JP2003334384A - Game apparatus, method for controlling computer game system, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game apparatus to which a player can simply input operation intention at low costs. <P>SOLUTION: A camera unit 42 obtains the picture of the player P every prescribed period and successively calculates a player operation quantity on the basis of the differential picture of a prior picture and the newest picture. After a prescribed time, the player operation quantity calculated successively in this way is integrated to calculate a player's total operation quantity, it is judged whether the value exceeds a prescribed threshold in the prescribed period, and a game is controlled on the basis of the judging result. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a game device, a computer game system control method and a program, and more particularly to a novel user interface in a computer game system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a computer game system, when a player inputs an operation intention into a computer using a general-purpose (standard) controller or a dedicated controller, the game is controlled based on the input contents. .

Further, it is provided with a light projecting section for outputting a light beam and a light receiving section for detecting whether or not the light beam is incident, and the light beam emitted from the light projecting section by the player is part of the body. There is also proposed a computer game system in which the player can input the intention of the operation into a computer by blocking the light or causing the light beam to directly enter the light receiving portion.

[0004]

However, in the former case, there is a problem that the operation of the general-purpose or dedicated controller tends to be complicated. Further, in the latter case, there is a problem that the cost becomes excessive because the light projecting section and the light receiving section are required.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a game device, a control method of a computer game system, and a game device which allow a player to easily input his / her intention to operate at low cost. To provide a program.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a game device according to the present invention acquires an image of a player at predetermined time intervals and an image acquisition means at different times. A player motion amount calculating means for calculating a player motion amount based on at least two images, and a game control means for controlling a game based on the player motion amount calculated by the player motion amount calculating means. And

In the present invention, an image including the whole or a part of the player's body is acquired every predetermined time, and the player motion amount is calculated based on at least two images acquired at different times. The player motion amount represents the size of the motion of the player captured in the image, and has, for example, a value obtained by adding all pixel values of the difference image or a pixel value other than 0 for the at least two images. The number of pixels or the like can be adopted.

In the present invention, the game is controlled based on the player motion amount calculated in this way. The control of the game is
For example, it is control of the progress of the game and control of the display and sound related to the game. According to the present invention, for example, the more the player moves hard, the more advantageous the game progresses,
On the contrary, the quieter the movement, the better the game can proceed. Furthermore, for example, if the player movement amount reaches a certain amount within a certain time period after the action start timing is guided by the display or the sound, “YES”.
On the other hand, if the predetermined amount is not reached within a predetermined time, it is determined that the input is “NO”, and the game can be advanced depending on the result of the judgment.

The image acquisition means can be realized inexpensively by a known digital camera or the like,
According to the present invention, the player can easily input the operation intention at a low cost as compared with the case of using a general-purpose or dedicated controller.

Further, in one aspect of the present invention, the player motion amount calculation means sequentially calculates the player motion amount based on the latest image and the immediately preceding image acquired by the image acquisition means, and the game control means, The game is controlled based on the player movement amount sequentially calculated by the player movement amount calculation means. In this way, the game can be controlled based on the movement of the player in real time.

In this aspect, the game control means calculates the player total movement amount by integrating the player movement amounts sequentially calculated by the player movement amount calculation means after a predetermined time, and the player total movement amount is You may make it determine whether it exceeds a predetermined threshold value within a predetermined time, and control a game based on the determination result. This way
The game can be controlled based on the movement of the player within a predetermined time. In this case, by displaying the image corresponding to the player total movement amount, the player can easily grasp the total movement amount that the player has performed after a predetermined time.

Further, according to one aspect of the present invention, the image acquiring means acquires an original image at predetermined time intervals, and acquires a plurality of player images corresponding to a plurality of players based on the original image, The player motion amount calculation means calculates the player motion amount based on at least two player images acquired at different times for each player, and the game control means is calculated for each player by the player motion amount calculation means. The game is controlled on the basis of the player movement amount. This allows a plurality of players to input the operation intention.

Further, in one aspect of the present invention, the player motion amount calculation means calculates the player motion amount for each of a plurality of partial areas included in the image acquired by the image acquisition means, and the game control means is The game is controlled based on the player movement amount calculated for each partial area by the player movement amount calculation means. By doing so, it becomes possible to input a wider variety of operation intentions.

Further, the control method of the computer game system according to the present invention comprises the step of controlling the image pickup means included in the computer game system to obtain the image of the player photographed by the image pickup means at predetermined time intervals. And a step of calculating a player motion amount based on at least two images acquired at different times, and a step of controlling a game based on the calculated player motion amount. Here, the imaging means is, for example, a digital camera that acquires captured image data.

Further, the program according to the present invention is image acquisition means for acquiring an image of the player at predetermined time intervals, and at least two images acquired by the image acquisition means at different times.
For causing a computer to function as player movement amount calculation means for calculating a player movement amount based on one image, and game control means for controlling a game based on the player movement amount calculated by the player movement amount calculation means It is a program.

According to the present invention, the player can easily input the operation intention at a low cost as compared with the case of using a general-purpose or special-purpose controller.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view for explaining a situation in which a player plays a game using the game device according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the game device 10 includes a home-use television receiver 40 and a camera unit 4.
2. It is configured to include a home-use game machine 46, and is for realizing various games, for example, quiz games. The home TV receiver 40 and the home game machine 46 are mounted on the cabinet 44, and the camera unit 42 is mounted on the home TV receiver 40. The camera unit 42 is a digital camera that shows the appearance of the player P in real time, is connected to the home-use game machine 46 by a cable, and supplies the captured image (original image) of the player P to the home-use game machine 46 in real time. It has become. The home-use game machine 46 is connected to the home-use television receiver 40, displays a game screen generated by the home-use game machine 46, and outputs game music, game effects, and voice messages from its built-in speaker. It is like this.

In this game device 10, when the player P moves his / her body in front of the camera unit 42, the amount of motion is calculated, and the progress of the game is determined by whether or not the motion is over a certain amount. . For example, when implementing a quiz game on the game device 10, for example, "Mt. Fuji is the fifth highest mountain in the world." If you think it is correct, shake your hand in front of the camera. The question is given to the player P and the action guidance is given to the player P. In response to this, when the player P largely moves in front of the camera unit 42 by waving his hand or shaking his body, the home-use game machine 46 causes the player P to "correct" with respect to the above-mentioned question. It is determined that you have entered the answer. On the contrary, when the player P is still in front of the camera unit 42, the home game machine 46 is
Judges that the player P has input the answer "incorrect" to the above question. Then, according to the judgment, the input content, that is, the player P
The correctness of the answer is notified and the game score of the player P is updated. The game result and the correctness of the answer are displayed by the home television receiver 40 or output as voice from the built-in speaker.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an original image acquired by the camera unit 42 and a difference image generated by the home-use game machine 46. Here, (a) of the figure shows the latest image, and (b) of the figure shows the immediately preceding image. Further, FIG. 7C shows a difference image between the latest image and the immediately preceding image. In the example shown in the figure, the player P uses the camera unit 42.
It shows the situation of shaking the body from right to left in front of. Further, the difference image in FIG. 11C is an image of the same size as the images in FIGS. 11A and 11B, and the pixels given to the corresponding pixels (pixels at the same address) in those player images. The absolute value of the difference between the values (color information) is given as the pixel value of the pixel. Therefore, in the area where the display contents of the latest image and the immediately preceding image are not changed, that is, in the area where there is no movement, the pixel value of the pixels forming the area is zero, and there is some movement, For areas in which display contents are different between the player image and the immediately preceding player image, that is, areas in which display contents are different, the pixel value of the pixels forming the area is 1 or more.

In this game device 10, a difference image between the latest image and the immediately preceding image is generated at every predetermined time (for example, every 1/60 seconds), and the pixel values of all pixels of the difference image are added up to perform the player action. When the amount is calculated and the integrated value (total player motion amount) exceeds a predetermined threshold within a predetermined time, it is determined that the player has input a first type of intention (eg, “correct” or “YES”). If it is judged and if it does not exceed, it is judged that the second type of intention (for example, "incorrect" or "NO") has been input. Then, the game is adapted to proceed according to the judgment.

Here, the hardware configuration of the game device 10 will be described.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the game apparatus 10. As shown in FIG.
Is a DVD (Digital Vers) that is an information storage medium in a home-use game machine 46 connected to the monitor 18 and the speaker 22.
atile Disk (trademark) 25 is mounted. Here, the DVD 25 is used to supply the game program and the game data to the home-use game machine 46, but a CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memor) is used.
y) or any other information storage medium such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) card can be used. Further, the game program and the game data can be supplied to the home-use game machine 46 from a remote place via a data communication network such as the Internet.

The home-use game machine 46 includes a microprocessor 14, an image processor 16, a main memory 26, and an input / output processor 3.
0, a peripheral device interface 31, an audio processing unit 20, and a DVD reproducing unit. The microprocessor 14, the image processing unit 16, the main memory 26, the input / output processing unit 30, and the peripheral device interface 31 are connected by the bus 12 so that mutual data communication is possible, and the input / output processing unit 3
An audio processing unit 20 and a DVD reproducing unit 24 are connected to 0. A camera unit 42 is connected to the peripheral device interface 31. Home game machine 46
Each of the components is stored in a housing. Here, a home-use television receiver 40 is used as the monitor 18, and its built-in speaker is used as the speaker 22.

The microprocessor 14 is an R (not shown).
Operating system and DVD2 stored in OM
Based on the game program read from No. 5, each unit of the home-use game machine 46 is controlled. The bus 12 is for exchanging addresses and data between the respective units of the home-use game machine 46. The main memory 26 has a DVD 25.
The game program and game data read from are written as needed. The image processing unit 16 is a VRAM
(Video Random Access Memory) is included and receives the image data sent from the microprocessor 14 to draw a game screen on the VRAM, and converts the content into a video signal and outputs it to the monitor 18.

The input / output processing unit 30 is an interface for the microprocessor 14 to access the audio processing unit 20 and the DVD reproducing unit 24. The audio processing unit 20 includes a sound buffer, and the DVD 25
The data such as the game music, the game sound effects, and the voice message that are read from the sound buffer and stored in the sound buffer are reproduced and output from the speaker 22. The DVD playback unit 24
DVD 25 according to instructions from the microprocessor 14
The game program and game data recorded in are read. The peripheral device interface 31 is the home-use game machine 4.
6 is an interface for connecting various peripheral devices, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface is adopted. The peripheral device interface 31 includes
Here, the camera unit 42 is connected. The camera unit 42 is a known digital camera for inputting, for example, a monochrome, grayscale, or color photographed image to the home-use game machine 46 at predetermined time intervals (for example, 1/60 seconds). The camera unit 42 is mounted on the home-use television receiver 40 with the lens facing the player P in order to photograph the appearance of the player P.

Next, the processing of the game apparatus 10 will be described.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a player's will input process of the game apparatus 10. The flow chart shown in the figure is
This process is realized by the home-use game machine 46 executing the game program stored in the DVD 25.
It is executed when the player P asks the intention from the home-use game machine 46 (the same applies to the player intention input process described below). In this process, first, a message is displayed on the monitor 18 to guide the player P in motion (S).
101). This message displays, for example, a quiz question and informs how the player P should operate in front of the camera unit 42 to answer the question. Next, the counter i is stored in the main memory 26.
A storage area for the player total movement amount S is secured, and their initial values are set to zero (S102). And
The latest image of the player P photographed by the camera unit 42 is acquired (S103), and a difference image with the previously acquired image of the player P (immediately preceding image) is created (S10).
4). It should be noted that when there is no immediately preceding image, that is, S1
When 04 is executed first, the creation of the difference image is canceled.

Next, the player motion amount α is calculated by adding all the pixel values given to each pixel of the difference image (S105), and the player motion amount α is added to the player total motion amount S. As a result, the player total motion amount S is updated (S106). The player motion amount α is a value corresponding to the amount of movement of the player P in front of the camera unit 42, and the player total motion amount S is a value corresponding to the total amount of movement of the player P after the motion guidance (S101). Becomes Then, if the player total motion amount S is equal to or larger than the predetermined threshold value S _th (S107), it is determined that the first type of intention, for example, “YES” is input in the motion guidance in S101 (S110). , Return to the main game process. In the main game process, for example, it is determined whether the input content of the player P determined in S101 is correct, the determination result is displayed on the monitor 18, and the game score is calculated accordingly.

Further, the player's total motion amount S is a predetermined threshold value S
If it is less than _th (S107), it is determined whether the counter i is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold I (S108). The counter i represents the elapsed time after the operation guidance (S101). If the counter i is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold value I, the second type of intention for the motion guidance in S101, for example, “NO”
Is determined to have been input (S109), and the process returns to the main game process. In the main game processing, for example, S10
It is determined whether or not the input content of the player P determined in 1 is correct, and the game score is calculated accordingly. On the other hand, if the counter i is less than the predetermined threshold value I, the counter i is incremented by 1 and the image of the player P is again acquired from the camera unit 42 (S103). In addition, S
The image acquisition of the player P in 103 is, for example, 1/6.
It is performed every 0 seconds.

According to the above processing, the player's total motion amount S is reached from the motion guidance for a fixed time, that is, until the counter i is incremented by 1 every 1/60 second and reaches the predetermined threshold value I.
If the player P makes a large movement in front of the camera unit 42 so that the value becomes _{equal to} or more than the predetermined threshold value S _th , the home game machine 4
The first type of will is input to 6. When the player P is still in front of the camera unit 42 so that a certain time elapses from the motion guidance before the player total motion amount S becomes equal to or more than the predetermined threshold value S _th , the home game machine 46 receives a second notification. Will be entered. Thus, the intention of the player P can be input to the home-use game machine 46 only by the camera unit 42 without using a general-purpose or dedicated controller.

Although the content of the intention of the player P is determined according to the amount of movement of the player P's entire body here, the intention of the player P is determined according to the amount of movement of a part of the player's body, for example, one hand. You may make it judge the content. 5A and 5B are views for explaining the image processing at this time. FIG. 5A shows the latest image of the player P, FIG. 5B shows the image immediately before the player P, and FIG. 5C shows the difference image. ing. In this image processing, only the upper right rectangular area is cut out from the image (original image) acquired by the camera unit 42, and only the partial image is processed. And
A difference image between the partial image cut out from the latest image and the partial image cut out from the immediately preceding image is created, and the total of the pixel values thereof is calculated as the player's motion amount α, and it is integrated to obtain the player's total motion amount S. By doing so, the intention content of the player P is determined. In this case, in the flowchart of FIG. 4, the partial image cut out from the original image may be acquired in S103. By doing this, player P
By moving a part of the body, for example, one hand, it becomes possible to input the intention to the home-use game machine 46.

Further, when a plurality of players play a game using the game device 10, an image corresponding to each player is extracted from the original image. In the flow chart of FIG. 4, the extracted image is extracted as S103. You can get it at. For example, in the case where the right half of the original image is associated with the first player and the left half is associated with the second player, each player uses the camera unit 4
By moving the whole body or a part of the body separately to the diagonally right front and the diagonally left front of 2, each player can input his or her own intention into the home-use game machine 46.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6A, when two players wear gloves of different colors, the color of the gloves worn by each player is calculated from the original image shown in FIG. 6A. An image corresponding to each player may be generated by extracting pixels each having a pixel value in a predetermined range centered at (b), such as the images illustrated in FIGS. In the flow chart of FIG. 4, the image corresponding to each player generated in this way is acquired in S103, so that even when a plurality of players play the game,
Each player can input his or her own intention into the home-use game machine 46. The two players may wear different colored gloves, or may have different colored cards in their hands, for example.

When the player total motion amount S is calculated for each of the two players as described above, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, an image corresponding to the player total motion amount S is displayed for each player. By displaying on the monitor 18, each player can easily grasp his own player total motion amount S. Player total movement amount S
The image corresponding to is, for example, a rectangular image having a side having a length corresponding to the player total motion amount S, a circular image having a diameter having a length corresponding to the player total motion amount S, and the like.

When one player uses the game device 10 to play a game, the original image acquired by the camera unit 42 is divided into two areas so that each area has a different meaning. You may Figure 8
Is an image processing when the original image is divided into a right half area (right area) and a left half area (left area), and the game is controlled based on the motion amount of the player P displayed in each area. FIG. 7A is a diagram for explaining the latest image, FIG. 7A shows the latest image, and FIG. Also, FIG.
A difference image between the left area of the latest image and the right area of the immediately preceding image (left side in the figure) and a difference image between the right area of the latest image and the right area of the immediately previous image (right side in the figure) are shown. In this process,
The game device 10 acquires an image of the player P captured by the camera unit 42 at predetermined time intervals, divides the image (original image) into left and right, and obtains a left image and a right image. Then, a difference image between the left image and the right image obtained in this way and the left image and the right image obtained by dividing the immediately previous image into the left and the right is respectively created, and the sum of the pixel values thereof is calculated as the player motion amount. The player motion amount related to the right image represents the motion amount of the player P in the right front of the camera unit 42, and the player motion amount related to the left image represents the motion amount of the player P in the left front of the camera unit 42. .

FIG. 9 is a flow chart for explaining the player's will input process of the game apparatus 10 in this case. The flowchart shown in the figure shows the processing realized by the home-use game machine 46 executing the game program stored in the DVD 25. In this process, first, a message is displayed on the monitor 18 to guide the player P in motion (S201). This message displays a quiz problem, such as "Mt. Fuji is the fifth highest mountain in the world. If YES, shake your right hand. If NO, shake your left hand." In order to answer the question, it is informed how the player P should operate in front of the camera unit 42.

Next, in the main memory 26, the total player motion amount _SL
And while securing the storage area of the player total operating amount S _R, to their initial values to zero (S202). And
The latest image of the player P captured by the camera unit 42 is acquired (S103), and the image is moved to the left and right 2
The image is divided into two images to obtain a right image and a left image (S20).
4). Further, the right image and the left image thus obtained,
The player P photographed by the camera unit 42 immediately before
A difference image between the right image and the left image obtained by dividing the image of is generated (S205). Note that if there is no image of the player P acquired immediately before, that is, S
When step 203 is executed first, the generation of the difference image is canceled. Then, all the pixel values given to each pixel of the difference image between the left image based on the immediately previous image and the left image based on the latest image are added to calculate the player motion amount α _L , and similarly, The player motion amount α _R is calculated by adding all pixel values given to each pixel of the difference image between the right image based on the right image and the right image based on the latest image (S206).

[0039] Then, by adding the player's action amount α _L by the player total operating amount _{S L,} to update the player's total operating amount _{S L} (S207). Similarly, by the player total operation amount _{S R} summing the player operation amount alpha _R, updates the player total operation amount _{S R} (S208). Here, the player motion amount α _L is a value corresponding to the motion amount of the player P displayed in the left half area of the image captured by the camera unit 42, and the player total motion amount S _L is the motion guide (S201). ) It becomes a value corresponding to the total operation amount after that. Similarly, the player movement amount α _R is calculated by the camera unit 42.
This is a value corresponding to the amount of movement of the player P displayed in the right half area of the image captured by
_R is a value corresponding to the total motion amount after the motion guidance (S201).

Then, the player's total movement amount S_LIs a predetermined threshold
S_thIf it is above (S209), the operation plan in S201
Enter the first type of intention, such as "YES"
(S212), the main game process
Return to. In the main game processing, for example, in S201
Determine whether or not the input contents of the refused player P are correct
And the game score is calculated accordingly. Well
Also, the total amount of movement S of the player _RIs a predetermined threshold S_thBe less than
If, for example,_RIs a predetermined threshold S_thAbove
It is determined whether there is any (S210). And the player
Total movement S_RIs a predetermined threshold S_thIf above, S201
The second type of will, for example "N
It is determined that "O" has been input (S211), and the main
Return to game processing. In the main game processing, for example, S
Whether the input content of the player P determined in 201 is correct
And determine game score accordingly
To do. On the other hand, the player total movement amount S_RIs the predetermined threshold S_thNot yet
If it is full, the process returns to S203 and the image of the player P is displayed again.
get.

According to the processing described above, the operation guide (S
201) and thereafter, the player total motion amount S _R of the player P in the front right of the camera unit 42 and the player total motion amount S _L of the player P in the front left of the camera unit 42 are calculated separately, and when one of them becomes equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold value. , It will be judged that the corresponding will has been input.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 10, if the gauge images of the lengths corresponding to the player total motion amounts S _R and S _L are displayed on the monitor 18, the player can easily determine the total motion amounts. You will be able to grasp. Further, in the figure, a marker may be displayed in the middle of the gauge so that the input of the operation intention can be canceled until any gauge extends upward from the display position of the marker. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, balloon images of diameters corresponding to the player total movement amounts S _R and S _L may be displayed on the monitor 18. In this case, when the player total motion amount S _R or S _L reaches the predetermined threshold value S _th , the monitor 18 displays an image in which the corresponding balloon bursts.
If displayed, the player can more easily his player total operating amount S _R or S _L to grasp that reaches a predetermined threshold S _th.

Further, in the above description, the player total motion amount S
_{Although L} and the player total motion amount S _R are calculated independently, when the player P is moving largely to the right front of the camera unit 42, the player total motion amount S _{L is set} to the player total motion amount S _R. Alternatively, the player total motion amount S _R may be transferred to the player total motion amount S _L when the player P is largely moving to the left front of the camera unit 42.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the processing of the game apparatus 10 in this case. The flow chart shown in the figure is DV
The processing realized by the home-use game machine 46 executing the game program stored in D25 is shown. In the figure, the processes of S301 to S306 are S
Since it is the same as the processing from 201 to S206, the description thereof is omitted here.

In this process, in S307, the play
Y movement amount α_LIs the amount of player movement α_RWhether or not
to decide. Then, the player movement amount α_LIs a player action
Quantity α _RIf the above, the player total motion amount S_LAnd player
Total movement S_RAnd player movement amount α_LAnd add
Value of the new player total movement amount S_LAnd (S
308), player total movement amount S_RTo zero (S30
9). Then, the player's total movement amount S_LIs a predetermined threshold S_th
It is determined whether or not the above (S310). Player total
Operation amount S_LIs a predetermined threshold S_thIf above, in S301
The first type of will, for example, “YE
It is determined that "S" has been input (S311), and the main
Return to game processing. In the main game processing, for example, S
Whether the input content of the player P determined in 301 is correct
And determine game score accordingly
To do. On the other hand, the player total movement amount S_LIs a predetermined threshold S_thNot yet
If it is full, the process returns to S303 and the latest image of player P is again displayed.
Get the statue.

In addition, the player movement amount α_LIs a player action
Quantity α_RIf less than, the total amount of player movement S_LAnd player
Total movement S_RAnd player movement amount α_RAnd add
Value of the new player total movement amount S_RAnd (S
312), player total movement amount S_LTo zero (S31
3). Then, the player's total movement amount S_RIs a predetermined threshold S_th
It is determined whether or not the above (S314). Player total
Operation amount S_RIs a predetermined threshold S _thIf above, in S301
Of the second type of intention, for example, "NO"
Is determined to have been input (S315), and the main game
Return to processing. In the main game processing, for example, S30
Whether or not the input content of the player P determined in 1 is correct
Judge and calculate game results accordingly
It On the other hand, the player total movement amount S_LIs a predetermined threshold S_thLess than
If so, the process returns to S303, and the latest image of the player P again.
To get.

According to the above processing, when the player P is moving largely to the right front of the camera unit 42, the player total movement amount S _L is transferred to the player total movement amount S _R ,
On the contrary, when the player P is largely moving to the left front of the camera unit 42, the player total movement amount S _R can be transferred to the player total movement amount S _L. In this case, FIG.
As shown in, if the gauge image corresponding to the player total movement amount S _R and the gauge image corresponding to the player movement amount S _L are displayed back-to-back (with their bottoms aligned), the player's own movements It is possible to efficiently grasp whether the motion amount S _R is added or the player total motion amount S _L is added.

In the above description, the camera unit 4
The original image captured in 2 is divided into two areas, and the player motion amount α of the player P is calculated for each area.
The player action amount α of the player P may be calculated for each of the areas by further dividing the area.

According to the game apparatus 10 described above, the camera unit 42 is connected to the home-use game machine 46, the image of the player P photographed by the camera unit 42 is acquired at predetermined time intervals, and the latest image is obtained. By adding the pixel value of the difference image between the previous image and the immediately preceding image, a value corresponding to the movement of the player P is calculated, and the intention content of the player P is determined based on the calculated value, so that a general-purpose or dedicated controller is operated. Compared with the case, the player can easily input the operation intention to the home-use game machine 46.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

For example, in the above description, the home-use game machine 4 is used.
Although only one camera unit 42 is connected to the camera 6, a plurality of camera units 42 may be connected. In this case, each camera unit 42 may be associated with only one player who is to be photographed, or each of the camera units 42 may photograph a plurality of players.

Further, in the above description, the case where the present invention is realized by using the home-use game machine 46 has been described, but the present invention may be realized by using an arcade game machine or a portable game machine. Good.

Further, in the above embodiment, the player total movement amount S is not reduced even if the player P stops the body movement. However, when the player total movement amount S, S _L , S _R is updated ( S106, S207, S208, S308, S3
12), when to subtract a predetermined value, or stop moving the player P, the player total operating amount when the motion becomes slow S, S _L, it can be as S _R decreases.

[0054]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Images are acquired at predetermined time intervals, the player motion amount is calculated based on at least two images acquired at different times, and the game is controlled based on the player motion amount. It becomes possible to input the operation intention into the game, and it is possible to realize a game in which the operation intention can be easily input at a low cost as compared with the case of using a general-purpose or dedicated controller.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a playing situation of a game device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating image processing of the game device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of the game device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a player's will input process of the game device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating image processing when a player moves part of the body to input an operation intention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating image processing when a plurality of players input respective operation intentions.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an image corresponding to a player total movement amount.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating image processing when the player uses the movements of the right half body and the left half body separately.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a play intention input process in the case where the player uses the movements of the right half body and the left half body separately.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an image corresponding to a player total movement amount.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an image corresponding to the player total movement amount.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing another play intention input process when the player uses the movements of the right half body and the left half body separately.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an image corresponding to the player total movement amount.

[Explanation of symbols]

P player, 10 game device, 12 bus, 14
Microprocessor, 16 image processing unit, 18 monitor, 20 audio processing unit, 22 speaker, 24 DVD reproducing unit, 25 DVD, 26 main memory, 30 input / output processing unit, 31 peripheral device interface, 40 home television receiver, 42 camera Unit, 44 cabinets,
46 Home game console.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An image acquisition unit for acquiring an image of a player at predetermined time intervals, and a player motion amount calculation unit for sequentially calculating a player motion amount based on at least two images acquired at different times by the image acquisition unit. And game control means for controlling the game based on the total player movement amount while calculating the total player movement amount by integrating the player movement amounts sequentially calculated by the player movement amount calculation means. Characteristic game device. 2. The game device according to claim 1, wherein the game control means determines whether or not the player total motion amount exceeds a predetermined threshold within a predetermined time, and the game is executed based on the determination result. A game device characterized by being controlled. 3. The game device according to claim 2, further comprising image display means for displaying an image corresponding to the player total motion amount. 4. The game device according to claim 1, wherein the image acquisition unit acquires an original image at predetermined time intervals and responds to each of a plurality of players based on the original image. A plurality of player images are acquired, the player motion amount calculation means sequentially calculates a player motion amount based on a difference image of at least two player images acquired at different times for each player, and the game control means A total amount of player motions is calculated by adding up the total amount of player motions sequentially calculated for each player by the player motion amount calculation means, and the game is controlled based on the total amount of player motions of the player. Game device. 5. The game device according to claim 1, wherein the player motion amount calculation unit calculates the player motion amount for each of a plurality of partial areas included in the image acquired by the image acquisition unit. The game control means calculates the player total movement amount by integrating the player movement amounts calculated for each partial area by the player movement amount calculation means, and the game based on the player total movement amount. A game device characterized by being controlled. 6. A method of controlling a computer game system, the method comprising: controlling an image capturing means included in the computer game system to acquire an image of a player captured by the image capturing means at predetermined time intervals. A step of sequentially calculating a player motion amount based on at least two images acquired at a time, a player total motion amount is calculated by integrating the sequentially calculated player motion amounts, and based on the player total motion amount Controlling the game, the method comprising :. 7. An image acquisition means for acquiring an image of the player imaged by the imaging means at predetermined time intervals, and a player for calculating a player motion amount based on at least two images acquired at different times by the image acquisition means. An operation amount calculation means, and a game control means for calculating a player total operation amount by integrating player operation amounts sequentially calculated by the player operation amount calculation means, and controlling a game based on the player total operation amount. A program for operating a computer as a computer.