JP2002035417A - Game system and computer readable storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a golf game system offering strategic performances close to reality by constituting the game system in such a manner that probabilities miss shots differ to the right and left by pressurizing psychologically a player. SOLUTION: The game system is provided with a display device for an image, an input device for outputting a signal based on the operation of the player and a control device for allowing the virtual play of golf to progress while referring to the output of the input device so as to display the image based on the progress situation on the screen of the display device. The control device is provided with a shot timing displaying means for displaying shot timing on the display device by a graph and a cursor moving relative to the graph, a shot range displaying means for displaying, on the graph, a shot range including an optimum shot timing point and the right and left areas displayed on the right and left sides of the optimum shot timing point and indicating the favorable shot timing, and a change means for changing the display form of the shot range in order to display the right and left areas asymmetrically.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a computer game system, and more particularly to a golf game.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A golf game for simulating a golf play using a computer is known. In a conventional golf game, a player selects an arbitrary golf club on a virtual golf course and hits a ball (hereinafter, also referred to as a "shot") to advance pseudo golf play.

When performing a shot, a player controls the strength and timing of hitting a virtual ball by manually operating a controller or the like attached to the game system. The most typical operation method expresses the strength of a shot by a gauge displayed on a game screen. For example, a gauge indicating the intensity from 0% to 100% is displayed on the game screen, and the cursor position in the gauge is shifted from the 0% position to 10% in response to the player's shot start operation.
Move toward 0% position. The player operates the controller at a desired position to determine the strength of the shot. Further, when the player determines that the cursor has reached the optimal timing point displayed on the gauge, the player operates the controller to determine the timing of the shot. The computer on the game system side determines the flight distance and direction of the virtual ball according to the determined strength and timing of the shot, and moves the ball on a virtual golf course. In this way, the player can make a shot with a desired strength and proceed with golf play.

[0004] The above-mentioned gauge displays the optimal timing point of the shot, so that if the player inputs a shot instruction at the optimal timing point, the ball will fly straight.
If the user's shot instruction input deviates from the timing when the cursor passes through the optimal timing point, the ball flies in the left and right directions. That is, if the shot instruction input timing is earlier than the optimum timing point, the ball flies rightward, and if late, it flies leftward.

However, a shot range having a predetermined width with respect to the optimum timing point is also displayed on the gauge, and if the player inputs a shot instruction within the shot range, the ball may slightly swing left and right. Flying in the target direction. On the other hand, if the shot instruction input timing of the player is outside the shot range, the ball hardly flies or flies in a ridiculous direction. Therefore, the shot range is a guideline for hitting the ball almost in the target direction with an acceptable degree of deviation in the flight direction, and the player should input a shot instruction at the optimal timing point if possible, and at worst within the shot range. Strive for.

[0006]

Conventionally, this shot range has been set to have the same width on the left and right around the optimum timing point. In other words, the player's consciousness is that a missed shot (ball flies right) and a missed shot (ball flies left) due to too early input of a shot instruction with respect to the best timing point are too late. It can happen with almost the same probability.

However, in actual golf play, there are cases where the player does not want to fly the ball in one direction, depending on the course configuration and the presence or absence of obstacles on the course. For example, if there is a large pond on the right side of the fairway, the player will be conscious that he can fly a little to the left but not to the right. As described above, in actual golf play, the consciousness of not wanting the ball to fly rightward and the consciousness not wanting the ball to fly leftward are not always the same.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above points,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a golf game system that gives a player a psychological pressure so that the probability of a miss shot to the left and right is different, thereby providing a strategy close to reality.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image display device, an input device for outputting a signal in accordance with an operation of a player, and a virtual device with reference to the output of the input device. And a control device for causing a golf game to progress and displaying an image corresponding to the progress on the screen of the display device, wherein the control device displays a graph and the graph on the display device. A shot timing display unit for displaying a shot timing by a cursor that moves relatively to the graph, an optimal shot timing point, and right and left areas displayed on the left and right of the optimal shot timing point; Shot range display means for displaying a shot range indicating shot timing on the graph, and the right area and the left area Characterized in that it comprises a changing means for changing the display form of the shot range to display asymmetrically, the.

[0010] According to the game system configured as described above, at the time of a shot by the player, the timing of the shot is displayed by the graph and the cursor moving on the graph. On the graph, a shot range indicating a suitable shot timing is displayed, including an optimum shot timing point, a right area and a left area displayed on the left and right of the optimum shot timing point. Here, the changing means changes the display mode of the shot range so that the right area and the left area are displayed asymmetrically. As a result, compared to the case where the right area and the left area of the shot range are displayed symmetrically, the player receives psychological pressure on the direction of the hit ball, which makes the game more interesting.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the game system according to the first aspect, there is provided analysis means for analyzing a form of a hole in which play is in progress to create an analysis result. The size of at least one of the right area and the left area is changed based on the analysis result. This makes it difficult for the player to control the flying direction.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the game system according to the second aspect, the analyzing means refers to layout data prepared for each hole, and from the current position of the ball to the shot target point. It is characterized by analyzing the form of the hole. This makes it possible to change the degree of difficulty of the shot and the like according to the form of the hole in the direction of the target point of the shot.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the game system according to the third aspect, the analyzing means analyzes presence / absence of an obstacle in a direction of a shot target point from a current position of the ball. . Thereby, psychological pressure can be given according to the presence of the obstacle.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the game system according to the fourth aspect, the analyzing means is configured to detect an obstacle on a right side and a left side with respect to a straight line connecting a current position of the ball and a shot target point. If there is an obstacle on the right side of the straight line, the change unit reduces the left area of the shot range, and if there is an obstacle on the left side of the straight line, It is characterized in that the right area is reduced. This allows
This makes it difficult to make a shot in a direction where there is no obstacle.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, virtual golf play is advanced while referring to the output from the input device of the game machine, and an image corresponding to the progress is displayed on the screen of the display device. A computer-readable storage medium having recorded thereon a program for:
A computer provided in the game machine, on the display device, a graph and a cursor moving on the graph, a shot timing display means for displaying shot timing, an optimal shot timing point, and an optimal shot timing point; Shot range display means for displaying a shot range indicating a suitable shot timing on the graph, including a right area and a left area displayed on the left and right, and a shot range for asymmetrically displaying the right area and the left area. , Each of which functions as a change unit for changing the display mode of.

According to the storage medium of the present invention, by causing a computer to read and execute the program,
The computer can function as a control device in the game system of the present invention. Note that the storage medium includes a magnetic storage medium, an optical storage medium, a magneto-optical storage medium, a semiconductor storage element, and other various storage means.

[0017]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a control system of a home golf game system to which the present invention is applied. The home game system executes a predetermined game in accordance with a game program recorded on a CD-ROM 15 as a storage medium.

This game system comprises a CPU 1 mainly composed of a microprocessor, a ROM 2 and a RAM 3 as a main storage device for the CPU 1,
It has a graphics processing unit (GPU) 4 and a sound processing unit (SPU) 6 for image processing and audio processing, buffers 5 and 7 for these units, and a CD-ROM reader 8. The ROM 2 stores an operating system as a program necessary for controlling the overall operation of the game machine. CD-ROM as a storage medium in the RAM 3
The program and data for the game read from 15 are written as needed. The GPU 4 receives the image data from the CPU 1, draws the game screen on the frame buffer 5, converts the data of the drawn image into a predetermined video reproduction signal, and outputs it to the monitor 9 at a predetermined timing. The SPU 6 reproduces data such as voice and musical sound, sound source data, and the like read from the CD-ROM 15 and recorded in the sound buffer 7 and outputs the data from the speaker 10. The CD-ROM reader 8 reads a program or data recorded on the CD-ROM 15 in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 1, and outputs a signal corresponding to the read content. Programs and data necessary for executing the game are recorded on the CD-ROM 15, and details thereof will be described later. A home television receiver is generally used for the monitor 9, and a built-in speaker of the television receiver is generally used for the speaker 10.

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 are detachably connected to the device 11, respectively. The controller 12 functions as an input device, and is provided with an operation member for receiving an operation by a player. Communication control device 1
1 is a controller 12 at a constant period (for example, 1/60 second)
The operation state of the operation member is scanned, and a signal corresponding to the scanning result is output to the CPU 1. The CPU 1 determines the operation state of the controller 12 based on the signal. The controller 12 and the auxiliary storage device 13 are the communication control device 1
More than one can be connected in parallel.

In the above configuration, the other components except the monitor 9, the speaker 10, the controller 12, the CD-ROM 15, and the auxiliary storage device 13 are integrally housed in a predetermined housing to form the game machine body 16. .

Various configurations can be used for the controller 12. For example, the general-purpose controller 12A shown in FIG.
Can be used.

The general-purpose controller 12A shown in FIG. 2 is generally used irrespective of the type of game, and four push button switches PB1 to PB4, PB5 to PB8 are provided on the left and right sides of the resin main body MB, respectively. Provided in the mold,
Two push button switches P on the front side of the main body MB
B9 to PB12 are provided. Small push button switches PB13 and PB14 are provided at the center of the main body MB. The left push button switches PB1 to PB4 are generally used as means for designating the moving direction of a character, a cursor or the like, and may be collectively referred to as a direction indicating switch. Various commands of the game and the like are assigned to the four push button switches PB5 to PB8 on the right side. On the push-button switches PB5 to PB8, for example, symbols of “△”, “×”, “□”, or “「 ”are displayed as these symbols. The front-side push-button switches PB9 and PB11 each have a numeral “1”, and the push-button switches PB10 and P12 have a numeral “2”.
Are displayed, the push button switch PB9 is the “L1 button”, the push button switch PB10 is the “L2 button”, and the push button switch PB1
1 is called "R1 button", and the push button switch PB12 is called "R2 button". Further, the push button switch PB13 is called a select button, and the push button switch PB14 is called a start button.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a display image of a shot scene in a golf game system to which the present invention is applied.

The shot scene in FIG. 3 is a so-called tee shot scene. In FIG. 3, the golfer 20 is displayed at the center of the tee ground 21 and the golfer 20 is displayed.
The course spreads in front of. A target point display 24 is displayed substantially at the center of the course. The target point display 24 indicates a position to which the ball will reach when a shot is performed with ideal power and timing at the currently selected golf club. The player can move the position of the target point display 24 right and left by operating a predetermined push button switch of the controller 12. Thereby, the player can determine the direction of the shot.

At the upper left of FIG. 3, information such as the hole number, the par of the hole, and the distance is displayed. The club selection section 22 is displayed at the lower right, and the currently selected driver (1W) is highlighted by oblique lines. In addition, the remaining distance to the pin is displayed in a box 23 above it.

Below the golfer 20, there is a power gauge 25 for displaying the power of the shot in a graphic form.
It is shown. An enlarged view of the power gauge 25 is shown in FIG. The power gauge is a gauge displayed for the purpose of determining the power and timing of a shot when performing a shot, and the player performs a shot by operating an operation button of the controller while watching the power gauge 25. 4A to 4C show a display state of the power gauge at the time of a shot, and FIG. 4D shows a shot range portion thereof.

FIG. 4 shows a power gauge at the time of a shot.
This will be described with reference to (a) to (d). At the time of shot,
The power gauge 25 displays a power value from 0% to 100%. Regarding the shot distance, each type of golf club (driver, 3 iron, etc.
Also called "counter". ) Is predetermined on the game side. Therefore, for example, if the maximum flight distance of the driver is determined to be 250 yards, when the player selects the driver as a club and shoots with 100% power, a flight distance of 250 yards is obtained, and with a 50% power, When shot, a flying distance of 125 yards is obtained.

At the time of a shot, the player presses down the push button switch PB8 of the controller shown in FIG. 2A, for example, three times in total. The first depression corresponds to a shot start operation, the second depression corresponds to a power determination operation, and the third depression corresponds to a shot timing determination operation. That is, by the first depression, FIG.
As shown in (a) to (c), the cursor 28 starts to move leftward from the 0% position at a constant speed. The player monitors the position of the cursor 28 on the power gauge 25, and performs the second depression at the desired power position. For example, when the player makes a shot with 80% power, the second depression is performed when the cursor 28 reaches a position near the 80% position of the power gauge 25. Thereby, the power of the shot is determined.

When the second depression is performed, the cursor 28 reaches the left end of the power gauge 25 once,
It starts returning at a constant speed to the right (0% direction) shown in (c), and proceeds to the right end beyond the 0% position of the power gauge unless the player presses down for the third time. As shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C, the power gauge 25
The optimal timing point 30 of the shot is displayed at the position of%. Further, a shot range bar 31 (hatched portion) is displayed on the left and right of the optimum timing point 30. The shot range bar 31 indicates a range for hitting the ball normally (a range in which the ball can fly almost in the direction of the target point even if the direction is somewhat deviated right and left). FIG. 4D is an enlarged view of the shot range bar 31. The shot range bar 31 includes a left bar 31L and a right bar 31R.

The player observes the movement of the cursor 28 while being conscious of the positions of the shot range bar 31 and the optimum timing point 30, and performs a third depression when judging that the cursor 28 has reached the optimum timing point 30.
When the third depression coincides with the optimal timing point 30, the ball flies straight. If the third press is earlier than the optimal timing point 30 and is performed while the cursor 28 is within the left bar 31L, the ball will fly rightward. Conversely, 3
If the second depression is later than the optimal timing point 30 and is performed while the cursor 28 is within the right bar 31R, the ball will fly to the left. When the third depression is shifted from the optimal timing point 30, the larger the amount of the deviation (ie, the distance between the position of the cursor 28 at the time of performing the third depression and the position of the optimal timing point 30) is, the larger. The amount by which the direction of the ball moves is increased. In other words, even when the third pressing is shifted from the optimal timing point 30, the direction of the ball is not largely shifted if the amount of the shift is small, but the direction of the ball is largely shifted if the amount of the shift is large. Thus, one shot is performed by the player performing the pressing down a total of three times.

According to the present invention, when a shot is made in this manner, the form / situation of the course (the hole being played),
It is characterized in that the display of the shot bar is changed to an asymmetrical form according to other conditions. This processing will be described with reference to FIG. 5A to 5D show a layout of a certain hole, in which a tee ground 40, a pond 41, a bunker 42 and the like are shown. In addition, below each hole layout, the shape of the shot bar 31 displayed corresponding to the hole is shown.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, it is assumed that a large pond 41 is located on a right side of a fairway in a certain hall. Players usually have the consciousness that they do not want the ball in the pond, that is, they do not want the ball to fly to the right. In such a case, the left and right bars 31L, as usual,
If 31R is displayed (see FIG. 4 (d)), the player moves the cursor 38 within the right side bar 31R, and then waits for 3 seconds.
A second push is made to prevent the ball from flying to the right. However, if the right side bar 31R is not displayed and an asymmetric shot range bar is used as shown in FIG. 5A, it is difficult to determine the timing of performing the third press-down because the player does not have a display to rely on visually. Become. In addition, since the left bar 31L is displayed, a mistake is likely to occur in the third pressing down due to excessive awareness of the left bar 31L. As described above, by changing the display of the shot bar in accordance with the course form and the situation, a kind of pressure can be given to the player, and the game can be made more interesting.

FIG. 5 (b) shows a case having a course configuration substantially opposite to that of FIG. 5 (a), and only the right bar 31R is displayed. Also, as shown in FIGS. 5C and 5D, either the left or right bar is not completely erased,
The length can be shortened to provide an asymmetric display mode, whereby the pressure applied to the player's consciousness can be adjusted.

Next, such a shot range bar 31 is used.
Will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This processing is performed by the CPU 1 shown in FIG.
Reading out a program recorded in advance in the ROM 15;
This is executed by controlling the GPU 1 and the monitor 9. Also, assuming that this process is executed,
It is assumed that course layout data can be acquired. The course layout data is data indicating the shape of each hole in each course, the position of an obstacle, the position of a green, the position of a cup, etc., and is prepared in advance for each course and hole, and is stored in the CD-ROM 15 shown in FIG. It is remembered. When the player starts playing a game and selects a course, course layout data corresponding to the course is loaded from the CD-ROM 15 to the RAM 3 and referred to during the progress of the game.

First, the CPU 1 determines the target direction of the player's shot based on the current position data of the player's ball and the current target position display position data (step S2). Next, referring to the course layout data, it is checked whether there is an obstacle (including a pond, a bunker, a tree, an OB area, etc.) on the left and right of the target direction, and the deformation amount of the shot range bar 31 is determined based on the result. (Step S4). For example, assuming a straight line connecting the current position of the ball and the green position, and there is an obstacle on the right side in the target direction with respect to the straight line, the left bar 31L is shortened by a predetermined amount. Similarly, when there is an obstacle on the left side of the straight line in the target direction, the right bar 31R is shortened by a predetermined amount. The amount by which the right or left bar is shortened is determined according to the size of the obstacle, the distance between a straight line connecting the current position of the ball and the green (or cup) and the obstacle, and the like. Then, the shot range bar 31 whose length has been adjusted according to the determined deformation amount is displayed on the monitor 9 (step S6). In this manner, the display of the shot range bar 31 can be asymmetrically changed according to the form and situation of the course.

In the above-described embodiment, the display form of the shot range bar is changed according to the course form and the like. In addition to this, for example, the characteristics of each character of the golf player in the game (such as the tendency of the hit ball to fly to the left or right), the characteristics of the club to be used (such as that a certain club is easy to hit in a certain direction), The configuration of the display of the shot range bar may be changed according to the condition of the feet at the time of performing (foot rising, falling, lie of the ball, etc.).

[0038]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The display range of the shot range bar is asymmetrically changed according to the course configuration / situation, etc., which can give the player some sort of psychological pressure on the direction of the shot, etc., and increase the fun of the game .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a control system of a golf game system to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an appearance of a controller that can be used in the golf game system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen at the time of a shot in the golf game system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of a power gauge.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a modified example of the shot range bar according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a display process of a shot range bar.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... CPU 2 ... ROM 3 ... RAM 4 ... GPU 5 ... Frame buffer 6 ... SPU 7 ... Sound buffer 8 ... CD-ROM reader 9 ... Monitor 10 ... Speaker 11 ... Communication control device 12 ... Controller 13 ... Auxiliary storage device 14 ... bus 22 ... club selection section 25 ... power gauge 28 ... cursor 30 ... optimal timing point 31 ... shot range bar

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An image display device, an input device for outputting a signal in accordance with an operation of a player, and a virtual golf play is advanced with reference to an output of the input device, and the progress of the virtual golf play is determined according to the progress status. And a control device for displaying the image on the screen of the display device, wherein the control device uses a graph and a cursor that moves relatively to the graph on the display device to execute shot timing. , A shot range indicating an appropriate shot timing is displayed on the graph, including an optimum shot timing point, a right area and a left area displayed on the left and right of the optimum shot timing point. A shot range display means, and a shot range so that the right area and the left area are displayed asymmetrically. Game system characterized by comprising a changing unit, the changing the display mode. 2. An analysis means for analyzing a form of a hole in which a play is progressing and creating an analysis result, wherein the changing means determines at least one of the right area and the left area based on the analysis result. The game system according to claim 1, wherein the game system is changed. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the analyzing unit analyzes the form of the hole in the direction of the shot target point from the current position of the ball with reference to layout data prepared for each hole. Game system. 4. The game system according to claim 3, wherein said analysis means analyzes presence / absence of an obstacle in a direction of a shot target point from a current position of said ball. 5. The analysis means analyzes the presence or absence of an obstacle on the right and left sides with respect to a straight line connecting the current position of the ball and the shot target point. 5. The game according to claim 4, wherein the left area of the shot range is reduced when there is an obstacle, and the right area of the shot range is reduced when an obstacle is on the left side of the straight line. system. 6. A program for causing a virtual golf play to proceed while referring to an output from an input device of a game machine and displaying an image corresponding to the progress on a screen of a display device is recorded. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein the program displays, on the display device, a computer provided in the game machine with a graph and a cursor that moves on the graph to display shot timing. A shot range display means including an optimum shot timing point, a right area and a left area displayed on the left and right of the optimum shot timing point, and displaying a shot range indicating a suitable shot timing on the graph; Display range of shot range so that area and left area are displayed asymmetrically A computer-readable storage medium that functions as a change unit that changes a state.