JP2005192689A - Game program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game program for enabling play while looking at game reference information relating to the display state of a game image and enabling even a person with low skill to easily play by displaying the reference information required for playing in relation to the progress of a game on a screen different from a display screen of the game image. <P>SOLUTION: The display screen for two screens composed of a first display screen and a second display screen are provided, the game image is displayed on the first display screen, and instruction information and the information of conquest hints or the like to be the reference of the play are displayed in relation to the change of the game image on the second display screen. A player plays while looking at the game reference information on the second display screen together with the game image on the first display screen and smoothly advances the play. Then, in the case that there are two or more pieces of the game reference information to be displayed, priority data are added and the game reference information with the high priority is displayed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a game program, and particularly, for example, in a portable game device or a video game device having a display screen portion for two screens, a game image is displayed on one screen and is described in an instruction manual on the other screen. The present invention relates to a game program for displaying game reference information such as various instruction information, a message to be displayed in relation to a game, and hint information about a game strategy.

  Conventionally, game software for home video game machines and game software for portable game machines have been sold together with an information storage medium (optical information storage medium or ROM cartridge) storing a game program and an instruction manual. Yes. The instruction manual includes a game play method (game controller usage, etc.), introduction of characters appearing, hint information for simple game capture, and the like.

  However, in recent years, as the game contents have become more complex and the game play and / or strategy methods have become more complex and sophisticated, the amount of information contained in the instruction manual has increased. If you do not start playing after reading the book sufficiently, it will be difficult to clear the game, and even if you read the instruction manual, it is often impossible to clear the game. In addition, since the contents of the instruction manual are described as general items of the game regardless of the progress of the game play, any part of the instruction manual should be read when the user gets stuck in the game play. It is difficult to know whether it is possible to obtain information useful for game play at that time, it takes time to find a page on which the player's necessary information is described, reduces the willingness to play the game, and spurs the user away from the game It has become a result to apply.

Therefore, it is conceivable to display the information described in the instruction manual (that is, the operation method of the controller) on the game screen together with the game image. As such prior art, there is a technique described in Patent Document 1.
JP 2000-157719 A (FIGS. 11 to 12, paragraph numbers 0079 to 0085)

  Patent Document 1 is a technique in which a controller with a liquid crystal display is provided as a sub screen in addition to a main screen of a home television, and an explanation screen for an operation method of the controller is displayed on the liquid crystal display (sub screen). Since Patent Document 1 displays a controller operation description on a liquid crystal screen (sub-screen) provided in the controller, it is suitable for learning a controller operation method while viewing the description displayed on the sub-screen. Yes.

  Patent Document 1 discloses only displaying an explanation of the operation method of the controller, and does not disclose other handling instruction information. If other instruction information is also displayed on the sub-screen, the main screen and the sub-screen are physically separated and separated by several meters, so the player must see the main screen and the sub-screen alternately. In addition to being difficult to see the screen, it is easy to get tired, and the game progresses while viewing the instruction manual information, and the smooth progress of the game is hindered. And since the relationship with the change state of the game image displayed on the main screen is not disclosed, it is not possible to display appropriate explanation information in accordance with the progress of the game play. On the other hand, if a game machine that uses only one screen is to display appropriate explanation information as the game progresses during game play, it must be displayed over the game image, which hinders game play. As a result, the player is frustrated.

Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to display the reference information necessary for the game play in accordance with the progress of the game play on a screen different from the display screen of the game image, so that the player can play the game image and the game play. It is to provide a game program that allows game play to proceed while viewing necessary information in parallel.
Another object of the present invention is to display information necessary for game play in relation to the progress of game play on a screen different from the game image display screen according to the skill and proficiency of the player. It is to provide a game program that can freely select the presence / absence of display or the display timing with the intention of.
Another object of the present invention is to display information necessary for game play in accordance with the progress of game play, when it is necessary to display a plurality of types of game reference information at the same display timing. To provide a game program capable of preferentially displaying information of an appropriate type based on priority data corresponding to the type.
Another object of the present invention is to display instruction information or game strategy hint information (if necessary) as reference information necessary for game play when displaying reference information necessary for game play in relation to the progress of game play. A game program capable of selectively displaying at least one of information such as a conversation or a message that should be originally displayed on the game screen based on priority data determined in relation to the progress of the game. Is to provide.

The invention according to claim 1 is a first display screen portion for displaying a game image (LCD 11 in FIGS. 1 and 2 if showing the correspondence with the embodiment; hereinafter, reference numerals in parentheses in this column) ), A second display screen portion (LCD 12 in FIGS. 1 and 2) for displaying information related to a game different from the game image displayed on the first display screen portion, and operating means (FIG. 1). To the computer (CPU 31, GPU 35, GPU 36 in FIG. 2) of the two-screen display game device (portable game device 10 in FIG. 1) for proceeding with the game using the operation switch section 15) of FIG. 13), a game image generation step (steps 16, 17, 19, 20 in FIG. 7), a game reference information generation step (step 21 in FIG. 7), and a first display processing step (step 33 in FIG. 7). )When, This is a game program for executing the second display processing step (steps 36, 37, and 38 in FIG. 9).
The selection step selects to display the game reference information on the second display screen section. The game image generation step generates a game image that changes as the game progresses according to the operation state of the operation means. In the game reference information generation step, game reference information is generated in association with a change in the display state of the game image. In the first display processing step, the game image generated in the game image generation step is displayed on the first display screen unit. In the second display processing step, when the game reference information is selected to be displayed on the second display screen unit in the selection step, the game reference information generated in the game reference information step is displayed on the second display screen unit. To display.
As a result, game reference information (for example, message information such as instruction information and game strategy hints) is displayed on the second display screen unit in association with (or linked to) the display state of the game image. It is possible to play while obtaining information useful for game play as it relates to the progress of the game without interfering with game play due to the game image displayed on the display screen part of the game, and even those who are not skilled can clear the game Can enjoy the game enough.

In the invention according to claim 2, the game reference information generation step is one or more related to the handling instruction information of the game and the content of the game image as the game reference information generated in relation to the change in the display state of the game image. This message information is generated by adding priority data to each of the instruction explanation information and the message information. In the second display processing step, either one of the instruction explanation information and the message information is displayed on the second display screen section based on the priority data.
As a result, even if there is a plurality of pieces of information such as handling explanation information and message information as game reference information to be displayed on the second display screen portion, appropriate information is given priority based on priority. Will be displayed.

In the invention according to claim 3, the selection step selects that the game reference information is displayed on the second display screen section each time the operating means is operated. The game reference information generation step includes a plurality of display items corresponding to each of the game images as game reference information. The second display processing step selects a display item included in the game reference information corresponding to the game image displayed on the first display screen when the display of the game reference information is selected in the selection step. And display.
As a result, the game reference information is displayed on the second display screen at a timing required by the player, so that the player is aware of the game reference information related to the game image displayed on the first display screen. You do n’t have to worry about overlooking important game reference information even if you ’re passionate about gameplay.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a selection screen for determining whether or not to display game reference information for selecting whether or not the game reference information is to be displayed on the second display screen unit. A selection screen display step (step 12 in FIG. 7) to be displayed on any one of the second display screen portions, and a storage step for storing and holding that display of game reference information is selected in the selection screen display step ( Step 14) of FIG. The second display processing step determines that the display of the game reference information is selected based on the fact that it is stored that the display of the game reference information is selected in the storage step. .
Thus, if the player selects the game reference information display mode at the start of the game, the game reference information to be displayed is automatically displayed during the game play.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the game reference information generating step includes a handling instruction information generating step for generating handling instruction information for the game in relation to a change in the display state of the game image, and 1 relating to the contents of the game image. A message information generation step for generating the above message information, and is generated by adding priority data to each of the handling explanation information and the message information. In the second second display processing step, either one of the instruction explanation information and the message information is displayed on the second display screen section based on the priority data.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the message information generating step includes a game message to be displayed for each game scene displayed on the first display screen unit that changes as the game progresses as a plurality of types of character information. , Generate tips messages about game strategy tips. In the second display processing step, at least one of the handling instruction information, the game message, and the hint message is selected and displayed on the second display screen unit based on the priority data.

  In the invention according to claim 7, the game reference information includes handling instruction information including a plurality of display items described in the instruction manual of the game, and appropriate timings in a series of game images are displayed for each display item of the handling instruction information. Designated display timing information is added. In the game reference information generation step, appropriate display items included in the instruction manual information are generated based on the display timing information. In the second display processing step, display items corresponding to the display state of the game image displayed on the first display screen unit are displayed on the second display screen unit.

  In the invention according to claim 8, the game reference information generation step is related to each display item included in the first display size data and a plurality of types of message information in relation to each display item included in the handling instruction information. The second display size data is further generated, and a display item with a small display size is set to have a higher priority than a display item with a large display size. The second display processing step is a display in which the display size of each display item to be displayed is large among the instruction information and the plurality of types of message information based on the first display size data and the second display size data. A display item with a small display size is displayed on the second display screen so as to overlap the item.

  The invention according to claim 9 affects the progress of the game by the operation means instructing the moving direction of the player character. The game image generation step includes a step of generating an image of a background screen of the game space, and a step of generating an image in which the coordinate position of the player character in the game space is changed according to the operation of the operation means. And a player character image are combined to generate a game image. In the game reference information generation step, game reference information linked to the progress of the game is generated based on the coordinate position of the player character.

According to the present invention, the game image and the information necessary for the game play are displayed by displaying information necessary for the game play in accordance with the progress of the game play on a screen different from the game image display screen. Game play can be performed while watching in parallel, and a game program effective for facilitating game capture can be obtained.
Further, according to the present invention, when information necessary for game play is displayed on the screen different from the game image display screen in accordance with the progress of the game play, the player's skill and proficiency level A game program can be obtained in which the presence or absence of display or the display timing can be freely selected at will.
Further, according to the present invention, when displaying the reference information necessary for the game play in accordance with the progress of the game play, the instruction explanation information or the game strategy hint information (if necessary, as the reference information necessary for the game play) , Information such as conversations or messages that should be originally displayed on the game screen) can be selectively displayed based on the priority data determined in relation to the game progress. A game program that can display game reference information that is effective for game play is obtained in a scene corresponding to (or in conjunction with the progress of the game).
Furthermore, according to this invention, when displaying information necessary for game play in accordance with the progress of game play, information to be displayed when it is necessary to display a plurality of types of game play related information at the same display timing. Thus, a game program that can preferentially display information of an appropriate type based on priority data corresponding to the type of the game is obtained.
As a result, the player can select the game reference information according to his / her skill, and can proceed with the game while viewing the game reference information and message information suitable for his / her skill. Thus, it is possible to have a willingness to play the game. For software manufacturers, the number of pages can be reduced to a minimum amount of information by eliminating the instruction manual, thereby reducing costs.

  FIG. 1 is an external view of a portable game device according to one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the portable game apparatus 10 of this embodiment has two liquid crystal displays (LCDs) 11 and 12 as an example of first and second display screen units placed in a housing 13 so as to be in a predetermined arrangement position. Contained and stored. Specifically, when the first liquid crystal display (hereinafter referred to as “LCD”) 11 and the second LCD 12 are arranged close to each other and stored, the housing 13 is composed of an upper housing 13a and a lower housing 13b. Then, the upper housing 13a is rotatably supported by a part of the upper side of the lower housing 13b. The upper housing 13a has a planar shape slightly larger than the planar shape of the first LCD 11, and an opening is formed so as to expose the display surface of the LCD 11 from one main surface. The lower housing 13b has a planar shape that is longer than that of the upper housing 13a. An opening that exposes the display surface of the LCD 12 is formed at a substantially central portion in the horizontal direction, and a sound release hole 14b is formed on either side of the LCD 12. Are formed, and the operation switch unit 15 is mounted on the left and right sides of the LCD 12.

  The operation switch unit 15 is attached to one main surface of the lower housing 13b on the right side of the LCD 12, and the direction indicating switch 15a, the start switch 15b, the select switch 15c mounted on the one main surface of the lower housing 13b on the left side of the LCD 12. The operation switches 15d and 15e to be mounted are included. The direction indicating switch 15a is used for instructing the moving direction of a player character (or player object) that can be operated by the player, instructing the moving direction of the cursor, or the like. The action switches 15d and 15e are actions other than the direction instruction, for example, an instruction such as jumping, punching, and moving a weapon in an action game, item acquisition, and selection of a weapon or command in a role playing game (RPG) or a simulation RPG. It is used for inputting instructions. If necessary, operation switches may be further added, or side switches 15L and 15R may be provided on the upper surface (upper side surface) of the operation switch 15 mounting region in the lower housing 13b.

  A touch panel 16 is attached to the upper surface of the LCD 12 as necessary. The touch panel 16 may be of any type, for example, a resistive film type, an optical type (infrared type), or a capacitive coupling type, and the upper surface of the touch panel 16 is pressed, moved, or stroked with a stick 17 (or a finger). When this is done, the coordinate position of the stick 17 is detected and coordinate data is output. The touch panel 16 is used for selecting commands based on character information and icons displayed on the screen of the LCD 12, and for instructing the direction of scrolling (gradual movement display) of the map displayed on the LCD 11, depending on the type of game. It may also be used for various other input instructions (for example, selection or operation of icons displayed on the LCD 12, coordinate input instructions, etc.).

  As described above, the portable game apparatus 10 includes the liquid crystal displays 11 and 12 serving as display screen portions for two screens, and the touch panel 16 is provided on the upper surface of one of the LCDs (for example, the LCD 12 which is the lower screen). Since it is provided, it has a configuration having two-screen LCDs 11 and 12 and two operation units (15 and 16). In this case, the touch panel 16 is used for operation input (or input instruction) different from that of the operation switch unit 15.

  In the vicinity of the side surface of the upper housing 13a, a storage hole 14a for storing a stick 17 for operating the touch panel 16 as necessary is formed. The stick 17 is stored in the storage hole 14a. A cartridge insertion portion (not shown) for detachably mounting a game cartridge 18 containing a memory (for example, ROM) storing a game program is formed on a part of the side surface of the lower housing 13b. A connector (not shown) for electrical connection with the game cartridge 18 is built in the cartridge insertion portion. Further, an electronic circuit board (30 shown in FIG. 2 described later) on which various electronic components such as a CPU are mounted is accommodated in the lower housing 13b (or the upper housing 13a). Note that the information storage medium for storing the game program is not limited to a nonvolatile semiconductor memory such as a ROM or a flash memory, and a CD-ROM, a DVD, or an optical disk storage medium similar thereto may be used.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a portable game device according to one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, a CPU core 31 is mounted on the electronic circuit board 30 accommodated in the housing 13. A connector 33 is connected to the CPU core 31 via a bus 32, and an input / output interface (I / F) circuit 34, a first graphic processing unit (first GPU) 35, and a second graphic are connected. A processing unit (second GPU) 36 and a working RAM (hereinafter referred to as “W-RAM”) 37 are connected. The memory card 18 is detachably connected to the connector 33. The memory card 18 includes a ROM 180 and an S-RAM 185. When the S-RAM 185 is removed from the portable game apparatus 10, backup power is supplied by a button battery (not shown) in order to prevent the stored data from being destroyed due to the stop of the power supply. The ROM 180 is read and controlled by the CPU core 31, and the S-RAM 185 is controlled to be written and / or read by the CPU core 31. The operation key switch unit 15 and the touch panel 16 are connected to the I / F circuit 34 and the speaker 19 is connected. The speaker 19 is disposed at the inner position of the sound release hole 14b. A first video RAM (hereinafter “V-RAM”) 38 is connected to the first GPU 35, and a second video RAM (hereinafter “V-RAM”) 39 is connected to the second GPU 36. .

  Based on the program stored in the ROM 180, the CPU core 31 reads out one map image data (for example, map image data of the entire range in one map number indicated by a symbol MAP in FIG. 5 described later), Transfer to the W-RAM 37. The CPU core 31 reads a program for generating and controlling the map image from the ROM 180 and gives it to the GPU 36. In response to this, the GPU 35 reads out the W-RAM 37 and generates map image data to obtain map image data (map image data in the range indicated by 11a in FIG. 5) to be displayed on one screen of the LCD 11. While writing into the V-RAM 39, the V-RAM 38 is read and controlled at a predetermined timing, and a map image is displayed on the LCD 11.

  Further, the CPU core 31 executes a program for generating game reference information, writes the text data of the game reference information into the W-RAM 37, and stores a program for display processing included in the program into the GPU 36. give. In response to this, the GPU 36 reads out the game reference information of the text data stored in the W-RAM 37 and generates (or generates) game reference information that can be displayed (for example, from text data to bitmap data). The bitmap-format game reference information to be displayed on the LCD 12 (one screen) is written into the V-RAM 39 and read out at a predetermined display timing and displayed on the LCD 12. At this time, if necessary, as a game reference information, when displaying a symbol of a controller or an item as an example of handling instruction information, the symbol data is generated and processed by the cooperation of the CPU core 31 and the GPU 36. Display processing.

  FIG. 3 is a memory map schematically showing data stored in the ROM 180. In FIG. 3, the ROM 180 is roughly divided into storage areas 181 and 182. The storage area 181 is a storage area for storing image data, and includes a storage area 181a for storing object (or character) image data, a storage area 181b for storing map image data, and a game reference information storage area 181c. . The object image data storage area 181a stores a player object and moving objects other than the player object (enemy object, ally object, etc.). The storage area 181b is a storage area for storing map image data, and stores map image data for each of the first map to the Nth map.

  When the map image is a three-dimensional image, it is generated by pasting a plurality of polygon data specifying the shape and a texture such as a pattern or color to the shape specified by each polygon data. The distance data from the camera with respect to is changed to generate a map image, which is converted into bitmap image data and stored in the V-RAMs 38 and 39.

The game reference information storage area 181c includes an area for storing handling instruction information and message information as game reference information. In the storage area of the instruction manual information, information such as that described in the game instruction manual, game story (or story outline), controller design, controller operation description, appearance character illustration, appearance character-specific information Information (graphic or character data) such as description, item list, item design, and description for each item is stored. In the message information storage area, descriptions of capture points, item descriptions (for example, item acquisition method and / or usage method), and the like are stored as message information. Each display item included in the game reference information is a coordinate position (or map) in the game space where the corresponding player character exists in order to determine the timing of display in relation to or in conjunction with the progress of the game. Number and coordinate data) are stored correspondingly.
Here, there is no clear distinction between the instruction explanation information and the message information not described in the instruction manual, and they may differ depending on the game software, and these are collectively referred to as game reference information. In addition, message information such as explanations of capture points refers to character information that is not displayed on a game image of a general game, or information that is transmitted to the player as a reference for the game by means of a graphic added thereto. You may include commands and messages that should be displayed in. In that case, the commands and messages that are originally displayed on the game screen are set to the highest priority.

  In addition, other reference information necessary as appropriate according to the type or genre of the game may be stored. In addition, as the instruction information, all the information such as symbols or characters described in one instruction manual is stored in PDF format and displayed in batch order in page order or linked to the game image. In the display mode, the map number corresponding to each page (or display item on each page) and the coordinate data to be displayed on the map are added and stored as display timing information, and related to the change of the game image. May be displayed.

  Further, when there are a plurality of pieces of information (or display items) displayed as game reference information, priority data is set for each display item as necessary. For example, the handling explanation information is set to have a lower priority than the explanation of the capture points, and when there are multiple display items at the same display timing, the display item with the higher priority is selected and displayed with priority based on the priority data. Is done. As another preferential display method, data with a high priority may be overwritten with data with a low priority and displayed according to the priority. Furthermore, if the priority data is set so that the display item with a small display size has a higher priority than the display item with a large display size, a small display item is overwritten on a display item with a large size. Can also be displayed.

  In addition, underline is added to symbols (icons, buttons, etc.) or explanation keywords (characters / symbols) on the page where the instruction explanation information is displayed first, and the parts of symbols / characters in the sentence are sequentially highlighted. The cursor can be moved in the order of each highlighted symbol / character, etc., and the symbol / character indicated by the cursor can be selected with the operation button 15d, etc. You may make it display by skipping to a related display item. As another method, a link may be set to a character or button by a browser, and when a linked character or button is selected, a page corresponding to the character or button may be skipped. As another method, when the game reference information displayed on the LCD 12 is linked to a character or button by a browser and the linked character or button is selected, the LCD 11 corresponding to the character or button is selected. Characters, items, and the like displayed on the screen may be displayed blinking. In this way, the first display screen and / or the second display screen react to words and symbols that are difficult to explain, and easy-to-understand handling explanation information can be displayed.

  The storage area 182 is a storage area for storing game program data, and includes storage areas 182a to 182e. The storage area 182a stores an object display control program. The storage area 182b stores map image display control program data. A program for controlling display of game reference information is stored in the storage area 182c. The map image display control program is a program for generating or changing a map image according to the operation state of the direction indicating switch 15 a and / or the operation state of the touch panel 16. The game reference information display control program refers to the scene and / or location data (map number and coordinate data of the map where the player character is present) where the player character exists in relation to the change of the game image, This is a program for generating handling instruction information or strategy hint information that is useful for game play and, if necessary, a message (command or conversation character information) to be displayed on the game screen and displaying it on the LCD 12.

  The storage area 182d stores operation switch operation state detection processing program data. The operation switch operation state detection processing program, for example, detects the amount of movement by detecting the direction of the direction indicating switch 15a up / down / left / right and the duration of the direction indication every short period of time (one frame to several frame periods). Or a program for detecting the types of the operation switches 15c and 15e. The storage area 182e stores touch panel operation state detection processing program data. The touch panel operation state detection processing program reads coordinate data that changes by operation of the touch panel every short fixed time (for example, a frame period) and temporarily stores the coordinate data, and relatively long fixed time (for example, several tens of times of the frame period) Every hundreds of times), the coordinate data change state is detected, and if the coordinate data change is the same or approximately the same coordinate data, it is detected that the coordinate position is specified, and the coordinate data change gradually If it changes continuously, it is a program that detects an instruction of the moving direction based on the amount of change in the X-axis component and the Y-axis component. Further, the movement amount (scroll amount or distance) may be detected based on a vector amount obtained by synthesizing each change amount of the X-axis component and the Y-axis component. Details of processing of various programs stored in the storage areas 18a to 18e will be described with reference to flowcharts of FIGS.

  FIG. 4 is a time chart for explaining the principle of the present invention and a display mode of the LCD 11 and the LCD 12. FIG. 5 shows a map image as an example of a game image. FIG. 6 shows a display example on the LCD 11 and the LCD 12. Next, the principle (or outline) of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the game examples shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, games such as action games, role-playing games (RPG), action RPGs, simulation RPGs, etc. that advance play while clearing a map (or a stage or a scene). However, it should be pointed out that the technical idea of the present invention is not limited to this, but can be applied to a game in which a plurality of courses such as a race game are sequentially played and other games.

  When the power is turned on, the title screen is displayed on the first LCD (first display screen) 11. In addition to the display of the game title, a selection screen for determining whether to display game reference information or handling instruction information is displayed on the title screen. Here, as the selection screen, selection of a mode (mode 1) for displaying game reference information (for example, handling instruction information) in association with (or in conjunction with) the progress of the game, or handling instruction information before the game starts. Various modes such as a mode for displaying all at once (mode 2) and a mode for displaying only the game strategy information (mode 3) without displaying the instruction information may be selected. At this time, if display of game reference information or handling instruction information (mode 1) is selected, handling instruction information to be displayed before the game starts, for example, introduction of a game story outline, until a game start instruction is input. Is displayed on the LCD (second display screen) 12 as necessary, and if necessary, the controller design and description of the controller (useful explanation for the game in general) and the main characters (or characters) The illustration and its description are displayed on the LCD 12. Here, the main characters appearing are the main character appearing in the main character and most maps. Other appearance characters may be displayed at the beginning of the map that appears first. By viewing or reading the instruction manual information displayed on the LCD 12, the player does not read the separately attached instruction manual (or has been conventionally attached), and the game story summary and controller operation You can know the method and the main characters.

  When the game start switch 15b is pressed, the background image of the first map and the characters appearing from the beginning of the map are displayed on the LCD 11. At this time, the entire area of the first map is, for example, the map MAP (wide area) of FIG. 5, while the game image displayed on the LCD 11 is a part of the area (for example, 11a in the lower left part of FIG. 5). . That is, one map MAP has a game space that is many times larger than the range displayed by the LCD 11, and in the drawing, the map MAP is twice as wide as the display screen (or display range) of the LCD 11 (4 times in total). The case where it has is shown. For example, assuming that the entire range that can be displayed as a map is in the range of coordinates (X0, Y0) to coordinates (Xm, Yn), the map image currently displayed on the LCD 11 has coordinates (X0, Yn / 2). ), Coordinates (Xm / 2, Yn / 2), coordinates (X0, Yn), and coordinates (Xm / 2, Yn).

  In relation to the display of the game image, as the handling explanation information to be displayed at the beginning of the first map, an explanation of the outline of the first map, an item list unique to the first map (or an explanation of the outline of items), or the first map Any one of explanations of characters to appear (excluding major characters displayed during the display period of the title screen) is appropriately selected or sequentially selected and displayed on the LCD 12. The display states of the LCD 11 and LCD 12 in this state are as shown in the upper part (upper LCD 11) and the lower part (lower LCD 12) in FIG. In an actual game, there are a plurality of map MAPs, each of which is distinguished by a map number.

  When the player operates the direction instruction switch 15a to move a player unit (hero character) whose movement position and direction can be operated by the player, the player unit moves on the map MAP according to the instruction. The display content of the game reference information is changed based on the coordinate position of the player character in the game space (or the map number and the coordinate data on the map). For example, when the player unit is brought close to the cave at the center left of the screen of the LCD 11, hint information related to the cave is given as an explanation of the strategy (“What animals are lurking in this cave”, “ A strategy hint or message such as “hidden” or the like; display item 1) is displayed on the LCD 12 (see 12 ′ in FIG. 6). At this time, the strategy point information is set to a higher priority than the handling instruction information. In addition, when the player character moves on the map and approaches the coordinate position where the item can be acquired (for example, the upper right triangle cave), a message (or hint information) linked to the change of the game image is displayed as “Where and what A message (display item 2) such as “There is an item to say” or “What kind of operation can be used to acquire the item” is displayed on the LCD 12. Further, when the player character is further moved to approach the right end (or upper end) of the screen, the map MAP is gradually moved to the left (or lower) while the LCD 11 is seemingly fixed, and scrolled. This scroll display is realized by gradually changing the offset coordinate position at which the image data of the map MAP is read out to the right (or up) corresponding to the upper left coordinate position of the LCD 11.

  When the clear condition for the first map is reached, the first map is terminated, the next map is advanced, and the game images are sequentially displayed on the LCD 11. Also at this time, at the beginning of the second map, as the handling explanation information, any of an explanation of the outline of the second map, an item list unique to the second map (or an explanation of the outline of the item), an explanation of characters appearing in the second map, etc. One of them is appropriately selected or sequentially selected and displayed on the LCD 12. Further, when the player instructs the player character to move, the game image of the second map changes and progresses, and at the same time, the capture point information set to be displayed as message information in each game image ( For example, game capture hint information, such as how to acquire and use items that can be acquired for the first time in the third map, is displayed on the LCD 12.

  In this way, the player displays information on the LCD 12 such as handling explanation information and explanation of the capture method in relation to (or corresponding to) the display state of the game image that changes as the game is displayed on the LCD 11. It is possible to proceed with the game while learning the game reference information necessary to proceed with the game, watching the game, getting stuck in the game play, interrupting because you do not understand and reading the strategy book and instruction manual It is no longer necessary, and the game play can be advanced while comparing the screens of the LCD 11 and the LCD 12, so that the game can be smoothly captured.

  7 to 9 are flowcharts of game software to be played using two screens. Next, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9, the specific operation of this embodiment will be described along the flow of FIGS.

  First, the operation after turning on the power and before starting the game will be described. When a power switch (not shown) is turned on, the CPU core 31 starts the following processing based on each program stored in the storage area 182 of the ROM 18. First, in step (abbreviated as “S” in the drawing) 11, initial processing is performed. As the initial processing, for example, after the W-RAM 37 and the V-RAMs 38 and 39 are initially cleared, the backup data stored in the RAM 185 (if played so far, the map captured until the previous play) (Elapsed data such as numbers, experience values, acquired items, etc.) is read and written in a backup data storage area (not shown) of the W-RAM 37. In this way, the preparation process for starting the game play is performed.

  In step 12, along with the display of the title screen (or after the display of the title screen), a selection screen for determining whether or not to display the game reference information (or instruction information) is displayed. In step 13, it is determined whether or not the game reference information display necessity or the like has been selected within a predetermined time. If it is determined that any of the selections is made, the selection contents (result of necessity of display of game reference information) are written in a predetermined address of the W-RAM 37.

  In the above-described step 12, when the game content is played and cleared sequentially in a plurality of maps, a play start selection screen is displayed as necessary, and the map starts from the first map number 1 or continues from the previous play. A selection screen for starting from a number may be displayed. In that case, in step 15, the selected map number (the map number “1” when playing for the first time) is registered in the map counter (or map register; although not shown, a partial address of the W-RAM 37). . Since the next step 16 and step 17 are processes after the start of the game, the process skips here (or does not process anything) and proceeds to step 18.

  Then, in the non-display period of the LCD 11 and the LCD 12, the processes of steps 18 to 121 are performed. However, before the game start switch 15b is operated, it is the title screen display period as shown in FIG. 4, so the processing of step 19 and step 20 is skipped and the process proceeds to step 21. In step 21, based on the game reference information display control program, the CPU core 31 and the GPU 35 cooperate to process game reference information before the game starts. Specifically, as the game reference information to be displayed in the title screen display period (before the game starts), for example, the introduction of the story of the outline of the game included in the instruction information, the controller design, the description of the controller (for the game in general) One or a plurality of illustrations of operations), illustrations of main characters (or characters), descriptions of the characters, and the like are selected according to the program settings and sequentially written in the V-RAM 39. At this time, when the number of screens is so large that the instruction explanation information to be displayed during the title screen display cannot be displayed on one screen and the screens are sequentially switched and displayed, the instruction explanation information for each screen is sequentially displayed at intervals of several seconds. A rewriting process is performed. Then, the handling information is sequentially displayed in a display period described later (partial period of one frame, processing period of steps 18, 33 to 38). On the other hand, when the instruction explanation information is displayed by scrolling the screen instead of the screen switching method, the instruction explanation information for a plurality of screens is stored in the V-RAM 39 successively in the display order, and the reading address is gradually changed during the display period. A reading process is performed so as to shift.

  Next, the operation after the game start switch 15b is operated to start the game will be described. When the processes in steps 16 to 25 are sequentially performed, it is determined in step 25 that the start switch 15b has been operated. In step 26, the game start process is performed, and the game process using the first map is started. . That is, in step 16, map image data for the entire range of map numbers set in the map counter (for example, the entire range of MAP shown in FIG. 3) is read from the ROM 18 and written to the W-RAM 37. In step 17, the coordinate data of the player character is set to an initial value. For example, the coordinates of the lower left corner of the map image displayed on the LCD 11 are written in a register (a partial address of the W-RAM 37) that stores the coordinate position of the player character (or player object).

  In subsequent step 18, it is determined that it is a non-display period of LCD 11 and LCD 12. In step 19, based on the map image display control program, the CPU core 31 and the GPU 35 cooperate to process the map image. Specifically, the CPU core 31 gives an instruction to the GPU 35 to set the coordinate position determined by the initial value. For example, in the display example of FIG. 5, in order to display the map image in the range indicated by the small solid frame 11a on the LCD 11, the offset coordinates of the upper left corner on the display screen of the LCD 11 are set to the MAP coordinates X0, Yn / 2. . Then, when the map image data of the display range indicated by the solid line frame 11a is read from the W-RAM 37 and given to the GPU 35, the GPU 35 is processed so as to become a one-screen size map image and written to the V-RAM 38. (Temporary storage). In step 20, moving objects (including player objects and non-player objects) are processed, and the image data of the moving objects is overwritten on the map image data stored in the V-RAM 38.

  As a result, a game image obtained by combining the map image and the moving object image is temporarily stored in the V-RAM 38. At this time, if it is possible to assign priorities to the map image and the moving object (or each dot unit), they are displayed at the same coordinate (or dot) position based on the priority data (or Z value data). Even if it is power dot data, the dot data of the high priority image is overwritten on the dot data of the low priority image and is stored and held in the V-RAM 38, so that the LCD 11 has a high priority image. Will be displayed.

In subsequent step 21, based on the game reference information display control program, the CPU core 31 and the GPU 35 cooperate to process the game reference information after the game starts. Specifically, the CPU core 31 gives an instruction to the GPU 35, and as a game reference information to be displayed immediately after the start of the first map, for example, according to the progress of the game, the first map outline description, the first map A description (item list) of items appearing on the screen, and handling explanation information (for example, a character code) such as a description of a character that is not displayed on the title screen and first appears on the first map is generated. Here, as a method of determining the game reference information according to the progress of the game, by referring to the map number, the coordinate position of the player character, and the map data of the surrounding map image, the game image progresses now. In a scene with a map number, a display item suitable for display is selected from among a plurality of display items included in the game reference information. The CPU core 31 gives the handling instruction information to the GPU 35, gives an instruction to the GPU 35, converts it into display data (character image data), and temporarily stores it in the V-RAM 39.
In other words, the direction instruction switch 15a instructs the moving direction of the player character, thereby affecting the progress of the game. For this purpose, as a game image generation step, a step of generating an image of a background screen of the game space; Generating a game image by synthesizing the background image and the player character image, and generating an image in which the coordinate position of the player character in the game space is changed according to the operation of the direction indicating switch 15a. In the game reference information generation step, game reference information linked to the progress of the game is generated based on the coordinate position of the player character.

  In step 22, it is determined whether or not there is an input from the direction indicating switch 15a. If it is determined that there is an input, the process proceeds to step 23. If it is determined that there is no input, the process proceeds to step 25. When there is an input from the direction indicating switch 15a, in step 23, an operation state detection process of the direction indicating switch 15a, for example, any one of “up”, “down”, “left” and “right” of the direction indicating switch 15a is detected. If pressed, the key code corresponding to the operated “up”, “down”, “left”, “right” is read and temporarily stored in an internal register (not shown). In step 24, a process for changing the current coordinate position of the player object based on the operation of the direction indicating switch 15a is performed. In step 25, it is determined whether or not there is an input from the other operation switches 15b to 15f. If it is determined that there is an input from the operation switches 15b to 15f, an input process corresponding to the other switch is performed in step 26. Is done. Thereafter, or when it is determined that there is no input from the operation switches 15b to 15f, the process proceeds to step 27. In this way, processing according to the operation input of the direction indicating switch 15a and the other operation switches 15b to 15f is performed.

  In step 27, it is determined whether or not there is a coordinate input by operating the touch panel 16. If there is a coordinate input by operating the touch panel 16, it is determined that the touch panel operation state detection process in step 28 and image processing based on the detection are performed, but detailed description of the operation is omitted.

  In step 29, it is determined whether the map clear condition has been reached. If it is determined that the map has not been cleared, it is determined in step 30 whether the game has ended. The game end condition is detected when the count value of the map counter reaches the maximum map number (N) and the map is cleared, or when the game over condition (for example, the hit point or life of the player is “0”). Detected on the basis of When it is detected in step 29 that the map is not cleared and the game is not completed in step 30, the process returns to the above-described step 16 and the operations of steps 16 to 30 and later-described steps 33 to 38 are fixed. It will be repeated in a cycle.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step 18 that the LCD 11 and LCD 12 are not in the non-display period (that is, the display period), in step 33, the GPU 35 performs reading control of the V-RAM 38 at the display timing of the LCD 11. Thus, game image data for one screen obtained by combining the map image data and the moving object is sequentially read out in synchronization with the frame scanning, and the game image is displayed on the LCD 11. Subsequently, at step 34, it is determined whether display of game reference information is selected. If it is determined that the display of the information is selected, whether the game reference information to be displayed in step 35 includes both instruction information and message information (in other words, the game reference information to be displayed now) Whether or not there are a plurality of display items). If it is determined that both of them are not included, the game reference information (handling instruction information or message information bitmap data) stored in the V-RAM 39 in step 36 is sequentially read out by the GPU 36 in synchronization with the frame scanning. Is displayed on the LCD 12. On the other hand, if it is determined that both of the information are not included, the high-priority information among the game reference information stored in the V-RAM 39 in step 37 (handling instruction information and bitmap data of message information). Is read out and displayed on the LCD 12. The selection based on the priority when there are a plurality of display items may be performed at the time of the writing process, not at the time of the display process.

  In this way, a game image obtained by combining the map image and the moving object image is displayed on the LCD 11, and game reference information is displayed on the LCD 12. The player advances the game while watching one or both of the game image obtained by combining the map image displayed on the LCD 11 and the moving object image and the game reference information displayed on the LCD 12 according to the situation. The game reference information can be used so as to be advantageous for the capture of the game by favorably progressing the game play by the game image continuously displayed on the LCD 11.

  If it is determined in step 34 that display of game reference information is not selected, the process proceeds to step 38. In step 38, if there is message information related to the game to be displayed now, the CPU core 31 and the GPU 39 jointly read the message information and display it on the LCD 12.

  On the other hand, when it is detected in step 29 described above that the map clear condition has been reached, 1 is added to the count value of the map counter in step 31 and then the process returns to step 16 via step 30 to perform the same processing. Repeatedly, the display processing of the map image at the next map number (the processing of steps 16 to 30) is performed.

  Then, in the aforementioned step 21, the most suitable game reference information is selectively generated corresponding to the progress of the game image (that is, related to which coordinate position of which map number the player character is in), It will be displayed on the LCD 12 at 36 or 37. This operation is repeated at predetermined intervals during the game play, and various game reference information suitable for the game scene is displayed as the game scene changes in each map.

  Furthermore, if it is determined in the above-described step 30 that the game end condition has been reached, the process proceeds to step 31 where a game end process is performed. In the game end process, for example, data indicating the progress of the game stored in the W-RAM 37 (various data such as advanced map number, experience value, hit point, life, acquired item, etc.) is read by the CPU core 31. The data is written in the RAM 185 of the memory card 18. In this way, a series of game processing operations are completed.

  By the way, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the necessity of display of the game reference information is selected before the game is started and the game reference information is automatically displayed after the necessity of the display is selected once has been described. The technical idea of the invention is not limited to this, and the game reference information suitable for the game scene may be displayed each time a specific switch (for example, the side switch 15R) is operated. In that case, game reference information to be displayed in conjunction with (or related to) the change of the game image is prepared, and the game reference information prepared when the side switch 15R is operated is displayed. Output processing may be performed. When the game reference information is displayed by this method, the player operates the side switch 15R at a timing when the player wants to view the game reference information. Therefore, the player consciously views the screen of the LCD 12, and important game reference information is displayed. There is an advantage that can be overlooked. Further, since the game reference information that is not required by the player is not displayed, there is no need for the player to frequently pay attention to or look at the LCD 12, and there is an advantage that the player can concentrate on viewing the game image and can increase the degree of freedom of the player.

  By the way, in each of the above-described embodiments, the case where two physically separated LCDs 11 and 12 are vertically arranged (in the case of two screens) is described as an example of a liquid crystal display unit for two screens. As shown in FIG. 10, one housing 13c may be formed in a horizontally long shape so that the LCDs 11 and 12 for two screens can be accommodated in the left and right positions except for the upper housing 13a. In this case, considering that there are many right-handed users, the LCD 12 with the touch panel 16 attached is preferably arranged on the right side and the LCD 11 is arranged on the left side. However, when making a left-handed portable game device, the arrangement is reversed.

  As another arrangement example, instead of a configuration in which two physically separated LCDs 11 and 12 are vertically arranged, as shown in FIG. 11, a vertically long image having the same horizontal width and a double vertical length. By disposing a liquid crystal display unit for two screens in the vertical direction by using one size LCD (that is, one physically having two display sizes vertically), 2 You may comprise so that the map image for a screen may be displayed up and down (that is, displayed adjacently without the upper and lower boundary parts). Further, as shown in FIG. 12, a map image for two screens in the horizontal direction is displayed on the left and right using one horizontal size LCD having the same vertical width and double the horizontal length (that is, You may comprise so that it may display adjacently, without the right-and-left boundary part.

  Furthermore, in the above-described game system shown in FIGS. 1 and 10 to 12, the case of the portable game device having the LCD for two screens has been described. However, the technical idea of the present invention is not limited to this, and 2 in the lateral direction. It can also be realized by using a horizontally long home television receiver (wide TV) having a screen size (or a screen size substantially equivalent to it). In that case, instead of the portable game device, a home video game machine is used to generate image signals for two horizontal screens, display the game image on the right screen, and display the game reference information on the left screen. You can do it. As a specific configuration in this case, the V-RAM 38 and the V-RAM 39 are configured by one large memory (memory for two screens), and are read out corresponding to the scanning coordinate position of the electron beam of the wide TV. Become. In addition, the game image and the game reference information may be displayed on the left and right reversed screen.

1 is an external view of a portable game device that is one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is a block diagram of the portable game device which is one Example of this invention. 3 is a memory map schematically showing a storage area of a ROM 180. It is a figure which shows the time chart for demonstrating the principle of this invention, and the display mode of LCD11 and LCD12. The map image of an example of a game image is shown. A display example when a game image obtained by combining a map image and a moving object image is displayed on the LCD 11 and game reference information is displayed on the LCD 12 is shown. An example (part) of a flowchart of game software played using two screens is shown. An example (part) of a flowchart of game software played using two screens is shown. An example (other part) of the flowchart of the game software played using 2 screens is shown. It is an external view of the portable game device which is another game device to which this invention is applied (example in which liquid crystal display portions for two screens are arranged side by side). It is an external view of the portable game device which is the other game device (example which arrange | positioned the liquid crystal display part for 2 screens up and down, and was physically comprised with one liquid crystal display part) to which this invention is applied. FIG. 16 is an external view of a portable game device that is still another game device to which the present invention is applied (an example in which two screens of liquid crystal display units are arranged on the left and right and physically configured by one liquid crystal display unit).

Explanation of symbols

10; portable game device 11; first liquid crystal display (LCD)
12; Second liquid crystal display (LCD)
13; housing 15; operation switch 16; touch panel 18; memory card 30; electronic circuit board 31; CPU core 34; input / output interface circuit 35, 36;
37; W-RAM
38, 39; V-RAM

Claims (9)

A first display screen for displaying a game image, a second display screen for displaying information related to a game different from the game image displayed on the first display screen, and an operating means. A game program for causing a computer of a two-screen display game device to execute a game using the game program,
In the computer,
A selection step of selecting to display game reference information on the second display screen section;
A game image generation step for generating a game image that changes as the game progresses according to the operation state of the operation means;
A game reference information generating step for generating game reference information in relation to a change in the display state of the game image;
A first display processing step for displaying the game image generated by the game image generation step on the first display screen unit;
When the selection of displaying the game reference information on the second display screen in the selection step, the game reference information generated in the game reference information generation step is displayed on the second display screen. A game program for executing the second display processing step. The game reference information generation step includes, as game reference information generated in association with a change in the display state of the game image, handling instruction information of the game and one or more message information related to the content of the game image , Generated by adding priority data to the instruction information and message information,
2. The game according to claim 1, wherein in the second display processing step, one of the handling instruction information and the message information is displayed on the second display screen unit based on the priority data. program. The selection step selects to display the game reference information on the second display screen unit every time the operation means is operated,
The game reference information generation step includes a plurality of display items corresponding to each of the game screens as game reference information,
The second display processing step is included in the game reference information corresponding to the game image displayed on the first display screen unit when the display of the game reference information is selected in the selection step. The game program according to claim 1, wherein a display item is selected and displayed. In the selection step, a selection screen for determining whether or not to display game reference information for selecting whether or not to display the game reference information on the second display screen portion is displayed. A selection screen display step to be displayed on any one of the screen units; and a storage step of storing and holding that display of the game reference information is selected in the selection screen display step,
The second display processing step is selected to display the game reference information based on the fact that it is stored that the game reference information is selected in the storing step. The game program according to claim 1, wherein the game program is determined. The game reference information generating step generates a handling instruction information generating step for generating handling instruction information for the game in relation to a change in the display state of the game image, and generates one or more message information related to the contents of the game image. Message information generation step to generate, adding priority data to each of the instruction information and message information,
2. The game according to claim 1, wherein in the second display processing step, one of the handling instruction information and the message information is displayed on the second display screen unit based on the priority data. program. The message information generation step relates to a game message to be displayed for each game scene displayed on the first display screen section that changes with the progress of the game as a plurality of types of display items, and a game strategy hint. Hint message and generate
In the second display processing step, at least one of the handling instruction information, the game message, and the hint message is selected and displayed on the second display screen unit based on the priority data. The game program according to claim 5. The game reference information includes handling instruction information composed of a plurality of explanation items described in the instruction manual of the game, and display timing information for designating appropriate display timing in a series of game images for each explanation item of the handling instruction information. Is added,
The game reference information generation step generates appropriate explanation item information included in the instruction manual information based on the display timing information,
The second display processing step displays the display items corresponding to the display state of the game image displayed on the first display screen unit on the second display screen unit. The game program for portable game devices described in 1. The game reference information generation step includes a first display size data related to each display item included in the handling instruction information and a second display size related to each display item included in a plurality of types of message information. Data, and display items with a small display size have a higher priority than display items with a large display size.
In the second display processing step, based on the first display size data and the second display size data, each of the display items to be displayed among the handling explanation information and the plurality of types of message information is displayed. The game program according to claim 6, wherein a display item with a small display size is displayed on the second display screen unit so as to overlap a display item with a large display size. The operation means influences the progress of the game by instructing the moving direction of the player character.
The game image generation step includes a step of generating an image of a background screen of the game space, and a step of generating an image in which the coordinate position of the player character in the game space is changed according to the operation of the operation means. A game image is generated by combining the image with the player character image,
9. The game program according to claim 1, wherein the game reference information generation step generates game reference information linked to the progress of the game based on the coordinate position of the player character.

Images