JP2000185179A - Image processor and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor capable of visually recognizing well both a three-dimensional object and a two dimensional object on a display screen relative to the overlapped part, when the three-dimensional object based on three-dimensional image data overlaps the two-dimensional object based on two-dimensional image data. SOLUTION: This image processor comprises a data transforming means for transforming (S1) image data of a predetermined three-dimensional object from three dimensions into two dimensions, a means to judge overlapping for judging (S2) based on the image data of the predetermined two-dimensional object and the image data transformed by the data transforming means as to whether the predetermined three-dimensional object and the predetermined two-dimensional object will overlap on the display screen or not, and a processing means to make the image data of the two-dimensional object translucent (S4) when judged by the judging means that they will overlap each other.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention processes three-dimensional image data and two-dimensional image data used in, for example, a video game device to generate an arbitrary number of three-dimensional objects and two-dimensional objects, respectively. The present invention relates to an image processing device for displaying on the same display screen, and a recording medium storing a program for controlling the image processing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the progress of video game devices,
Since a three-dimensional virtual space can be three-dimensionally displayed on a display screen, development of so-called 3D game software has been actively conducted.

[0003] Among such 3D game software, for example, in the case of a fighting game, a hero character, an enemy character, and a cockpit gauge indicating various information such as the current power of each character are displayed on one display screen. Displayed at the same time. However, since each character frequently moves for a fight and changes its posture, the character and the cockpit gauge sometimes overlap.

[0004] When the character and the cockpit gauge overlap in this way, a part of the character is hidden by the cockpit gauge, which hinders the operation of the player and, at the same time, remarkably distracts the player.

[0005] By the way, there has been proposed a technique of transmitting an obstacle when a character is hidden behind the obstacle (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-50541). However, this technique cannot be applied when both the character and the obstacle have three-dimensional image data and the character and the cockpit gauge overlap as described above.

That is, since the character is three-dimensional image data, whereas the cockpit gauge is two-dimensional image data, the overlap cannot be determined even if the above technique is applied.

On the other hand, when the base screen is hidden by the window screen, a technique for transparently displaying a portion of the base screen hidden by the window screen has been proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-205).
127,860). However, this technique cannot be applied to the case where the character and the cockpit gauge overlap as described above since both the base screen and the window screen have two-dimensional image data.

[0008]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been conceived under the circumstances described above, and provides a three-dimensional object based on three-dimensional image data and a two-dimensional object based on two-dimensional image data on a display screen. And when they overlap, 3
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus capable of visually recognizing both a two-dimensional object and a two-dimensional object, and a recording medium storing a program for controlling the image processing apparatus.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides:
The following technical measures have been taken:

According to the first aspect of the present invention, three-dimensional image data and two-dimensional image data are processed to display an arbitrary number of three-dimensional objects and two-dimensional objects on the same display screen. An image processing apparatus for converting image data of a predetermined three-dimensional object from three-dimensional to two-dimensional; and converting the image data of the predetermined two-dimensional object and the image data converted by the data converting means. Based on the given 3
Overlap determining means for determining whether a two-dimensional object and a predetermined two-dimensional object overlap on the display screen; and when the overlap determining means determines that the two-dimensional object overlaps, the image data of the predetermined two-dimensional object is translucent. An image processing apparatus comprising: a translucent means for performing processing.

The image processing apparatus can be incorporated in, for example, a dedicated video game apparatus, but is not limited thereto, and may be incorporated in a personal computer.

The data conversion means, the overlap judgment means, and the translucency means may be realized by hardware using a logic circuit, or by a CPU (central processing unit) operating based on a predetermined program. You may.

[0013] According to a preferred embodiment, the overlap judging means determines the position of each representative point of the plurality of portions of the three-dimensional object, the size of the two-dimensional object, and the position coordinates of the representative point. To determine the overlap.

[0014] According to another preferred embodiment, the three-dimensional object is a character appearing in a game, and the two-dimensional object is a cockpit gauge indicating various information related to the character.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, three-dimensional image data and two-dimensional image data are processed to display arbitrary numbers of three-dimensional objects and two-dimensional objects on the same display screen. A data conversion program for converting image data of a predetermined three-dimensional object from three-dimensional to two-dimensional; and a storage medium storing a program for controlling an image processing device to be processed. An overlap determination program for determining whether a predetermined three-dimensional object and a predetermined two-dimensional object overlap on a display screen based on the image data and the image data converted by the data conversion program; A program including a translucent program for performing translucent processing on image data of a predetermined two-dimensional object when it is determined by the program that the two-dimensional object overlaps is stored. Characterized the door, the recording medium is provided.

As a recording medium, a mask ROM (read o
nly memory), PROM (programmable read only mem)
ory), EPROM (erasable and programmable read)
only memory), EEPROM (electrically erasabl)
e and programmable read only memory) and volatile memory such as RAM (random access memory) backed up by a rechargeable battery, etc., but are not limited to these. No CD-ROM (compact diskread onl
y memory), a flexible disk, or a hard disk.

The data conversion program, the overlap judging program, and the translucent program need not necessarily be clearly distinguishable in the state of the program list, and may be completely integrated.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram of a video game device employing an image processing device according to the present invention. The video game device includes a game device body 1, a display device 2,
An arbitrary number of speakers 3 and an operation unit 4 are provided.

The game apparatus body 1 supplies an image signal to be displayed on the display screen to the display device 2 based on an operation signal from the operation section 4 and a game program, and provides voice guidance, music, and sound effects. A signal to be generated is supplied to the speaker 3.

The display device 2 is a CRT (cathode-ray tub).
e) or an LCD (liquid crystal display), and displays a moving image of the game on a display screen based on a signal from the game apparatus body 1.

The speaker 3 generates voice guidance, music, and sound effects for the game based on a signal from the game apparatus main body 1.

The operation unit 4 includes an arbitrary number of joysticks and operation keys, and supplies an operation signal corresponding to a player's operation to the game apparatus main body 1.

The game apparatus body 1 includes a CPU 5, a ROM
6, RAM 7, interface circuit 8, sound generation circuit 9, polygon data ROM 10, geometry engine 1
1, 2D data processing circuit 12, texture data ROM
13, rendering engine 14, frame buffer 1
5, image composition circuit 16, and texture map RAM
17 is provided. The CPU 5, the ROM 6, the RAM 7, the interface circuit 8, the audio generation circuit 9, the geometry engine 11, and the 2D data processing circuit 12 are mutually connected by a bus line. The bus lines include a data bus, an address bus, and a control signal line.

The CPU 5 controls the entire game device body 1.

The ROM 6 stores a program for operating the CPU 5 to advance the game.

The RAM 7 provides the CPU 5 with a work area.

The interface circuit 8 supplies an operation signal from the operation section 4 to the CPU 5 as appropriate.

The sound generation circuit 9 includes an amplifier.
The audio signal is supplied to the speaker 3 under the control of the game apparatus body 1.

The polygon data ROM 10 stores polygon data for displaying a character as a three-dimensional object on the display screen of the display device 2.

The geometry engine 11 is controlled by the CPU 5 to read polygon data from the polygon data ROM 10, perform geometric processing such as modeling conversion, shading processing, viewpoint conversion, and perspective conversion, and render the processed image data. Supply to the engine 14.

The 2D data processing circuit 12 is controlled by the CPU 5 to generate image data for displaying a cockpit gauge as a two-dimensional object on the display screen of the display device 2 and supply the image data to the image synthesizing circuit 16.

The texture data ROM 13 stores data necessary for texture processing.

The rendering engine 14 performs scanning line decomposition and image processing on the image data from the geometry engine 11.
Raster processing such as hidden surface elimination and texture processing is performed, and the processed image data is supplied to the frame buffer 15. At the time of the texture processing, the data from the texture data ROM 13 is referred to, and the texture map R
Texture mapping is performed using AM17. In the present embodiment, the Z-buffer method is employed for polygon rendering, and a Z-buffer is required for erasing hidden surfaces, but is not shown.

The frame buffer 15 has a buffer memory for storing image data from the rendering engine 14 for two frames. When the image data stored in one of the buffer memories is being read out by the image synthesizing circuit 16, Then, the image data from the rendering engine 14 is written to the other buffer memory.

The image synthesizing circuit 16 includes a D / A converter, and synthesizes and synthesizes image data such as characters from the frame buffer 15 and image data of a cockpit gauge from the 2D data processing circuit 12. The image data is supplied to the display device 2.

The texture map RAM 17 is used when the rendering engine 14 performs texture mapping.

Next, the main points of the operation of the video game device will be described. In the video game, the CPU 5
It operates based on the programs and data stored in M6, and controls the audio generation circuit 9, the geometry engine 11, and the 2D data processing circuit 12 according to an operation signal from the operation unit 4 by a player's operation. proceed.

That is, image data of a three-dimensional object such as a character is processed by the geometry engine 11 and the rendering engine 14, and the frame buffer 1
5 is supplied to the image synthesizing circuit 16. On the other hand, image data of a two-dimensional object such as a cockpit gauge is processed by a 2D data processing circuit 12 and supplied to an image synthesizing circuit 16. Then, the image data of the three-dimensional object and the image data of the two-dimensional object are combined by the image combining circuit 16, supplied to the display device 2, and displayed on the display screen of the display device 2. Such processing is, for example, 1
By repeating the process every / 30 seconds or 1/60 seconds, a moving image of the fighting game is displayed on the display screen of the display device 2.

At this time, on the display screen of the display device 2, there is a case where the character and the cockpit gauge overlap due to the movement of the character. In this case, the CPU 5 performs a translucent process on the image data of the cockpit gauge,
Prevents some characters from being hidden behind the cockpit gauge. Details of the visualization processing by the CPU 5 will be described later.

The voice generation circuit 9 is controlled by the CPU 5 to generate a voice signal of a voice guidance, a music, or a sound effect of the game in conformity with the content displayed on the display screen of the display device 2, and generate the voice signal. The speaker 3 is driven by the signal.

That is, the CPU 5 operates based on a program stored in the ROM 6 to realize data conversion means for converting image data of a predetermined three-dimensional object from three-dimensional to two-dimensional.

The CPU 5 operates on the basis of the program stored in the ROM 6 to obtain a predetermined three-dimensional object based on the image data of the predetermined two-dimensional object and the image data converted by the data conversion means. And a predetermined two-dimensional object on the display screen.

The CPU 5 operates on the basis of the program stored in the ROM 6 so that, when it is judged by the overlap judging means that they overlap, the CPU 5 performs a semi-transparency process on the image data of the predetermined two-dimensional object. It realizes transparency means.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of the visualization processing by the CPU 5. First, the CPU 5
The three-dimensional image data representing the character is converted into two-dimensional image data (S1).

Next, the CPU 5 displays the character and the cockpit gauge on the display screen of the display device 2 based on the two-dimensional image data representing the character converted in step S1 and the two-dimensional image data representing the cockpit gauge. It is determined whether or not they overlap (S2). Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, three representative points 21 a, 21 b, and 21 of the character 21 on the display screen 2 a of the display device 2.
Based on the position coordinates of 21c, the position coordinates of one representative point 22a of the cockpit gauge 22, and the size of the cockpit gauge 22, it is determined by calculation whether or not the character 21 and the cockpit gauge 22 overlap. Representative point 2
1a is located near the center of the head of the character 21. The representative point 21b is located near the center of the torso of the character 21. The representative point 21c is located near the knee of one leg of the character 21.

Since the cockpit gauge 22 is rectangular, the area of the cockpit gauge 22 on the display screen 2a can be accurately determined based on the size and the position coordinates of the representative point 22a. Therefore, if at least a part of a line connecting the position coordinates of the three representative points 21a, 21b, and 21c of the character 21 sequentially exists in the area of the cockpit gauge 22, the character 21 and the cockpit gauge 2
2 can be determined to overlap. Furthermore, the character 21
By imagining a circle centered on the position coordinates of the three representative points 21a, 21b, and 21c, it is determined whether at least a part of the circle exists in the area of the cockpit gauge 22. And the cockpit gauge 22 can be determined to some extent accurately.

The overlap between the character 23 and the cockpit gauge 24 is also determined by the CPU 5 in a similar procedure.
That is, on the display screen 2a of the display device 2, the position coordinates of the three representative points 23a, 23b, and 23c of the character 23 and one representative point 24a of the cockpit gauge 24
It is determined by calculation based on the position coordinates and the size of the cockpit gauge 24 whether or not the character 23 and the cockpit gauge 24 overlap.

Next, the CPU 5 determines whether the character 21 and the cockpit gauge 22 or the character 23 and the cockpit gauge 24 overlap each other (S
3). Specifically, the CPU 5 determines whether the character 21 and the cockpit gauge 22 or the character 23 and the cockpit gauge 2 are based on the calculation result in step S2.
4 is checked on the display screen 2a.

The character 21 and the cockpit gauge 22,
Alternatively, if it is determined that the character 23 and the cockpit gauge 24 overlap (S3: YES), the CPU 5 performs a translucent process on the image data of the cockpit gauge 22 or the cockpit gauge 24, and ends this routine. (S4).

The image data of the cockpit gauge 22 that has been subjected to the translucent processing by the CPU 5 is supplied to the 2D data processing circuit 12 and is replaced with the original image data of the cockpit gauge 22 that has not been subjected to the translucent processing. .

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, if the character 21 and the cockpit gauge 22 overlap, the image data of the cockpit gauge 22 is subjected to a translucent process, so that the display content of the cockpit gauge 22 and the character 21 are displayed. Is made visible to the player.

As an example of the translucent processing, for example,
Assuming that the color data of the cockpit gauge 22 is A, the color data of the image overlapping the cockpit gauge 22 is B, and the predetermined mixture ratio is C, the result of calculation by the following equation 1 is set as new color data of the cockpit gauge 22. By performing this operation for each color data of red, green, and blue for all the pixels of the cockpit gauge 22, the entire cockpit gauge 22 can be made translucent.

[0055]

(Equation 1)

If it is determined in step S3 that the character 21 and the cockpit gauge 22 or the character 23 and the cockpit gauge 24 do not overlap (S3:
NO), this routine ends because it is not necessary to perform the translucent processing.

As described above, when, for example, the character 21 and the cockpit gauge 22 overlap on the display screen 2a of the display device 2, the cockpit gauge 22 is made translucent. Both the entire character 21 and the character 21 can be visually recognized well. Therefore, the operation is not hindered for the player, and the player is not significantly disinterested.

In the above embodiment, the data conversion, the overlap judgment, and the translucency processing in the visualization processing are executed by the CPU 5, but all or a part of these processings are executed by the 2D data processing circuit 12. May be configured.

In the above embodiment, the CPU 5
Separately, the geometry engine 11, the 2D data processing circuit 12, the rendering engine 14, and the like are provided. However, the configuration may be such that the CPU 5 performs a part or all of the processing by the geometry engine 11, the rendering engine 14, and the like. Good. That is, the sharing between the processing by the hardware and the processing by the software depends on the CP.
What is necessary is just to determine suitably according to the processing performance of U5.

Further, in the above embodiment, the translucent processing is realized by the calculation using the above equation 1, but the specific contents of the translucent processing are not particularly limited. A small area consisting of a predetermined number of pixels is defined as one area unit,
Translucency may be realized by displaying the area unit of the dimensional object in a checkered pattern.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the character 21 and the cockpit gauge 22 overlap in the fighting game has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the video game device, and the three-dimensional object and the two-dimensional object may be overlapped. Apparatuses that may be displayed on the same display screen can be widely adopted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram of a video game device employing an image processing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a CP provided in the video game device shown in FIG. 1;
9 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a visualization process by U.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of display contents of a display device provided in the video game device shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of display contents of a display device provided in the video game device shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Game device main body 2 Display device 3 Speaker 4 Operation part 5 CPU 6 ROM 7 RAM 8 Interface circuit 9 Audio generation circuit 10 Polygon data ROM 11 Geometry engine 12 2D data processing circuit 13 Texture data ROM 14 Rendering engine 15 Frame buffer 16 Image synthesis Circuit 17 Texture Map RAM 21 Character 21a Representative Point 21b Representative Point 21c Representative Point 22 Cockpit Gauge 22a Representative Point 23 Character 23a Representative Point 23b Representative Point 23c Representative Point 24 Cockpit Gauge 24a Representative Point

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C001 BA00 BA02 BA03 BB00 BB10 BC00 BC10 CB01 CB03 CC02 CC03 CC08 5B050 AA10 BA07 BA08 BA09 EA19 EA21 EA28 EA29 EA30 FA02 FA10 5B080 AA13 FA08 FA17 GA02 GA22 5E501 AA17 AC03 BA03 BA03 FA15 FA27 FB29 9A001 HH29 JJ76

Claims (4)

[Claims] An image processing apparatus for processing three-dimensional image data and two-dimensional image data to display an arbitrary number of three-dimensional objects and two-dimensional objects on the same display screen, respectively. A data conversion means for converting the image data of the three-dimensional object from three-dimensional to two-dimensional; and a predetermined image data based on the predetermined image data of the two-dimensional object and the image data converted by the data conversion means. Overlap determining means for determining whether or not the three-dimensional object and the predetermined two-dimensional object overlap on the display screen; and when the overlap determining means determines that the three-dimensional object and the predetermined two-dimensional object overlap,
An image processing apparatus, comprising: a translucent means for performing translucent processing on image data of the predetermined two-dimensional object. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the overlap determining unit determines an overlap between the two representative positions of the plurality of portions of the three-dimensional object based on the position coordinates of each representative point and the size of the two-dimensional object and the position coordinates of the representative point. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination is performed. 3. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional object is a character that appears in a game, and the two-dimensional object is a cockpit gauge that indicates various information related to the character. 4. An image processing apparatus for processing three-dimensional image data and two-dimensional image data to display an arbitrary number of three-dimensional objects and two-dimensional objects on the same display screen. A recording medium storing a program, wherein a data conversion program for converting predetermined three-dimensional object image data from three-dimensional to two-dimensional, a predetermined two-dimensional object image data and the data conversion program Based on the image data converted by
An overlap determination program for determining whether or not the predetermined three-dimensional object and the predetermined two-dimensional object overlap on the display screen; and A recording medium storing a program including a translucent program for performing translucent processing on image data of a two-dimensional object.