JP2002035420A - Device and reloading method for shooting game - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device and a reloading method for a shooting game preventing or reducing mistakes in reload in case of a reloading operation so as to directly pull a trigger to the outside of a screen. SOLUTION: The reload is conducted even when a bullet impacts on a prescribed area such as a frame section around the screen in the game wherein the replenishment (reload) of the bullets is preformed by directing the muzzle to the outside of the screen so as to pull the trigger. The size of the prescribed area is permitted to vary according to the number of the residual bullets and the like. Additionally, a fixed time after the number of the residual bullets has been reduced to zero, the reload is conducted without reference to an impact position if only pulling the trigger.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a shooting type game apparatus and a reloading method in a shooting type game, and more particularly to a technique capable of reducing an operation error of refilling a bullet with a gun type controller directed to a game screen. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a so-called shooting type game in which a target is displayed on a screen, and a controller is operated to aim at the target on the screen to shoot and compete for a score has been known. In shooting games, for example,
Using a gun-type controller, aim the target displayed on the screen and trigger the gun. As a result, a virtual bullet (hereinafter simply referred to as a bullet) is fired, the impact coordinates of the game space are specified, and if the coordinates match the position coordinates of the target, it is determined to be a hit and the score is accumulated. .

In such a shooting type game,
In some cases, the number of bullets that can be loaded into a gun is limited to a predetermined number, and the number of bullets decreases with each shot. When the bullet has been exhausted, a so-called reloading operation is performed. Normally, reloading is performed by pointing the muzzle off the screen and triggering. Some shooting games will automatically reload after a certain amount of time has elapsed after the bullet has been shot out, but there is no way for the player's conscious operation to point the muzzle off the screen and trigger. It increases the realism of the game and doubles the fun.

[0004]

By the way, when actually playing a shooting type game, there is a case where the reloading by pointing the muzzle to the outside of the screen and pulling the trigger fails. This is due to variations in the quality of the gun-type controller (specifically, errors in the mounting angle of the light receiving unit, errors in the response of the trigger switch, etc.) and errors in the aim setting of the gun. If there is such a variation or error, even if the player intends to aim the gun at the outside of the screen and triggers, it is determined that the screen is within the screen in the program, and there is a case where the reload is not performed.

When the muzzle is returned from the outside of the screen to the inside of the screen too quickly, there is a case where the player actually pulls the trigger inside the screen even if the player intends to trigger outside the screen. For this reason, there are cases where reloading is not performed. This is particularly likely in shooting-type games that require rapid fire.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and is intended to prevent or reduce reload mistakes in a shooting type game in which a muzzle is pointed out of a screen and a reload operation is performed such as a trigger. An object of the present invention is to provide a shooting type game apparatus and a reloading method in a shooting type game.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a target is displayed on a screen of a display means, and the target is shot by a virtual bullet firing operation by a controller of a player. Means for determining whether the impact position corresponding to the bullet firing operation is within the screen or outside the screen, and when the impact position is outside the screen, the virtual Means for performing a reload process for replenishing a bullet, a means for determining whether or not the landing position is within a predetermined area of the screen when the landing position is within the screen, Means for performing a reloading process for replenishing the virtual bullet when it is within a predetermined area within the area.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the predetermined area in the screen is provided at a screen end of the display means. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the size of the predetermined area is changed according to the number of remaining bullets.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a shooting type game apparatus of a type in which a target is displayed on a screen of a display means and the target is shot by a virtual bullet firing operation by a player's controller. Means for determining whether the impact position corresponding to the operation is within the screen or outside the screen, and means for performing reload processing for replenishing the virtual bullet when the impact position is outside the screen, Means for displaying a message urging reloading when the number of remaining bullets becomes 0, and when a predetermined time has elapsed after the message was displayed and a bullet firing operation has been performed, the bullet is moved to its landing position. Regardless, means for performing a reloading process for replenishing the virtual bullets is provided.

The invention according to claim 5 is a reloading method in a shooting type game in which a target is displayed on a screen of a display means and the target is shot by a virtual bullet firing operation by a controller of a player. A step of determining whether the impact position corresponding to the bullet firing operation is within the screen or outside the screen; and performing a reload process for refilling the virtual bullet when the impact position is outside the screen. And determining whether the landing position is within a predetermined area of the screen when the landing position is within the screen; and determining whether the landing position is within a predetermined area of the screen. Performing a reloading process for supplementing a virtual bullet.

The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that, in claim 5, the predetermined area in the screen is provided at an end of the screen of the display means. The invention according to claim 7 is characterized in that, in claim 5, the size of the predetermined area is varied according to the number of remaining bullets.

The invention according to claim 8 is a reloading method in a shooting type game of a type in which a target is displayed on a screen of a display means and the target is shot by a virtual bullet firing operation by a controller of a player. A step of determining whether the impact position corresponding to the bullet firing operation is within the screen or outside the screen; and performing a reload process for refilling the virtual bullet when the impact position is outside the screen. When the number of remaining bullets becomes 0,
Displaying a message prompting reloading; and, when a predetermined time has elapsed after the message was displayed and a bullet firing operation has been performed, refilling the virtual bullet regardless of its landing position. And performing a reloading process.

[0013]

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

FIG. 1 shows a block configuration of a shooting type game apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This apparatus includes a CPU (central processing unit) 101, an image synthesizing unit 10
2. Voice synthesis unit 103, random access memory (RA
M) 104, a storage medium 105, a display 106, an operation unit 107, and a gun-type controller 108. The present device can be configured as either a home game machine or an arcade game machine. In the case of a home game machine, a television is connected to the main body 100 as a display 106, and controllers 107 and 108 are connected. The game program is stored in the storage medium 105 (CD-RO
M and cartridge). When configured as an arcade game machine, the controller 107
And the display medium 106 and the storage medium 1
05 may be integrated into the main body. Storage medium 10
As 5, a ROM (Read Only Memory) is used, for example. Further, it can be configured using a general-purpose workstation or personal computer.

The CPU 101 is a processing device for controlling the operation of the entire device. The image synthesizing unit 102 includes a CPU 1
The game screen display data is synthesized based on the instruction from 01 and output to the display 106. Voice synthesis unit 103
Synthesizes voice data of the game based on an instruction from the CPU 101 and outputs the synthesized data to the display 106. The display 106 has not only a display function but also an audio output function. The RAM 104 is a memory used as an area for loading a program to be executed by the CPU 101 and a work area for data to be processed. Storage medium 105
Is a storage medium storing a game program and data to be executed by the CPU 101, such as an optical disc (CD,
DVD), magneto-optical disk (MO), magnetic disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, or memory (ROM)
It can be realized by such as. The operation unit 107 is an input device that is operated by a player to give an instruction to the apparatus.
The gun-type controller 108 includes a light-receiving element 111 and a trigger switch (trigger) 112, and is used for a player to perform an operation of shooting (trigger-on) aiming at a target on a screen in a shooting game.

The shooting type game stored in the storage medium 105 can be executed by the apparatus shown in FIG. this is,
A conventionally known target is displayed on the screen of the display 106, and the trigger 112 is turned on with the aim of the gun-type controller 108 to shoot the target and compete for points. Note that the player's trigger-on is an operation for instructing a virtual bullet firing, but it is not actually necessary to perform processing so that a bullet is fired. When the trigger is turned on, whether the landing position is inside or outside the screen,
And any other shooting-type game that can identify the position within the screen.

The present apparatus is particularly characterized in reloading (reloading bullets when the bullets are exhausted). In other words, the reloading operation itself is performed by pointing the gun outside the screen and turning on the trigger. In this apparatus, even if the trigger is not completely off the screen, the trigger is turned on within a predetermined range (reload area) near the frame of the screen. When it does, it is regarded as off-screen and reloaded. Hereinafter, this will be described.

FIG. 2A is a diagram of a game screen showing a reloading range. 210 is the display 106
Shows the range of the display screen. During the game, this screen 210
The target is displayed inside and the game proceeds. The hatched portion 213 is a range provided in the frame portion of the game screen 210 with a horizontal width 211 and a vertical width 212, and
8, when the trigger is turned on in this range, it is regarded as a trigger-on outside the screen, and is a reload area for executing reload. Light receiving element 1 of gun type controller 108
If there is an error in the mounting angle of 11, or there is an error in the response of the trigger switch 112 that triggers on, or the player is misunderstood, the trigger on is detected in the screen even if the player has shot off the screen There is. Even in such a case, since the reloading is performed with the frame portion 213 serving as the reload area serving as a margin, a reload mistake can be prevented or reduced for the player. In the present embodiment, the screen has a size of 640 × 480 dots and a width of 2 dots.
11 and the vertical width 212 were 32 dots.

In particular, in the present apparatus, the width of the frame portion 213 is varied according to the remaining number of bullets (remaining number of bullets). That is, when the number of remaining bullets is large, the horizontal width 211 and the vertical width 212 are narrowed, and the original screen portion of the game is widened.
When the number of remaining bullets is small, it is determined that it is time to reload, and the width 211 and the height 212 are increased and the frame portion 213 is increased. Therefore, when the number of remaining bullets is large, the game screen for taking hits is made larger, and as the number of remaining bullets decreases, the area for taking hits is made smaller and the reload area is made wider.

Further, in the present apparatus, when the number of remaining bullets becomes 0, a message prompting reloading is displayed, and thereafter,
After a certain period of time, the player reloads when the trigger is pulled, regardless of where the player is pointing the muzzle. As a result, the reloading operation when the bullets are exhausted is made easier, and reload mistakes are prevented or reduced. FIG. 2B shows an example of a message (reload display) prompting reloading. A message 221 is displayed in the game screen 220.

In FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b), the backgrounds and characters of the game being executed are actually displayed on the game screens 210 and 220, but are omitted in the figures. . Although the frame portion 213 in FIG. 2A is shaded, the frame portion 213 is displayed on an actual game screen.
There is no indication of the number 3, so the player does not know. Conversely, by changing the display mode of the frame portion 213, for example, by changing the color of the frame portion 213, the player may be made to recognize the range of the frame portion 213, and may be made aware that reloading is performed when the user shoots the range.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a game execution procedure for realizing the above-described reloading. When the game program is loaded into the RAM 104 and the game is started, a maximum value MAX is set in a variable “number of remaining bullets” (hereinafter simply referred to as remaining number of bullets) in step 301. Next, in step 302, the original game processing is executed. next,
In step 303, it is determined whether or not the number of remaining bullets is greater than zero. If it is greater than 0, it is determined in step 304 whether the trigger has been pulled (trigger on). If not, the process returns to step 302 to continue the game processing. If it is detected in step 304 that the trigger has been triggered, the screen is displayed in solid white in step 305,
In step 306, the white light is transmitted to the light receiving section 111 of the gun 108.
It is determined whether or not is detected.

Steps 305 and 306 are for the light receiving type gun 1
This is a process for detecting the direction of 08. That is, by displaying a single-color flash screen in one frame of the display during the game, the raster scanning is started from the upper left corner of the display (CRT) 106 as a starting point. When the gun is pointed in a certain direction, raster scanning of the flash screen is detected by the light receiving section of the gun. Since the speed of raster scanning is known, the position at which the gun is pointed can be calculated by measuring the time from when raster scanning is started to when white light is detected by the light receiving unit. When white light is not detected by the light receiving section, it can be understood that the gun is pointed out of the screen.

If it is determined in step 306 that the light receiving portion 111 of the gun 108 has not detected the white light, it means that the gun is directed out of the screen, and the process returns to step 301 to set the number of remaining bullets. Thereby, reloading is performed. In step 306, the white light is received by the light receiving unit 11 of the gun 108.
If 1 is detected, it is determined in step 307 whether or not the number of remaining bullets is greater than 0. If the remaining ammo is 0,
Returning to step 302, the game processing is continued.

If the number of remaining bullets is larger than 0 in step 307, the vertical width 212 and the horizontal width 211 of the frame portion 213 described with reference to FIG. Specifically, the vertical width 212 and the horizontal width 211 are obtained as: vertical width = (MAX / remaining number of bullets) × minimum vertical width Horizontal width = (MAX / remaining number of bullets) × minimum horizontal width This allows
When the number of remaining bullets is large, the frame portion 213 is narrowed to make the original game screen large.
13 is widened to make reloading easier.

Next, at step 309, 1 is subtracted from the remaining number of bullets. This is the process of subtracting the amount of the bullet used for reloading. Next, in step 310, it is determined whether or not the landing position is not the frame portion (shaded portion in FIG. 2A) 213. If it is the frame portion 213, the process returns to step 301 to perform reloading. If it is not the frame portion 213, hit check processing is performed on the impact position and the object with the hit determination in step 311, and the process returns to step 301.

If the number of remaining bullets is 0 in step 303, a display 221 for prompting reloading as described with reference to FIG. 2B is made in step 312. Next, in step 313,
It is determined whether or not the reload display 221 has passed for a certain period of time and the trigger has been triggered. If the reload display 221 has passed for a certain period of time or more and the trigger has been triggered, it means that the reload will be performed no matter where the muzzle is pointing, so the flow returns to step 301. Otherwise, go to step 304.

As described above, reload errors can be prevented or reduced.

Although the above embodiment uses a gun-type controller, the controller is not limited to a gun-type controller. Any object can be used as long as it can determine the target on the screen. For example, an operation device such as a joystick, a mouse, a trackball, a trackpad, a tablet, or a button may be used. Any signal that can generate a signal that triggers the firing of the gun may be used.

In the above embodiment, a method using a light receiving element is used to detect the position where the gun is pointed.
Not only the light receiving method but also an arbitrary method (such as a light emitting method) can be used.

The frame portion 213 described with reference to FIG.
1 and a vertical width 212, for example, a horizontal width 211
May be set to 0 to eliminate the left and right frame portions, or the lower portion of the screen may be large. Since a score display portion and the like are often provided above and below the game screen, such a portion may be used as the frame portion 213. Therefore,
Although it is referred to as a “frame”, it is not always necessary to set it as a frame-shaped area that goes around the screen one time. An area having an arbitrary size and an arbitrary shape may be provided as a reload area. FIG.
(A) is an example in which four corner areas 401 of the screen 400 are set as reload areas.

The reload area may be used as a bullet replenishment area and may be moved in the screen. FIG. 4B shows the screen 4
This is an example in which an area 411 for moving 10 is set as a reload area. For example, a reload area that moves with the movement of the character may be provided in the vicinity of the key point of the character to be scored, and the player may reload by a miss shot when the player shoots at the key point of the character. Good.

Further, when the number of remaining bullets becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value, a special character is displayed near the frame portion 213 to guide the player to shoot the frame portion 213 which is a reload area in order to induce reloading. You may make it.

In the above-described embodiment, when the remaining number of bullets hits the reload area, only reloading is performed. In addition to executing reloading, a hit check of the target is performed from the landing position. You may. That is, if there is a remaining number of bullets, hit check for the target may be performed on the entire screen, and if the landing position is in the reload area, reload may be performed.

In the above embodiment, the entire screen is displayed in white in step 305, and it is determined in step 310 whether the landing position is in the reload area.
Only the center portion of the screen excluding the hatched portion may be displayed in white, and when this white light is not sensed, reloading may be performed as if it landed outside the screen or in the reload area.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In a game in which a bullet is replenished (reloaded) by pulling the trigger outside the screen, reloading is performed even when the ball hits a predetermined area such as a frame around the screen. Can be prevented or reduced. In addition, after the reload display that is displayed when the number of remaining bullets becomes 0, after a certain period of time, no matter where the impact position is, triggering will trigger reload, so when the bullets are gone Can be more easily performed, and reload mistakes can be prevented or reduced. According to the present invention, there is a great effect especially in a game of a continuous shooting type.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a shooting-type game device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a game screen showing a reloading range and a reloading display.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a game execution procedure.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of a reload area.

[Explanation of symbols]

101: CPU (Central Processing Unit), 102: Image Synthesizing Unit, 103: Voice Synthesizing Unit, 104: Random Access Memory (RAM), 105: Storage Medium, 106: Display, 107: Operation Unit, 108: Gun Type Controller

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A shooting-type game apparatus of a type in which a target is displayed on a screen of a display means and the target is shot by a virtual bullet firing operation by a player's controller, wherein a landing position corresponding to the bullet firing operation is provided. Means for determining whether the position is within the screen or outside the screen; means for performing a reloading process for replenishing the virtual bullets when the impact position is outside the screen; Means for judging whether or not the impact position is within a predetermined area on the screen; and reloading for refilling the virtual bullet when the impact position is within a predetermined area on the screen. Means for performing the above-mentioned processing. 2. The shooting type game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined area in the screen is provided at an end of the screen of the display means. 3. The shooting-type game device according to claim 1, wherein the size of the predetermined area is varied according to the number of remaining bullets. 4. A shooting type game apparatus of a type in which a target is displayed on a screen of a display means and the target is shot by a virtual bullet firing operation by a controller of a player, wherein a landing position corresponding to the bullet firing operation is provided. Means for determining whether the position is within the screen or outside the screen; means for performing a reloading process for refilling the virtual bullets when the impact position is outside the screen; Means for displaying a message prompting reloading when a certain time has elapsed after the message was displayed,
And a means for performing a reload process for replenishing the virtual bullets, regardless of the impact position, when a bullet firing operation is performed. 5. A reloading method in a shooting type game in which a target is displayed on a screen of a display means and the target is shot by a virtual bullet firing operation by a player's controller, the method corresponding to the bullet firing operation. Determining whether the impact position is within the screen or outside the screen; performing a reloading process to replenish the virtual bullet when the impact position is outside the screen; Determining whether or not the impact position is within a predetermined area in the screen when the current position is within the screen; and refilling the virtual bullet when the impact position is within a predetermined area within the screen. Performing a reloading process for a shooting type game. 6. The reloading method according to claim 5, wherein the predetermined area in the screen is provided at an end of a screen of the display means. 7. The reloading method according to claim 5, wherein the size of the predetermined area is varied according to the number of remaining bullets. 8. A reloading method in a shooting type game in which a target is displayed on a screen of a display means and the target is shot by a virtual bullet firing operation by a player's controller, the method corresponding to the bullet firing operation. Determining whether the impact position is within the screen or outside the screen; performing a reloading process to replenish the virtual bullet when the impact position is outside the screen; A step of displaying a message prompting reloading when it becomes 0; and a certain time has passed after the message was displayed,
And performing a reloading process of replenishing the virtual bullets, regardless of the impact position, when a bullet firing operation is performed.