Summary:

The ‘576 patent describes a racing video game which offers enhanced computer AI to give the computer-controlled cars a more “human” feel to them. The game records a player’s movements during training and then applies samplings from this behavior to the computer-controlled cars during game play. Thus, instead of acting solely as a computer (with quicker, more perfect reaction times than a human), the computer-controlled cars act with the same reaction times and in the same manner as the human players. This invention allows a player to enjoy playing the computer as much as he does when he plays another human.

Abstract:

Racing-based computer games typically include a mode in which one or more human players can compete against one or more computer-controlled opponents. For example, a human player may drive a virtual race car against a computer-controlled virtual race car purported to be driven by Mario Andretti or some other race car driver. Such computer controlled opponents may be enhanced by including a sampling of actual game behavior of a human subject into the opponent's artificial intelligence control system. Such a sampling can allow the game system to personalize the behavior of the computer control opponent to emulate the human subject.

Illustrative Claim:

1. A method comprising: computing an avatar behavior definition based on environmental context of a virtual reality environment and a randomly selected training behavior from a training set of personalized sample behaviors; and generating at least one control signal to guide behavior of an entity in the virtual reality environment in accordance with the avatar behavior definition.