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Google Might Get Into Hosted Gaming Via YouTube

Posted by Soulskill on from the chrome-console dept.

bizwriter writes "A recent patent application from Google describes a way to provide 'the collaborative generation of interactive features for digital videos, and in particular to interactive video annotations enabling control of video playback locations and creation of interactive games.' Get into the description and you find it's about building games on top of video submissions, making it sound that Google plans to extend its YouTube site into an associated gaming site."

36 comments

  1. Reminds me of... by anomnomnomymous · · Score: 1

    Sounds a lot like the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPQ1XrllZmA&feature=player_embedded>Streetfighter II video(s) they did.
    Very well done. Although not that good, it certainly is a nice idea.

    --
    When you shoot a mime, do you use a silencer?
    1. Re:Reminds me of... by Qzukk · · Score: 1

      That seems to be what they're talking about.

      Before it will work well they will have to implement nico nico features like chaining and looping (especially looping so people don't have to create 5 minute long video of just waiting for the person to push a button). Preferably without the scrolling comments.

      --
      If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
  2. Newgrounds... by Lord+Lode · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It seems like they reinvented Newgrounds (which is 14 years old and still kicking!).

    1. Re:Newgrounds... by Draele · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I was just thinking that. Being something of a regular Newgrounds user, I kinda felt my heart sink when I saw that. It doesn't look like it's quite the same, but it still bothers me that this is happening. All I can hope is that it's different enough to leave Newgrounds some space, or, failing that, its expanded fanbase will keep it alive. If it doesn't, Google is officially one small step closer to total domination of the internet.

    2. Re:Newgrounds... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      reminded me of streammygame.com, which i don't use as it's kinda complicated. what would be interesting is a real terrain mapped from google maps street view for 3d exploration.

  3. interactive video annotations by cstdenis · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "interactive video annotations" sounds like Nico Nico Douga.

    --
    1984 was not supposed to be an instruction manual.
    1. Re:interactive video annotations by Raptor851 · · Score: 1

      I was thinking the same thing, it does sound similar.

  4. Prior Art - move along by filesiteguy · · Score: 1

    My kids play this occasionally, otherwise I would not know of it.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scene_It%3F

    "he game combines questions read from trivia cards or viewed on a television from an included DVD or based on clips from movies, TV shows, music videos, sports and other popular culture phenomena."

    --
    The Kai's Semi-Updated Website Thingy
  5. Can't Decide which is better by TheLazySci-FiAuthor · · Score: 3, Funny

    a) people exploiting this and thus gaming google gaming....or a game in which you do this titled, "gaming google gaming game." and therefore if you cheat in said game you are gaming gaming google gaming....buffallo buffalo buffalo buffalo....

    b) in soviet russia, google games you...tube!.....

    it's been a while.

    --
    Read my Very Short "Stories"
    1. Re:Can't Decide which is better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not just a while but a really f-ing long time.....

    2. Re:Can't Decide which is better by jonaskoelker · · Score: 1

      c) Sup dawg! We herd u like gaming, so we put a video game on your video sharing site so you can video game while u watch videos.

  6. Previously advertised by raving+griff · · Score: 4, Informative

    Back when annotations first came to Youtube, the site advertised that the annotations could be used to make interactive videos and games by linking together videos. They included a magic trick video as an example in which you would select a particular card or something to that effect and you would be linked to the magician doing a trick specifically based on that card. The description of the patent sounds very similar to the language they used when describing it, so I don't believe we can expect any innovation (covered by this patent at the very least) beyond what Youtube already has.

    1. Re:Previously advertised by LingNoi · · Score: 0

      Exactly, sounds like a defensive patent to stop someone else from trying to sue them.

  7. LAG! by joocemann · · Score: 1

    Good luck with the headshots.

  8. Um.. Flash? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That sounds a lot like Flash... Flash is just a movie with GOTOs and the ability to script. This would be a movie playing in Flash, that emulates Flash. I wish Google would just make their own interactive web standard so we never have to use Flash again.

    1. Re:Um.. Flash? by msclrhd · · Score: 1

      Great, another layer of abstraction! (obligatory http://xkcd.com/676/).

    2. Re:Um.. Flash? by paxcoder · · Score: 1

      Nah, it can easily be replaced by HTML5 video and javascripting.

    3. Re:Um.. Flash? by Tacvek · · Score: 1

      It really does sound like a relative of flash. Flash was deigned for animations, and perhaps certain types of presentations, with limited scripting control. The video content on NewGrounds with volume controls, and sometimes restart and chapter select features are almost exactly what was intended.

      Apple long ago noted that the real video capabilities of flash were limited, and worked with Macromedia to allow Quicktime videos to be embeded in flash, and more importantly, to allow Flash to be embedded in Quicktime videos, with the ability to control the video. This did not appear to catch on, with the format of a flash program where the real video comes in the form of flv has become more common.

      Google does seem to be reinventing that, except that the output that the user sees may potentially be valid HTML5, although the server is doing more of the work here, rather than just serving a flash file like any other file.

      --
      Stylish sheet to fix many problems in Slashdot's D3: https://gist.github.com/801524
  9. Already patented. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A game involving multiple videos linked together?

    Hope they managed to license that patent from Square Enix, since that's almost the entire premise of recent FF games.

  10. Rock, Paper, Scissors 2.0... by theodp · · Score: 1

    ...and other possible uses.

  11. Colossal Cave. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A movie waiting to be done.

    Where's Cameron when you need him?

  12. You may have already seen it by TheModelEskimo · · Score: 4, Informative

    Stuff like this video illustrates the point better than TFA. Basically you can use Google's annotations tool to turn videos into "Choose your own Adventure" games or even full multimedia presentations. From TFA it sounds like Google want to make it possible to do this all within a single video. Not a bad idea.

    I think it would be a great idea for Google to spin off a Youtube-like site for videos of this type that tell interactive stories.

    1. Re:You may have already seen it by Techman83 · · Score: 1

      I wondered how much work went into these kind of things -> Interactive Easter Egg Hunt

      --
      # cat /dev/mem | strings | grep -i cat
      Damn, my RAM is full of cats. MEOW!!
    2. Re:You may have already seen it by tangent3 · · Score: 1

      This is of not much use until Youtube accepts pornographical submissions.

      She is now nude and lying on your bed, watching you and waiting for your next move.

      To spread her legs and insert your penis, click here.
      To perform cunninglus on her, click here

    3. Re:You may have already seen it by witherstaff · · Score: 1

      Great, I can look forward to spending 10 minutes wading my way through adventure choices for them all to end in a rick roll.

    4. Re:You may have already seen it by moxley · · Score: 1

      I see what you did there....

    5. Re:You may have already seen it by macshit · · Score: 1

      Great, I can look forward to spending 10 minutes wading my way through adventure choices for them all to end in a rick roll.

      Kinda like real life...

      --
      We live, as we dream -- alone....
  13. Patent == No Opensource? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just askin..

    1. Re:Patent == No Opensource? by JNSL · · Score: 1

      No, you can open source patents. In fact, Google has used (at least) one before. Wave Federation Protocol Patent License Subject to the terms and conditions of this License, Google and its affiliates hereby grant to you a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable (except as stated in this License) patent license for patents necessarily infringed by implementation of this specification. If you institute patent litigation against any entity (including a cross-claim or counterclaim in a lawsuit) alleging that the implementation of the specification constitutes direct or contributory patent infringement, then any patent licenses for the specification granted to you under this License shall terminate as of the date such litigation is filed. Now whether this counts as open source is a matter for debate...but only because the term invokes such passion from people. I think it sounds like it counts. It may be missing the viral aspect of the GPL, but it may also be in there when it says "for patents necessarily infringed by implementation of this specification." I'm not familiar enough with patent law to say much more though.

    2. Re:Patent == No Opensource? by JNSL · · Score: 1

      Awesome. That didn't format right at all. Take two:
      No, you can open source patents. In fact, Google has used (at least) one before.

      Wave Federation Protocol Patent License
      Subject to the terms and conditions of this License, Google and its affiliates hereby grant to you a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable (except as stated in this License) patent license for patents necessarily infringed by implementation of this specification. If you institute patent litigation against any entity (including a cross-claim or counterclaim in a lawsuit) alleging that the implementation of the specification constitutes direct or contributory patent infringement, then any patent licenses for the specification granted to you under this License shall terminate as of the date such litigation is filed.

      Now whether this counts as open source is a matter for debate...but only because the term invokes such passion from people. I think it sounds like it counts. It may be missing the viral aspect of the GPL, but it may also be in there when it says "for patents necessarily infringed by implementation of this specification." I'm not familiar enough with patent law to say much more though.

  14. Vidicule by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It might have something to do with the stuff Jellyvision is doing.
    http://jellyvisiongames.com/showcase/vidicule_rc/App/

  15. Another feature for Chrome OS? by dcmoebius · · Score: 1

    While I'm sure this will work on multiple platforms, it seems very complimentary to what we have seen of Chrome OS.

    I doubt they expect to sway hardcore gamers with this, but certainly the casual, iPhone-esque gamers might be wooed.

    And keeping it within Youtube makes sense; here at least they can exercise some degree of control over the user experience, as opposed to the myriad of Flash games out there currently.

  16. Dragon's Lair by YourExperiment · · Score: 1

    Finally, we have the technology to reproduce Dragon's Lair - and anyone who's tried it knows how much fun that was! Welcome to the 80s... now if only there was some way to store these interactive videos on a big shiny disc.

  17. this sounds like... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    some sort of crazy cross between choose your own adventure, and windows movie maker.

  18. waitin MS by kifcaliph · · Score: 1

    GAIKAI... OnLive... OToy ... GOOOOGLE