"address" ; this command will appear at the top of the display with the ten digits 0-9 appearing on the row beneath. By using the"position"key and function key"1", alternately, to highlight and enter the digits, the host player can compose the RIC number, identifying his chosen opponent, on the next row down. Function key"2"can be used to cancel an incorrect value in the last digit entered. If the mode key is pressed again, the command "message"will appear at the top of the display, with the row of ten digits 0-9 again appearing on the row beneath; the next row down will show the message"play game xxx"and the row below that will show the message "with RIC xxxxxx".

By using the"position"key and function key"1", alternately, to highlight and enter the digits, the number of the proposed game and the host player's own address can be inserted in the appropriate messages. Function key"2"can be used to cancel an incorrect digit value. If the mode key is pressed again, the command"transmit"will appear and, by pressing function key"1", the host player can send the invitation to play, via the paging system.

If the PGM of the chosen opponent is switched on, it will bleep and, in the"receive paging"mode, will show the message"play game xxx"and "with RIC xxxxxx" ; in the"play games"mode it will show the message received icon. If the chosen opponent has the proposed game activated in their PGM and they decide to accept the invitation, they will select the "address"mode and enter the RIC of the host player, select"message" mode and enter the number of the game and their own RIC number, select "transmit"and send their reply via the paging system.

The host player, having completed the initial move, will select"store" on the mode key and this command will appear at the top of the display, above the game screen. Pressing function key"1"will enter the details of the move into memory; function key"2"can be used to cancel the stored information. The host selects"transmit"mode (by-passing"address"and "message", whilst the identities of the game and the players remain unchanged) and sends details of their move to the opponent. The opponent's games screen will be updated to show the host's move and the opponent can then make their own move and thus the game progresses.

While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that the description is for illustrative purposes only, and that changes and variations may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims. In addition, embodiments of the invention may be provided with one or more of the operation-modifying functions of the game machine, and the following claims are intended to cover all such variations.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. Electronic game apparatus comprising means for playing at least one electronic game stored as a program in a memory of the apparatus, and receiving means for receiving a paging signal, the electronic game playing means being responsive to a received paging signal to modify the operation of the game playing means.
2. Electronic game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one electronic game program stored in the memory is disabled from being played by the electronic game playing means, receipt of an enabling paging signal corresponding to that electronic game program acting to enable the program so as to allow playing of the corresponding electronic game.
3. Electronic game apparatus according to claim 2, including an EEPROM store for storing the enable status of the or each electronic game program, the enable status being changed upon receipt of the enabling paging signal.
4. Electronic game apparatus according to claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3, wherein additional data for an electronic game is received by means of the paging signal, the additional data being stored by the apparatus.
5. Electronic game apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the additional data represents a highest score achieved for that respective electronic game.
6. Electronic game apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, including means for transmitting a paging signal, thereby allowing information to be transmitted from the apparatus to a controlling device and/or to another electronic game apparatus.
7. Electronic game apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the paging signal receiving means is operable to receive data from another electronic game apparatus, and the paging signal transmitting means is operable to send data to the other electronic game apparatus, whereby players at different locations may play against each other by virtue of two-way communication between one electronic game apparatus and the other electronic game apparatus.
8. Electronic game apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the apparatus is additionally operable to receive standard paging signals including message signals, and to display messages contained therein.
9. Electronic game apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a message icon is dispiayed upon receipt of a paging signal including a message signal, when the electronic game playing means is functioning.
10. Electronic game apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawing.