JP2003205171A - Image display program, image display method and video game device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image display program, an image display method and a video game device that can support operation for a user and confirm the operation of a character from the shape of a gage. <P>SOLUTION: An operation data storage part 47 stores operation data on the operation of the character preset in a game space. A gage generating part 45 generates the gage shaped corresponding to the operation of the character, on the basis of the operation data. A gage display control part 46 displays the generated gage on a game screen in response to the operation of the character. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image display program, an image display method and a video game device for displaying a character displayed on a game screen according to the progress of the game.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a video game device in which a user (player) can play a video game by operating a character playing sports in a video game space. As such a video game, there is known a video game that uses sports such as tennis, golf, and ice hockey. For example, in a video game about golf, a linear gauge is displayed on the game screen, the timing at which the ball should be shot is displayed in advance in the gauge, and the timing at which the button assigned to the shot operation should be pressed is displayed. Is taught to the user to assist the user in the operation.

In a video game or the like using golf as a subject, a fixed ball has an impact, so that the motion of the character is constant and the timing of shots is not particularly varied.

[0004]

However, in a video game using tennis as a subject, for example, the ball shot by the opponent is hit back, so the position of the character and the position of the ball also move for each shot, and the motion of the character changes. It will be rich in. In particular, the trajectory of the tennis racket operated by the character changes for each character or for each shot such as forehand and backhand. The user has to measure the timing of impacting the ball for each character or each shot, and it is difficult for a beginner user to take the timing.
There is a problem that the desired operation cannot be performed.

Further, in a video game on the subject of tennis, since the motion of taking a shot of the character is instantaneously performed, the user can confirm only the first motion and the last motion of the character, and a series of motions are performed. I can't confirm.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problem, and assists the operation to the user by generating a gauge having a shape corresponding to the action of the character and displaying the gauge on the game screen. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image display program, an image display method, and a video game device capable of confirming the action of a character by the shape of a gauge.

[0007]

The present invention according to claim 1 is an image display program for displaying a character displayed on a game screen according to the progress of the game, and is set in advance. A gauge generating means for generating a gauge having a shape corresponding to the character's movement based on movement data relating to the character's movement, and a video as a gauge display means for displaying the generated gauge on a game screen according to the character's movement. The game device is made to function.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the image display program for displaying the character displayed on the game screen according to the progress of the game is the motion data regarding the motion of the character set in advance. The video game device is caused to function as a gauge generation means for generating a gauge having a shape corresponding to the motion of the character based on, and a gauge display means for displaying the generated gauge on the game screen according to the motion of the character.

That is, the gauge generation means generates a gauge having a shape corresponding to the motion of the character based on motion data relating to the motion of the character set in advance, and the generated gauge is operated by the gauge display means. Is displayed on the game screen.

Therefore, the user can easily know the timing of operating the character by checking the gauge displayed on the game screen according to the motion of the character, and can perform the desired operation.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the motion data includes locus data representing a locus along which an object operated by the character moves, and the gauge generating means interpolates the locus data. It is characterized by generating a gauge.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the motion data includes locus data representing a locus along which the object operated by the character moves in the game space, and the gauge generating means interpolates the locus data. To generate a gauge.

That is, the motion data relating to the motion of the character includes locus data representing as a point the locus along which the object operated by the character moves in the game space, and a gauge is generated by interpolating the locus data. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount of data to be stored in order to generate a gauge, as compared with the case where a gauge created in advance is displayed. Also,
The user can confirm the trajectory of the object, which is a series of movements of the character, by the shape of the gauge. Especially when the character imitates an actual player (competitor), the shape of the gauge can be changed. By confirming, it is possible to know the actual movement of the player.

The present invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the gauge display means changes the display state of the gauge in accordance with a parameter associated with the character and displays it on the game screen.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the gauge display means changes the display state of the gauge according to the parameter associated with the character and displays it on the game screen.

That is, since the gauge display means changes the display state of the gauge according to the parameter associated with the character and displays it on the game screen, a gauge having a shape corresponding to the action of the character is simply displayed on the game screen. It is possible to make more various expressions by changing the display state of the gauge according to the value of the ability parameter associated with the character, instead of displaying it on.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the gauge display means changes the color of the gauge according to the movement of the object when the object reaches a start position where the motion of the character starts, and the game screen is displayed. It is characterized by displaying in.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the gauge display means changes the color of the gauge in accordance with the movement of the object operated by the character when the object reaches the start position where the motion of the character starts. And display it on the game screen.

That is, when the object operated by the character reaches the start position where the character's motion starts by the gauge display means, the color of the gauge is changed according to the movement of the object and displayed on the game screen. When the operation is performed instantly,
The user can confirm the progress status of the motion of the character by changing the color of the gauge displayed on the game screen.

The present invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the gauge display means displays one on the game screen with one of the gauges having a long width and the other having a short width.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the gauge display means displays one on the game screen by increasing the width of one of the gauges and shortening the width of the other gauge.

That is, for example, the width of the gauge on the front side in the game space is increased when displaying it as a game screen, and the width of the gauge on the back side in the game space is shortened when displaying it as the game screen. By displaying on the screen, the shape of the gauge is displayed more exaggeratedly than the shape of the gauge that is normally displayed on the game screen, and a gauge with a sense of depth can be displayed.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image display method for displaying a character displayed on a game screen in accordance with the progress status of the game, wherein the video game device has a preset character of the character. A gauge generation step of generating a gauge having a shape corresponding to the motion of the character based on motion data related to the motion, and a gauge display step of causing the video game device to display the generated gauge on the game screen according to the motion of the character. It is characterized by executing and.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the image display method for displaying the character displayed on the game screen in accordance with the progress of the game is a motion of the character set in advance by the video game device. A gauge generation step of generating a gauge having a shape corresponding to the character's movement based on the movement data of the character, and a gauge display step of causing the video game device to display the generated gauge on the game screen according to the character's movement. To do.

That is, in the gauge generation step,
A gauge having a shape corresponding to the motion of the character is generated based on motion data relating to the motion of the character set in advance, and in the gauge display step, the generated gauge is displayed on the game screen according to the motion of the character.

Therefore, the user can easily know the timing of operating the character by checking the gauge displayed on the game screen according to the motion of the character, and can perform the desired operation.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a video game device for displaying a character displayed on a game screen according to the progress of the game, wherein motion data relating to the motion of the character set in advance is used. It is characterized by further comprising gauge generation means for generating a gauge having a shape corresponding to the action of the character, and gauge display means for displaying the generated gauge on the game screen according to the action of the character.

According to the present invention of claim 7, a video game device for displaying a character displayed on a game screen in accordance with the progress of the game is based on motion data relating to the motion of the character set in advance. And a gauge display means for displaying the generated gauge on the game screen according to the movement of the character.

That is, the gauge generating means generates a gauge having a shape corresponding to the motion of the character based on motion data relating to the motion of the character set in advance, and the gauge display means causes the generated gauge to move the character. Is displayed on the game screen.

Therefore, the user can easily know the timing of operating the character by checking the gauge displayed on the game screen according to the motion of the character, and can perform the desired operation.

[0031]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A video game device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a video game device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, a home video game device configured by connecting a home video game device to a home television will be described as an example of the video game device.
The present invention is not particularly limited to this example, and can be similarly applied to a commercial video game device in which a monitor is integrally configured, a personal computer that functions as a video game device by executing a video game program, and the like. .

The video game device shown in FIG. 1 comprises a home-use game machine 100 and a home-use television 200. The home-use game machine 100 is loaded with a computer-readable recording medium 300 in which a video game program and game data are recorded, and the video game program and game data are appropriately read to execute a game.

The home-use game machine 100 has a CPU (Centra).
l Processing Unit) 1, bus line 2, graphics data generation processor 3, interface circuit (I
/ F) 4, main memory 5, ROM (Read Only Memor
y) 6, decompression circuit 7, parallel port 8, serial port 9, drawing processor 10, audio processor 11, decoder 12, interface circuit 13, buffer 14 to
16, a recording medium drive 17, a memory 18, and a controller 19. The home-use television 200 includes a television monitor 21, an amplifier circuit 22, and a speaker 23.

The CPU 1 is connected to the bus line 2 and the graphics data generation processor 3. The bus line 2 includes an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc., and includes a CPU 1, an interface circuit 4, a main memory 5, a ROM 6, a decompression circuit 7, a parallel port 8, a serial port 9, a drawing processor 10, a voice processor 11, and a decoder 12. And interface circuit 1
3 are connected to each other.

The drawing processor 10 is connected to the buffer 14. The audio processor 11 is connected to the buffer 15 and the amplifier circuit 22. The decoder 12 is connected to the buffer 16 and the recording medium drive 17. The interface circuit 13 is connected to the memory 18 and the controller 19.

The television monitor 21 of the home television 200 is connected to the drawing processor 10. The speaker 23 is connected to the amplifier circuit 22. In the case of an arcade video game device, the television monitor 21, the amplifier circuit 22, and the speaker 23 may be housed together with the blocks that make up the home-use game machine 100 in one housing.

Further, when the video game device is constituted by a personal computer, a workstation or the like as a core, the television monitor 21 or the like corresponds to a display for the computer. Further, the decompression circuit 7, the drawing processor 10, the voice processor 11, etc. correspond to a part of the program data recorded in the recording medium 300 or the hardware on the expansion board installed in the expansion slot of the computer. The interface circuit 4, the parallel port 8, the serial port 9, and the interface circuit 13 correspond to the hardware on the expansion board mounted in the expansion slot of the computer. Further, the buffers 14 to 16 correspond to the respective storage areas of the main memory 5 or the expansion memory.

Next, each component shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The graphics data generation processor 3 is a CPU
1 plays a role as a coprocessor. In other words, the graphics data generation processor 3 performs coordinate conversion and light source calculation, for example, fixed-point matrix and vector calculation by parallel processing.

The main processing performed by the graphics data generation processor 3 is based on the coordinate data, movement amount data, rotation amount data, etc. of each vertex in the two-dimensional or three-dimensional space of the image data supplied from the CPU 1. , A process of obtaining address data of an image to be processed on a predetermined display area and returning it to the CPU 1, a process of calculating the brightness of the image according to a distance from a virtually set light source.

The interface circuit 4 is a peripheral device,
For example, it is used for an interface such as a pointing device such as a mouse or a trackball. The main memory 5 is composed of a RAM (Random Access Memory) or the like. The ROM 6 stores program data serving as an operating system of the video game device. This program is a personal computer's BIOS (Bas
ic Input Output System).

The expansion circuit 7 is an MPEG (Movin
g Picture Experts Group) JPE for standards and still images
Decompression processing is performed on a compressed image that has been compressed by intra coding conforming to the G (Joint Photographic Experts Group) standard. Decompression processing is decoding processing (VLC: Variable
Decoding of data encoded by Length Code), inverse quantization processing, IDCT (Inverse Discrete Cosin)
e Transform) processing, intra-image restoration processing, etc.

The drawing processor 10 performs drawing processing for the buffer 14 based on a drawing command issued by the CPU 1 every predetermined time T (for example, T = 1/60 seconds in one frame).

The buffer 14 is composed of, for example, a RAM,
It is divided into a display area (frame buffer) and a non-display area. The display area is composed of an expansion area of data to be displayed on the display surface of the television monitor 21. The non-display area is composed of storage areas such as data defining skeletons, model data defining polygons, animation data for moving the model, pattern data indicating the contents of each animation, texture data and color palette data.

Here, the texture data is two-dimensional image data. The color palette data is data for designating colors such as texture data. Recording medium 30
The CPU 1 records these data in advance in the non-display area of the buffer 14 from 0 at once or a plurality of times according to the progress of the game.

As the drawing command, there are a drawing command for drawing a three-dimensional image using polygons and a drawing command for drawing a normal two-dimensional image. Here, the polygon is a polygonal two-dimensional virtual figure, and for example, a triangle or a quadrangle is used.

The drawing command for drawing a three-dimensional image using polygons is the polygon vertex address data indicating the storage position of the polygon vertex coordinate data on the display area of the buffer 14, and the texture buffer 14 to be attached to the polygon. In the buffer 14 of the texture address data indicating the storage position, the color palette data indicating the color of the texture, and the brightness data indicating the brightness of the texture.

Of the above-mentioned data, the polygon vertex address data on the display area is converted by the graphics data generation processor 3 into the polygon vertex coordinate data in the three-dimensional space from the CPU 1 based on the movement amount data and the rotation amount data. By doing so, it is replaced with the polygon vertex coordinate data in two dimensions. The brightness data is determined by the graphics data generation processor 3 based on the distance from the position indicated by the polygon vertex coordinate data after the coordinate conversion from the CPU 1 to the virtually arranged light source.

Buffer 1 for polygon vertex address data
4 shows the address on the display area. Drawing processor 1
For 0, the texture data corresponding to the range of the display area of the buffer 14 indicated by the three polygon vertex address data is written.

An object such as a character in the game space is composed of a plurality of polygons. The CPU 1 stores the coordinate data in the three-dimensional space of each polygon in the buffer 14 in association with the corresponding skeleton vector data.
Then, when the character is moved on the display screen of the television monitor 21 by the operation of the controller 19 described later or when the character's movement is expressed or the viewpoint position at which the character is viewed is changed, Processing is performed.

That is, the CPU 1 obtains the graphics data generation processor 3 from the three-dimensional coordinate data of the vertices of each polygon held in the non-display area of the buffer 14, the skeleton coordinates, and the rotation amount data. The amount of movement data and the amount of rotation data of each polygon are given.

The graphics data generation processor 3 sequentially obtains the three-dimensional coordinate data after the movement and the rotation of each polygon based on the three-dimensional coordinate data of the vertices of each polygon and the movement amount data and rotation amount data of each polygon. .

3 of each polygon obtained in this way
The horizontal and vertical coordinate data of the dimensional coordinate data is supplied to the drawing processor 10 as address data on the display area of the buffer 14, that is, polygon vertex address data.

The drawing processor 10 writes the texture data indicated by the pre-assigned texture address data on the display area of the buffer 14 indicated by the three polygon vertex address data. As a result, on the display screen of the television monitor 21, an object having a texture attached to a large number of polygons is displayed.

A drawing command for drawing a normal two-dimensional image is composed of vertex address data, texture address data, color palette address data indicating the storage position of the color palette data indicating the color of the texture data in the buffer 14, and texture. This is performed on the luminance data indicating the luminance. Among these data, the vertex address data is the vertex coordinate data from the CPU 1 on the two-dimensional plane, and the graphics data generation processor 3 based on the movement amount data and the rotation amount data from the CPU 1.
Is obtained by coordinate transformation.

The voice processor 11 reads an ADPCM (Adaptive Differential Pulse) read from the recording medium 300.
Code Modulation) data is stored in the buffer 15,
The ADPCM data stored in the buffer 15 serves as a sound source.

Further, the audio processor 11 reads out ADPCM data from the buffer 15 based on a clock signal having a frequency of 44.1 kHz, for example. The audio processor 11 performs processing such as pitch conversion, noise addition, envelope setting, level setting, and reverb addition on the read ADPCM data.

Audio data read from the recording medium 300 is a PC such as CD-DA (Compact Disk Digital Audio).
In the case of M (Pulse Code Modulation) data, the audio processor 11 converts this audio data into ADPCM data. Further, the processing of the PCM data by the program is directly performed on the main memory 5. The PCM data processed on the main memory 5 is supplied to the audio processor 11 and converted into ADPCM data. Then, the above-described various processes are performed, and the voice is output from the speaker 23.

As the recording medium drive 17, for example,
DVD-ROM drive, CD-ROM drive, hard disk drive, optical disk drive, flexible disk drive, silicon disk drive, cassette medium reader, etc. are used. In this case, as the recording medium 300, a DVD-ROM, a CD-ROM, a hard disk, an optical disk, a flexible disk, a semiconductor memory or the like is used.

The recording medium drive 17 reads image data, audio data and program data from the recording medium 300 and supplies the read data to the decoder 12. The decoder 12 performs error correction processing by ECC (Error Correction Code) on the data reproduced from the recording medium drive 17, and supplies the data subjected to the error correction processing to the main memory 5 or the audio processor 11.

As the memory 18, for example, a card type memory is used. The card-type memory is used to hold various game parameters at the time of interruption, such as holding the state at the time of interruption when the game is interrupted.

The controller 19 is an operating device used by the user to input various operation commands, and sends an operation signal to the CPU 1 according to the user's operation. The controller 19 includes a first button 19a, a second button 19b,
Third button 19c, fourth button 19d, up arrow key 19
U, Down arrow key 19D, Left arrow key 19L, Right arrow key 19R, L1 button 19L1, L2 button 19L2, R
1 button 19R1, R2 button 19R2, start button 19e, select button 19f, left stick 19S
An L and a right stick 19SR are provided.

The up-direction key 19U, the down-direction key 19D, the left-direction key 19L and the right-direction key 19R are used to give a command to the CPU 1 to move a character or a cursor vertically and horizontally on the screen of the television monitor 21, for example. used.

The start button 19e is used to instruct the CPU 1 to load the game program from the recording medium 300 and so on. The select button 19f is used to instruct the CPU 1 to make various selections regarding the game program loaded from the recording medium 300 to the main memory 5.

Left stick 19SL and right stick 1
Each button and each key of the controller 19 except 9SR is an on-off switch which is turned on when pressed from the neutral position by an external pressing force and is returned to the neutral position and turned off when the pressing force is released. Composed.

Left stick 19SL and right stick 1
9SR is a stick-type controller having almost the same configuration as a so-called joystick. This stick-type controller has an upright stick, and is configured to be tiltable in a 360 ° direction including front, rear, left and right with a predetermined position of the stick as a fulcrum. Left stick 1
The 9SL and the right stick 19SR send the values of the x-coordinate in the left-right direction and the y-coordinate in the front-rear direction with the upright position as the origin to the CPU 1 via the interface circuit 13 as operation signals according to the tilt direction and tilt angle of the stick. To do.

The first button 19a and the second button 19
The b, third button 19c, fourth button 19d, L1 button 19L1, L2 button 19L2, R1 button 19R1 and R2 button 19R2 are used for various functions according to the game program loaded from the recording medium 300.

Next, the general operation of the above video game device will be described. When the recording medium 300 is loaded in the recording medium drive 17, a power switch (not shown)
When is turned on and the video game device is powered on,
Based on the operating system stored in the ROM 6, the CPU 1 instructs the recording medium drive 17 to read the game program from the recording medium 300. As a result, the recording medium drive 17 causes the recording medium 3
00, image data, audio data, and program data are read. The read image data, audio data, and program data are supplied to the decoder 12, and the decoder 12 performs error correction processing on each data.

The image data which has been subjected to the error correction processing by the decoder 12 is sent via the bus line 2 to the expansion circuit 7.
Is supplied to. The image data subjected to the above-described expansion processing by the expansion circuit 7 is supplied to the drawing processor 10,
It is written in the non-display area of the buffer 14 by the drawing processor 10. The audio data subjected to the error correction processing by the decoder 12 is written in the buffer 15 via the main memory 5 or the audio processor 11. The program data subjected to the error correction processing by the decoder 12 is written in the main memory 5.

After that, the CPU 1 advances the video game based on the game program stored in the main memory 5 and the contents instructed by the user using the controller 19. That is, the CPU 1 appropriately performs control of image processing, control of audio processing, control of internal processing, and the like based on the content that the user instructs using the controller 19.

As the control of the image processing, for example, the calculation of the coordinates of each skeleton or the calculation of the polygon vertex coordinate data from the pattern data corresponding to the animation instructed by the character, the obtained three-dimensional coordinate data and the viewpoint position data are performed. The supply to the graphics data generation processor 3 and the issuing of a drawing command including the address data and the brightness data on the display area of the buffer 14 which is determined by the graphics data generation processor 3 are performed.

As control of voice processing, for example, issuance of voice output command to the voice processor 11, level,
Reverb etc. are specified. As control of internal processing,
For example, calculation or the like is performed according to the operation of the controller 19.

Next, an example of a video game using the image display program according to the present invention will be described. This video game is based on, for example, tennis, and includes a self-character that is a character imitating a tennis player operated by a user and a CPU of a video game device.
This is a competitive video game played with a partner character, which is a character simulating a tennis player whose movement is controlled by one or another user.

In a video game using tennis as a subject, first, a serve is performed by either the self-character or the opponent character, and the self-character and the opponent character alternately shoot the ball while sandwiching the net. There are multiple types of tennis shot motions,
Hitting a one-bound ball coming in the direction of the hand holding the racket is called a forehand stroke, and hitting a one-bound ball coming in the opposite direction of the hand holding the racket is called a backhand stroke. Hitting a no-bound ball coming in the direction of the hand holding the racket is called forehand volley, and hitting a no-bound ball coming in the opposite direction of the hand holding the racket is called back-hand volley. . In the present embodiment, for the sake of convenience of description, the forehand stroke is a forehand, the backhand stroke is a backhand, and the forehand volley and the backhand volley are collectively referred to as volley.

Next, the main functions of the video game device when playing a video game on the subject of tennis using the video game device configured as described above will be described.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the main functions of the video game device shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the video game device functionally includes a program execution unit 31,
Data storage unit 32, program storage unit 33, display unit 34
And an operation unit 35.

The program execution unit 31 is, for example, the CPU 1
And the like, and the CPU 1 and the like execute an image display program stored in the main memory 5, whereby the trajectory calculation unit 41, the hit point calculation unit 42, the motion selection processing unit 43, the reproduction speed calculation unit 44, the gauge generation unit. 45 and a gauge display control unit 46.

The trajectory calculation unit 41 performs trajectory simulation from the ball speed, the number of revolutions, the air resistance, etc. of the ball object representing the tennis ball, and calculates the trajectory of the ball object in the game space.

The hitting point calculating unit 42 calculates an optimum hitting point position from the trajectory of the ball object calculated by the trajectory calculating unit 41 and the position of the self character in the game space.

The motion selection processing unit 43 selects the shot motion set to the position closest to the hit point position calculated by the hit point calculation unit 42.

The reproduction speed calculation unit 44 calculates the reproduction speed of the shot motion from the time required for the ball object to reach the hitting position and the length of the reproduction time of the shot motion selected by the motion selection processing unit 43.

The gauge generator 45 generates a gauge having a shape corresponding to the character's motion based on the motion data relating to the character's motion preset in the game space.

The gauge display control unit 46 includes the gauge generation unit 4
The gauge generated in 5 is displayed on the game screen according to the action of the character. In addition, the gauge display control unit 46
Displays the game screen while changing the display state in the gauge according to the movement of the racket object which is an object operated by the character. In addition, the gauge display control unit 46 changes the color in the gauge according to the movement of the racket object and displays it on the game screen when the action of the character reaches the start position where the gauge starts. Further, the gauge display control unit 46 lengthens one width of the gauge in the game space and finely displays the other width of the gauge on the game screen.

The data storage unit 32 is, for example, the main memory 5
And a motion data storage unit 47 that stores motion data relating to the motion of a character that is realized in advance in the game space.

The motion data storage unit 47 captures the actual motion of the tennis player as data by a motion capture device such as an optical system or a magnetic field system, and stores the data as motion data for each character. The motion data includes trajectory data that stores the trajectory of the racket object, which is an object operated by the character, as a point. This trajectory data is coordinate data of the tip position of the surface portion of the racket object moving in the three-dimensional space.

The program storage unit 33 is realized by the recording medium drive 17 and the like, and is loaded with a computer-readable recording medium 48. The recording medium 48 is realized by the recording medium 300 and stores an image display program as a video game program. Further, the video game program includes a control program for controlling the motion of the opponent character and display data regarding the displayed character and object. When the image display program is read from the recording medium 48 and the program is recorded in the main memory 5, the main memory 5 functions as the program storage unit 33.

The display unit 34 is realized by the television monitor 21 or the like. The operation unit 35 is realized by the controller 19 or the like.

In the present embodiment, the gauge generation unit 45 corresponds to a gauge generation means, and the gauge display control unit 4
6 and the display unit 34 correspond to gauge display means.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing an example of image display processing by the video game device shown in FIG. The image display processing shown in FIG. 3 is processing performed by the CPU 1 or the like executing an image display program or the like stored in the recording medium 300.

In step S1, the CPU 1 accepts the depression of the controller 19 associated as the shot button, for example, the second button 19b by the user.
The user operates the up arrow key 19U, the down arrow key 19D, the left arrow key 19L and the right arrow key 19R or the left stick 19SL of the controller 19 to move the self character to a desired place in the game space. Then, the second button 19b is pressed at a timing when the ball object is impacted. When the shot motion of the character is serve, the character automatically throws the ball object upward, and the user presses the second button 19b at a timing when the ball object impacts.

In step S2, the CPU 1 calculates the trajectory of the ball object. In the case of forehand, backhand and volley shot motions, the trajectory of the ball object hit by the opponent character is calculated. The calculation of the trajectory is performed by physical simulation based on the ball speed, the rotation speed, the air resistance, etc. of the ball object. In the case of a serve, the trajectory of the ball object thrown overhead by the self character is calculated.

In step S3, the CPU 1 calculates the optimum hitting point position from the trajectory calculated in step S2 and the position of the character at the time when the second button 19b is pressed. This hit point position is a position where the racket object impacts the ball object.

In step S4, the CPU 1 performs a motion selection process for selecting the motion of the character based on the hit point position calculated in step S3. Shot motions such as serve, forehand, backhand, and volley are selected by the motion selection process. In addition,
The motion selection process in step S4 will be described later with reference to FIGS.

In step S5, the CPU 1 calculates the reproduction speed for reproducing the shot motion of the character selected in the motion selection process of step S4. The playback speed is calculated based on the time required for the ball object to reach the hitting point and the playback time of the shot motion selected in step S4. The reproduction of the shot motion of the character is performed according to this reproduction speed.

In step S6, the CPU 1 determines whether or not the volley shot motion is selected.
When it is determined that the volley shot motion has been selected (YES in step S6), the process proceeds to step S7, and it is determined that the volley shot motion has not been selected (another shot motion has been selected). (NO in step S6), the process proceeds to step S8.

In step S7, the CPU 1 reproduces the volley shot motion based on the reproduction speed calculated in step S5. In the present embodiment, when the volley shot motion is reproduced, the gauge is not displayed.

In step S8, the CPU 1 generates a gauge having a shape corresponding to the motion of the character. From the specific frame of the motion data corresponding to the shot motion selected in the motion selection processing of step S4, the spatial coordinates of the tip position of the racket object are pointed, and the respective spatial coordinates pointed consecutively are determined by the spline interpolation. Generate a gauge with a shape corresponding to the orbit. It should be noted that it is possible to generate a gauge with a shape corresponding to the trajectory of the swing by connecting the points by pointing to the spatial coordinates from the motion data of all frames of the shot motion, but in this case, access all frames. Therefore, the processing time becomes long. In the present embodiment, by extracting and interpolating the spatial coordinates of a specific frame, a gauge can be generated by a simple process, and the processing time can be shortened.
Further, since spline interpolation is used as the interpolation method, it is possible to generate a gauge with a smooth curve. further,
It is not necessary to previously create a gauge corresponding to the shot motion and store it as data, and the amount of data for generating the gauge can be reduced.

In step S9, the CPU 1 determines whether or not the shot motion has been reproduced. here,
If it is determined that the shot motion is reproduced (YES in step S9), the process proceeds to step S10. If it is determined that the shot motion is not reproduced (NO in step S9), the shot motion is reproduced. It will be in a standby state.

In step S10, the CPU 1 displays the gauge generated in step S8 on the game screen.

In step S11, the CPU 1 displays the shot motion and the gauge in association with each other on the game screen. When the shot motion is started and the racket object reaches the position corresponding to the start position of the gauge, the color in the gauge is changed and displayed on the game screen thereafter.

In step S12, the CPU 1 erases the gauge displayed on the game screen when the racket object reaches the gauge end position.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of the motion selection process in step S4 of FIG.

In step S21, the CPU 1 selects a passing area. This passing area represents the range where the racket object operated by the character reaches, and divides the game space into a plurality of grid-shaped areas,
An area including the hitting point position calculated in step S3 of FIG. 3 is selected as a passing area through which the ball object passes. The passage area will be described later with reference to FIG.

In step S22, the CPU 1 determines whether it is a serve. If it is determined to be a serve (YES in step S22), step S2
If it is determined that the serve is not served (NO in step S22), the process proceeds to step S25.

In step S23, the CPU 1 determines, based on the velocity of the ball object, whether or not the shot motion of the serve is in time in the passage area selected in step S21. Here, if it is determined that the shot motion of the serve is in time (step S23)
If YES in step S24, the process proceeds to step S24, and if it is determined that the shot motion of the serve is not in time (NO in step S23), it is processed as a miss shot, and the process proceeds to step S31.

In step S24, the CPU 1 is assumed to select the serve shot motion.

In step S25, the CPU 1 determines whether or not the shot motion of the forehand is in time in the passing area selected in step S21 based on the speed of the ball object. If it is determined that the forehand shot motion is in time (YES in step S25), the process proceeds to step S26. If it is determined that the forehand shot motion is in time (NO in step S25), the process proceeds to step S27. Will proceed.

In step S26, the CPU 1 is assumed to have selected the forehand shot motion.

In step S27, the CPU 1 determines, based on the speed of the ball object, whether or not the backhand shot motion is in time in the passing area selected in step S21. If it is determined that the backhand shot motion is in time (YES in step S27), the process proceeds to step S28. If it is determined that the backhand shot motion is in time (NO in step S27), step S28 is performed. The process proceeds to S29.

In step S28, it is assumed that the CPU 1 selects the backhand shot motion.

In step S29, the CPU 1 determines whether or not the volley shot motion is in time.
If it is determined that the volley shot motion is in time (YES in step S29), step S30
If it is determined that the volley shot motion is not in time (NO in step S29), the process proceeds to step S31.

It is assumed that the CPU 1 selects the volley shot motion in step S30.

In step S31, the CPU 1 executes the second
A miss shot is selected because the timing of pressing the button 19b is too late.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the passage area. A depth direction, which is a direction perpendicular to the front surface to the back surface with respect to the paper surface of FIG. There is.

Forehand shot motion is selected when the hitting point is located in any of the passing areas 77 to 85. In the operation data storage unit 47, the passage areas 77 to
Forehand shot motion operation data corresponding to 85 is stored in advance. For example, when it is determined that the hit point position is within the passing area 77, the passing area 77
A forehand shot motion of the character 60 is selected in accordance with.

When there is a hitting point in any of the passing areas 71 to 76, the backhand shot motion is selected. In the operation data storage unit 47, each passage area 71 to
Backhand shot motion operation data corresponding to 76 is stored in advance. For example, when it is determined that the hit point position is within the passing area 71, the passing area 71
A backhand shot motion of the character 60 is selected in accordance with.

The volley shot motion is selected when the hitting point is located in any of the passing areas 77 to 94. The operation data storage unit 47 includes the passage areas 77 to 94.
The motion data of the shot motion of the volley corresponding to is stored in advance. For example, when it is determined that the hit point position is within the passing area 89, the volley shot motion of the character 60 corresponding to the passing area 89 is selected.

The shot motion of the serve is selected when the hitting point is located in any of the passing areas 89 to 94. The operation data storage unit 47 includes the passage areas 89 to 94.
The motion data of the serve's shot motion according to is stored in advance. For example, when it is determined that the hit point position is within the passing area 91, the shot motion of the serve of the character 60 corresponding to the passing area 91 is selected.

If the hitting point position is on the boundary of each passing area, one of the passing areas is selected. Further, each passing area is appropriately changed depending on the physical characteristics of the character 60, and for example, if the character is taller than the character 60 shown in FIG.
The position of ~ 94 is also higher. Furthermore, each passage area 71-9
The size of 4 may be appropriately changed according to the parameter indicating the ability of the character, and for example, if the character is agile, which is one of the parameters than the character 60 shown in FIG. Increase the range of each.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a game screen when the self character performs a serve shot motion. In the game screen 400 of FIG. 6, the self character 6
0 is displayed on the court 62 on the front side in the game space, and the opponent character 61 is displayed on the court 64 on the back side in the game space with the net object 63 representing the net interposed therebetween. The own character 60 can move inside and around the court 62 by the operation of the controller 19 by the user, and the opponent character 61 can move inside and around the court 64.

In the serve shot motion of the character 60, first, a take-back motion of throwing the ball upward is performed, and when the second button 19b is pressed at a predetermined timing, an impact motion of impacting the ball is performed. On the game screen 400, a gauge 70 having a shape corresponding to the action of the character 60 (here, a shot motion of serve) is displayed. The gauge 70 has a curved strip shape on the game screen, and is divided and displayed at predetermined intervals. Predetermined intervals 71 in the gauge 70 correspond to one frame period and are evenly spaced on the time axis. The starting position 72 of the gauge 70 is the position where the character's take-back motion is completed, and the ending position 73 is the position where 10 frames have elapsed after the impact, for example, and is time-managed. In this embodiment, the width of the start position 72, which is one of the gauges 70, is increased, and the end position 7 that is the other end is
The width of 3 is shortened and displayed. Start position 72 of gauge 70
And the width of the end position 73 are exaggerated and displayed on the game screen, it is possible to further enhance the sense of depth.

The gauge 70 has a ball object 65.
The impact portion that hits the racket object 66 is displayed in a colored manner, and the impact portion 74 is displayed in, for example, red in the game screen 400 of FIG. 6 so that the user can recognize it. If the ball object 65 is impacted within the period of the impact portion 74, the ball becomes a just meat and the intense ball is hit back to the opponent character. It becomes a ball and is hit back. In addition,
The interval between the impact portions 74 may be changed according to the value of the parameter associated with the character 60. For example, for the character 60 having a high technique parameter value, the interval between the impact parts 74 is displayed wider than usual. On the contrary, for the character 60 having a low technique parameter value, the interval of the impact portions 74 is displayed narrower than usual. in this way,
Since the parameter associated with the character is reflected in the gauge, the variety of the game is increased and the video game is rich in interest.

The shape or display state of the gauge may be changed according to other parameters associated with the character. For example, the gauge of a character having a high power parameter value is displayed thicker than a normal gauge, and the gauge of a character having a low power parameter value is displayed thinner than a normal gauge. In this way, by reflecting the parameter associated with the character on the gauge, the variety of games is increased.

The gauge 70 has a display priority, and the character 60 is prioritized over the background object composed of the court 62 and the gauge 70 is prioritized over the character 60 and displayed on the game screen. As a result, the gauge 70 does not enter the background object and is not displayed in the game space, and it is possible to perform an appropriate display without a feeling of strangeness.

When the second button 19b is pressed, the CPU 1 calculates the trajectory and hitting position of the ball object 65 thrown above the character 60's head, selects the passing area (see FIG. 5), and is selected. Select the shot motion of the serve corresponding to the passing area. The shot motion of the serve of the character 60 is started, and the gauge 70 is displayed on the game screen 400. And the character 6
When the racket object 66 operated by 0 reaches the starting position 72 of the gauge 70, the color inside the gauge 70 is changed to, for example, green as the racket object 66 moves. Every time one frame is reproduced, the interval 71 in the gauge 70 is sequentially colored and displayed from the start position 72. When the racket object 66 reaches the end position 73 of the gauge 70, the gauge 70 displays the game screen 400.
Erased from.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a game screen when the self character performs a forehand shot motion. In the game screen 500 of FIG. 7, the self character 60 is displayed on the court 62 on the front side in the game space, as in the game screen 400 shown in FIG. 6, and the opponent character 61 is a net object 63 representing a net.
It is displayed across the court 64 on the back side in the game space.

The character 60 performing the forehand shot motion has the second button 19 at a predetermined timing.
When b is pressed, a take-back action is started, and an impact action for impacting the ball object 65 coming in the direction of the hand holding the racket (the right side of the character 60 in FIG. 7) is performed. On the game screen 500, a gauge 70 having a shape corresponding to the motion of the character (here, a forehand shot motion) is displayed. The gauge 70 displayed on the game screen 500 is the same as the gauge 70 displayed on the game screen 400 of FIG. 6, and a description thereof will be omitted.

When the second button 19b is pressed, the CPU 1 calculates the trajectory and the hit point position of the ball object 65 impacted by the opponent character 61, selects the passing area (see FIG. 5), and selects the passing area. Select the forehand shot motion corresponding to. The forehand shot motion of the character 60 is started, and the gauge 70 is displayed on the game screen 500. When the racket object 66 operated by the character 60 reaches the starting position 72 of the gauge 70,
As the racket object 66 moves, the color inside the gauge 70 changes and is displayed, for example, green. When the racket object 66 reaches the end position 73 of the gauge 70,
The gauge 70 is deleted from the game screen 500.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a game screen when the self character makes a backhand shot motion. Similar to the game screen 400 shown in FIG. 6, on the game screen 600 shown in FIG. 8, the self character 60 is displayed on the court 62 on the front side in the game space, and the opponent character 61 is a net object 63 representing a net.
It is displayed across the court 64 on the back side in the game space.

The character 60 performing the backhand shot motion, the second button 19 at a predetermined timing.
When b is pressed, a take-back action is started, and an impact action is performed to impact the ball object 65 coming in the opposite direction of the hand holding the racket (left side of the character 60 in FIG. 8). On the game screen 600, a gauge 70 having a shape corresponding to the motion of the character (here, the backhand shot motion) is displayed. The gauge 70 displayed on the game screen 600 is the same as the gauge 70 displayed on the game screen 400 of FIG. 6, and a description thereof will be omitted.

When the second button 19b is pressed, the CPU 1 calculates the trajectory and the hit point position of the ball object 65 hit by the opponent character 61, and calculates the passing area (FIG. 5).
Select), and select the backhand shot motion corresponding to the selected pass area. Character 6
The backhand shot motion of 0 is started, and the gauge 70 is displayed on the game screen 600. Then, when the racket object 66 operated by the character 60 reaches the start position 72 of the gauge 70, the color inside the gauge 70 is changed to, for example, green as the racket object 66 moves. When the racket object 66 reaches the end position 73 of the gauge 70, the gauge 7
0 is deleted from the game screen 600.

As described above, since the gauge prepared in advance is not displayed on the game screen, a gauge having a shape corresponding to the action of the character is displayed on the game screen.
The user can confirm a different action for each character by the shape of the gauge. In addition, the user, for example,
It is possible to confirm the action of a character imitating an actual tennis player having a feature of swinging with a twist by the shape of the gauge. Further, since the impacting portion in the gauge is colored and displayed, it is easy to understand the timing of impact that changes for each character or for each shot.

In the present embodiment, the case of singles (the game is played one to one) has been described, but the present invention is not particularly limited to this, and doubles (the game is played two to two) is also possible. Good. In this case, the game is played by forming a pair of a character operated by the user and a character whose operation is controlled by the CPU 1 of the video game device or a character operated by another user.

Although the present embodiment has been described as a video game using tennis as a subject, the present invention is not particularly limited to this. For example, baseball, ice hockey, etc. in which a bat or stick operated by a character is used. It can also be applied to other sports games, etc.
It is also applicable to other action games and the like.

[0135]

According to the present invention described in claim 1, the user can easily know the timing of operating the character by checking the gauge displayed on the game screen according to the motion of the character. The desired operation can be performed.

According to the present invention described in claim 2, it is possible to reduce the amount of data stored for generating a gauge, as compared with the case of displaying a gauge prepared in advance. In addition, the user can confirm the trajectory of the movement of the object, which is a series of motions of the character, by the shape of the gauge. Especially when the character imitates an actual player (competitor), etc. By confirming the shape, it is possible to know the actual movement of the player.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the gauge having a shape corresponding to the action of the character is not simply displayed on the game screen, but the display state of the gauge is the value of the ability parameter associated with the character. It becomes possible to express more variously by changing it according to.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the action of the character is instantaneously performed, the user confirms the progress of the action of the character by changing the color of the gauge displayed on the game screen. be able to.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, for example, the width of the front-side gauge in the game space is lengthened when it is displayed as a game screen, and the width of the rear-side gauge in the game space is set to the game width. By shortening when displaying as a screen and displaying it on the game screen, the shape of the gauge is exaggerated compared to the shape of the gauge that is normally displayed on the game screen, and it is possible to display a gauge with a sense of depth. .

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the user can easily know the timing of operating the character by checking the gauge displayed on the game screen according to the motion of the character. You can perform the operation.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the user can easily know the timing of operating the character by checking the gauge displayed on the game screen in accordance with the motion of the character. You can perform the operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a video game device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing main functions of the video game device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of image display processing by the video game device shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of motion selection processing in step S4 of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a passing area.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a game screen when the self-character performs a serve shot motion.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a game screen when the self character performs a forehand shot motion.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a game screen when the self character performs a backhand shot motion.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 CPU 31 Program Execution Unit 32 data storage 33 Program storage section 34 Display 35 Operation part 41 Ballistic calculator 42 RBI calculation section 43 Motion Selection Processing Unit 44 Playback speed calculator 45 gauge generator 46 gauge display controller 47 Operation data storage unit 48 recording media

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An image display program for displaying a character displayed on a game screen in accordance with the progress of a game, the motion of the character based on motion data relating to the motion of the character set in advance. An image display program that causes a video game device to function as a gauge generation unit that generates a gauge having a shape according to the above, and a gauge display unit that displays the generated gauge on a game screen according to the action of the character. 2. The motion data includes locus data representing a locus of movement of an object operated by the character, and the gauge generation means generates a gauge by interpolating the locus data. The image display program according to claim 1. 3. The image display according to claim 1, wherein the gauge display means changes the display state of the gauge according to a parameter associated with the character and displays it on the game screen. program. 4. The gauge display means, when the object reaches a start position where the action of the character starts, changes the color of the gauge according to the movement of the object and displays the gauge on the game screen. The image display program according to claim 2. 5. The image according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the gauge display means displays one on the game screen with one width of the gauge being long and the other width being short. Display program. 6. An image display method for displaying a character displayed on a game screen in accordance with the progress of the game, wherein the video game device is configured to set the motion data based on preset motion data of the character. A gauge generating step of generating a gauge having a shape corresponding to the motion of the character; and a video game device performing a gauge displaying step of displaying the generated gauge on a game screen according to the motion of the character. How to display images. 7. A video game device for displaying a character displayed on a game screen in accordance with the progress of the game, wherein the character is displayed in response to the motion of the character based on motion data relating to the motion of the character set in advance. A video game device comprising: a gauge generation unit configured to generate a gauge having a different shape; and a gauge display unit configured to display the generated gauge on a game screen according to the action of the character.