Prior art

The USPTO database itself is the authoritative source for patent information. I will examine the citations directly from the patent text for US10946284. The "Cited By" and "Citations" sections of the Google Patents link provide the relevant prior art.

Here is an analysis of the most relevant prior art for US patent 10946284, based on the citations provided in the patent document itself:

Patent Citations (Cited by Examiner/Applicant):

1. US20110183754A1

   • Full Citation: US20110183754A1 - Game system based on real time and location of user
   • Publication Date: 2011-07-28
   • Assignee: Mansour Ali Saleh Alghamdi
   • Brief Description: This patent application describes a game system that uses a user's real-time location to influence gameplay. It involves detecting the user's location, retrieving location-based data (e.g., weather), and adjusting game parameters (e.g., character strength, available items) accordingly.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): US20110183754A1 appears highly relevant to Claim 1 of US10946284, particularly the steps of "detecting with the location sensor the real world player geographic location," "creating in a database a local element script associated with the real world player geographic location, the local element script actuatable in the video game to modify one or more of the virtual character statistic and a plot node," and "actuating the corresponding local element script in the video game." The concept of using real-world location to modify game elements (like character strength or items) directly overlaps with the core idea of US10946284.

2. US20120157197A1

   • Full Citation: US20120157197A1 - Systems and methods of changing storyline based on player location
   • Publication Date: 2012-06-21
   • Assignee: XMG Studio Inc.
   • Brief Description: This patent application, filed by an original assignee of US10946284 (XMG Studio Inc.), details systems and methods for altering a video game's storyline based on a player's real-world location. It describes detecting location, gathering local elements (e.g., news streams), filtering them to identify key profiles, and using associated scripts to impact the storyline, including virtual characters, plot nodes, and settings.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference is extremely pertinent. Given the shared assignee (XMG Studio Inc. was an assignee prior to Imagine AR Inc.), it suggests a close lineage or improvement. US20120157197A1 describes explicitly "changing storyline based on player location," and details the use of "local elements" to modify "storyline plot nodes," "virtual characters," and "virtual character statistics." This directly anticipates or renders obvious many aspects of Claim 1 of US10946284, particularly the idea of using a local element script to modify virtual character statistics and plot nodes. The description of filtering news streams to identify local elements further strengthens its relevance to the "creating... a local element script" step.

3. US20130079144A1

   • Full Citation: US20130079144A1 - Campaign messaging system
   • Publication Date: 2013-03-28
   • Assignee: Neshay Ahmed
   • Brief Description: This patent application describes a campaign messaging system, which uses location and social elements to target messages. While not directly a game patent, it touches on using real-world location and local information to influence presented content.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): While less directly related to gameplay mechanics than the other two, this reference could potentially be argued to anticipate aspects of the general concept of leveraging "real world player geographic location" and "local elements" to dynamically influence content, as broadly described in the preamble of Claim 1. However, its lack of specific application to game mechanics, virtual characters, or storyline modification makes it less strong for direct anticipation of the specific elements of Claim 1 compared to US20110183754A1 and US20120157197A1. It might be more relevant for obviousness arguments in combination with other prior art.