JP2006068079A - Game program and game apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game program and a game apparatus which impart a special effect to an optional object without being restricted by color information. <P>SOLUTION: The program consists of: a procedure of requesting special effect processing to an image of a prescribed object 30; a procedure of instructing independent rendering of the object 30 in a form of being separated from the other objects 32 from a three-dimensional virtual space; a procedure of rendering only the object to which the special effect processing is requested in the separated form to obtain a first projection image PC1; a procedure of rendering the objects 32 other than the object to which the special effect processing is requested in the separated form to obtain a second projection image PC2; a procedure of carrying out the special effect processing to the first projection image PC1 to generate a processed projection image PC12; and a procedure of synthesizing the processed projection image PC12 and the second projection image PC2 to generate and obtain a synthesized image PC3 and displaying it on a monitor 9. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

    The present invention relates to a game program and a game apparatus that can give special effects such as blur processing and transparency processing to a three-dimensional object such as a character in real time.

    Conventionally, in this type of game program, a technique is known in which an image of a portion where the alpha value indicating transparency is a predetermined value or less is extracted from a one-frame game screen, and blur processing is performed on the extracted image. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-216964 A (pages 3 to 4)

    However, in this method, it is necessary to extract an image to which a special effect such as blur processing is added from color information such as an alpha value of a pixel constituting the extracted image, and a specific character or the like is extracted from the two-dimensional image. In order to give a special effect such as blur processing to a character, the alpha value (other color information such as R, G, B, etc.) of the character is set to a predetermined value, and the set It is necessary to extract the corresponding character image from the game image using the alpha value as a guide.

    In this case, for example, an alpha value setting restriction occurs in the expression of the character image in the game image, and there is a problem that free expression cannot be performed.

    In view of the above-described circumstances, the present invention can give a special effect to an arbitrary object constituting a game image without being limited to color information such as alpha value, R, G, and B value. It is an object of the present invention to provide a game program and a game device.

The invention of claim 1 provides the computer (16) with:
An object placement procedure for placing a plurality of objects (30, 32) in a three-dimensional virtual space generated in the memory (3);
Projection image generation procedure for setting a viewpoint coordinate system (33) based on the viewpoint position (VP) set in the three-dimensional virtual space, rendering the object, and generating and acquiring a projection image (PC) of the object ,
A special effect processing request procedure for requesting to perform special effect processing on an image of one or more objects (30) among the plurality of objects, and
Instructing the projection image generation procedure to render the object (30) required for the special effect processing independently from the other object (32) from the three-dimensional virtual space. Separate rendering command procedure,
Is a program for executing
Further, the projection image generation procedure includes:
Of the objects arranged in the three-dimensional virtual space, only the object for which the special effect processing is requested is rendered in a separated form, and the first projection image (PC1) is acquired and stored in the memory (3). A first projection image acquisition procedure, and
Among the objects arranged in the three-dimensional virtual space, the object (32) other than the object for which the special effect processing is requested is rendered, and a second projection image (PC2) is obtained and stored in the memory (5). A second projection image acquisition procedure for storing,
Further, the game program is stored in a computer.
A special effect processing execution procedure for performing the requested special effect processing on the first projection image (PC1) to generate a processed projection image (PC12);
A composite image generation procedure for generating and acquiring a composite image (PC3) by combining the processed projection image (PC12) and the second projection image (PC2); and
A display procedure for displaying the composite image on the monitor (9);
The program is configured to execute the above.

    According to a second aspect of the present invention, an object for which special effect processing is required by the special effect processing request procedure is a high-speed moving object (30) set so as to move at high speed in the three-dimensional virtual space. It is configured as a feature.

The invention of claim 3 is an object placement means for placing a plurality of objects in a three-dimensional virtual space generated in a memory,
A projection image generation unit that sets a viewpoint coordinate system with reference to the viewpoint position set in the three-dimensional virtual space, renders the object, and generates and acquires a projection image of the object;
Special effect processing requesting means for requesting special effect processing to be performed on an image of one or more objects among the plurality of objects; and
Separate rendering command means for instructing the projection image generating means to independently render the object requested for the special effect processing in a form separated from other objects from the three-dimensional virtual space;
Have
Further, the projection image generating means includes
Obtaining a first projection image obtained by rendering only the object for which special effect processing is requested among the objects arranged in the three-dimensional virtual space, and obtaining the first projection image and storing it in a memory Means and
A second projection image acquisition means for rendering an object other than the object requested for the special effect processing among the objects arranged in the three-dimensional virtual space, acquiring a second projection image, and storing the second projection image in a memory; Have
Further, special effect processing execution means for performing the requested special effect processing on the first projection image to generate a processed projection image,
A synthesized image generating means for generating and obtaining a synthesized image by synthesizing the processed projection image and the second projected image; and
Display means for displaying the composite image on the monitor;
It is comprised as a game device which has.

    According to the first and third aspects of the present invention, the object for which special effect processing is requested is instructed to be rendered independently from the other object from the three-dimensional virtual space, and based on this instruction, A first projection image is obtained by rendering only the objects required for special effect processing from among the objects arranged in the three-dimensional virtual space, and further arranged in the three-dimensional virtual space. Among the objects, objects other than the objects for which special effect processing is requested are rendered separately to generate a second projection image.

    As a result, the image on which the special effect processing is to be executed can be extracted from the three-dimensional virtual space in the form of an object and obtained directly from the object arranged in the three-dimensional virtual space as the first projection image. Therefore, it is not necessary to obtain an image to be subjected to special effect processing from a two-dimensional image based on color information such as alpha value, R, G, and B value. There is no need to place restrictions on color information, and free expression is possible.

    Further, since the special effect processing is performed only on the first projection image, an image of the object to be subjected to the special effect processing is not generated in the second projection image. And the second projected image can be combined without being affected by the unprocessed image of the object to be subjected to the special effect processing, which is projected onto the second projected image. As a result, the processed projection image subjected to the special effect processing can be accurately reflected in the composite image, and a game program capable of high-quality image processing can be provided.

    According to the first and third aspects of the invention, by applying the present invention to a high-speed moving object set so as to move at high speed in the three-dimensional virtual space, special effect processing such as blur processing can be performed. This is performed for each frame, that is, for each frame displayed on the monitor 9, and it is possible to eliminate the use of the images constituting the preceding and following frames in the special effect processing of the image. Therefore, even if a large position change occurs in the object to which special effect processing is to be performed in the preceding and following frames, special effect processing (particularly, blur processing executed by overlapping successive frames) Can be eliminated, and a high-quality game program (GPR) can be provided.

    Note that the numbers in parentheses are for the sake of convenience indicating the corresponding elements in the drawings, and therefore the present description is not limited to the descriptions on the drawings.

    Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of a game machine to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2A is a diagram showing an example of an object arranged in a three-dimensional virtual space, and FIG. The figure which selectively rendered only the object of the character in the three-dimensional virtual space, (c) is the figure which selectively rendered only the background object in the three-dimensional virtual space of (a), and FIG. The figure which shows an example of the state which performed the blur process as a special effect with respect to the image of a character, (b) is a figure which shows an example of the image which synthesize | combined the image of the character to which the blur process was performed, and the image of a background object 4 is a diagram showing an example of an image when each object on the field in FIG. 2A is rendered by a normal method, and FIG. 5 is an example of a flowchart for applying a special effect to a specific object. .

    As shown in FIG. 1, the game apparatus 20 executes a predetermined game in accordance with a game program such as an adventure game recorded on a ROM disk 15 as a recording medium. The game apparatus 20 includes a CPU 1 mainly composed of a microprocessor, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 2 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 3, an image processing apparatus 4 and a sound processing apparatus as main storage devices for the CPU 1. 6, buffers 5 and 7 for these devices, and a ROM disk reader 8. In the ROM 2, an operating system is written as a program necessary for overall operation control of the game machine. In the RAM 3, a game program and data read from the ROM disk 15 as a storage medium are written as necessary. The image processing device 4 receives the image data from the CPU 1 and draws the game screen on the frame buffer 5, converts the drawn image data into a predetermined video reproduction signal, and outputs it to the monitor 9 at a predetermined timing. . The sound processing device 6 reproduces data such as voice and musical sound, sound source data, and the like read from the ROM disk 15 and recorded in the sound buffer 7 and outputs them from the speaker 10. The ROM disk reader 8 reads a program or data recorded on the ROM disk 15 in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 1 and outputs a signal corresponding to the read content. The ROM disk 15 stores programs and data necessary for game execution. The monitor 9 generally uses a home television receiver, and the speaker 10 generally uses a built-in speaker of the television receiver.

    Further, a communication control device 11 is connected to the CPU 1 via a bus 14, and a controller 12 and an auxiliary storage device 13 as input devices are detachably connected to the device 11 via appropriate connection ports. The controller 12 functions as an input device, and is provided with operation members such as operation keys for accepting operations by the player. The communication control device 11 scans the operation state of the controller 12 at a constant cycle (for example, 1/60 seconds), and outputs a signal corresponding to the scanning result to the CPU 1. The CPU 1 determines the operation state of the controller 12 based on the signal. A plurality of controllers 12 and auxiliary storage devices 13 can be connected to the communication control device 11 in parallel.

    In the above configuration, the other components excluding the monitor 9, the speaker 10, the controller 12, the ROM disk 15, and the auxiliary storage device 13 are integrally accommodated in a predetermined housing to constitute the game machine body 16. The game machine body 16 functions as a computer.

    Stored on the ROM disk 15 are game programs GPR such as action games, role-playing games, and adventure games in which the games progress according to a predetermined scenario.

    In the game apparatus 20, when a predetermined initialization operation (for example, a power-on operation) is performed, the CPU 1 first executes a predetermined initialization process according to the program in the ROM 2. When initialization is completed, the CPU 1 starts reading the game program GPR stored on the ROM disk 15, and starts game processing according to the program. When the player performs a predetermined game start operation on the controller 12 which is an input device, the CPU 1 starts various processes necessary for executing the game according to the procedure of the game program GPR based on the instruction.

    Thereafter, the game apparatus 20 performs a predetermined process according to the read game program GPR, performs display control of an image displayed on the monitor 9, and performs progress control of a predetermined scenario.

    In the game device 20 having the above-described configuration, games of various genres can be played on the screen of the display 9 by loading the program recorded on the ROM disk 15 into the RAM 3 and executing it by the CPU 1.

  In addition, as a computer for functioning the game program according to the present invention, for example, the game machine 1 as a home game machine has been described as an example. However, the game machine 1 may be a so-called portable game machine, It is not limited to a game-dedicated device, and may be a device capable of playing back general music and video recording media. The present invention is not limited to this, and as a computer, for example, a personal computer, a mobile phone, etc. Any one can be used.

  As long as various programs and various data constituting the game program GPR can be read out by the program function of the game program GPR, the storage mode is arbitrary, and as in the present embodiment, the game In addition to being stored in the ROM disk 15 together with the program GPR program, it is stored in an external memory means such as a server independent of the game machine 1, and the reading program provided in the game program GPR is used to You may comprise so that it may download to memory, such as RAM3, via a communication mediation means.

    As shown in FIG. 2, the game by the game program GPR is performed by the player on the field FLD set in the three-dimensional virtual space 31 generated by the CPU 1 in the RAM 3 by the field generation program FPP of the game program GPR. The game is set as a so-called action game in which a maneuverable character 30 is moved via the controller 12 and an enemy is defeated to perform a predetermined mission. The character 30 is composed of a three-dimensional polygon model composed of three-dimensional polygons.

    These field FLD and character 30 command the generation to the field generation program FPP and the character generation program CPP according to the scenario development of the game that is controlled by the scenario development program SDP of the game program GPR via the CPU 1. The field generation program FPP and the character generation program CPP are appropriately generated and arranged in the three-dimensional virtual space 31 in the RAM 3 via the CPU 1 based on various data stored in the data file of the game program GPR.

    In the game program GPR shown in FIG. 1, only the software elements related to the present invention constituting the game program GPR are described, and the game program GPR includes those other than those described in FIG. In addition, various programs and data necessary for executing a game using the game program GPR are stored.

    On the field FLD of the three-dimensional virtual space 31, the CPU 1 uses the background processing program BTP of the game program GPR to model trees, rocks, ground, etc. using polygons as shown in FIG. And have arranged.

    It should be noted that the number of characters 30 including operation characters that can be operated via the controller 12, the number of individual trees, rocks, and other models constituting the background object 32, and their configuration modes, as well as their three-dimensional virtual space The arrangement position in 31 is completely arbitrary, and can be variously modified.

    Thus, when the character 30 and the background object 32 are arranged on the field FLD of the three-dimensional virtual space 31, a predetermined scenario is controlled in the game via the CPU 1 based on the scenario development program SDP of the game program GPR. As the game progresses.

    The video of the character 30 and the background object 32 in the three-dimensional virtual space 31 is controlled by the scenario development program SDP via the CPU 1, and the image generation program PIP is controlled by the scenario development program SDP in the three-dimensional virtual space 31. By instructing to generate an image to be displayed on the monitor 9 based on the viewpoint VP set at an appropriate coordinate position, it is generated as will be described later. In response to this, the image generation program PIP sets the viewpoint coordinate system 33 on the basis of the viewpoint VP position in the three-dimensional virtual space 31 as shown in FIG. 2, and is predetermined in the Z-axis direction from the viewpoint VP position. The projection plane 35 is set at a position separated by the distance L1.

    The image generation program PIP sets a front clipping plane 36 at a distance L2 from the viewpoint VP and a rear clipping plane 37 at a distance L3 in the Z-axis direction of the viewpoint coordinate system 33. The aforementioned projection plane 35 is set at an appropriate distance L1 between the planes 37. Then, a space area sandwiched between the front clipping plane 36 and the rear clipping plane 37 is set as a view volume 38, and an object existing in the three-dimensional virtual space 31 included in the view volume 38 is projected onto the projection plane 35. Thus, the image PC is generated.

    The image generation program PIP uses the CPU 1 and the image processing device 4 to publicize all the objects of the characters 30 and the background objects 32 that are located in the view volume 38 of the three-dimensional virtual space 31 on the projection plane 35. Rendering is performed using the Z buffer method or the like, and the frame buffer 5 is generated as an image PC for one frame to be displayed on the monitor 9 as shown in FIG.

    Normally, the image CP generated in the frame buffer 5 by the image generation program PIP is acquired by the Z buffer method for all characters 30 and background objects 32 existing in the view volume 38 from the viewpoint VP on the field FLD. It is a picture.

    On the other hand, in the scenario development, an image of one or more appropriate objects in the three-dimensional virtual space 31, for example, an object of the character 30 (an image of any object arranged in the three-dimensional virtual space 31 may be used). On the other hand, it may be necessary to selectively give special effects such as blur processing and transparency processing to the objects in the other three-dimensional virtual space 31 and display them on the monitor 9. In such a case, the scenario development program SDP executes the special effect processing for the object that is instructed to give a special effect in the scenario to the special effect processing program SEF constituting the game program GPR via the CPU 1. A request is made (step S1 in FIG. 5).

    In response to this, the special effect processing program SEF is requested from the scenario development program SDP to render the image generation program PIP in the view volume 38 of the three-dimensional virtual space 31 from the viewpoint VP to the image generation program PIP. It is instructed to independently render the object to be subjected to special effect processing and an object other than the object (step S2 in FIG. 5).

    An object on the field FLD (usually a polygon model made up of one or more polygons) is distinguished for each object of the character 30 and each background object (polygon model) such as trees, rocks, and ground as backgrounds. Are managed by the character control program CCP and the background processing program BTP. Therefore, the processing for rendering the object subjected to the special effect processing on the object 35 arranged in the three-dimensional virtual space 31 by the image generation program PIP on the projection plane 35 in a form separated from the other objects is the special effect processing. The object (polygon model) can be easily obtained by referring to the data constituting each object without performing a special process for distinguishing the object from other objects. I can do it.

    In this way, for the plurality of objects arranged in the view volume 38 of the three-dimensional virtual space 31 by the image generation program PIP, the object instructed to perform special effect processing by the CPU 1 and the image processing device 4 and the others Are rendered on the projection surface 35 in a separated form, the rendered projection image PC is an object for which special effect processing is instructed, as shown in FIG. In the case of the example, the projection image PC1 of the object about the character 30 and the projection obtained by rendering the remaining objects excluding the object instructed to perform the special effect processing from the view volume 37 as shown in FIG. It is composed of an image PC2. The obtained projection images PC1 and PC2 are sent from the image generation program PIP to the appropriate area in the RAM 2 for the projection image PC1 and the frame buffer 5 for the projection image PC2 via the CPU 1 and the image processing device 4. (It may be stored in an appropriate area in the RAM 3) (step S3 in FIG. 5).

    The special effect processing program SEF is a blur process or transparency process specified by the scenario development program SDP via the CPU 1 for the projection image PC1 stored in the RAM 2 for the object for which the special effect process is requested. However, since the projection image PC1 is an image in which only the object for which the special effect processing is requested is rendered from the three-dimensional virtual space 31, the projection image of other objects arranged in the three-dimensional virtual space 31 As shown in FIG. 3A, the predetermined special effect processing can be effectively executed on the projection image PC2 without any influence on the PC2 (step S4 in FIG. 5).

    In this way, special effect processing such as blur processing and transparency processing on the projection image PC1 of the character 30 that is the object for which special effect processing is requested, stored in the RAM 2, is performed via the CPU 1 by the special effect processing program SEF. When the processed and processed projection image PC12 is obtained, the special effect processing program SEF obtains the obtained projection image PC12 from the projection image PC2 stored in the frame buffer 5 separately from the projection image PC1. The combined image PC3 shown in FIG. 3B is obtained (step S5 in FIG. 6).

    This image PC3 is obtained by synthesizing the projection image PC2 rendered by the image generation program PIP and the projection image P12 that has undergone the special effect processing with respect to the object excluding the object for which the special effect processing is requested. At the time of synthesis, an image of the character 30 remaining in the projection image PC2 that has not been subjected to special effect processing (this example does not exist in the present embodiment, but special effect processing is required when the conventional technique is used. May be rendered without being subjected to special effect processing and may remain as image PC2) adversely affects composite image PC3 after synthesis, and the special effect processing may be reduced. Occurrence can be prevented in advance.

    Thus, when the image P2 and the special effect processed image PC12 are combined in the frame buffer 5 to generate the combined image PC3, the image generation program PIP causes the monitor 9 to be connected to the monitor 9 via the CPU1 and the image processing device 4. The composite image PC3 is displayed (step S6 in FIG. 6).

    The technique described in the present invention is such that an object in the three-dimensional virtual space to which special effect processing is performed moves at high speed in the three-dimensional virtual space 31 such as a fast-moving character 30 or a vehicle model. When the object is a high-speed moving object set to the above, a special effect process such as a blur process is performed for each frame, that is, for each frame displayed on the monitor 9, and the previous and next frames are configured. The image is not used for special effect processing of the image. Therefore, even if a large position change occurs in the object to which special effect processing is to be performed in the preceding and following frames, special effect processing (particularly, blur processing executed by overlapping successive frames) Can be eliminated, and a high-quality game program GPR can be provided.

    In the above embodiment, the CPU 1 constitutes a game control device, and various means of the game control device are constituted by a combination of the CPU 1 and specific software. At least a part of these means is a logic circuit. It may be replaced. The present invention is not limited to a home game system, and may be configured as a game system of various scales.

    The present invention can be used as an electronic game device using a computer and an entertainment game program to be executed by the computer.

FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of a game machine to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating an example of an object arranged in the three-dimensional virtual space, FIG. 2B is a diagram in which only the character object in the three-dimensional virtual space of FIG. FIG. 7C is a diagram in which only a background object in the three-dimensional virtual space of FIG. FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating an example of a state in which blur processing as a special effect is performed on a character image, and FIG. 3B is an image in which an image of a character subjected to blur processing and an image of a background object are combined. The figure which shows an example. FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of an image when each object on the field of FIG. 2A is rendered by a normal method. FIG. 5 is an example of a flowchart for applying a special effect to a specific object.

Explanation of symbols

3. Memory (RAM)
5. Memory (frame buffer)
9 …… Monitor 12 …… Controller 16 …… Computer (Game console)
20 …… Game device 30 …… Object (character)
32 …… Background object 33 …… View point coordinate system VP …… View point PC1 …… First projection image PC12 …… Processed projection image PC2 …… Second projection image PC3 …… Composite image

Claims (3)

On the computer,
An object placement procedure for placing a plurality of objects in a three-dimensional virtual space generated in the memory;
A projection image generation procedure for setting a viewpoint coordinate system based on the viewpoint position set in the three-dimensional virtual space, rendering the object, and generating and acquiring a projection image of the object;
A special effect processing request procedure for requesting to perform special effect processing on an image of one or more objects among the plurality of objects; and
A separate rendering instruction procedure for instructing the projection image generation procedure to independently render the object requested for the special effect processing in a form separated from other objects from the three-dimensional virtual space;
Is a program for executing
Further, the projection image generation procedure includes:
Obtaining a first projection image obtained by rendering only the object for which special effect processing is requested among the objects arranged in the three-dimensional virtual space, and obtaining the first projection image and storing it in a memory Procedures and
A second projection image acquisition procedure for rendering an object other than the object requested for the special effect processing among the objects arranged in the three-dimensional virtual space, acquiring a second projection image, and storing the second projection image in a memory; Have
Further, the game program is stored in a computer.
A special effect processing execution procedure for performing the requested special effect processing on the first projection image to generate a processed projection image;
A composite image generation procedure for combining the processed projection image and the second projection image to generate and acquire a composite image; and
A display procedure for displaying the composite image on the monitor;
A game program for executing the game. The object of which special effect processing is requested by the special effect processing request procedure is a high-speed moving object set so as to move at high speed in the three-dimensional virtual space. Game program. An object placement means for placing a plurality of objects in the three-dimensional virtual space generated in the memory;
A projection image generation unit that sets a viewpoint coordinate system with reference to the viewpoint position set in the three-dimensional virtual space, renders the object, and generates and acquires a projection image of the object;
Special effect processing requesting means for requesting special effect processing to be performed on an image of one or more objects among the plurality of objects; and
Separate rendering command means for instructing the projection image generating means to independently render the object requested for the special effect processing in a form separated from other objects from the three-dimensional virtual space;
Have
Further, the projection image generating means includes
Obtaining a first projection image obtained by rendering only the object for which special effect processing is requested among the objects arranged in the three-dimensional virtual space, and obtaining the first projection image and storing it in a memory Means and
A second projection image acquisition means for rendering an object other than the object requested for the special effect processing among the objects arranged in the three-dimensional virtual space, acquiring a second projection image, and storing the second projection image in a memory; Have
Further, special effect processing execution means for performing the requested special effect processing on the first projection image to generate a processed projection image,
A synthesized image generating means for generating and obtaining a synthesized image by synthesizing the processed projection image and the second projected image; and
Display means for displaying the composite image on the monitor;
A game device having

Images