Game program and game apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9550123-B2
Application number	US-79727907-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 2, 2007
Priority date	May 9, 2006
Publication date	Jan 24, 2017
Grant date	Jan 24, 2017

Abstract

A forward direction line is set on a course, in a virtual game world, on which a player object is allowed to move. An advancing direction at a current position of the player object is determined based on the forward direction line. The advancing direction is determined as a direction in which the player object advances so as to control a movement of a player character in accordance with an acceleration instruction, and a leftward-rightward movement instruction from a player. Consequently, it is possible to assist the player in controlling a direction in which an object operated by the player moves.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a game program for moving a player object in a virtual game world in accordance with an operation performed by a player, the game program causing a computer of a game apparatus to:
display the player object on a screen of a display device;
automatically determine an advancing direction based at least on a current position of the player object in the virtual game world during gameplay of the game program, the advancing direction used for assisting a direction in which the player object advances within the virtual world, the advancing direction being further determined based on at least one control point that is associated with at least one position in the virtual game world near the current position of the player object among a plurality of control points that are associated with a plurality of points in the virtual game world, each one of the plurality of control points having a predetermined advancing direction associated therewith;
detect a movement and/or acceleration instruction inputted by the player and given to the player object, using an input device that is used for advancing the player object;
move and/or accelerate the player object in a direction within the virtual world based on a combination of the movement and/or acceleration instruction and the determined advancing direction;
determine, by using the at least one predetermined advancing direction, a leftward-rightward movement direction at the current position of the player object in the virtual game world, the leftward-rightward movement direction representing one of a left direction and a right direction in which the player object moves;
detect a leftward-rightward movement instruction inputted by the player using the input device for moving the player object in one of the left direction and the right direction; and
move or accelerate the player object in the virtual game world in a direction based on a combination of the leftward-rightward movement instruction and the determined leftward-rightward movement direction.

2. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1 , wherein
the at least one predetermined advancing direction is at least two predetermined advancing directions that are associated with coordinate values of the plurality of control points, in the virtual game world, which are arranged in sequence, and
the determined advancing direction is determined in accordance with at least a first vector from a first control point which is nearest to the current position of the player object among the plurality of control points to a second control point, among the plurality of control points, which immediately precedes or immediately follows, in the sequence, the first control point.

3. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 2 , wherein
a control point which is first in the sequence is nearest, among the plurality of control points, to a point at which the player object is positioned in the virtual game world when a game is started, and
the advancing direction is determined by using a vector that is obtained based on at least two vectors including the first vector from the first control point to the second control point immediately following the first control point in the sequence, and a second vector from the second control point to a third control point immediately following the second control point in the sequence.

4. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 2 , wherein
the virtual game world includes a course on which the player object is allowed to move, and
the plurality of control points are set on the course.

5. The medium of claim 2 , wherein the determination of the advancing direction is further based on an interpolation between at least two of the plurality of control points.

6. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1 , wherein
the player object is included in a game image that is displayed by using a virtual camera set in the virtual game world, and
the game program further causes the computer to determine, in accordance with the advancing direction at a point which follows the current position of the player object and is distanced from the current position of the player object by a predetermined distance, a direction in which the virtual camera is oriented so as to pick up an image.

7. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1 , wherein
the game apparatus includes a first operation section and a second operation section,
the movement and/or acceleration instruction is detected via alternate operation of the first operation section and the second operation section, and
the leftward-rightward movement instruction is detected by one of the first operation section and the second operation section that is solely operated.

8. The medium of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined data that is used to determine the advancing direction is associated with the virtual game world before the movement and/or acceleration instruction is detected.

9. The medium of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined data includes a vector that is associated with a position within the virtual game world.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the input device is a drum controller that includes at least two input switches that are strikable by a player.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a game program for moving a player object in a virtual game world in accordance with an operation performed by a player, the game program causing a computer, which includes at least one processor, to:
display the player object on a screen of a display device;
automatically determine an orthogonal movement direction at a current position of the player object in the virtual game world during gameplay of the game program based on predetermined data that is associated with at least one position or at least one area within the virtual game world, the orthogonal movement direction being orthogonal relative to a determined advancing direction that is used for assisting a direction in which the player object advances, the predetermined data including a predetermined advancing direction that is (1) set in advance of determination of the orthogonal movement direction at the current position and (2) independent from player input, the predetermined advancing direction associated with the at least one position or at least one area near the current position of the player object and being one of a plurality of predetermined advancing directions that are each associated with a corresponding position or area in the virtual game world, the orthogonal movement direction being one of a leftward and rightward movement direction and representing one of a left direction and a right direction, relative to the predetermined advancing direction;
detect an orthogonal movement and/or acceleration instruction inputted by the player and given to the player object, using an input device for moving the player object in the orthogonal movement direction, the orthogonal movement and/or acceleration instruction being a leftward-rightward movement instruction for moving the player object in one of the left direction and the right direction that are relative to the current movement direction of the player object within the virtual game world; and
move and/or accelerate the player object in the one of the leftward and rightward movement direction within the virtual world based on a combination of the detected leftward-rightward movement instruction and the automatically determined one of the leftward and rightward movement direction.

Assignees

• Akahori Eiji
• Miyata Shingo
• Izuno Toshiharu
• Hotta Takuji
• Nishimura Kentaro
• Nintendo Co Ltd

Inventors

• Akahori Eiji
• Miyata Shingo
• Izuno Toshiharu
• Hotta Takuji
• Nishimura Kentaro

Classifications

• A63F13/45

  Controlling the progress of the video game · CPC title

• A63F13/573

  using trajectories of game objects, e.g. of a golf ball according to the point of impact · CPC title

• A63F13/42

  by mapping the input signals into game commands, e.g. mapping the displacement of a stylus on a touch screen to the steering angle of a virtual vehicle · CPC title

• A63F13/5258

  by dynamically adapting the position of the virtual camera to keep a game object or game character in its viewing frustum, e.g. for tracking a character or a ball · CPC title

• A63F2300/6054

  by generating automatically game commands to assist the player, e.g. automatic braking in a driving game · CPC title