Computer-readable storage medium having stored game program therein, and game apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9248376-B2
Application number	US-64186209-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 18, 2009
Priority date	Sep 30, 2008
Publication date	Feb 2, 2016
Grant date	Feb 2, 2016

Abstract

Based on operation information obtained from an operating device for pointing to a position on a screen of a display device, a pointing position to which the operating device points is repeatedly calculated. Next, a change amount of the pointing position is calculated. Then, whether or not the change amount of the pointing position meets a first condition is determined. As a result, when it is determined that the change amount of the pointing position meets the first condition, predetermined processing is executed for the pointing position or a position specified based on the pointing position.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a game program that is executed by a processing system of a game apparatus for executing predetermined processing based on operation information that is obtained from an operating device, the game program comprising instructions that are configured to cause the processing system to:
repeatedly calculate a pointing position with respect to a screen of a display device based on the operation information;
locate a virtual object in a virtual three-dimensional space and display a representation of the virtual object on the display device as viewed from a virtual camera of the virtual three-dimensional space;
display a cursor, on the display device, at the repeatedly calculated pointing position or a position that is based on the repeatedly calculated pointing position;
calculate a change amount of the pointing position;
determine whether or not the change amount of the pointing position meets a first condition;
determine whether or not the calculated pointing position is outside of an area of the screen of the display device;
in accordance with determination that the calculated pointing position is outside of the area of the screen and that the change amount of the pointing position does not meet the first condition, adjust a viewpoint of the virtual camera;
in accordance with determination that the change amount of the pointing position meets the first condition and even when the calculated pointing position is outside of the area of the screen of the display device, execute predetermined processing for the pointing position or a position specified based on the pointing position without correspondingly adjusting the viewpoint of the virtual camera; and
for the executed predetermined processing, control the virtual object within the virtual three-dimensional space based on the pointing position as a result of the change amount of the pointing position satisfying the first condition and change how the representation of the virtual object is displayed on the display device in accordance with the control.

2. The medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions are further configured to:
determine whether or not the change amount of the pointing position meets a second condition, and
the predetermined processing starts execution when the change amount of the pointing position meets the first condition, and the predetermined processing ends execution when the change amount of the pointing position meets the second condition.

3. The medium of claim 2 , wherein
the first condition includes the change amount of the pointing position being equal to or larger than a first predetermined value, and
the second condition includes the change amount of the pointing position being equal to or less than a second predetermined value.

4. The medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions are further configured to:
determine whether or not the pointing position is included in a range that is assigned as the screen, and
the predetermined processing starts execution when both the pointing position to which the operating device points is included in the range that is assigned as the screen and the change amount of the pointing position meets the first condition.

5. The medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions are further configured to:
determine whether or not the pointing position is included in a range that is assigned as the screen, and
after starting execution of the predetermined processing, the predetermined processing is ended when the pointing position is not included in the range that is assigned as the screen.

6. The medium of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined processing includes display of a predetermined object at the pointing position or the position specified based on the pointing position.

7. The medium of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined processing includes drawing of a trajectory connecting, in chronological order, the pointing position or the position specified based on the pointing position, where the drawing of the trajectory is concurrently displayed on the display device with the representation of the controlled virtual object.

8. The medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions are further configured to:
determine whether or not a predetermined target object exists at a position, in a virtual game space, corresponding to the pointing position or the position specified based on the pointing position, and
the predetermined processing includes execution of hit processing for the predetermined target object when the predetermined target object exists at the position, in the virtual game space, corresponding to the pointing position or the position specified based on the pointing position.

9. The medium of claim 8 , wherein
the virtual game space is a virtual three-dimensional space, the instructions are further configured to:
calculate a three-dimensional coordinate that represents the position, in the virtual three-dimensional space, corresponding to the pointing position or the position specified based on the pointing position;
calculate a straight line connecting a predetermined position in the virtual three-dimensional space to the position that is represented by the calculated three-dimensional coordinate; and
determine whether or not the calculated straight line collides with the predetermined target object, and

when the straight line collides with the predetermined target object, the hit processing for the predetermined target object with which the straight line collides is executed.

10. The medium of claim 8 , wherein
the instructions are further configured to:
change a value of a continuation parameter that is a parameter for indicating whether or not execution of the predetermined processing continues; and
determine whether or not the value of the continuation parameter meets a third condition after the predetermined processing is started, and

when the value of the continuation parameter meets the third condition, the execution of the predetermined processing is ended.

11. The medium of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined processing includes:
calculation of a movement direction of a predetermined movement object in a virtual three-dimensional space, based on the pointing position or the position specified based on the pointing position; and
movement of the predetermined movement object in the virtual three-dimensional space based on the calculated movement direction.

12. The medium of claim 11 , wherein calculation of the movement direction includes:
conversion of the pointing position or the position specified based on the pointing position into a three-dimensional coordinate that represents a position, in the virtual three-dimensional space, corresponding to the pointing position or the position specified based on the pointing position; and
calculation of, as the movement direction of the movement object, a direction from a predetermined position in the virtual three-dimensional space toward the position that is represented by the three-dimensional coordinate.

13. The medium of claim 11 , wherein the calculation of the movement direction is repeatedly executed until a predetermined condition is met.

14. The medium of claim 13 , wherein the calculation of the movement direction of the predetermined movement object and movement of the predetermined movement object are repeatedly executed at every predetermined time interval.

15. The medium of claim 13 , wherein the instructions are further configured to:
accumulate the change amount of the pointing position,
wherein

Assignees

• Yoshikawa Kazuhiro
• Yamagami Hitoshi
• Noguchi Toshio
• Nintendo Co Ltd

Inventors

• Yoshikawa Kazuhiro
• Yamagami Hitoshi
• Noguchi Toshio

Classifications

• A63F13/10 Primary

  Human Necessities · mapped topic

• A63F2300/6045

  for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands · CPC title

• A63F2300/6676

  by dedicated player input · CPC title

• A63F2300/643

  by determining the impact between objects, e.g. collision detection · CPC title

• A63F2300/1087

  comprising photodetecting means, e.g. a camera · CPC title