(19) United States
`(12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2008/0200224 A1
`Parks
`(43) Pub. Date:
`Aug. 21, 2008
`
`US 20080200224Al
`
`(54) INSTRUMENT GAME SYSTEM AND
`METHOD
`
`(75) Inventor:
`
`Jakob Parks, San Mateo, CA (US)
`
`Related US. Application Data
`(60) Provisional application No. 60/902,066, ?led on Feb.
`20, 2007.
`Publication Classi?cation
`
`Correspondence Address:
`DLA PIPER US LLP
`
`2000 UNIVERSITY AVENUE
`
`E. PALO ALTO, CA 94303-2248
`
`(73) Assignee:
`
`GAMETANK INC., San Mateo,
`CA (Us)
`
`_
`(21) Appl' NO"
`
`11/865’681
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Oct. 1, 2007
`
`51) Int. Cl.
`(
`(52) 14J6s3FCf/24
`
`.
`
`.
`
`. .......................................................... ..
`
`(200601)
`
`463/7
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A game system and method that uses an instrument as an
`input encourages a user to play along With the game’s
`soundtrack on an instrument (e. g. guitar, bass, etc.). The game
`cues the player to play notes and/or chords on the instrument
`at an appropriate time and then data is collected from the
`instrument via a connection between the instrument and the
`apparatus running the game. The game then scores the user
`based on note/chord and timing information it receives.
`
`200
`
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`US 2008/0200224 A1
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`Aug. 21, 2008
`
`INSTRUMENT GAME SYSTEM AND
`METHOD
`
`PRIORITY CLAIM
`
`[0001] This application claims priority under 35 USC 119
`(e) and 120 to US. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.
`60/902,066 filed on Feb. 20, 2007 entitled “A Music Video
`Game with Stringed Instrument Input” which is incorporated
`herein by reference.
`
`FIELD
`
`[0002] A system and method for game playing is described.
`In more detail, a system and method for using an instrument
`as an input to a game and the game with the instrument input
`is disclosed.
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`[0003] Video games generally are well known. In addition,
`Video games and gaming system with music type games are
`also known. The game systems may be both personal com-
`puter/gaming console (Microsoft® Xbox® or Sony® Play
`Station2®) or stand-alone gaming consoles such as might be
`in an arcade. Examples of these types of games include
`Dance, Dance Revolution in which a user attempts to follow
`a dance routine set to music and is scored based on the
`
`accuracy of the user’s dance routine to the exemplary dance
`routine and Guitar Hero in which the user has a controller
`
`(that looks like a guitar), plays along with a song and is scored
`based on how closely the user can play the song as compared
`to the exemplary song. It is desirable to provide a game
`system and method in which an instrument is the input con-
`troller to the game system and it is to this end that the present
`invention is directed.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1A illustrates an example of an implementa-
`[0004]
`tion of a game system;
`[0005]
`FIG. 1B illustrates an example of a user interface of
`a stringed instrument example of the game system;
`[0006]
`FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a user interface of a
`stringed instrument example of the game system;
`[0007]
`FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate examples of the user
`interface ofa note moving toward the play area ofthe stringed
`instrument example of the game system;
`[0008]
`FIG. 3C illustrates another example of the user
`interface of FIG. 1B;
`[0009]
`FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate an example of a hit event
`and a miss event of the stringed instrument example of the
`game system;
`[0010]
`FIG. 5 illustrate an example of the string, fret and
`time variables ofthe stringed instrument example ofthe game
`system;
`FIG. 6 illustrates an example of an action indicator
`[0011]
`interface of the stringed instrument example of the game
`system;
`FIG. 7 illustrates an example of another action indi-
`[0012]
`cator interface ofthe stringed instrument example ofthe game
`system;
`FIG. 8 illustrates yet another example of an action
`[0013]
`indicator interface of the stringed instrument example of the
`game system;
`
`FIG. 9 illustrates yet another example of an action
`[0014]
`indicator interface of the stringed instrument example of the
`game system;
`[0015]
`FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a performance
`meter user interface ofthe stringed instrument example of the
`game system;
`[0016]
`FIG. 11 illustrates a method for scoring notes in the
`stringed instrument example of the game system;
`[0017]
`FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrate a hit scoring event and
`a miss scoring event ofthe stringed instrument example ofthe
`game system;
`[0018]
`FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a method for scor-
`ing the notes of the stringed instrument example of the game
`system;
`FIG. 14 illustrates an example ofthe stringed instru-
`[0019]
`ment example of the game system in which several time
`windows are used to score a note;
`[0020]
`FIG. 15 illustrates an example of the user interface
`for selecting a level of difficulty of the stringed instrument
`example of the game system;
`[0021]
`FIG. 16 illustrates examples of a sequence of notes
`with different difficulty levels in the stringed instrument
`example of the game system;
`[0022]
`FIG. 17 illustrates examples of another sequence of
`notes with different difficulty levels in the stringed instrument
`example of the game system;
`[0023]
`FIG. 18 illustrates an example of an arrangement of
`a musical arrangement of the stringed instrument example of
`the game system;
`[0024]
`FIG. 19 illustrates an example of a menu in the
`stringed instrument example of the game system;
`[0025]
`FIG. 20 illustrates an example of a select arrange-
`ment user interface of the stringed instrument example of the
`game system;
`[0026]
`FIGS. 21A and 21B illustrate an audio and video
`selection user interface of the game system;
`[0027]
`FIG. 22 illustrates a sound input device and gain
`user interface of the game system;
`[0028]
`FIG. 23 illustrates an example of a hardware imple-
`mentation of a video game system that incorporates the
`stringed instrument example of the game system; and
`[0029]
`FIG. 24 illustrates further details of an analysis
`module of the exemplary embodiment of the game system
`shown in FIG. 1A.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ONE OR MORE
`EMBODIMENTS
`
`[0030] The game system and method are particularly appli-
`cable to a personal computerbased, guitarbased game system
`and method with the exemplary user interface described
`below and it is in this context that the system and method will
`be described. It will be appreciated, however, that the system
`and method has greater utility because: 1) the game system
`can be implemented with other musical or melodic instru-
`ments,
`such as any melodic instrument
`including,
`for
`example, a bass, violin, banjo, piano, voice, clarinet, steel
`drums, etc.; 2) it can be implemented on other gaming appa-
`ratus, such as gaming consoles or stand-alone gaming units
`(such as the Microsoft® Xbox® system, the Sony® PlaySta-
`tion®, Nintendo® Wii®, etc.); 3) it can be implemented in
`peer-to-peer, ASP model, client/server architectures or as an
`Internet game; and 4) it can be implemented using other user
`interfaces and features that are not specifically described
`below in the exemplary embodiments which are provided to
`
`Petitioners Ex. 1005 Page 28
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`Aug. 21, 2008
`
`illustrate the game system and method. Now, an example of
`an implementation of the game system to illustrate the func-
`tions and principles is described in more detail.
`[0031]
`FIG. 1A illustrates an example of an implementa-
`tion of a game system 80 where the game system is imple-
`mented as a software based stand-alone system. The system
`80 may include a game unit 81, such as a cabinet or stand-
`alone unit, and an instrument 82, such as any musical or
`melodic instruments including, for example, a bass, Violin,
`banjo, piano, voice, clarinet, steel drums, etc., that is used as
`an input to the game unit 81 Via an interface 8211 such as a
`USB cable, amplifier cord with adapter for computer sound
`card, networking cable carrying musical data information, a
`microphone, etc. The game unit may include a display 83 that
`is capable of displaying the user interface of the game to the
`user (an example of which is described below in more detail
`with reference to FIG. 1B), one or more processing units 84,
`a storage unit 86 (that may be a combination of a persistent
`storage device such as a hard disk drive, ROM, etc.), and a
`memory such as SRAM or DRAM, and an operating system
`88 that controls the operation of the game system and a game
`module 90 that reside in the storage unit. The game module,
`in this embodiment, may be a plurality of lines of computer
`code. In other embodiments, the game module may also be
`implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and
`software. The game module may include modules for game
`administration (level difficulty functions), musical instru-
`ment interface and game scoring. When the game system is
`active, the game module is loaded into the memory and then
`executed by the one or more processing units to implement
`the functions and operations of the game system described in
`more detail below. The game system permits a user to play an
`instrument along with an arrangement displayed on the dis-
`play (use the instrument as an input to the game system using
`the interface) and then scores the user based on the accuracy
`with which the user plays the arrangement shown on the
`display as described in more detail below.
`[0032]
`FIG. 1B illustrates an example of a user interface
`100 ofa stringed instrument example ofthe game system. The
`example of the user interface is for illustration purposes only
`and the game system may use other user interfaces and the
`game system is not limited to any particular user interface
`design. The example user interface may include a background
`graphics 102 that may consist of an number of images or a
`virtual environment and may be two dimensional or three
`dimensional. An example of a two dimensional background
`graphic with a single image (i.e. wallpaper) or a series of
`images (i.e. amovie, animation, music video, etc.) is shown in
`FIG. 1B. FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of a user inter-
`
`face 200 that is three dimensional and may include an ani-
`mated character or characters 202 possibly playing a virtual
`instrument 204 and surrounded by virtual props 206 (audio
`equipment, stage, audience, etc.).
`[0033] Returning to FIG. 1B, the exemplary user interface
`may further include an action indicator interface 104 that may
`include a note field 106, one or more notes 108 superimposed
`on top of the note field 106 and a play area 110. In one
`embodiment of the game system, the horizontal position of a
`note in the action indicator interface 104 indicates the time to
`
`play the note (cue time), the vertical position of the note
`indicates the string to play it on (cue string), and the number
`inside each note indicates the fret that is to be pressed down
`(cue fret) on the string to generate the correct pitch. In the one
`embodiment, the one or more notes 108 move horizontally
`
`towards the play area 110 and the play area 110 is stationary.
`FIGS. 3A and 3B show this horizontal motion of the notes
`
`relative to the play area 110 with FIG. 3A is at an earlier time
`than FIG. 3B. In the game system, the action indicator inter-
`face 104 cues the user to play the appropriate note at a specific
`time. When the overlap ofthe note and the play area occur, the
`user is to play the appropriate note.
`[0034]
`FIG. 3C illustrates the expected user response to the
`action indicator interface 104. The top row of the user inter-
`face corresponds to the user playing the bottom string on a
`guitar (cue string). The number inside the note corresponds to
`the user holding down a particular fret of a guitar, such as the
`2"“ fret, with his/her finger (cue fret). The overlap of the note
`with the play area indicate that the user should play the cue
`string with the cued fret pressed at that instance (cue time),
`therefore producing a note that would match the arrangement
`note if played correctly and played at the correct time.
`[0035]
`If the user plays the cued note at the cued time, a
`“Hit” is awarded. If the user does not play the cued note, or
`waits too long to play the cued note, a “Miss” is awarded.
`FIGS. 4A and 4B shows a hit event (when the user plays the
`correct note at the correct time) and a miss event (when the
`user fails to play the correct note at the correct time), respec-
`tively. In some embodiments of the game system, if the note
`is judged as a “Hit”, the note graphical symbol may change its
`appearance (i.e. glow, explode, turn bright color, etc.), other-
`wise, if the note is judged as a “Miss”, the graphical symbol
`for the notes may change its appearance differently (i.e. fade
`out, shrink, turn dark color, etc.).
`[0036]
`In some embodiments of the game system, the user
`interface 100 shown in FIG. 1B may show different size
`and/or length notes 108 wherein the size and/or length of a
`note shows the player how long to hold the note with note 108
`illustrating a “short note” and note 109 illustrating a “long
`note”.
`
`In some embodiments of the game system, a note
`[0037]
`111 may take on a special characteristic (i.e. glowing star,
`blinking, moving in a wavy path) from other notes in the note
`field 106 and may be “hit” by the user (played correctly) for
`an additional score or otherwise enhance the player’s in-game
`status. In some embodiments, the judgment of the last played
`note is displayed on-screen in a textual format 113 for the
`player to receive immediate feedback of the played note. The
`judgment 113 may read “Great”, “Good”, “Fair”, “Poor”,
`“Miss”, etc.
`[0038] The action indicator interface 104 of the game sys-
`tem may be modified in various ways in other embodiments
`of the game system. For example, each note 108 (shown as a
`circle in the example in FIG. 1B) may use other graphical
`representation (i.e. squares, stars, arrows, etc.)
`[0039] As another example, the horizontal position of the
`note indicating the time to play it (cue time), the vertical
`position indicating the string to play it on (cue string), and the
`number inside the note indicating the fret that is to be pressed
`down (cue fret) on the string to generate the correct pitch is an
`example of the user interface that may be used to cue the
`stringed musical instrument play and the variables that cue
`the play (which string, which fret, and what time), may be
`arranged spatially (horizontally spaced, vertically spaced,
`depth-wise spaced) and demarcated by notation (using num-
`bers, letters, colors, shapes, etc) and may have many permu-
`tations as shown in FIG. 5. Examples of these different user
`interfaces are shown in FIGS. 6-9. FIG. 6 shows an embodi-
`ment of the action indicator interface 104 with a note field
`
`Petitioners Ex. 1005 Page 29
`
`Petitioners Ex. 1005 Page 29
`
`

`

`US 2008/0200224 A1
`
`Aug. 21, 2008
`
`602, one or more notes 604, and a play area 606 wherein the
`horizontal position of the note indicates the cue time, the
`vertical position of the note represents the cue fret, and the
`number inside the note represents the cue string. FIG. 7 shows
`another embodiment of the action indicator interface 104
`
`with a note field 702, one or more notes 704, and a play area
`706 wherein the depth-wise position of the note indicates the
`cue time, the horizontal position indicates cue string, and the
`numbers inside the notes represent the cue fret. FIG. 8 shows
`another embodiment of the Action Indicator Interface 100
`with a note field 802 and one or more notes 804 in which the
`
`horizontal position represents cue fret, the vertical position
`represents cue string, and the numbers inside the notes rep-
`resent the cue time (i.e. the number of seconds to wait before
`playing the appropriate string/fret combination). Finally,
`FIG. 9 shows another embodiment of the action indicator
`interface 104 with a note field 902, one or more notes 904, and
`a play area 906 in which the horizontal position represents the
`cue fret, the depth-wise position represents the cue string, and
`the vertical position represents the cue time (i.e. when to play
`the note depends on how fast the note falls and the string/fret
`combination cued by where the note falls in the play area).
`Any of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1-9 may be further
`modified by using unique colors, characters, or shapes instead
`of numbers to cue the appropriate string/note/time. For
`instance, the six colors of red, green, blue, cyan, yellow, and
`magenta can be used to demarcate the cue string on a 6 string
`guitar. Also, for instance, the characters of the note may be
`used to demarcate the cue note (i.e. “C#”, “D”, “B flat”, etc.)
`In addition to spacing along the traditional axis (i.e. horizon-
`tal, vertical, depth-wise), additional embodiments may space
`along non-traditional axes (i.e. diagonal). Additionally, there
`is no requirement that any or all axes be orthogonal (i.e. two
`axes may be parallel, near parallel, or otherwise not angled at
`90 degrees).
`[0040] The game system user interface may also include, in
`some embodiments, a performance feedback interface and
`several components of the user interface 100 may loosely
`define a mechanism for a player to receive feedback on their
`performance in the game. In some embodiments, the user
`interface 100 may include a score window 112 or other
`graphic that is used to present the player’s current score
`during their performance. In some embodiments, a perfor-
`mance meter 114 may also be used to present the player’s
`current performance which is a measure of the number of hit
`notes and missed notes and, if the player’s performance falls
`below a predetermined level, the game may end. FIG. 10
`shows alternative embodiments of performance meters. In
`some embodiments, the performance meter is a bar graph
`filled or unfilled with colors or patterns based on the player’s
`performance, shown by 1000/1002 in FIG. 10. In some
`embodiments, the performance meter resembles an analog
`meter, where the needle moves up and down to indicate the
`player’s performance, shown by 1004 in FIG. 10.
`[0041] The user interface 100 of the game system in some
`embodiments may further comprise a chord track 116 that
`may be, for example, located above the note field 106. During
`game play, chord information appears in the chord track 116
`and scrolls from right to left towards that stationary play area
`110. Each piece of chord data lines up with a corresponding
`note(s) 108 in the note field 106 to show the association
`between the two.
`
`[0042] The user interface 100 of the game system in some
`embodiments may further comprise a signal feedback inter-
`
`face wherein several components in the user interface 100
`loosely define a mechanism for the player to receive the
`quality and power of the instrument signal being fed into the
`game. In some embodiments, a volume meter 118 shows the
`total volume of the player’s instrument during instrument
`play. In some embodiments, a signal plot 120 shows a plot of
`the power of the player’s signal vs. the note so that the signal
`plot will show peaks at the tone(s) the player is playing.
`[0043] The user interface 100 of the game system in some
`embodiments may further comprise a combo feedback inter-
`face wherein several components in the user interface 100
`loosely define a mechanism for the player to receive informa-
`tion on the number of correctly played notes that have been
`“hit” in a row (i.e. a combo of correct notes). In some embodi-
`ments, textual information 122 displays the current combo
`number. In some embodiments, a combo bar 124 is used,
`containing a graphical representation ofthe number ofcombo
`notes played together 126, as well as a display of a score
`multiplier 128 gained because of successful combos.
`[0044]
`FIG. 11 illustrates a method for scoring notes in the
`stringed instrument example ofthe game system. Ifthe player
`plays the arrangement note within the time window allotted
`around the cued time, the arrangement note is scored as a
`“Hit” (1102). If the wrong note is played (1104), or the
`arrangement note is played but not within the time window
`(1106), no judgment is given. Therefore, it is possible for the
`player to play several wrong notes but still receive a “Hit”
`after finally playing the correct arrangement note. If the
`arrangement note is never played, then a “Miss” is scored.
`[0045]
`FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrate a “hit” scoring event
`and a “miss” scoring event, respectively. As shown in FIG.
`12A, the arrangement note “G” has been cued (1202) accom-
`panied by a time window that is shown (1204). A “Hit” is
`scored in FIG. 12A because the performance by the user
`contains the note “G” (1206) within the time window (1204).
`In FIG. 12B, the arrangement note “G” has also been cued
`(1208) with a time window (1210). However, a “Miss” is
`scored in FIG. 12B because no note “G” is played in the user
`performance in the time window. Generally, the live instru-
`ment performance of the player will be a continuous signal
`(with pitches) that therefore is converted in a known manner
`into notes with time tags so that the game system is able to
`compare the notes of the arrangement with the notes of the
`live instrument performance. To accomplish this conversion,
`the system (such as the analysis module described with ref-
`erence to FIG. 24 below) may determine the periodicity com-
`ponent of the pitch so that the periodicity component can be
`converted into a frequency which can then be converted into
`a note.
`
`FIG. 13 shows which of the performance notes by
`[0046]
`the user (1302) will be judged/scored if the player plays
`multiple arrangement notes within the time window. For
`example, a note “G” in the arrangement has been cued (1304)
`accompanied by a time window (1306). The player has played
`“G” twice within the time window (1306), at time 1308 and
`time 1310. However, time 1308 is closer in time to the
`arrangement note 1304 and is therefore the one selected for
`scoring.
`In some embodiments, there may be several time
`[0047]
`windows associated with an arrangement note 1402 as shown
`in FIG. 14 wherein four different time windows are shown.
`
`Each time window allows the player a greater time tolerance
`for playing the correct arrangement note. In some embodi-
`ments, the scoring may be done by giving higher scores to the
`
`Petitioners Ex. 1005 Page 30
`
`Petitioners Ex. 1005 Page 30
`
`

`

`US 2008/0200224 A1
`
`Aug. 21, 2008
`
`user performance notes that are in the smaller time windows.
`For instance, 1404, 1406, 1408, and 1410, may be judged as
`“Great”, “Good”, “Fair”, and “Poor” and be given a score 4,
`3, 2, and 1 respectively. Also, there is no requirement that the
`time window be symmetrical, as more of a window can be
`given after the exact cued time 1402 that before it, or vice
`versa.
`
`In some embodiments, the scoring of notes can be
`[0048]
`done independent of the octave of the note so that notes
`played that are one of more octaves higher or lower than the
`cued note will still be scored positively (i.e. a “Hit”). In these
`embodiments, the note of the live instrument performance
`data point is adjusted by one or more octaves so that the
`adjusted note is then compared to the arrangement note. Then,
`the live instrument performance is scored positively if the
`adjusted note is equal to the arrangement note and the live
`musical performance is not scored if the adjusted note does
`not match the arrangement note.
`[0049] The game system may include a level scoring mod-
`ule. In the game, each level is scored based on the number of
`“Hits” vs. “Misses” awarded to the player. In embodiments
`with multiple time windows, “Hits” would be subdivided
`further into “Great”, “Good”, “Fair”, “Poor”, etc. In some
`embodiments, scoring for a level is done by the multiplying
`the number ofjudged notes by multipliers assigned for each
`rating (i.e. Miss-0, Poor-l, Fair-2, Good-3, Great-4). In some
`embodiments, a score above a certain amount will unlock one
`or more unlocked items (i.e. a song, a new character, a new
`character outfit or guitar, etc.). In some embodiments, a score
`below a certain amount will “fail” the player and thus not
`allow the player to progress to the next level.
`[0050] The game system may also adjust the difficulty of
`each level ofthe game. For example, as shown in FIG. 15, the
`same song may be played with several different level difii-
`culties using a select difficulty screen 1500.
`[0051]
`In the game system, different arrangements ofmusi-
`cal pieces can be used to give more difficult and challenging
`experiences of playing the same musical piece, as shown by
`FIG. 16. The piece shown, “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, has its
`rhythmic components shown by 1602. An “Easy” arrange-
`ment of the piece 1604 may be composed by cueing only
`every 4‘11 note. An arrangement more difficult than the Easy
`arrangement, denoted as “Normal” 1606, cues only every 2
`note. An arrangement more difficult than Normal, denoted as
`“Hard” 1608, cues the player to play every note in the melody.
`An arrangement more difficult
`than Hard, denoted as
`“Expert” 1610, cues the player to add grace notes 1612 and
`other extra note runs 1614 to the original musical piece.
`Furthermore, when the difficulty of an arrangement is made
`more difficult, the time window for each note may be made
`smaller than the time window for the note during an easier
`version of the arrangement.
`[0052] An alternate arrangement technique is illustrated in
`FIG. 17. The piece shown, “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, has its
`rhythmic components shown by 1702. An “Easy” arrange-
`ment of the piece 1704 may be composed by cueing every
`note in the melody. An arrangement more difficult than Easy,
`denoted as “Normal” 1706, cues additional harmonies to be
`played on other strings in synchronization with the original
`melody. An arrangement more difficult than Normal, denoted
`as “Hard” 1708, cues even more additional harmonies to be
`played on other strings in synchronization with the original
`melody. In this way, the difficulty of any arrangement can be
`adjusted by the game system.
`
`In addition, arrangement of songs do not have to
`[0053]
`follow the traditional melodies as shown in FIG. 18. In par-
`ticular, arrangements may be designed where musical theory
`fundamentals (i.e. scales, chords, arpeggios, etc.) are cued
`instead. The piece shown, “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, has its
`rhythmic components shown by 1802. While the melody is
`shown in 1804, an equally valid series of notes consist of a
`major scale 1806 in the same key as the musical selection. In
`some embodiments, more difficult arrangements of musical
`pieces contain a more difficult series of notes to be played
`together in sequence (i.e. guitar riffs).
`[0054]
`FIG. 19 illustrates an example of a progression of
`menu screens in the stringed instrument example ofthe game
`system wherein 1902 shows a non-interactive progression of
`screens, which may include a splash screen 1904 that displays
`the game developer’s logo, a logo screen 1906 that displays
`the game logo, a demonstration screen 1908 that shows the
`game being autoplayed or played by a computer, and a list of
`high scores 1910. The user is taken to the interactive progres-
`sion of screens 1912 after the user interacts with the game (i.e.
`presses Enter on the keyboard). The main menu 191