METHOD FOR MONITORING QUEST PROGRESS

Abstract

The present invention includes a method including the steps of: providing a quest application; receiving user personal information; providing the user with a quest; informing the user criteria for the quest; receiving validation input that the criteria has been met; and determining that the provided validation input provides evidence that the criteria has been met.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring a progress of a quest using a mobile device, said method comprising the steps of: providing a quest application to a user for installation on the mobile device; receiving through the quest application personal information about the user, including at least a home base of the user; providing the user with the quest through the quest application, wherein the quest is at least one activity and has at least one milestone and each milestone has at least one criteria for completion in addition to the at least one activity; informing the user of the at least one criteria for the at least one milestone through the mobile device; receiving input through the mobile device that the at least one criteria has been met; and determining that the provided input provides evidence that the at least one criteria has been met.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the at least one criteria for the at least one milestone is a time by which the quest must be completed; and said step of receiving input through the mobile device comprises receiving a time indication from the user through the quest application.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein; the at least one criteria for the at least one milestone is a location at which the user must be present when the milestone is completed; and said step of receiving input through the mobile device comprises receiving a location of the mobile device from the user through the quest application.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein said step of determining that the provided input provides evidence that the at least one criteria has been met comprises comparing the location of the mobile device as received through the quest application with the user's home base.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the at least one criteria for the at least one milestone is a photograph illustrating at least one object; and said step of receiving input through the mobile device comprises receiving a photograph taken on the mobile device from the user through the quest application.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the at least one criteria for the at least one milestone is a time by which the quest must be completed, a location at which the user must be present when the milestone is completed, and a photograph illustrating at least one object; and said step of receiving input through the mobile device comprises: receiving a time indication from the user through the quest application; receiving a location of the mobile device from the user through the quest application; and receiving a photograph taken on the mobile device from the user through the quest application.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the at least one criteria for the at least one milestone is a time by which the quest must be completed and a location at which the user must be present when the milestone is completed; and said step of receiving input through the mobile device comprises: receiving a time indication from the user through the quest application; and receiving a location of the mobile device from the user through the quest application.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the at least one criteria for the at least one milestone is a time by which the quest must be completed and a photograph illustrating at least one object; and said step of receiving input through the mobile device comprises: receiving a time indication from the user through the quest application; and receiving a photograph taken on the mobile device from the user through the quest application.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the at least one criteria for the at least one milestone is a location at which the user must be present when the milestone is completed, and a photograph illustrating at least one object; and said step of receiving input through the mobile device comprises: receiving a location of the mobile device from the user through the quest application; and receiving a photograph taken on the mobile device from the user through the quest application.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein: at least one of the at least one criteria for the at least one milestone is measurable on an external device; said method further comprises a step of linking the external device to the quest application; said method further comprises a step of receiving information from the external device; and said step of receiving input through the mobile device that the at least one criteria has been met comprises receiving information from the external device.

11. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein: at least one of the at least one criteria for the at least one milestone is measurable by a third party application; wherein said method further comprises the steps of: photographing a display of said third party application to the quest application; receiving a photograph from the user through the quest application, and wherein said step of receiving input through the mobile device that the at least one criteria has been met comprises receiving said photograph.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1, said method further comprises the steps of: providing through the quest application an option for a user to join a group; and receiving a request from a user to join the group.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein: the quest is at least one activity that must be completed with participation of at least one other user in the group; the at least one criteria for the at least one milestone is receiving verification from another user in the group that the user has completed the at least one milestone; and receiving verification from the other user in the group that the user has completed the at least one milestone.

14. The method as claimed in claim 12: wherein the quest is at least one activity that must be completed with participation of at least one other user in the group; and further comprising the step of providing participating users in the group with notifications of achieved milestones by other participating users in the group.

15. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the steps of: recording and storing the user's completed quests and milestones of quests; and providing the user with points based on the user's completed quests and milestones.

16. The method as claimed in claim 15, further comprising the step of providing the user with vouchers based on the user's earned points, wherein the vouchers are exchangeable for items.

17. The method as claimed in claim 15, further comprising: providing through the quest application an option for a user to a join a group; receiving a request from a user to join the group; providing a leaderboard visible to members of the group through the quest application, wherein the leaderboard ranks the users in the group based on the points of the users' completed quests and milestones.

18. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein: the quest has at least two milestones; each milestone earns points for the user; and a completion of all milestones to complete the quest earns bonus points for each user in the group.

19. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the steps of providing the user with the option to invite a third party to become a user of the quest application; receiving a request from the user to invite a third party to become a user of the quest application; sending an invitation to a third party to become a user of the quest application; receiving a request from a third party to become a user of the quest application.

20. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the steps of: providing the user with the option to invite another user to join a group; sending the other user an invitation to the group; and receiving an acceptance from the other user to join the group.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] FIG. 1 is a diagram of the system of the present invention.

[0023] FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the basic method of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an exemplary user interface for a quest.

[0024] FIG. 4 is a block diagram indicating additional steps of the method of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] Referring first to FIG. 1, a diagram of system 10 of the present invention is provided. Quest application 18 is launched and maintained on server 12. Server 12 includes memory 14, which stores user information, quests, the activities, milestones, and criteria associated with quests, etc. Server 12 also includes processor 16, which performs the functions of quest application 18, as described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4. Quest application 18 is accessible to users through a website 20 with login credentials, through a dedicated device 21, or as a downloadable app 22, which may be downloaded from server 12 to user devices 24. Information regarding a user's account is synched so that the same information appears whether the user accesses the quest application 18 via the website 20, the dedicated device 21, or the user device 24 using the downloadable app 22.

[0026] Now referring to FIG. 2, a flow chart of method 100 of the present invention is provided. In its most basic form, method 100 includes the steps of providing the quest application 102; receiving user information 104; providing the user with quests 106; informing the user of quest criteria 108; receiving validation input 110; and determining that that the validation input matches the criteria 112. The step of receiving validation input 110 is performed through quest application 18 and may include receiving time stamps 114; receiving GPS/location information 116; receiving photograph(s) 118; and/or receiving input from other technology or devices 120.

[0027] The first step of providing the quest application 102 is achieved by a user accessing quest application 18 via website 20, downloading it to her user device 24, and/or using a dedicated device 21. On first accessing the quest application 18, the user will create or receive login credentials. If the user downloads the quest application 18, she will likely be required to accept certain permissions, such as allowing the quest application 18 to access the GPS, timekeeping, and camera capabilities of the user device 24. This will be important for the fifth step of receiving validation input 110, as discussed below. If the quest application 18 is a dedicated device 21, then these permissions will not be necessary, as all the necessary or most commonly needed capabilities, such as GPS, timekeeping, and camera, will be included in the dedicated device 21 and incorporated into the quest application 18.

[0028] Simultaneously with the first step 102, the user will affect the second step of providing user information 104. The user information will include at least her “home base,” which is a location of her choosing, but most likely her home, work, or another place where she spends a great deal of time. Her home base is the location where she will likely perform quests that only require a computer or the location from which she will set out to perform quests that take her outside of her home. The user preferably also includes other information about herself, such as her age, sex, interests, and how far she is willing to go away from her home base to perform a quest. She may also input information, such as notification preferences, and information for communication outside of the quest application 18, such as phone number and/or email address. The user may also provide additional information after her initial use of the quest application 18.

[0029] The third step is providing the user with a quest 106. This step is performed through the quest application 18, and may occur through several different circumstances. The quest application 18 may select quests to present to the user based on the information she provided in step 104. If she only provided a home base, these quests will likely be quests that may be performed in the general vicinity of the home base. If she provided other information, the quests may have different focuses. If the user indicated that she was interested in mountain climbing, for example, the quest might be to get to the top of a particular mountain in a certain amount of time. A user may also input quests into the quest application by providing information about the quest, including the activity or activities it involves, the milestone or milestones that must be reached, and the criteria for achieving those milestone(s). That quest may then be pushed to other users or the user who created it may request that it be sent to another user or group. The quest application 18 may also present group quests, as discussed in more detail with reference to FIG. 4.

[0030] The manner in which the quests are presented to the user within the quest application 18 may occur in several ways. There may be a default setting where the quest application 18 selects and presents a quest for the user periodically, such as once a day. This period may also be selected by the user to be more or less frequent than the default setting. A quest may also be presented to the user on demand, whenever the user feels like it. A user may also browse through quests that the quest application 18 has identified as appropriate for her, and select quests from that presented list.

[0031] The fourth step is informing the user of the quest criteria 108. Quests are an activity or activities that require at least one milestone, and the milestone is measurable by at least one criteria. When the quest application 18 provides the user with a quest 106, in whatever manner that step may be performed, it must also provide the user with sufficient information to perform that quest. Some quests will be fairly straight forward, such as getting to the top of a particular mountain in a certain amount of time. This quest only has a single activity of climbing the mountain and a single milestone of reaching the top of the mountain in a certain amount of time. The criteria necessary to verify this milestone, however, is threefold. The user must provide a time stamp of when she begins the quest and a time stamp when she completes the quest to ensure she has achieved the timing piece of the criteria. She must also provide location information, provided through GPS capabilities of her user device 24, to prove that she was, in fact, on the top of the mountain when she provided the ending time stamp. Criteria that are simultaneous in nature, such as the last two criteria of the ending time stamp and GPS/location stamp may be provided through a single command in the quest application 18.

[0032] This brings us to the fifth step of receiving validation input 110. Each of the pieces of evidence needed to verify that the user completed the quests—the initial time stamp, the final time stamp, and the GPS/location stamp at the top of the mountain—are provided through the quest application 18. For most quests, this final GPS/location stamp will be compared against the user's home base. The quest application 18 will have a user interface that allows the user to, for example, press an area to start a time, thus providing an initial time stamp, and press an area to stop a time, thus providing an ending time stamp. This timekeeping function may be included as a part of the quest application 18, or it may be the timekeeping function of the user mobile device 24 being accessed through the quest application 18. The user interface will also provide an indicator to detect the location of the user device 24 at any given time. This will provide the GPS/location stamp. Again, the GPS capabilities may be inherent in the quest application 18 or may be borrowed from the user device 24 on which the user has downloaded the quest application 18.

[0033] A more complicated quest may include several activities, several milestones, and several criteria for achieving the milestone. The quest may be to perform a triathlon sprint and have a beer at the end. The activities would be swimming, biking, running, and having a beer. The first milestone would be completing the ⅓ mile swim. The second milestone would be completing the 15 mile bike ride. The third milestone would be completing the 5K run. The final milestone would be having a celebratory beer. The criteria for these milestones would include a GPS/location stamp before and after the swim, to show that the user is on a body of water. If the swim is a loop or up-and-back course, a time stamp before and after may also be required because the location stamp will be the same before and after the swim. There would also be a GPS/location stamp and/or time stamp after the biking portion. There would also be a GPS/location stamp and/or time stamp after the running portion. If the quest must be completed in a certain amount of time, then the time stamps will be criteria even if the different sections of the triathlon are not loops, i.e. even if GPS/location stamps are sufficient to validate that the user has completed those sections. Finally, the user would need to provide a picture of the beer or empty beer container after having completed the triathlon. In order to affect the fifth step 110 for this more complicated quest, therefore, the user must enter several GPS/location and/or time stamps, as well as a photograph of the beer at the end. The photograph may be taken directly through the quest application 18 or through the user mobile device 24 and then uploaded to the quest application 18. As discussed above, the ability to take photographs may be inherent in the quest application 18, but likely borrows on the existing camera capabilities of the user device 24 on which the quest application 18 is downloaded. The user interface may be customized for each quest. For this triathlon quest, for example, the user interface may guide the user through the milestones, by having the mechanism to validate each of them listed in order: the initial time and location stamp; the time and location stamp between the swim and the bike; the time and location stamp between the bike and the run; the time and location stamp upon completing the run; and the photograph of the beer. An example of this user interface is displayed in FIG. 3.

[0034] The step of receiving validation input 110 may be performed in several ways. As described above, it may be performed by receiving a time stamp 114, receiving GPS/location information 116; or receiving a photograph 118. It may also be performed by receiving input from other technology/an external device 120. Many other types of technology or external devices from the mobile device 24 may be linked with the quest application 18 so as to provide validation input thereto. Common fitness monitors include pedometers and heart rate monitors. These may be included in a user device 24 on which the quest application 18 is downloaded, or may be separate devices that may be linked to the user device through wireless or other communication. Pedometers and heart rate monitors might be used, respectively, for a quest that is to walk 10,000 steps for 7 days in a row, or to run 3 miles without letting your heart rate go into the anaerobic zone. Other quests might include criterion that requires other monitors or devices. A quest for a diabetic might be to have a blood sugar reading of 180 mg/dL or less 2 hours after a meal. This quest would require information from a blood glucose monitor. Another quest may be to practice your handwriting and have criteria that the user's pen strokes stay within certain lines. This quest might require the user to use a digital pen and validation of its completion would require information from the digital pen. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that there are many devices and technologies that may be paired with the quest application 18 so as to provide validation input for various quests. Those technologies and devices mentioned above are merely exemplary. It is noted, however, that the validation of quests by third party monitoring applications may also be accomplished by taking a screen capture photograph of the display of a third party application running on the player's smart phone, or by photographing the native display of the third party application running on the external monitoring device and uploading this to the quest device. This method has certain advantages, such as allowing any monitoring device to be used, the elimination of frequent updating and bug fixing of application interfaces, and the quest application provider's costs associated therewith.

[0035] The final step is determining that the validation input matches the criteria 112. If the criteria involves time limits, then performing step 112 will require checking the time stamps reflect times within these limits. If the criteria requires that the user be at or near a certain place upon completion of the quest, then performing step 112 will be verifying that the GPS/location stamp is at or near that place. If the criteria requires photographic evidence, then performing step 112 will be using scanning and recognition software to recognize an object in the submitted photo that provides the necessary verification. In some cases, the comparison may be made by a person, but it is preferred that the comparison be performed by server 12. If all comparisons between the required criteria and the validation input match, then the quest application 18 may verify that the user completed the quest or milestone.

[0036] Now referring to FIG. 4, a block diagram showing additional functions of the quest application 18 are shown. These include providing group options 122; providing notifications 124; providing recognition 126; and providing invitation options 128. The step of providing group options 122 entails providing the user with the option to join a group and/or participate in group quests. The quest application 18 may identify users whose information matches a group's criteria. For our 36 year old runner the quest application 18 may identify groups, for examples, whose respective criterion are women in their 30s or people interested in running. These groups may be actively presented by the quest application 18 to the user whenever sufficient information is provided by the user so that she is matched with a group. It may also be passively presented to the user by allowing the user to browse through groups for which she could be a member. In addition, users may create groups by inputting the group criteria into the quest application 18. Once a user is a member of a group, she may participate in group quests for that group.

[0037] The step of providing notifications 124 entails providing the user with notifications. These notifications may be provided only when the user is using the quest application 18, or they may be provided to the user through other communication, such as text message or email, if the user has provided sufficient contact information and permissions for such communication. The user may also dictate when and how notifications are provided, such as only through email; only once per day; or as soon as a notification is ripe. Notifications may be, for examples, that a new group is available for the user to join; that the user has been expressly invited to join a group; that certain milestones within a group quest have been achieved; that the user has received a bonus or voucher; that a new quest is available for the user; encouraging notes while a user is participating in a quest; reminders about criteria for quests; etc. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that this list is merely exemplary and that the step of providing notifications may be used for any of a wide number of messages to the user.

[0038] The step of providing recognition 126 entails providing the user with some sort of recognition for her participation in quests. The recognition may be badges for completed quests. It may be points for milestones or quests completed. It may be bonuses for a completed group quest or a particularly well performed quest, i.e. if the user performs beyond the necessary criteria. It may be recognition on a leaderboard, such as who has the most points within a group. It may be vouchers for use within the quest application 18 or in real world venues. The vouchers may be directly bestowed upon the user or a user may trade in points for vouchers. These are but a few examples of recognition from the quest application 18 and one or ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many similar types of recognition may also be used.

[0039] The step of providing invitation options 128 allows a user to invite other people to do things within the quest application 18. A user may invite a third party to become a user by beginning to use the quest application 18. A user may also invite another user or a third party to join a group. This may be especially applicable if the user has created a group quest and has a certain number of friends with whom he wishes to participate in the group quest.

[0040] Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions would be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the description should not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained herein.