Apparatus and methods for multimedia games

Abstract

Systems and methods for time-segmented multimedia game playing and authoring to create promotional videos and games, for creating games that provide brand advertising, and for gathering player data and analytics are described.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for generating a multimedia game comprising:
 a non-transitory computer readable medium including instructions executable by one or more processors of a device that cause the device to at least:
 receive, from a first communication device, a task selection identifying a task associated with a portion of multimedia content presented during a first version of a multimedia game; 
 retrieve first task information from a record stored in memory based on the task selection, the first task information defining the task to present during playback of the portion of the multimedia content, and
 wherein the task includes at least one activity for a game player to perform during playback of the portion of the multimedia content, wherein the task is associated with an object identified in the portion, and wherein the task accepts input from at least one input device associated with the game player, and 
 wherein the at least one input device includes at least one of a keyboard, a camera, a microphone, a remote control, an accelerometer, a thermometer,  3 D eyewear,  3 D helmet, a mouse, a touchscreen, or a haptic suit; 
 
 transmit, to the first communication device, the first task information for presentation via a task editing interface on the first communication device; 
 receive, from the first communication device, second task information for the task, wherein the second task information accepts an alternate input from at least one input device associated with the game player; and 
 store, in the record in the memory, the second task information with a second version of the multimedia game. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the task includes one or more of a multiple choice question, a fill-in-the-blank question, an audio response activity, identification of an element included in the multimedia content, a connect-the-dot problem, a video response activity, a gesture response, a subsequent task for presentation upon completion of the task, and a pre-requisite task for presentation prior to the task. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the input associated with the first task information is received from a first input device and wherein the alternate input associated with the second task information is received from a second input device, wherein the first input device and the second input device are different input devices. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the non-transitory computer readable medium includes instructions executable by one or more processors of a device that cause the device to at least:
 store, in the memory, task information for a set of tasks that can be included in multimedia games;   generate a list of themes for the portion of the multimedia content based at least in part on audio analysis of the portion of the multimedia content, and
 wherein the audio analysis includes voice analysis of audio data from the portion of the multimedia content; 
   select, from the set of tasks stored in the memory, recommended task information for a specific task associated with a theme included in the list of themes; and   transmit, to the first communication device, the recommended task information for presentation via the task editing interface.   
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the non-transitory computer readable medium includes instructions executable by one or more processors of a device that cause the device to at least:
 store, in the memory, task information for a set of tasks that can be included in multimedia games;   generate a list of themes for the portion of the multimedia content based at least in part on video analysis of the portion of the multimedia content, and
 wherein the video analysis includes identifying an object shown in video data from the portion of the multimedia content; 
   select, from the set of tasks stored in the memory, recommended task information for a specific task associated with a theme included in the list of themes; and   transmit, to the first communication device, the recommended task information for presentation via the task editing interface.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the non-transitory computer readable medium includes instructions executable by one or more processors of a device that cause the device to at least:
 identify an object shown in the portion of the multimedia content based at least in part on video analysis of the portion of the multimedia content;   transmit a request to an information service for additional information about the object;   receive, from the information service, the additional information about the object; and   transmit, to the first communication device, the additional information about the object for presentation via the task editing interface.   
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the non-transitory computer readable medium includes instructions executable by one or more processors of a device that cause the device to at least:
 extract captioning information from the portion of the multimedia content;   transmit a request to an information service for additional information, wherein the request includes at least a part of the captioning information;   receive, from the information service, the additional information about the portion of the multimedia content; and   transmit, to the first communication device, the additional information about the object for presentation via the task editing interface.   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising an authentication module configured to authenticate authoring activities. 
     
     
         9 . The system  claim 1 , wherein the non-transitory computer readable medium includes instructions executable by one or more processors of a device that cause the device to at least:
 receive, from a second communication device, a game play request including an identifier for the multimedia game; and   upon presentation of the portion of the multimedia content, transmit second task information to the second communication device in lieu of the first task information;   
     
     
         10 . The system  claim 9 , wherein the game play request includes access rights information associated with the multimedia game, and
 wherein the non-transitory computer readable medium includes instructions executable by one or more processors of a device that cause the device to at least:
 transmit, to the second communication device, a game play response indicating whether a play of is permitted based on a comparison between the access rights information with second access rights information associated with the identifier for the multimedia game. 
   
     
     
         11 . The system  claim 1 , wherein the non-transitory computer readable medium includes instructions executable by one or more processors of a device that cause the device to at least:
 receive the second version of the multimedia game for publication on a target platform;   generate the second version of the multimedia game based on the target platform; and   publish the second version of the multimedia game to the target platform.   
     
     
         12 . The system  claim 11 , wherein generating the second version of the multimedia game includes one or more of converting the multimedia game from a first format to a second format, adjusting a video quality of the multimedia game, adjusting an audio quality of the multimedia game, or compiling the multimedia game into an executable form. 
     
     
         13 . The system  claim 11 , wherein the target platform includes at least one of a network location or a recording device. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the network location includes one or more of a file-transfer protocol location, a website, a mobile phone, a set-top box, smart-TV device, and a gaming console. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the recording device includes one or more of memory, a disc creator, and a disc replicator.