JP2004000368A - Game apparatus and game program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the operability of a game player from being disturbed even if a contracted map is displayed in a game screen. <P>SOLUTION: A CPU and a GPU display the game screen including a player character, an opponent character, a topographical objects, items, and the like on a monitor according to respective object data and texture data. The CPU determines the moving speed of the player character according to the displacement distance of an analog joystick (steps S39, S43, S47, and S49). The CPU and the GPU display the contracted map on the game screen and then, the transparency of the contracted map is set according to the moving distance (step S129). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
[Industrial application fields]
The present invention relates to a game apparatus and a game program, and more particularly to a game apparatus that displays a reduced map on a game screen for indicating the position of a player character in a game space, and a game program therefor.
[0002]
[Prior art]
There are action games and shooting games in which characters move around in a 2D / 3D game space. In such a game, a relatively narrow range of game space centered on its own character (player character: a character that moves and moves in response to an operation of the game player) is displayed on a television or monitor as a normal game screen. Has been.
[0003]
When displaying such a narrow game space, the game player can comprehend the positional relationship of the player character, enemy character, or other object relatively easily, but other characters or It is not easy to grasp the positional relationship between the object and the player character. This is because other characters and objects are not displayed.
[0004]
Therefore, in some game devices, in order to allow the game player to easily grasp the position of the player character and the position of the enemy character in the game space, in a wide range of the game space (a range that cannot be displayed on a normal game screen). A reduced map (or radar screen) for indicating the position of each character (object) is displayed in an overlapping manner on a normal game screen. Therefore, the game player can relatively easily grasp the positional relationship between the player character, the enemy character, or another object in a wide game space by looking at the reduced map or the radar screen.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when displaying a reduced map or radar screen, especially when the player character moves at a relatively fast speed, i.e., when the background moves at a fast speed, the game player has much information displayed on the screen. It is very difficult to read, and there is a problem that the display of the reduced map is rather an obstacle.
[0006]
Further, when the reduced map is displayed in the moving direction of the player character, the moving direction of the player character is concealed in the reduced map, so that the game player grasps the movement destination of the player character. There is another problem that is difficult.
[0007]
Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide a novel video game apparatus and game program.
[0008]
Another object of the present invention is to provide a video game device and a game program that do not impair the operability of the game player even if a reduced map or a radar screen or the like is displayed on the game screen. .
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A first invention is a game device that displays a reduced map on the game screen to indicate the position of the player character in the game space, and determines the moving speed of the player character in the game space in accordance with the operation of the player. And a reduced map drawing means for drawing a reduced map on the game screen with transparency according to the moving speed.
[0010]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a game device that displays a reduced map for indicating the position of the player character in the game space on the game screen, the game processor moves the speed of movement of the player character in the game space according to the player's operation. Is a game program for executing a moving speed determining step for determining a reduced map and a reduced map drawing step for drawing a reduced map on the game screen with transparency according to the moving speed.
[0011]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in a game device that displays on the game screen a reduced map for indicating the position of the player character in the game space, the movement for determining the moving speed of the player character in the game space according to the operation of the player. A game display method including a speed determination step and a reduced map drawing step for drawing a reduced map on a game screen with transparency according to the moving speed.
[0012]
[Action]
In the embodiment, the game machine corresponds to a game device, and the game machine (12) includes a CPU (36) that functions as a game processor and a GPU (42) that constitutes a part of drawing means. The game program to be executed by the CPU is loaded into the main memory (40) from the optical disc (18), for example, together with the object data and texture data. Therefore, the CPU executes the game according to the game program, and the CPU and the GPU, in accordance with each object data and texture data, a game image including a player character, enemy character, terrain object, item, etc. on the monitor (34), that is, a game screen ( 34A) is displayed.
[0013]
When the game player operates, for example, an analog joystick of the controller (22), the CPU moves the player character in the direction indicated by the analog joystick. At this time, the CPU determines the moving speed of the player character in accordance with the operation amount or displacement amount of the analog joystick (steps S39, S43, S47, S49: FIG. 6). Then, the CPU and GPU display the reduced map (86) on the game screen using the reduced map texture data read from the main memory (if necessary, arrow texture data). The transparency is set according to the moving distance. Specifically, the transparency of the reduced map is increased as the moving speed of the player character is increased (step S129: FIG. 12). Therefore, even when the player character moves fast, the reduced map does not disturb the game player's field of view.
[0014]
When the CPU determines the moving direction of the player character (step S33: FIG. 6), the reduced map is drawn at a position on the game screen different from the moving direction. Therefore, the state in the moving direction of the player character is not hidden by the reduced map.
[0015]
Similarly, when determining the moving direction of the player character, a direction indication symbol (for example, arrow 88: FIG. 13) is also displayed in the reduced map according to the arrow texture read from the main memory. Good.
[0016]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, since the reduced map (or the Kedar screen) is displayed with transparency according to the moving speed of the player character, even if the reduced map or the radar screen or the like is displayed on the game screen, the game player There is no loss of operability.
[0017]
The above object, other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments with reference to the drawings.
[0018]
【Example】
The video game system 10 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes a video game machine (hereinafter simply referred to as “game machine”) 12. Although power is supplied to the game machine 12, this power supply may be a general AC adapter (not shown) in the embodiment. The AC adapter is plugged into a standard household wall socket and converts the household power supply into a low DC voltage signal suitable for driving the game console 12. In other embodiments, a battery may be used as the power source.
[0019]
The game machine 12 includes a substantially cubic housing 14, and an optical disk drive 16 is provided on the upper end of the housing 14. An optical disk 18 which is an example of an information storage medium storing a game program is loaded in the optical disk drive 16. A plurality of (four in the embodiment) connectors 20 are provided on the front surface of the housing 14. These connectors 20 are for connecting the controller 22 to the game machine 12 by the cable 24. In this embodiment, a maximum of four controllers can be connected to the game machine 12.
[0020]
The controller 22 is provided with operation means (control) 26 on the upper surface, lower surface, or side surface thereof. The operation means 26 includes, for example, two analog joysticks, one cross key, a plurality of button switches, and the like. One analog joystick is used to input the moving direction and / or moving speed or moving amount of the player character (moving image character that the player can operate with the controller 22) according to the tilt amount and direction of the stick. Other analog joysticks control the movement of the virtual camera according to the tilt direction. The cross switch is used to instruct the moving direction of the player character instead of the analog joystick. The button switch is used for instructing the action of the player character, switching the viewpoint of the virtual camera of the three-dimensional image, and adjusting the moving speed of the player character. The button switch further controls, for example, menu selection and pointer or cursor movement.
[0021]
In the embodiment, the controller 22 is connected to the game machine 12 by the cable 24. However, the controller 22 may be connected to the game machine 12 by other methods, for example, wirelessly via electromagnetic waves (for example, radio waves or infrared rays). The specific configuration of the operation means of the controller 22 is not limited to the configuration of the embodiment, and can be arbitrarily modified. For example, only one analog joystick may be used or not used. The cross switch may not be used.
[0022]
Below the connector 20 on the front surface of the housing 14 of the game machine 12, at least one (two in the embodiment) memory slot 28 is provided. A memory card 30 is inserted into the memory slot 28. The memory card 30 loads and temporarily stores a game program and display data (see FIG. 3) read from the optical disk 18, or game data of a game played using the game system 10 (for example, game data). Used to save the result.
[0023]
An AV cable connector (not shown) is provided on the rear surface of the housing 14 of the game machine 12, and the monitor 34 is connected to the game machine 12 through the AV cable 32 using the connector. The monitor 34 is typically a color television receiver, and the AV cable 32 inputs a video signal from the game machine 12 to a video input terminal of the color television and gives an audio signal to the audio input terminal. Therefore, for example, a game image of a three-dimensional (3D) video game is displayed on the screen of the color television (monitor) 34, and stereo game sounds such as game music and sound effects can be output from the left and right speakers.
[0024]
In this game system 10, in order for a user or game player to play a game (or other application), the user first turns on the gaming machine 12, and then the user plays a video game (or other game that he / she wishes to play). An appropriate optical disk 18 storing the application) is selected, and the optical disk 18 is loaded into the disk drive 16 of the game machine 12. In response, the game machine 12 starts to execute a video game or other application based on the software stored on the optical disk 18. The user operates the controller 22 to give input to the game machine 12. For example, a game or other application is started by operating any of the operation means 26. By moving the other operation means 26, the moving image character (player character) can be moved in different directions, or the user's viewpoint (camera position) in the three-dimensional (3D) game world can be changed.
[0025]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the video game system 10 of FIG. 1 embodiment. The video game machine 12 is provided with a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as “CPU”) 36 that is responsible for overall control of the game machine. The CPU 36 functions as a game processor, and a memory controller 38 is coupled to the CPU 36 via a bus. The memory controller 38 mainly controls writing and reading of the main memory 40 coupled via the bus under the control of the CPU 36. A GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) 42 is coupled to the memory controller 38.
[0026]
The GPU 42 forms a part of the drawing means, and is constituted by, for example, a single chip ASIC. The GPU 42 receives a graphics command (graphics command) from the CPU 36 via the memory controller 38, and the geometry unit 44 and the rendering according to the command. A unit 46 generates a three-dimensional (3D) game image. In other words, the geometry unit 44 rotates and moves various characters and objects (consisting of a plurality of polygons. The polygon is a polygonal plane defined by at least three vertex coordinates) in a three-dimensional coordinate system. , Perform coordinate calculation processing such as deformation. The rendering unit 46 applies (renders) a texture (texture image) to each polygon of various objects. Therefore, 3D image data to be displayed on the game screen is created by the GPU 42, and the image data (texture data) is drawn (stored) in the frame buffer 48. Note that data (primitives, polygons, textures, etc.) necessary for the GPU 42 to execute the drawing command is acquired from the main memory 40 by the GPU 42 via the memory controller 38.
[0027]
The frame buffer 48 is a memory for drawing (accumulating) image data for one frame of the raster scan monitor 34, for example, and is rewritten frame by frame by the GPU. A video I / F 58 described later reads data from the frame buffer 48 via the memory controller 38, whereby a 3D game image is displayed on the screen of the monitor 34. The capacity of the frame buffer 48 is sized according to the number of pixels (pixels or dots) on the screen to be displayed. For example, it has the number of pixels (storage position or address) corresponding to the number of pixels of the display or monitor 34.
[0028]
The Z buffer 50 has a storage capacity corresponding to the number of pixels (storage position or address) corresponding to the frame buffer 48 × the number of bits of depth data per pixel, and corresponds to each storage position of the frame buffer 48. It stores dot depth information or depth data (Z value).
[0029]
Note that both the frame buffer 48 and the Z buffer 50 may be configured using part of the main memory 40.
[0030]
The memory controller 38 is also coupled to the sub-memory 54 via a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) 52. Therefore, the memory controller 38 controls writing and / or reading of not only the main memory 40 but also the sub memory 54.
[0031]
Memory controller 38 is further coupled to each interface (I / F) 56, 58, 60, 62 and 64 by a bus. The controller I / F 56 is an interface for the controller 22, and provides an operation signal or data of the operation means 26 of the controller 22 to the CPU 36 through the memory controller 38. The video I / F 58 accesses the frame buffer 48, reads the image data created by the GPU 42, and supplies the image signal or image data (digital RGB pixel value) to the monitor 34 via the AV cable 32 (FIG. 1). The external memory I / F 60 links the memory card 30 (FIG. 1) inserted in the front surface of the game machine 12 to the memory controller 38. Thereby, the CPU 36 can write data to the memory card 30 or read data from the memory card 30 via the memory controller 38. The audio I / F 62 receives the audio data supplied from the frame buffer 48 or the audio stream read from the optical disc 18 through the memory controller 38, and supplies an audio signal (audio signal) corresponding to the audio data to the speaker 66 of the monitor 34. In the case of stereo sound, at least one speaker 66 is provided for each of the left and right speakers. The disk I / F couples the disk drive 16 to the memory controller 38, and thus the CPU 36 controls the disk drive 16. Program data, texture data, and the like read from the optical disk 18 by the disk drive 16 are written into the main memory 40 under the control of the CPU 36.
[0032]
FIG. 3 shows a memory map of the main memory 40. The main memory 40 includes a game program storage area 68, a reduced map texture data storage area 70, an arrow texture data storage area 72, an object data storage area 74, and a texture data storage area 76. In the game program storage area 68, the game programs read from the optical disc 18 are stored all at once or partially and sequentially.
[0033]
The reduced map texture data storage area 70 stores data representing a texture for displaying a reduced map (attached images indicating positions of player characters, enemy characters, objects, etc. in a wide range of the game space).
[0034]
Moreover, the arrow symbol memorize | stored in the arrow texture data storage area 72 is displayed in the said reduction | restoration map so that it may demonstrate later, and is used in order to point out the advancing direction of a player character in the reduction | decrease map. However, as such a direction indication symbol, an appropriate symbol can be used in addition to the arrow in the embodiment.
[0035]
In the object data storage area 74, for example, game characters such as the player character object 74a and enemy character object 74b, or wall objects (terrain objects such as building objects and ground objects) 74c, and item objects such as items, etc. Is loaded. Each object 74a-74c is formed by a polygon. The main memory 40 may be loaded with data such as each character and object from the optical disc 18 as necessary.
[0036]
In the texture data storage area 76, texture data 76a, 76b, 76c, etc., such as the aforementioned player character, enemy character, wall object, etc. are stored.
[0037]
When playing a game, when the optical disk 18 is set in the game machine 12 and the power is turned on as described above, data is read from the optical disk, and necessary data is stored in the main memory 40 as shown in FIG. .
[0038]
In the first step S1 of FIG. 4, the CPU 36 reads the terrain object (ground object, building object, wall object, etc.) and item data from the object data storage area 74 of the main memory 40, and the terrain object and item are read. As shown in FIG. 5, the game space is arranged at the initial coordinates of the three-dimensional world coordinate system. Next, in step S3, the player character, enemy character, and virtual camera data are read from the object data storage area 74 and placed at the initial coordinates of the same world coordinate system.
[0039]
In step S <b> 5, the CPU 36 determines whether or not the operation unit 26 (FIG. 1) of the controller 22 has been operated, that is, whether or not there has been an input from the controller 22 via the controller I / F 56 and the memory controller 38.
[0040]
If there is a controller input, the CPU 36 changes the position of the player character in the world coordinate system in accordance with the controller input in step S7. When changing the position of the player character 78 shown in FIG. 5, the player or user operates, for example, an analog joystick (or 3D joystick) among the operation means 26 (FIG. 1) of the controller 22. Therefore, in this step S7, for example, the CPU 36 receives data of the tilt direction and tilt amount of the joystick from the controller I / F 56, and updates the position of the player character 78 based on the data.
[0041]
In the next step S9, the CPU 36 updates the position of the virtual camera in the world coordinate system according to the position of the player character updated in step S7. That is, this step S9 is a step of performing a so-called “around process” of the virtual camera. It is assumed that the player character 78 is moved from the position indicated by “78” to the position indicated by “78A” as shown in FIG. In this case, the player character 78A after the movement from the virtual camera 80 is viewed at the original position, and the player character 78A is hidden behind the building object 82 and is not displayed on the game screen as it is. In such a case, in step S9, the virtual camera 80 is moved from the position indicated by “80” to the position indicated by “80A” so that the player character 78A can be seen, that is, the player character 78A can be displayed on the game screen. Move. That is, the position of the virtual camera is changed according to the position of the player character.
[0042]
Thereafter, as in the case where there is no controller input, in step S11, the CPU 36 updates the position of the enemy character 84 (FIG. 5) in the world coordinate system. Since the position of the enemy character 84 needs to be updated whether or not the controller 22 is operated, this step S11 is executed at this time.
[0043]
In step S13, the CPU 36 converts the positions of the terrain object, building object, item, player character, enemy character, and the like described above into a three-dimensional camera coordinate system based on the virtual camera 80 (80A). .
[0044]
Thereafter, in step S15, the CPU 36 converts the three-dimensional camera coordinate system into a two-dimensional shadow plane coordinate system, and executes texture designation and clipping (clipping of the invisible world).
[0045]
In step S17, a game image generation process is executed. Step S17 will be described in detail later.
[0046]
After the game image is generated in step S17 as described later, in step S19, the game screen is displayed on the monitor 34 (FIG. 1). That is, the CPU 36 gives a command to the video I / F 58, and the video I / F 56 accesses the frame buffer 48 (FIG. 2) accordingly. Therefore, image data to be displayed on the monitor 34 is read from the frame buffer 48, and a game image can be displayed.
[0047]
Thereafter, in step S21, it is determined whether or not the game has ended. If the game is over, the routine of FIG. 4 is ended as it is, but if the game is continued, the process returns to the previous step S5 and waits for an input from the controller 22.
[0048]
Referring to FIG. 6, step S7 in FIG. 4 is shown in detail. FIG. 6 shows in detail a routine for changing or updating the position of the player character in response to the controller operation of the game player.
[0049]
In step S31, the CPU 36 acquires an operation signal (operation data) provided from the controller 22 via the controller I / F 56 and the memory controller 38. An example of the operation data (operation information or operation signal) is shown in FIG. As described above, the controller 22 includes two analog joysticks (main and sub) and one cross key as direction indicating means. In this embodiment, the moving direction and moving distance of the player character, that is, moving To determine the position, the data of the main analog joystick is used. However, it goes without saying that the player character may be moved according to the sub-analog joystick and / or the cross key. Then, the operation data of the main analog joystick is given as displacement data of the two axes X-axis and Y-axis as shown in FIG.
[0050]
In the subsequent step S33, the CPU 36 determines the moving direction of the player character in the virtual three-dimensional game space from such operation information, that is, each axis displacement amount data of the main analog joystick. Specifically, when the X-axis displacement amount of the main analog joystick is “2” and the Y-axis displacement amount is “3”, X, Y = 2, 3 with the current player character position as the reference (origin). The direction is determined as the moving direction. As another example, when the X-axis displacement amount of the main analog joystick is “−2” and the Y-axis displacement amount is “3”, the directions of X, Y = −2, 3 with respect to the current player character position. Is determined as the moving direction. That is, in this case, the player character changes direction.
[0051]
Thereafter, in step S35, the CPU 36 obtains the movement amount of the player character from the displacement data of the operation data, and compares the movement amount with each of the threshold values A, B, C, and D. Here, the “movement amount” is obtained from the above-described axial displacement amounts. For example, in the above example, when the X-axis displacement amount is “2” and the Y-axis displacement amount is “3”, the route (√) 13 is the movement amount with the current player character position as the reference (origin). . As another example, when the X-axis displacement amount is “−2” and the Y-axis displacement amount is “3”, the movement amount of the player character is similarly “route (√) 13”. After the movement amount data is obtained in this way, the movement amount is compared with each of the threshold values AD.
[0052]
In step S37, it is determined whether or not the movement amount is equal to or less than the threshold value A. If “YES” is determined in step S37, the CPU 36 sets the movement distance of the player character at that time to α in subsequent step S39. The movement distance α is stored in a register area (not shown) of the main memory 40, for example. The moving distance means a moving amount until the next update of the game screen. If the game screen is updated, for example, by one frame, it means that the moving amount of one frame is α.
[0053]
When “NO” in the step S37, the CPU 36 determines whether or not the movement amount is larger than the threshold value A and smaller than or equal to the threshold value B in step S41. If “YES” is determined, in the next step S43, the CPU 36 sets β as the movement distance and stores it.
[0054]
When “NO” in the step S41, the CPU 36 determines whether or not the movement amount is larger than the threshold value B and equal to or smaller than the threshold value C in a step S45. If “YES” is determined, in the next step S47, the CPU 36 sets γ as the movement distance and stores it.
[0055]
If “NO” in the step S45, the CPU 36 sets and stores ε as the moving distance in a step S49.
[0056]
After step S39, S43, S47 or S49, that is, after setting the moving distance of the player character at that time, the CPU 36 determines in the next step S51 the orientation and current position of the player character and the above steps. Based on the movement distance and the movement direction determined in step S33, a new coordinate position of the player character is calculated. In the next step S53, the CPU 36 updates the position of the player character with the new coordinate position.
[0057]
In this way, in response to the operation of the controller 22, the CPU 36 updates the coordinate position of the player character according to the program of FIG. Thereafter, the process returns to step S9 of FIG. 4 described above.
[0058]
Referring to FIG. 8, the game image generation processing routine shown in step S17 of FIG. 4 is shown. In the first step S61 of FIG. 8, the CPU 36 (FIG. 2) first executes the terrain object drawing process, and in the subsequent steps S63, S65 and S67, the player character drawing process, enemy character (and item) and The reduction map drawing process is sequentially executed.
[0059]
The terrain object drawing process routine in step S61 is shown in detail in FIG. In the first step S71 of FIG. 9, the CPU 36 reads texture data 76c corresponding to a terrain object such as a wall object or a ground object from the texture data storage area 76 of the main memory 40 (FIGS. 2 and 3).
[0060]
In the next step S73, the CPU 36 executes a frame buffer 48 (see FIG. 4) at a position corresponding to the terrain object (wall object, ground object, etc.) projected on the two-dimensional projection plane coordinate system converted in step S15 (FIG. 4). The texture of the terrain object is drawn on each pixel of 2). That is, the color information of the terrain object is written in the storage position corresponding to each pixel of the frame buffer.
[0061]
In the next step S75, the CPU 36 writes the depth information (Z value) of the terrain object in the storage position of the Z buffer 50 (FIG. 2) corresponding to the pixel at that time.
[0062]
Steps S73 and S75 described above are repeatedly executed until the end of all pixels is detected in step S77, and when the drawing process for all pixels on the display screen of the monitor 34 is completed, the process returns to step S63 in FIG. It progresses to player character display processing routine S63.
[0063]
The player character drawing process routine in step S63 (FIG. 8) is shown in detail in FIG. In the first step S81 of FIG. 10, the CPU 36 reads texture data 76a corresponding to the player character from the texture data storage area 76 of the main memory 40 (FIGS. 2 and 3).
[0064]
In the next step S83, the CPU 36 performs Z of each pixel in the Z buffer 50 (FIG. 2) at the position corresponding to the player character projected on the two-dimensional projection plane coordinate system converted in step S15 (FIG. 4). Refers to the value. In the next step S85, the CPU 36 determines whether the Z value of the pixel to be written is larger than the depth information (Z value) of the player character to be written. That is, it is determined whether or not the player character should be drawn. Therefore, if “NO” is determined in the step S85, the process proceeds to a step S61 as it is.
[0065]
If “YES” is determined in step S85, the Z value (Z buffer) of the pixel is updated in the next step S87, and the texture (color information) of the player character is drawn on the pixel in step S89. Then, until the end of all the pixels in the next step S91 is detected, the above-described steps S83 to S89 are repeatedly executed, and when the drawing processing for all the pixels on the display screen of the monitor 34 is completed, the process proceeds to step S65 in FIG. The process returns, and the enemy character (and item) drawing process routine is executed.
[0066]
The enemy character (and / or item) drawing process routine in step S65 (FIG. 8) is shown in detail in FIG. In the first step S101 of FIG. 11, the CPU 36 reads texture data 76b corresponding to the enemy character (item) from the texture data storage area 762 of the main memory 40 (FIGS. 2 and 3).
[0067]
In the next step S103, the CPU 36 refers to the Z value of each pixel in the Z buffer 50 (FIG. 2) at a position corresponding to the enemy character (item) projected onto the two-dimensional projection plane coordinate system. In the next step S105, the CPU 36 determines whether the Z value of the pixel to be written is larger than the depth information (Z value) of the enemy character (item) to be written. That is, it is determined whether an enemy character or item should be drawn. Therefore, if “NO” is determined in the step S105, the process proceeds to a step S111 as it is.
[0068]
If “YES” is determined in step S105, the Z value (Z buffer) of the pixel is updated in the next step S107, and the texture (color information) of the enemy character (item) is added to the pixel in step S109. draw. Then, until the end of all the pixels in the next step S81 is detected, the above-described steps S103 to S109 are repeatedly executed, and when the drawing process for all the pixels on the display screen of the monitor 34 is completed, the process proceeds to step S67 in FIG. Return and execute the reduced map drawing process.
[0069]
The reduced map drawing processing routine in step S67 (FIG. 8) is shown in detail in FIG. In the first step S121 of FIG. 12, the CPU 36 reads texture data for displaying a reduced map from the reduced map texture data storage area 70 of the main memory 40 (FIGS. 2 and 3). Subsequently, in step S123, the CPU 36 reads the arrangement coordinate position of the player character determined in the previous step S53 (FIG. 6). At the same time, in step S125, the CPU 36 reads information indicating the orientation of the player character used in the previous step S51 (FIG. 6).
[0070]
In step S127, the CPU 36 reads the arrow texture data from the arrow texture data storage area 72 (FIG. 3), determines the direction of the arrow according to the direction of the player character obtained previously, and becomes the direction. As shown, paste the arrow texture onto the reduced map texture. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 13A, an arrow 88 indicating a direction corresponding to the orientation of the player character at that time is synthesized in the reduced map 86.
[0071]
In the subsequent step S129, the CPU 36 reads out the movement speed of the player character set in the previous step S39, S43, S47 or S49 in FIG. 6 from the memory, and reduces the map image (arrow) according to the movement distance (movement amount). 86) (including 88).
[0072]
In the embodiment, when the moving distance is the smallest α, as shown in FIG. 13A, the transparency of the reduced map 86 is set to “0%”, for example. When the movement distance is α, for example, the player character is stopped or hardly moves. In such a case, even if the reduced map 86 is completely displayed, that is, the reduced map. Even if the part of the game image is blocked or concealed at 86, the operation by the game player is hardly affected.
[0073]
When the moving distance is the second smallest β, as shown in FIG. 13B, the transparency of the reduced map 86 is set to “20%”, for example. Similarly, when the movement distance is the third smallest γ, as shown in FIG. 13C, the transparency of the reduced map 86 is set to “50%”, for example. When ε is the longest moving distance, as shown in FIG. 13D, the transparency of the reduced map 86 is set to “80%”, for example. In other words, in this embodiment, the greater the moving distance of the player character is, the smaller the transparency of the reduced map 86 is set, thereby causing as little trouble as possible when the game player operates the player character moving at high speed. Like that.
[0074]
Further, in the next step S131, the drawing position of the reduced map 86 is determined with reference to the orientation of the player character captured in step S125. That is, the display of the reduced map 86 changes the transparency of the map as described above, but affects the field of view of the game player. Therefore, the reduced map is displayed in the direction (direction) in which the player character is moving. It is intended to minimize the effect on the field of view by not displaying.
[0075]
As shown in FIG. 14, a game image including a player character 74 and a terrain object is displayed on the game screen 34A, and a reduced map 86 is displayed on the game screen 34A. In the case shown in FIG. In this case, since the player character 74 is directed, for example, in the upper left direction on the game screen 34A, the display (drawing) position of the reduced map 86 is determined as, for example, the lower right on the game screen 34A. In the case shown in FIG. 14 (B), the player character 74 is directed, for example, in the lower right direction on the game screen 34A. In this case, the display position of the reduced map 86 is determined as, for example, the upper left of the game screen 34A.
[0076]
In this way, in step S131, the drawing position of the reduced map 86 is determined in order to minimize the influence on the operation of the game player.
[0077]
In step S133, the CPU 36 and the GPU 72 determine the color information of each pixel of the game image at the drawing position of the reduced map set in step S131 and the color information of each pixel of the reduced map 86 in the transparency determined in step S129. The color information is written in each corresponding pixel of the frame buffer 48 (FIG. 2). Therefore, the reduced map is displayed at a predetermined position with a predetermined transparency.
[0078]
Then, until the end of all the pixels is detected in the next step S135, the above-described step S133 is repeatedly executed, and when the drawing process for all the pixels on the display screen of the monitor 34 is completed, the process returns to step S19 in FIG. To do.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an illustrative view showing a game system according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing in detail the game machine of FIG. 1 embodiment;
FIG. 3 is an illustrative view showing one example of a memory map of a main memory in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment in FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is an illustrative view showing a world coordinate system and a camera coordinate system;
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a player character position determination process;
FIG. 7 is an illustrative view showing one example of data (operation signal) input from a controller;
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the game image generation process in FIG.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation of drawing processing of a terrain object or the like in FIG.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the pre-character drawing process in FIG. 8;
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an operation of drawing processing of enemy characters (and items) in FIG. 8;
12 is a flowchart showing an operation of a reduction map drawing process in FIG. 8; FIG.
FIG. 13 is an illustrative view showing that the reduction map changes the transparency according to the moving speed of the player character in the embodiment.
FIG. 14 is an illustrative view showing that the reduced map changes the display position according to the moving direction of the player character in the embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 ... Game system
12 ... Game console
22 ... Controller
34 ... Monitor
34A ... Game screen
36 ... CPU
40 ... main memory
42… GPU
86 ... Reduced map
88 ... Arrow

Claims (11)

A game device that displays on a game screen a reduced map for indicating a position of a player character in a game space,
A moving speed determining means for determining a moving speed of the player character in the game space according to a player's operation; and a reduced map drawing means for drawing the reduced map on the game screen with transparency according to the moving speed. A game device. The game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reduced map drawing means increases the transparency as the moving speed increases. The game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reduced map drawing means sets the transparency to 0% when the player character is stopped. A moving direction determining means for determining a moving direction of the player character;
The game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reduced map drawing means draws the reduced map at a position on the game screen different from the moving direction. A moving direction determining means for determining a moving direction of the player character;
4. The game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reduced map drawing means includes an arrow display means for displaying a direction indication symbol corresponding to the moving direction in the reduced map. A game program for causing a game processor to execute the following steps in a game device that displays a reduced map for indicating a position of a player character in a game space on a game screen:
A moving speed determining step for determining a moving speed of the player character in the game space in accordance with a player's operation; and a reduced map drawing step for drawing the reduced map on the game screen with transparency according to the moving speed. The game program according to claim 6, wherein in the reduced map drawing step, the transparency is increased as the moving speed increases. The game program according to claim 6 or 7, wherein, in the reduced map drawing step, the transparency is set to 0% when the player character is stopped. Causing the game processor to further execute a moving direction determining step for determining a moving direction of the player character, and in the reducing map drawing step, the reducing map is drawn at a position on the game screen different from the moving direction; The game program according to claim 6. The game processor is further caused to execute a moving direction determining step for determining a moving direction of the player character, and the reduced map drawing step includes a direction indicating symbol for displaying a direction indicating symbol corresponding to the moving direction in the reduced map. The game program according to claim 6, comprising a display step. A game display method including the following steps in a game device that displays a reduced map for indicating a position of a player character in a game space on a game screen:
A moving speed determining step for determining a moving speed of the player character in the game space in accordance with a player's operation; and a reduced map drawing step for drawing the reduced map on the game screen with transparency according to the moving speed.

Images