JP2001178963A - Video game device, image display device and method, moving image display device and method and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To naturally control a camera when taking an action to an object. SOLUTION: The watching point of the camera is set to the object selected from the plural objects by a player, the camera is moved from an objective view point to a subjective view point and the object is zoomed. Thus, the camera surely watches the object selected by the player and the action to the object is facilitated by zooming the object.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing technique in computer graphics, and more particularly to a camera work technique, a moving picture display technique, a clipping processing technique, and a light source processing technique in a virtual space.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a video game apparatus using computer graphics, an object (virtual object) composed of a plurality of polygons is arranged in a virtual three-dimensional space, and is arranged in response to an input signal from a control pad. It is possible to operate the player character. With the advance of image processing technology, in such a game device, a player can combine a key input of a control pad with a player character to grasp, look, push, touch, pull, etc., for example, an object (object). It is now possible to make a human action (action).

[0003]

However, in a conventional video game device, a virtual viewpoint (camera) set in a virtual three-dimensional space usually moves a player character from a third-party viewpoint (objective viewpoint). Displays the video you saw,
When the player character takes an action, the camera is switched to the viewpoint of the player character itself (also referred to as a subjective viewpoint or a first-person viewpoint), and no consideration is given to fixing the gazing point to the object. If this is replaced with a human action, the action is performed without gazing at the object to be acted on, so that there is a disadvantage that an action operation corresponding to the human action cannot be performed.

For example, when a player character performs an action such as grasping an object, in a conventional video game apparatus, an action of grasping an object is prepared in advance as motion data, and an image is displayed based on the motion data. Therefore, a gripping motion suitable for the position and angle of the player character and the object, the shape of the object, and the like cannot be performed, and an unnatural situation such as a finger biting into the object has occurred.

In a conventional video game apparatus, when displaying an object on a screen, a Z value, which is a coordinate value in the depth direction of the object arranged in a viewpoint coordinate system, is a predetermined value (for example, When the distance between the camera and the object exceeds a certain distance, the drawing processing of the object is terminated (clipping processing) when the distance exceeds the drawing processing limit point). The sudden disappearance of the object caused the player to feel uncomfortable.

When performing light source processing (eg, spotlight processing) using computer graphics using polygon data, a light vector from a light source and a normal vector of a vertex of each polygon constituting an object are used. The brightness of each vertex is calculated from the angle, the calculation results are supplied to the rendering processing unit, and the brightness of each pixel on the ridge connecting the vertices is calculated using the interpolation method to calculate the brightness of the entire polygon. The desired texture mapping process is performed and the image is displayed.

However, in such a configuration, it is necessary to perform light source processing for each frame (for example, every 1/60 second).
When there are a plurality of light sources, there is a problem that the amount of arithmetic processing becomes enormous. Conventionally, in addition to the above-described configuration, a texture in a state where a spotlight shines on the surface of an object is prepared in advance, and when the spotlight is turned on, the above-described texture is attached to the object to perform light source processing. Although there is a method of omitting it, such a configuration requires a separate texture every time the type, position, angle, and the like of each object and light source are reset, resulting in a huge amount of texture data. There is.

Accordingly, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a video game apparatus and an image display method which enable natural camera control when performing an action on an object.

It is a second object of the present invention to provide a moving image display device and a moving image display method for appropriately displaying a moving image of an object.

A third object of the present invention is to provide an image display device and an image display method for gradually fading out an object when performing clipping processing based on the Z value of the object in a screen coordinate system. .

It is a fourth object of the present invention to provide an image display apparatus and an image display method capable of reducing the amount of calculation of light source processing without increasing the data amount of texture data.

[0012]

In order to solve the above-mentioned first problem, in the present invention, a gazing point of a camera is set to an object selected by a player from a plurality of objects, and the object is zoomed. This allows the camera to reliably gaze at the object selected by the player, and facilitates action on the object by zooming the object.

[0013] Preferably, when setting a gazing point on the object, the camera is moved from an objective viewpoint to a subjective viewpoint. As a result, the player can see a video image as if the player were actually touching the object.

In the above arrangement, as the object being watched by the camera is zoomed, the object is displayed so that the object gradually fades out of the screen, and another object gradually fades in from the screen. The other object may be displayed so as to be superimposed on the object. With such a configuration, for example, when a coarse image is zoomed, it can be changed to a finer image.

[0015] The player character may execute a predetermined action corresponding to the gazed object.

In order to solve the above-mentioned second problem, in the present invention, when displaying the motion of the entire object by the motion of each of the plurality of motion parts, motion data of the plurality of motion parts is stored in advance, Motion data is read out for each operating part, the motion of each operating part is displayed on the screen based on this, and collision is determined by judging the contact of the operating part of the operating part where contact is expected in advance in the operation process. The reading of the motion data of the detected operation part ends. As a result, a collision determination is performed for each motion part, and the motion data ends or the motion part collides, thereby ending the operation of the motion part. Inconveniences such as digging into an object can be eliminated.

In order to solve the third problem, in the present invention, when the distance between the object and the camera in the screen coordinate system is near the drawing limit point, the object is translucently displayed on the screen. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the unnaturalness of the object disappearing immediately near the drawing limit point.

In order to solve the fourth problem, in the present invention, the brightness or color of an object that is immovable with respect to the light source is calculated, the calculation result is stored in a memory, and the object is displayed on a screen. At this time, an image of the object is displayed with reference to the calculation result stored in the memory.
Thereby, the calculation load in the light source processing of the object of the image display device can be reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a computer-readable recording medium in which a program for executing the above procedure is recorded. Here, the recording medium is a medium on which an image processing program or the like is recorded by some physical means, and is a computer, particularly,
A processor capable of realizing a desired function by a dedicated processor (for example, a geometry processor or a rendering processor). Therefore, any device may be used as long as it can be downloaded to the computer by some means to realize a desired function. For example, ROM, flexible disk, hard disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, DVD
-Including information recording media such as ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, PD disk, MD disk, and MO disk. This includes the case where data is transferred from the host computer via a wired or wireless communication line (public line, data line, Internet, satellite line, etc.).

[0020]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (Configuration of Video Game Apparatus) FIG.
FIG. 1 shows a circuit configuration diagram of the video game apparatus 10. In the figure, when the power is turned on to start the game, the boot program loader loads the boot program stored in the ROM 18 into the CPU 11, and the CPU 11 executes the boot program. The CPU 11 loads all or a necessary part of the OS stored in the CD-ROM 27 into the system memory 13 according to the boot program, and executes the OS.

The CPU 11 controls the CD-ROM under the control of the OS.
All or necessary portions of the application programs stored in the ROM 27 or the like are stored in the CD-ROM drive 1.
9 and loaded into the system memory 13,
The drawing data and image data stored in the CD-ROM 27 or the like are loaded into the graphic memory 16 as needed. At the same time, sound data is stored in sound memory 2
Load 1

The CPU 11 controls the system memory 1 based on an input signal from the control pad 25 under the control of the OS.
3 to execute an application program (game program) stored therein. Data accompanying the execution of the application program is written and referred to in the system memory 13 and the backup memory 26 whenever necessary. The backup memory 26 stores data in order to maintain the state up to that point even if the power is cut off due to interruption of the game or the like.

The geometry processor 12 converts the coordinate data of the object supplied from the CPU 11 into a viewpoint coordinate and a screen coordinate system (two-dimensional coordinate system) when the three-dimensional viewpoint coordinate system is viewed from a virtual viewpoint based on a desired transformation matrix.
Is converted to. Also, the brightness or color of the object is calculated from the light source and the object coordinates.

A graphics memory 16 is connected to the rendering processor 15. The graphics memory 16 includes a texture buffer, a frame buffer,
It consists of a buffer. The texture buffer stores texture data for each object. The rendering processor 15 reads necessary data from the texture buffer as appropriate based on the brightness or color data of the object, texture coordinate data, texture density data, coordinate data of the object, etc., and performs texture mapping processing, display priority processing, shading processing, and the like. Then, the pixel data of each pixel is written into the frame buffer. Then, the pixel data is read from the frame buffer in synchronization with the image update period, and the pixel data is transferred to the video encoder 17 to perform a video signal generation process and the like, and an image is displayed on the monitor 25.

The sound processor 20 reads out the sound data stored in the sound memory 21 and performs various sound processes based on commands and data from the CPU 11 by executing the application program. Examples of the audio processing include an effect processing and a mixing processing. The sound data that has been subjected to various sound processing is D / A
The data is converted into analog data by the converter 22 and output to the speaker 24.

Bus Arbiter
Reference numeral 14 controls each unit connected via a data transmission path (bus or the like). For example, bus arbiter 14
Determines the units that occupy the bus, determines the priority order among the units, and allocates the bus occupation time of the occupying units.

The bus arbiter 14 includes a communication device 23 for connecting to another video game device or computer via a telephone line or the like.

Next, the overall operation of the video game device will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the figure, when an interrupt signal is supplied to the CPU 11 at a period corresponding to the vertical synchronization signal of the video signal, the CPU 11
The interrupt flag is set in the register inside. When an interrupt occurs (step S101; YES), the CPU 1
1 executes the processing of steps S102 to S108.

For example, in the NTSC system, the CPU 11
The game process is performed every / 60 seconds (step S102).
In this game process, the CPU 11 monitors an output signal from the control pad 25, processes an operation input by the player according to an algorithm described in the game program,
Deploy the game. In this game, as described later, when a specific object is selected on the screen (lock on), the camera is automatically moved, and in some cases, a flag for performing an action corresponding to the object is set. Is done.

Next, in order to generate a screen to be displayed on the monitor 22, images such as objects, backgrounds, and characters are appropriately arranged in the world coordinate system (step S1).
03). These images are coordinate-transformed into a viewpoint coordinate system viewed from the camera (step S104), and data is converted into a viewpoint coordinate system in which the direction of the line of sight is set in the positive direction of the z-axis with the camera position as the origin. Are perspective-transformed to a screen coordinate system (step S10).
5).

Thereafter, the rendering processor 15 performs a hidden surface process on each polygon using a Z-sort algorithm or the like (step S106), and performs a rendering process such as pasting a texture on each polygon (step S107). The image data subjected to the rendering processing is stored in a frame buffer in the graphic memory 16, then converted into a video signal, and
Will be displayed. Thereafter, the process returns to step S101, where 1 /
The game proceeds by repeatedly executing the processing of steps S102 to S108 every 60 seconds. (Lock-On Process) Next, the lock-on process will be described with reference to FIGS. In this specification, the lock-on process is defined as "a process of setting (fixing) a gazing point on an object of interest and controlling a camera to zoom (enlarge) the object". It is assumed that the object to be subjected to the lock-on process is predetermined in the game program. Further, motion data is stored in association with the object on which the lock-on process has been performed so that an action corresponding to the object is performed. Therefore, a flag is set so that an action corresponding to the object is performed by performing the lock-on processing on the object (details will be described later).

FIG. 5 shows a screen 28 displayed on the monitor 25.
The area drawn with oblique lines is the lock-on possible area 30. The lock-on possible area 30 indicates the existence range of the object that can be locked on, and the X and Y coordinates of the object defined in the screen coordinate system (XY coordinate system) are located in the lock-on possible area 30. In addition, when the Z value (distance from the camera) of the object is a predetermined distance (lockable distance), the lock-on process can be performed on the object. As the lock-on possible area 30, for example, as shown in FIG.
The central area divided into the ratios is preferred.

For example, as shown in FIG.
33, basket 34 and cup 35 are displayed on the screen 28. These tangerines 31-33, basket 34 and cup 35
Is an object that can be locked on. In the figure, since the tangerines 31 to 33 and the basket 34 are located in the lock-on possible area 30, lock-on processing is possible. On the other hand, the cup 35 is the lockable area 30.
Because it is located outside, lock-on processing cannot be performed.

In order to perform the lock-on process, the work memory data table and the program data table are stored in the system memory 13 as shown in FIG.
It is read from M21. A part of the system memory 13 is used as a work area. In the work memory data table, object names, object coordinates, object angles, and polygon data of the objects displayed on the screen are registered. The object name refers to the name of the object. The object coordinates refer to the coordinates of the object in the world coordinate system, and are defined by (X, Y, Z). The object angle refers to the direction (angle) of an object arranged in the world coordinate system, and the angle between the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis is registered. The polygon data is the data of the polygon constituting the object.

In the program data table, lock-on object names, lock-on coordinates, lock-on correction coordinates, lock-on possible range information, lock-on angles, and motion data are registered. The lock-on object name refers to the name of an object that can be subjected to lock-on processing, and corresponds to, for example, the above-described oranges, baskets, cups, and the like. Lock-on coordinates mean coordinates on polygons that are texture-mapped when objects that can be locked on are planes such as maps and scrolls, because these can be treated as textures instead of objects. I do. The lock-on correction coordinates refer to coordinates relative to a reference surface or coordinates of the object, for example, when a lock-on processable object is a cup, for example, when an action is performed on the object (for example, grasping). Referred to.

The lock-on possible range information refers to information on a range in which an object can be locked on, and the lock-on angle is within a predetermined angle range with respect to the object when the object is locked on. This is the angle at which the camera is forcibly moved so that the camera gazes. Motion data is motion data for performing an action on an object when the object is locked on. In the work area, a player character position, a camera position, a gazing point position, and the like are sequentially updated for each frame by dynamic variables.

Next, each processing step of the lock-on processing will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, an interrupt signal is generated at a cycle corresponding to a vertical synchronizing signal of a video signal.
When supplied to the PU 11, an interrupt flag is set in a register in the CPU 11. When an interrupt occurs (step S201; YES), the CPU 11 proceeds to step S2.
02 to execute the processing of step S208. CPU11
Checks whether the lock-on flag is set (step S202). Referring to the work memory data table and the program data table, the lock-on flag is set when the coordinate value (X, Y, Z) of the object is located in the lock-on possible range.

If the lock-on flag is set (step S202; YES), a lock-on possible display is displayed on the screen 28 to inform the player that lock-on is possible (step S203). The lock-on possible display is performed by, for example, displaying the character “A” at the lower right of the screen 28 as shown in FIG. At this time, the player can lock on the lock-on enabled object existing in the lock-on enabled area 30 by pressing the A button of the control pad 25.

The CPU 11 monitors the output signal from the control pad 25, and determines whether or not the player has locked on the lock-on enabled object by pressing the A button (step S204). When the object is locked on by the operation of the player (step S
204; YES), the player can lock on the area 30
Can be selected from among the plurality of objects located at (step S205). If there is only one lock-on enabled object in the lock-on enabled area 30, that object is automatically selected. The selection of the lock-on enabled object can be performed by using the cross key.

When the lockable object is selected, the camera is moved to zoom the object (step S206). The details of the camera movement will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 7, when the tangerine 32 is located in the lock-on possible area 30, it is assumed that the tangerine 32 is locked on by the operation of the player. Then, the camera 50 switches from the objective viewpoint to the subjective viewpoint, and the orange 32 is zoomed as shown in FIG. Thereby, the player can surely gaze at the tangerine 32 that is the target of the action. FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 are illustrations of camera movement in the vertical direction. In FIG. 9, the camera 50 functions as an objective viewpoint and gazes at the orange 32. In FIG. 10, the camera 50 functions as a subjective viewpoint and gazes at the orange 32. The subjective viewpoint is a viewpoint viewed from the player character 40. In the drawing, the line-of-sight direction of the line of sight direction of the player character of the camera 50 as an objective viewpoint there are angular difference theta ₁ in the vertical direction, the angle difference theta ₁ to 0 when the camera moves, and the camera 50 The camera is moved so as to be located at the head of the player character 40.

FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 are illustrations of camera movement in the horizontal direction. In FIG. 11, the camera 50 functions as an objective viewpoint and gazes at the orange 32. In FIG. 12, the camera 50 functions as a subjective viewpoint and gazes at the orange 32. In the figure, the line of sight of the camera 50 as the objective viewpoint and the line of sight of the player character
There are _two angular difference, the angular difference theta ₂ during camera movement 0
And the camera is moved so that the camera 50 is positioned at the head of the player character 40.

In the grabbing motion, the camera 50
When moving from the objective viewpoint to the subjective viewpoint, when the distance (Z value) between the player character 40 and the camera 50 becomes smaller than a predetermined value, the player character 40 may be configured to perform a translucent process. preferable. By performing such processing, it is possible to eliminate the inconvenience that the field of view from the camera 50 is blocked by the player character 40.

After the camera is moved, an action corresponding to the object to be locked on is performed (step S207). In this example, since the lock-on process is performed on the tangerine 32, the action of "grab the tangerine 32", that is, the "gripping motion" described later is selected. This is performed by referring to a program data table in the system memory 13. When the lock-on state is released by the operation of the player (step S208;
YES), the CPU 11 returns to step S201 again,
The above processing steps are repeatedly executed. (Gripping Motion) Next, a "gripping motion" for gripping the tangerine 32 will be described with reference to FIGS. When “grabbing motion” is selected as one mode of the action in step S207, the CPU 1
Reference numeral 1 refers to a work memory data table, a program data table, and the like in the system memory 13, and selects optimal motion data from the positional relationship between the player character 40 and the object (orange 32), the size and shape of the object, and the like. . This motion data is data in which a polygon imitating a hand (hereinafter referred to as a real hand) stores an operation of grasping an object as an operation pattern. Specifically, motion data of each polygon constituting a hand from an elbow to a wrist is described. The operation pattern is stored in the program data table.

With reference to FIG. 13, each polygon constituting the real hand will be described. In the same figure, the little finger P is composed of polygons P1 to P3, and the tip P of the polygon P1.
In 0, a collision point P0 for determining a collision with an object is set. The finger Q, middle finger R, index finger S and thumb T are polygons Q1 to Q3, R1 to R3, S1 to S3 and T1, respectively.
T2, each polygon Q1, R1, S
The collision points Q0, R0,
S0 and T0 are provided. These collision points are points where contact is expected in advance when the object is grasped. The palm is composed of polygon U, the back of the hand is composed of polygon V, and the arm is composed of polygon W.

Each finger has a predetermined motion pattern corresponding to a pattern of how to grasp the object.
Each joint moves at a predetermined angle for each frame. Further, the motion patterns of the respective fingers are stored independently of each other, and the collision determination is also determined independently for each finger. In the grabbing motion, motion data is read out for each finger and displayed as an image, and an interruption is made every image update period to perform collision determination for each finger.

Therefore, when a finger comes into contact with the object, the reading of the motion data for the finger ends, but the reading of the motion data for the other finger is still performed, and the image display based on the motion data is performed. Will be As a result, the collision between the object and the finger is accurately determined, and the object can be grasped accurately and reliably regardless of the shape of the object.

An operation procedure in which the real hand in the grasping motion grasps the object will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When an interrupt signal is supplied to the CPU 11 at a cycle corresponding to the vertical synchronization signal of the video signal, the CP
An interrupt flag is set in a register in U11. When an interrupt occurs (step S301; YES), C
The PU 11 executes the processing of steps S302 to S307.

When a lock-on enabled object is locked on, a motion flag corresponding to the object is set. For example, in the case of the above-mentioned mikan 32,
Grab motion is set. When the CPU 11 detects that the motion flag has been set (step S
302; YES), read the motion data (step S303), and display an image (step S30).
4). For example, as shown in FIG. 14, an image is displayed such that each finger of the real hand grabs the orange 32. At this time, the orange 32 as an object is a polygon plane X
., X2, X3,...
The image display of each finger is performed until the finger touches the orange 32 or the motion data ends. FIG.
As shown in the figure, the motion data for the thumb T, the index finger S, and the middle finger R is not terminated (step S305; N
O), when it comes into contact with the tangerine 32 (Step S306; Y)
ES), the reading of the motion data ends (step S307). On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
When the motion ends without touching the tangerine 32 like the finger Q (step S305; YES),
The reading of the motion data ends (step S3).
07). When appropriate texture mapping is performed on each of the polygons constituting the real hand and oranges 32 shown in FIGS. 14 to 16, these figures are shown in FIGS. 17 to 1.
An image is displayed as shown in FIG. (Focus Motion) In the above description, the mandarin orange 32 is locked on and the mandarin orange 32 is grasped by the grasping motion. However, an example in which the map is locked on and the map is enlarged by the focus motion will be described. As shown in FIG. 21, a lock-on possible area (not shown)
Is a map 61, and the map 61 is locked on by the operation of the player. In the figure, the camera is above the player character 40 and displays the image shown in FIG. 21 from an objective viewpoint. A focus motion is stored in the map 61 as a lock-on object in association with the focus motion in advance. Therefore, by locking on the map 61, a motion flag is automatically set in a register in the CPU 11. When detecting that the flag of the focus motion is set, the CPU 11 moves the camera 50 from the objective viewpoint (FIG. 23) to the subjective viewpoint (FIG. 24).

At this time, the map 61 is zoomed, but as the camera 50 moves, the screen is gradually switched from a coarse map 61 to a fine map 62 (FIG. 22). That is, by overwriting the image data of the map 62 which is a fine image on the image data of the map 61 which is a coarse image, and changing the transparency of both of them complementarily, the map 6
1 gradually becomes transparent and fades out (lightening), and the map 62 gradually appears on the screen and fades in (darkening). As a result, the player moves to Map 6
By locking on 1, it is possible to express on the screen how the player character looks into the map 61.

The procedure of the focus motion will be described with reference to FIG. When an interrupt signal is supplied to the CPU 11 at a cycle corresponding to the vertical synchronizing signal of the video signal, an interrupt flag is set in a register in the CPU 11. When an interrupt occurs (step S401; YE)
S), the CPU 11 executes steps S402 to S41.
1 is performed. When you lock on map 61,
The focus motion flag is set. CPU
When detecting that the flag is set (step S402; YES), the counter 11 counts up the value of the built-in register n (step S403). This register n counts the number of frames after the focus motion processing, and n is initially '0'.

Here, the number of frames required to change from the map 61 to the map 62 is F. The texture data of the map 61 is data M1, and the texture data of the map 62 is data M2. Further, a transparency coefficient to be multiplied by the data M1 for translucent processing of the map 61 is a
The transparency coefficient by which the data M2 is multiplied to perform the translucency processing of the map 62 is represented by b. At this time, the transparency coefficient is 0
0% transparency when 1 and 100% transparency when 1
It is assumed that

The CPU 11 multiplies the value of the register n by F to obtain a transparency coefficient a (step S404). Then, the data M1 is translucently processed with the transparency a (step S4).
05). Further, a transparency coefficient b that changes complementarily with the transparency coefficient a is obtained (step S406), and the data M2 is translucently processed with the transparency b (step S407). The data M1 and the data M2 that have been
Are combined (step S408). As shown in FIG. 26, data M1 and data M2 are registered in the texture memory, and the synthesized data is written to the frame buffer.

Next, the camera 50 is moved by one frame. The moving direction of the camera 50 is a direction of shifting from the objective viewpoint to the subjective viewpoint, as shown in FIGS.
The camera movement is completed by moving the frame. A rendering process is executed using the combined data viewed from the current camera position to display an image (step S41).
0). The processing of steps S404 to S410 is
The focus motion is completed by repeating the process twice (step S411).

In the focus motion, when the camera 50 is moved from the objective viewpoint to the subjective viewpoint, if the distance (Z value) between the player character 40 and the camera 50 becomes smaller than a predetermined value, the player character 40 Is preferably configured to be translucent.
By performing such processing, it is possible to eliminate the inconvenience that the field of view from the camera 50 is blocked by the player character 40.

In the above description, step S207
As an example of the action in, the grabbing motion and the focus motion have been described.
For example, an operation of opening a drawer, opening a door, knocking on a door, making a phone call, taking a scroll, etc. may be performed. The target of the lock-on process is not limited to the object, but may be a character imitating a person. For example, when a lock-on is made to a girl character, a process such as talking to the child may be performed. Also, it is assumed that lock-on can be performed even when the object or the character is moving. (Clipping Process) Next, the clipping process of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG.
As shown in (1), the geometry processor 12 converts the data into a viewpoint coordinate system in which the line of sight is taken in the positive direction of the z-axis with the camera position as the origin, and the respective coordinates are converted to a screen coordinate system as a projection plane. The drawing limit point when the perspective transformation is performed is defined as _Zmax , and the translucent processing start point is defined as _Z0 .

[0056] Then, as shown in FIG. 28, when Z value of the object to the character of the Z ₀ less transparency alpha =
0 (transparency 0%), and when it is equal to or more than _Zmax , the transparency α
= 1 (transparency 100%). Further, Z value _{Z 0} or higher _{Z max} following if transparency _{α = (Z-Z 0)} / (Z
_max −Z ₀ ).

FIG. 29 shows the above clipping process.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. An interrupt signal is generated by the CPU 11 at a cycle corresponding to the vertical synchronizing signal of the video signal.
, An interrupt flag is set in a register in the CPU 11. When an interrupt occurs (step S
501; YES), the CPU 11 executes each processing of steps S502 to S508. In the screen coordinate system, Z value of the object is not more _{Z 0} or higher (step S502; _YES), if it is less _{Z max} (step S503; YES), the transparency alpha = (Z-Z
_{0) /} a _(Z max -Z _{0) (step} S504),
A rendering process is performed (step S505), and an image is displayed (step S506). On the other hand, when Z value of the object is smaller than _{Z 0} (step S502; N
O), the transparency α is set to 0 (step S507), and when the Z value is equal to or greater than Z _max (step S503; N)
O), the transparency α is set to 1 (step S508).

By performing the above processing, even when an object or the like comes near the drawing limit point, the object or the like does not suddenly disappear and the transparent processing is gradually performed near the drawing limit point. No discomfort. (Light Source Processing) Next, the light source processing of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 1, a CPU 11
Executes a program for processing an image using polygons, and supplies vertex data of the polygons to the geometry processor 12. The geometry processor 12 arranges the polygon in the three-dimensional space based on the vertex coordinate data of the polygon and sets a viewport for determining up to which region in the three-dimensional space to display. Each vertex of the polygon has vertex coordinates (X, Y, Z) and vertex colors (red, green,
Attributes such as blue), texture coordinates (Tx, Ty), vertex transparency and vertex normal vector are given, and the geometry processor 12 determines the brightness of each vertex according to the angle between the vertex normal vector and the light source vector. (Color)
The vertices outside the viewport are removed (clipping processing), and conversion from three-dimensional coordinates to two-dimensional coordinates (screen coordinates) is performed.

In the above processing, the geometalizer 12
Saves the brightness (color) of the vertices of the polygon in the system memory 13 as a vertex color list. By storing the vertex color list in this way, pre-rendering is enabled. The vertex color list is supplied to the rendering processor 15 via the bus arbiter 14. The rendering processor 15 obtains the luminance (color) of each point (pixel) on the ridge connecting the vertices of the polygon by complementing the luminance (color) of the vertices. Further, the luminance (color) of all pixels constituting the plane of the polygon is obtained from the luminance (color) of the pixel on each ridge line by the complementing process. Then, texture data corresponding to each pixel is read from the graphic memory 16 and the color of each pixel is calculated.

The rendering processor 15 blends the pixel color already written in the frame buffer in the graphic memory 16 with each pixel color of the polygon to be newly written, if necessary, and writes the blended value to the frame buffer. A depth buffer is allocated in the graphic memory 16,
The Z coordinate value of each pixel is stored. Judging from the Z coordinate value read from the depth buffer, if an opaque polygon comes to the foreground, the color data of the polygon is immediately written to the frame buffer without performing the above blending. If a completely transparent polygon is located at the forefront, the color data of the polygon behind which has already been written in the frame buffer may be held as it is without writing the color data of the polygon at the front. The pixel data written in the frame buffer is supplied to the video encoder 17 and displayed on the monitor 25 as an image.

Each procedure of the light source processing will be described with reference to FIG. First, it is determined whether the pre-render is valid (step S601). Since the vertex color list is created in the first frame in the light source processing and stored in the system memory 13, if the pre-render is valid (step S601; YES), the vertex color list is referred to for the second and subsequent frames. Enables rendering of polygons. Therefore, the vertex color list is read (step S602), rendering is performed based on the vertex color list (step S603), and image display is performed (step S604). On the other hand, if the pre-render is not valid, for example, the light source processing has not been performed (step S601; NO), a vertex color list is created (step S602), and the pre-render is enabled (step S606). Rendering is performed based on the image (step S603), and image display is performed (step S604).

According to the above-described procedure, a light source having a fixed positional relationship with a light source, such as a background image, can be subjected to light source processing in the first frame regardless of a change in viewpoint coordinates. Since the same result can be used for the second frame, the calculation load can be reduced and the amount of texture data to be stored can be prevented from increasing.

In the above description, the configuration in which the vertex color list is stored in the system memory 13 is employed. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the luminance (color) of the vertices of the polygon is complemented. Alternatively, the luminances (colors) of all the pixels constituting the plane of the polygon may be obtained in advance by the complementing process, and may be registered in the texture buffer. Furthermore, when the texture is blended with the polygon color, this may be registered in the texture buffer. These pixel data are read out as needed at the time of rendering, and are used for drawing processing.

[0064]

According to the present invention, the camera can surely gaze at the object selected by the player, and the action on the object can be easily performed by zooming the object. In addition, when gazing at the object, the camera switches from the objective viewpoint to the subjective viewpoint, so that the player can have a simulated experience as if he / she is actually in contact with the object.

Further, according to the present invention, the collision determination is performed for each operation part, and the operation of the operation part ends when the motion data ends or when the operation part collides. In this way, it is possible to eliminate the inconvenience of the operating part biting into another object.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to eliminate the unnaturalness that an object disappears immediately near the drawing limit point.

Further, according to the present invention, the calculation load in the light source processing can be greatly reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit configuration diagram of a video game device.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a data structure of each table loaded into a system memory.

FIG. 3 is an overall operation flowchart of the video game device.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a lock-on process.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a lock-on possible area.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a lock-on process.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of camera movement.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of camera movement.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of camera movement.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of camera movement.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of camera movement.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of camera movement.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a real hand.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a grabbing motion.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of a grabbing motion.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of a grabbing motion.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of a grabbing motion.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of a grabbing motion.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of a grabbing motion.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram of a grabbing motion.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram of a focus motion.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram of a focus motion.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram of a focus motion.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram of a focus motion.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram of a focus motion.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram of translucent processing of texture data.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram of a clipping process.

FIG. 28 is a graph of transparency versus Z value.

FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram of clipping processing.

FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram of light source processing.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Video game device, 11 ... CPU, 12 ... Geometry processor, 13 ... System memory, 14 ... Bus arbiter, 15 ... Rendering processor, 16 ... Graphic memory, 17 ... Video encoder, 18 ... RO
M, 19: CD-ROM drive, 20: Sound processor, 21: Sound memory, 22: D / A converter, 30: Lock-on area, 32: Orange, 40
... player character, 50 ... camera

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Takeshi Hirai 1-2-12 Haneda, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term in SEGA Enterprises Co., Ltd. (Reference) 2C001 BC00 BC06 BC07 BC10 CB01 CC02 5B050 BA07 BA08 BA09 CA07 EA24 EA30 FA02 9A001 DD12 EE02 HH24 HH26 HH30 HH31 JJ76 KK31 KK45

Claims (38)

[Claims] 1. A video game apparatus comprising: gaze point setting means for setting a gaze point of a camera at an object selected by a player from a plurality of objects; and zoom means for zooming an object being gazed at. 2. The video game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said point of regard setting means moves a camera from an objective point of view to a subjective point of view when setting a point of regard to said object. 3. As the object being watched by the camera is zoomed, the object is displayed so that the object gradually fades out of the screen, and the other object is gradually faded in from the screen. 3. The video game apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit configured to display an object superimposed on the object. 4. The video game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the zoom unit zooms the object to the center of the screen. 5. The gazing point setting unit sets a gazing point of a camera only for an object located within a predetermined range in a viewpoint coordinate system.
The video game device according to claim 1. 6. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the gazing point setting unit performs a camera only on an object located within a predetermined range in the screen coordinate system and having a distance from the camera within the predetermined range for each object. The video game device according to claim 1, wherein a gazing point is set. 7. The game apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an action execution unit that executes a predetermined action corresponding to an object watched by the watch point setting unit by a player character. 3. The video game device according to claim 1. 8. A gazing point setting means for setting a gazing point on an object by a player's operation when the gazing object is located within a predetermined range in the viewpoint coordinate system; A video game device comprising: zoom means for zooming. 9. The video game apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a gazing point is changed by an operation of a player from an object zoomed by said zoom means to another gazing object located in said range. 10. A gazeable object is located within a first range predetermined in a screen coordinate system,
Gaze point setting means for setting a gaze point on the object by operation of a player when a distance from the camera is within a second range predetermined for the object; A video game device comprising: zoom means for zooming. 11. The gazing point is changed by an operation of a player from an object zoomed by the zoom unit to another gazing object located in the first and second ranges. Video game equipment. 12. An image display method for setting a gazing point of a camera on an object selected by a player from among a plurality of objects, and zooming the object. 13. The image display method according to claim 12, wherein a camera is moved from an objective viewpoint to a subjective viewpoint when setting a gazing point on the object. 14. As the object being watched by the camera is zoomed, the object is displayed so that the object gradually fades out of the screen, and the other object is gradually faded in from the screen. 14. The image display method according to claim 12, wherein an object is displayed so as to overlap the object. 15. The image display method according to claim 12, wherein the object is zoomed to a center of a screen. 16. The image display method according to claim 12, wherein a gazing point of the camera is set only for an object located within a predetermined range in the viewpoint coordinate system. . 17. A gazing point of a camera is set only for an object which is within a predetermined range in a screen coordinate system and whose distance from the camera is within a range defined for each object. The image display method according to any one of claims 12 to 15. 18. The processing method according to claim 12, further comprising a processing step in which the player character executes a predetermined action corresponding to the gazed object.
8. The image display method according to any one of the seventh to seventh aspects. 19. An image display in which when a gazeable object is located within a predetermined range in a viewpoint coordinate system, a gaze point is set on the object by a player's operation, and the object being watched is zoomed. Method. 20. From the zoomed object:
To other gazeable objects located within the range,
20. The image display method according to claim 19, wherein the gazing point is changed by an operation of a player. 21. A gazeable object is located within a first range predetermined in a screen coordinate system,
Image processing for setting a gazing point on the object by a player's operation when the distance from the camera is within a second range predetermined for the object, and zooming the gazing object; Method. 22. From the zoomed object,
22. The image display device according to claim 21, wherein a gazing point is changed by an operation of a player to another gazing object located in the first and second ranges. 23. A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to execute the method according to claim 12 is recorded. 24. A moving image display device for displaying a motion of an entire object by a motion of each of a plurality of motion parts, wherein a storage means for storing motion data of the plurality of motion parts in advance; Determining means for determining a contact at a location where contact is expected in advance; and reading out motion data for each operating part from the storage means, and displaying the motion of the operating part on a screen based on the data, and determining by the determining means. A moving image display device comprising a display unit for ending the reading of motion data of an operation part in which a collision is detected. 25. A moving image display device for displaying the movement of the entire hand by the movement of a polygon representing a finger, wherein a storage means for storing in advance the motion data of the polygon, Reading the motion data of each finger from the storage means, displaying the motion of the finger on the screen based on the read motion data, and reading the motion data of the finger in which a collision is detected by the determining means. Moving image display device provided with a display means for ending the process. 26. A moving image display method for displaying a motion of an entire object according to a motion of each of a plurality of motion parts, wherein motion data of the plurality of motion parts is stored in advance, and the motion data is read out for each motion part. Based on this, the motion of the motion part is displayed on the screen based on the motion data, and the motion data of the motion part in which the collision is detected is determined by determining the contact of a part of the motion part that is expected to be contacted in advance in the operation process. Video display method to end reading. 27. In a moving image display method for displaying the movement of the entire hand by the movement of a polygon representing a finger, motion data of the polygon is stored in advance, and motion data is read out for each finger, and the motion data is read based on the motion data. A moving image display method in which a finger motion is displayed on a screen, and reading of motion data of a finger in which a collision is detected is completed by determining in advance a contact at a location where a contact is expected in a polygon movement process. 28. A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to execute the method according to claim 26 or 27 is recorded. 29. An image display device comprising: means for translucently processing an object when the distance between the object and the camera in the screen coordinate system is near a drawing limit point and displaying the object on a screen. 30. When the distance between the object and the camera is greater than or equal to a predetermined distance and less than the drawing limit point, the ratio of transparency is increased in accordance with the magnitude of the distance, and 2. A semi-transparent treatment of
10. The image display device according to 9. 31. An image display method in which, when a distance between an object and a camera in a screen coordinate system is near a drawing limit point, the object is translucently displayed on a screen. 32. When the distance between the object and the camera is greater than or equal to a predetermined distance and less than the drawing limit point, the ratio of the transparency is increased in accordance with the magnitude of the distance. 3. A semi-transparent treatment of
2. The image display method according to 1. 33. A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to execute the method according to claim 31 or 32 is recorded. 34. A calculating means for calculating the brightness or color of an object which is immovable with respect to a light source, means for storing the calculation result in a memory, and a memory for storing the object on a screen when displaying the object on a screen. A display unit for displaying an image of an object by referring to a calculation result. 35. The image according to claim 34, wherein the object is composed of polygons, and wherein the calculating means calculates the brightness or color of the object from an angle between a normal vector and a light source vector at each vertex of the polygon. Display device. 36. The method calculates the brightness or color of an object that is immovable with respect to the light source, stores the calculation result in a memory, and displays the calculation result stored in the memory when displaying the object on a screen. An image display method for displaying an image of an object by referring to it. 37. The image display method according to claim 36, wherein the object is composed of polygons, and the brightness or color of the object is calculated from an angle between a normal vector and a light source vector at each vertex of the polygon. 38. A computer-readable recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to execute the method according to claim 36 or 37 is recorded.