JP2004223284A - Game device and memory medium thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a player to extremely easily direct a player object to a direction of a non-player object to drastically improve operability during a game by player's operating a second operation means. <P>SOLUTION: This game device is constructed so that a direction of a player object is locked to a direction of a noticed non-player object corresponding to the operation of a second operating means. The player object moves corresponding to a movement instruction by a first operation means. When a game is determined to be in a locked condition, the direction of the player object is directed to the direction of the noticed non-player and the movement control means moves the player object to an instructed direction corresponding to the movement instruction by the first operation means as the object. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a game device and a storage medium used therefor. More specifically, the present invention relates to a game apparatus and a storage medium that display player objects and non-player objects in a virtual three-dimensional space on a display.

  For example, in a 3D video game device such as “Nintendo 64”, a player object and a non-player object are displayed in a virtual 3D space on a display. In such a three-dimensional game apparatus, a player object (Player Object: an object that can be moved in a desired direction by a player or can execute a desired action. Hereinafter, it may be abbreviated as “PO”). The player can move in any direction in the three-dimensional space by operating the direction indicating means such as an analog joystick of the controller.

  In the three-dimensional space, the position of the player object changes in the three axis directions of X, Y, and Z in response to the operation of the direction indicating means. Therefore, the direction indicating means determines the moving direction and the line-of-sight direction (facing direction) of the player object. It is quite difficult to adjust in the direction desired by the player. For example, a non-player object such as an enemy character (an object that moves in a direction determined by a program or performs an action determined by a program regardless of the operation of the player's controller. For example, when shooting an arrow toward the player, the player object needs to face the enemy character (or directly face the enemy character). In such a case, the player object direction is well adjusted. If you can't, you won't be able to damage the enemy character with the arrows.

Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide a game device that can easily turn a player object to face a non-player object (or make the non-player object notice).
Another object of the present invention is to provide a game device capable of causing a player object to perform a necessary action while the player object faces the direction of the non-player object (or a state where attention is paid to the non-player object). That is.

  The present invention is a game device that progresses a game by displaying objects in a virtual three-dimensional space on a display. The game apparatus includes a first image data generating means (21, 24, 203 if the correspondence with the embodiment is shown; hereinafter, reference numerals in parentheses indicate the correspondence with the embodiment), and second image data. Generation means (21, 24, 203), image processing means (12), controller means, non-player object detection means (S303), selection means (S305, S311, S314), lock means (lock flag F2) ), Lock state determination means (S401), and movement control means (S402 to S409, S411 to S4187). The first image data generating means generates first image data for the player object. The second image data generating means generates second image data for the non-player object. The image processing means displays at least one of the first image data and the second image data so as to display at least one of the player object and the non-player object photographed from the virtual camera in the virtual three-dimensional space on the display. According to the above, an image signal is supplied to the display. The controller means includes first operating means (45, 46) for instructing the moving direction of the player object, and second operating means for operating the player object in the virtual three-dimensional space in the direction of the non-player object. (47Z). The non-player object detection means automatically detects whether or not a non-player object exists in the virtual three-dimensional space in response to the operation of the second operation means. The selection unit selects the non-player object detected by the non-player object detection unit as the target non-player object (target non-player object). The lock means locks the direction of the player object to the direction of the target non-player object. The lock state determination means determines whether or not the orientation of the player object is locked in the direction of the target non-player object by the lock means. The movement control means moves the player object in accordance with an instruction from the first operation means. Then, in response to the determination that the lock state determination unit is in the locked state, the movement control unit keeps the direction of the player object in the direction of the target non-player object and moves the player object in the direction indicated by the first operation unit. Is moved (S402 to S409), and the player object is moved in the direction indicated by the first operation means in response to the determination that the lock state determination means is not in the lock state (S411 to S418).

    The image processing means converts image data for displaying the player object and the non-player object (coordinate conversion and frame memory drawing process) according to the first image data and the second image data transferred from the external ROM to the RAM, for example. And supplying the image signal to the display. The non-player object detecting means detects whether or not there is a non-player object around the player object on the display in response to the operation of the second operating means included in the controller means, for example, the Z button. When the non-player object is detected by the non-player object detection means, the selection means selects the non-player object as a target non-player object. At this time, when a plurality of non-player objects are detected, the non-player objects may be selected by the selection means according to the priority order. When one non-player object is selected as the target non-player object, the camera control unit changes the position and direction in which the player object that faces the target non-player object can be captured. Specifically, the target non-player object and the player object may be placed in the display range near the line connecting the target non-player object and the center of the player object from behind the player object.

The non-player object detection means may detect not only the non-player object displayed on the display but also the non-player object that exists but is not displayed because of the shooting position and direction of the virtual camera.
When the lock means is provided, the player object is moved while paying attention to the non-player object even if the player object is moved by the direction instruction means.

  According to the present invention, the player can turn the player object to the direction of the non-player object (or make the non-player object notice) by operating the second operation means. The operability is greatly improved. When the player object is locked to the target non-player object by the locking means, the player object can easily follow the non-player object during the game, for example, when the player object battles with the non-player object. it can. Therefore, when the non-player object is an enemy object, damage can be reliably performed.

In addition, according to the present invention, even a non-player object that is not displayed on the display can be easily found by operating the second operation means.
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.

  The video game system of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes a video game machine 10, a ROM cartridge 20 as an example of a storage medium, a display 30 connected to the video game machine 10, and a controller 40. A cartridge 50 is detachably attached to the controller 40.

  The controller 40 is configured by providing a plurality of switches or buttons on a housing 41 that can be held with both hands or one hand. Specifically, the controller 40 includes handles 41L, 41C, and 41R formed to extend downward at the left and right ends and the center of the housing 41, and the upper surface of the housing 41 is an operation area. In the operation area, a joystick (hereinafter referred to as “analog joystick”) 45 capable of analog input is provided in the lower center portion, and a cruciform digital direction switch (hereinafter referred to as “cross switch”) 46 is provided on the left side. A plurality of button switches 47A, 47B, 47C, 47D, 47E and 47F are provided on the right side.

  The analog joystick 45 is used to input the moving direction and / or moving speed or moving amount of the player object according to the tilt amount and direction of the stick. The cross switch 46 is used to instruct the moving direction of the player object instead of the analog joystick 45. The button switches 47A and 47B are used for instructing the operation of the player object, and the button switches 47C-47D are used for switching the viewpoint of the camera of the three-dimensional image, adjusting the speed of the player object, and the like.

  A start switch 47S is provided almost at the center of the operation area, and this start switch 47S is operated when starting the game. A switch 47Z is provided on the back side of the central handle 41C, and this switch 47Z is used as a trigger switch in a shooting game, for example. This switch (hereinafter also referred to as “Z button”) 47Z is operated when the player object should be focused on the non-player object. That is, this switch 47Z functions as a second operating means. Switches 47 </ b> L and 47 </ b> R are provided on the left and right upper side surfaces of the housing 41.

  The button switches 47C-47F described above can also be used for controlling (for example, accelerating or decelerating) the moving speed of the player object in a shooting or action game as a use other than the camera viewpoint switching. However, the functions of these switches 47A-47F, 47S, 47Z, 47L and 47R can be arbitrarily defined by the game program.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the video game system of FIG. 1 embodiment. The video game machine 10 includes a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as “CPU”) 11 and a coprocessor (reality coprocessor: hereinafter referred to as “RCP”) 12. The RCP 12 includes a bus control circuit 121 for controlling the bus, a signal processor (reality signal processor; hereinafter referred to as “RSP”) 122 for performing polygon coordinate conversion, shading processing, and the like, and a polygon. A rendering processor (reality display processor; hereinafter referred to as “RDP”) 46 for rasterizing data into an image to be displayed and converting it into a data format (dot data) that can be stored in a frame memory is included.

  Connected to the RCP 12 are a cartridge connector 13 for detachably mounting a ROM cartridge 20 containing an external ROM 21, a disk drive connector 197 for detachably mounting a disk drive 29, and a RAM 14. . The RCP 12 is connected to DACs (digital / analog converters) 15 and 16 for outputting audio signals and video signals processed by the CPU 11, respectively. Further, a controller control circuit 17 for serially transferring operation data of one or more controllers 40 and / or data of the vibration cartridge 50 is connected to the RCP 12.

  The bus control circuit 121 included in the RCP 12 performs parallel / serial conversion on a command given as a parallel signal from the CPU 11 via the bus, and supplies the command to the controller control circuit 17 as a serial signal. The bus control circuit 121 converts the serial signal input from the controller control circuit 17 into a parallel signal and outputs the parallel signal to the CPU 11 via the bus. Data (operation signal or operation data) indicating an operation state read from the controller 40 is processed by the CPU 11 or temporarily stored in the RAM 14. In other words, the RAM 14 includes a storage area for temporarily storing data processed by the CPU 11, and is used to smoothly read or write data via the bus control circuit 121.

  A connector 195 provided on the rear surface of the video game machine 10 is connected to the audio DAC 15. A connector 196 provided on the rear surface of the video game machine 10 is connected to the image DAC 16. The connector 195 is connected to the speaker 31 of the display 30. The connector 196 is connected to a display 30 such as a television receiver or a CRT.

  A controller connector 18 provided on the front surface of the video game machine 10 is connected to the controller control circuit 17. A controller 40 is detachably connected to the connector 18 via a connection jack. In this way, by connecting the controller 40 to the connector 18, the controller 40 is electrically connected to the video game machine 10, and data can be transmitted / received or transferred between them.

  The controller control circuit 17 is used to transmit and receive data serially between the RCP 12 and the controller connector 18, and as shown in FIG. 3, the data transfer control circuit 171, the transmission circuit 172, the reception circuit 173, and the transmission / reception data RAM 174 for temporarily storing. Data transfer control circuit 171 includes a parallel / serial conversion circuit and a serial / parallel conversion circuit for converting the data format at the time of data transfer, and further performs write / read control of RAM 174. The serial / parallel conversion circuit converts serial data supplied from the RCP 12 into parallel data, and supplies the parallel data to the RAM 174 or the transmission circuit 172. The parallel / serial conversion circuit converts parallel data supplied from the RAM 174 or the reception circuit 173 into serial data, and supplies the serial data to the RCP 12. The transmission circuit 172 converts the command for reading the signal of the controller 40 supplied from the data transfer control circuit 171 and the write data (parallel data) to the cartridge 50 into serial data, and corresponds to each of the controllers 40. Is sent to channels CH1 to CH4. The receiving circuit 173 receives the operation data of each controller and the read data from the cartridge 50 inputted from the channels CH1 to CH4 corresponding to each controller 40 as serial data, converts it into parallel data, and sends it to the data transfer control circuit 171. give. The data transfer control circuit 171 writes the data transferred from the RCP 12 or the controller data received by the receiving circuit 173 and the read data of the cartridge 50 to the RAM 174, or reads the data of the RAM 174 based on a command from the RCP 12 to read the RCP 12 Forward to.

  Although not shown, the RAM 174 has a storage location for each channel CH1 to CH4, and the command, transmission data and / or reception data of the channel are stored in each storage location. FIG. 4 is a detailed circuit diagram of the controller 40 and the cartridge 50. An operation signal processing circuit 44 and the like are incorporated in the housing of the controller 40 in order to detect operation states of the joystick 45 and the switches 46 and 47 and to transfer the detected data to the controller control circuit 17. The operation signal processing circuit 44 includes a reception circuit 441, a control circuit 442, a switch signal detection circuit 443, a counter circuit 444, a joyport control circuit 446, a reset circuit 447 and a NOR gate 448. The receiving circuit 441 converts a control signal transmitted from the controller control circuit 17 and a serial signal such as write data to the cartridge 50 into a parallel signal and supplies the parallel signal to the control circuit 442. When the control signal transmitted from the controller control circuit 17 is a reset signal for the X and Y coordinates of the joystick 45, the control circuit 442 generates a reset signal and the X-axis counter in the counter 444 via the NOR gate 448. The count values of the 444X and the Y-axis counter 444Y are reset (0).

  The joystick 45 includes photo interrupts for the X axis and the Y axis so as to generate a number of pulses proportional to the tilt amount by decomposing into the X axis direction and the Y axis direction of the lever tilt direction. Is supplied to the counter 444X and the counter 444Y. When the joystick 45 is tilted in the X-axis direction, the counter 444X counts the number of pulses generated according to the tilt amount. When the joystick 45 is tilted in the Y-axis direction, the counter 444Y counts the number of pulses generated according to the tilt amount. Therefore, the moving direction and the coordinate position of the player object, the main character or the cursor are determined by the combined vector of the X axis and the Y axis determined by the count values of the counter 444X and the counter 444Y. The counter 444X and the counter 444Y are reset by a reset signal given from the reset signal generation circuit 447 when the power is turned on or a reset signal given from the switch signal detection circuit 443 when the player simultaneously presses two predetermined switches. Is done.

  The switch signal detection circuit 443 responds to a command for outputting a switch state given from the control circuit 442 at a constant cycle (for example, an interval of 1/30 seconds which is a television frame cycle), and the cross switch 46 and the switch 47A. A signal that changes depending on the pressing state of .about.47Z is read and applied to the control circuit 442. In response to the operation command data read command signal from the controller control circuit 17, the control circuit 442 sends the operation status data of the switches 47A to 47Z and the count values of the counters 444X and 444Y to the transmission circuit 445 in a predetermined data format. give. The transmission circuit 445 converts the parallel signal output from the control circuit 442 into a serial signal, and transfers the serial signal to the controller control circuit 17 via the conversion circuit 43 and the signal line 42. A joyport control circuit 446 is connected to the control circuit 442 through an address bus, a data bus, and a port connector 46. The joy port control circuit 446 performs data input / output (or transmission / reception) control according to a command from the CPU 11 when the cartridge 50 is connected to the port connector 46.

  The cartridge 50 is configured by connecting a RAM 51 to an address bus and a data bus, and connecting a battery 52 to the RAM 51. The RAM 51 is a RAM having a capacity (for example, 256 kbits) less than half of the maximum capacity that can be accessed using an address bus, for example. The RAM 51 stores backup data related to the game. The RAM 51 receives power supplied from the battery 52 and holds the backup data even when the cartridge 50 is removed from the port connector 46.

  FIG. 5 is a memory map showing the memory space of the external ROM 21 built in the ROM cartridge 20 (FIG. 1). The external ROM 21 includes a plurality of storage areas (hereinafter also simply referred to as “areas”), such as a program area 22, a character code area 23, an image data area 24, and a sound memory area 25 shown in FIG. A program is stored in advance in a fixed manner.

  The program area 22 stores a program necessary for processing a game image, game data corresponding to the game content, and the like. Specifically, the program area 22 includes a plurality of storage areas for fixedly storing an operation program for the CPU 11 in advance. The main program area 22a stores a main routine processing program such as a game shown in FIG. The controller data program area 22b stores a program for processing operation data of the controller 40. In the write program area 22c, a write program to the frame memory and the Z buffer to be written by the CPU 11 to the RCP 12 is stored. For example, in the writing program area 22c, a program for writing color data in the image data area 203 (FIG. 6) of the RAM 14 as image data based on texture data of a plurality of moving objects or background objects to be displayed on one background screen. Is memorized. The moving program area 22d stores a control program for the CPU 11 to act on the RCP 12 to change the position of the moving object in the three-dimensional space. The camera control program area 22e stores a camera control program for controlling in which direction and / or position in the three-dimensional space the moving object including the player object and the background object are photographed. The player object program area 22f stores a program for controlling display of an object operated by the player. The enemy object program area 22g stores a program for display control of an enemy object that attacks the player object. In the selected object program area 22h, a program for displaying a selected object displayed in the vicinity of the non-player object noticed by the player object when the Z button 47Z is pressed is stored.

  The character code area 23 is an area for storing a plurality of types of character codes, and for example, stores dot data of a plurality of types of characters corresponding to the codes. The character code data stored in the character code area 23 is used for displaying an explanatory note to the player during the progress of the game. The image data area 24 stores image data such as coordinate data and texture data of a plurality of polygons for each of the background object and / or moving object, and displays these objects fixedly at predetermined positions. Alternatively, a display control program for moving and displaying is stored.

  The sound memory area 25 stores sound data such as speech, sound effects, game music (BGM), etc. for outputting the message suitable for the scene by voice corresponding to each scene. As a storage medium or an external storage device, various storage media such as a CD-ROM and a magnetic disk may be used instead of or in addition to the ROM cartridge 20. In that case, various data for the game (including program data and data for image display) are read from or written as necessary from an optical or magnetic disk-shaped storage medium such as a CD-ROM or a magnetic disk. For this purpose, a disk drive 29 (FIG. 2) is provided. The disk drive 29 reads data stored on a magnetic disk or optical disk in which program data similar to that of the external ROM 21 is stored magnetically or optically, and transfers the data to the RAM 14.

  FIG. 6 is a memory map showing the memory space of the RAM 14. The RAM 14 includes a display list area 201. The display list area 201 is an area for registering the number of the object when a player object or a non-player object is to be displayed. The RAM 14 further includes a program area 202 and an image data area 203. The image data area 203 includes a frame memory area 203a that temporarily stores image data for one frame, and a Z buffer area 203b that stores depth data for each dot in the frame memory area. As shown in FIG. 7, the image data area 203 further includes a player object image data area 203c, an enemy object image data area 203d, a selected object image data area 203e, and another object image data area 203f. Polygon data and texture data are temporarily stored in each of the areas 203c to 203f. The program data area 202 is an area for temporarily storing a program. The program data set in each area of the ROM 21 (FIG. 5) is temporarily stored in the program data area 202 as necessary, and the CPU 11 and the RCP 12 (FIG. 2) access the program area of the RAM 14 by accessing the program data area 202. Advance the game. Similarly, the image data area 203 is an area for temporarily storing image data stored in the ROM 21 as necessary, and can be directly accessed by the CPU 11 or the RCP 12. That is, the image data area 201 stores coordinate data and texture data of a plurality of polygons constituting a stationary object and / or a moving object for game image display stored in the external ROM 21. Prior to the operation, for example, data for one course or stage is transferred from the external ROM 21.

The sound memory area 204 temporarily stores BGM and sound effect sound data set in the sound memory area 25 of the ROM 21 as shown in FIG. The controller data storage area 205 temporarily stores operation state data indicating the operation state read from the controller 40.
The flag / register area 206 sets a flag or stores a variable or a constant as needed while the CPU 11 is executing a program. Flags set in the flag / register area 206 include a flag F1 indicating whether or not the non-player object has already been selected as the target non-player object, and a flag indicating whether or not the target non-player object is locked. There is F2.

  FIG. 9 is a main flowchart of the video game system of this embodiment. When the power is turned on, in the first step S1, the CPU 11 sets the video game machine 10 to a predetermined initial state at the start. For example, the CPU 11 transfers the startup program among the game programs stored in the program area 22 of the external ROM 21 to the program area 202 of the RAM 14, sets each parameter to an initial value, and then performs each step of FIG. 9. Run sequentially.

  The operation of the main flow diagram of FIG. 8 is performed, for example, every frame (1/60 seconds) or every 2 to 3 frames, and steps S1 to S13 are repeatedly executed until the course is cleared. If the game is over without succeeding in clearing the course, a game over process is performed in step S14 following step S13. If the course is successfully cleared, the process returns from step S13 to step S1.

That is, in step S1, the game course screen and / or course selection screen is displayed, but when the game is started after the power is turned on, the first course screen is displayed. When the first course is cleared, the next course is set.
Subsequent to step S1, controller processing is performed in step S2. This process detects which one of the joystick 45, the cross switch 46, and the switches 47A to 47Z of the controller 40 is operated, reads the detection data (controller data) of the operation state, and reads the read controller data into the controller of the RAM 14. Write to the data area 205.

In step S3, attention processing is performed for causing the player object to focus on one or more non-player objects. The lock processing step S3 will be described later in detail with reference to FIG.
In step S4, processing for displaying the player object is performed. This process is basically a process of changing the posture, direction, shape, and position based on the operation state of the joystick 45 operated by the player and the presence or absence of an attack from the enemy. For example, based on the program transferred from the storage area 22f (FIG. 6) of the external ROM 21, the polygon data of the player object transferred from the storage area 24, and the controller data, that is, the operation state of the joystick 45, the changed polygon data is obtained. Calculate by calculation. A plurality of polygons obtained as a result are colored by texture data.

  The process of changing the position of the player object, that is, the movement process is controlled by the operation state of the joystick 45. However, when the player object is focused on the non-player object in attention processing step S3, movement control different from normal is performed. Specifically, it will be described in detail later with reference to FIG.

  In step S5, camera processing is performed. For example, the coordinates of the viewpoint for each object are calculated so that the line of sight or field of view when viewed through the camera finder becomes an angle designated by the player with the joystick 45. The position (viewpoint) and line-of-sight direction of the virtual camera are basically controlled by the joystick 45, but different control is performed when the player object is focused on the non-player object in the previous attention processing step S3. . Specifically, this will be described later in detail with reference to FIG.

  In step S6, enemy object processing is performed. This process is executed based on the storage area 22g, the partially transferred program, and the polygon data of the enemy object transferred from the storage area 24 (FIG. 5). For example, the display position of the enemy object and / or its shape is obtained by calculating polygon data so that the player object is attacked while the player object's movement is judged or the movement is hindered. An image is displayed. Thus, the enemy object works to have some influence on the player object.

  In step S7, the selected object is processed. In this process, the color, display position, and shape of the selected object are calculated based on the program partially transferred from the storage area 22h and the polygon data of the selected object transferred from the storage area 24 (FIG. 5). This step S7 will be described in detail later with reference to FIG.

In step S8, other objects are processed. This processing calculates the display position and shape of the other object based on the program partially transferred from the storage area 22h and the polygon data of the other object transferred from the storage area 24 (FIG. 5).
In step S9, the RSP 122 performs a drawing process. That is, the RCP 12 controls the moving object and the moving object based on the texture data of the moving object such as the enemy object and the player object and the stationary object such as the background stored in the image data area 203 of the RAM 14 under the control of the CPU 11. Image data conversion processing (coordinate conversion processing and frame memory drawing processing shown in FIG. 16) for displaying a still object is performed. Specifically, colors are assigned to a plurality of moving objects and a plurality of polygons for each stationary object.

In step S10, the CPU 11 performs voice processing based on voice data such as messages, music, and sound effects.
In step S11, the CPU 11 reads image data stored in the frame memory area of the RAM 14 based on the result of the drawing process in step S7. Accordingly, player objects and non-player objects such as moving objects, stationary objects, enemy objects, and the like are displayed on the display screen of the display 30 (FIGS. 1 and 2).

In step S12, the voice data obtained as a result of the voice processing performed in step S18 by the RCP 12 is read out, and music and sound such as sound effects or conversation are output.
In step S13, it is determined whether or not the course has been cleared (course clear detection). If the course has not been cleared, it is determined whether or not the game is over in step S14. If the game is not over, the process returns to step S2. Steps S1 to S14 are repeated until a game over condition is detected. Then, when it is detected that the number of misses allowed by the player reaches a predetermined number or the game over condition such as the use of a predetermined amount of the life of the player object is reached, the game is continued or backed up in step S14. Game over processing such as data storage selection is performed.

If a condition for clearing the course (eg, defeating a boss) is detected in step S13, the course clear process is performed, and then the process returns to step S1.
Referring to FIG. 9, in first step S301, CPU 11 (FIG. 2) refers to controller data area 205 shown in FIG. 6 and determines whether or not Z button (switch) 47Z is turned on. If “YES” is determined in this step S301, the CPU 11 refers to the NPO selection flag F1 in the register / flag area 206 (FIG. 6) in the next step S302, and first notices the non-player object of interest (NPO). Determine whether is selected. If this flag F1 is “1”, it indicates that one or more non-player objects have been selected, that is, attention processing has been performed. If “0”, the attention non-player object has been selected first. Indicates no. Therefore, if the first Z button 47Z is on, “NO” is determined in this step S302, and the process proceeds to the next step S303.

  In step S303, the CPU 11 refers to the image data area 203 (FIGS. 6 and 7) in the RAM 14 to determine whether or not a non-player object exists in the field of view of the player object. When the front of the player object is 0 °, a range of + 60 ° to −60 ° is set as the field of view of the player object. Therefore, it is determined whether or not there is a non-player object (enemy object, stationary object, or other object) in the range of + 60 ° to −60 ° from the front of the player object. If “YES” is determined in the step S303, it is determined whether or not a plurality of non-player objects are detected in a next step S304. When “NO” is determined in step S304, that is, when one non-player object is detected in the field of view of the player object, in step S305, the one non-player object is selected as a target non-player object.

  When the target non-player object is selected in step S305, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the target non-player object can be given a lock mark LM (FIGS. 12 and 13) in step S306. . For example, when the non-player object is an enemy object, a lock mark can be given. A non-player object can give a lock mark to a stationary object (for example, an item necessary for a game, a treasure box, etc.), but a lock mark cannot be given to other non-player objects. Therefore, in this step S306, it is determined whether the non-player object of interest is an enemy object, a stationary object, or another non-player object. If the non-player object of interest is a non-player object to which a lock mark can be given, a lock mark LM (FIGS. 12 and 13) of a color corresponding to the type of the non-player object is displayed in the display list area 201 in step S307. (FIG. 6). In this embodiment, a “red” lock mark is assigned when the non-player object of interest is an enemy object, and a “yellow” lock mark is assigned when the non-player object is other than that. Then, as long as the Z button 47Z is kept pressed, this lock mark is displayed and the locked state is established. Here, the “locked state” refers to a state in which the player object keeps paying attention to the non-player object. In the locked state, the CPU 11 sets the lock flag F2 of the RAM 14 to “1”.

  In step S308, the screen size is reduced in order to notify the player that the player object has been focused on the non-player object, that is, the attention process has been performed. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12 or FIG. 13, non-display areas (blanking areas) UBP and LBP are formed above and below the display screen. Therefore, when such a reduced screen display is performed, the player can visually recognize that the attention process by the Z button 47Z has been performed. In order to form such blanking portions UBP and LBP, it is only necessary to insert a polygon between each object and an icon (displayed above FIG. 12 or 13) and paste a black texture. . Alternatively, the image signal may be gated at that portion. Then, in the next step S309, it is determined whether there is a selected object of interest. If “YES” is determined in the step S309, the NPO selection flag F1 (FIG. 6) described above is set to “1”.

  In step S304, when a plurality of non-player objects are detected within the field of view of the player object, in step S310, the straight line distance between each non-player object and the player object is measured, and the straight line distance is short. A high priority is determined from the non-player object. In step S311, the non-player object to which the first priority is assigned is selected as the target non-player object, and the process proceeds to the previous step S306. That is, when there are a plurality of non-player objects in the field of view of the player object, the non-player object closest to the player object is selected as the target non-player object.

  Furthermore, when the Z button 47Z is turned on, or when the NPO selection flag F1 is set as “1”, that is, when one or more attention non-player objects have already been selected, “YES” in step S302. Is determined, and the process proceeds to step S312. In step S312, it is determined whether all non-player objects present on the display screen have been selected. That is, in this step S312, whether or not attention processing for all non-player objects including not only non-player objects displayed on the display screen but also non-player objects not displayed on the display screen has been completed. Judging.

  If “NO” is determined in the step S312, the priority order is determined in accordance with the linear distance between each non-player object and the player object as in the previous step S310. In the next step S314, the non-player object to which the second priority is assigned is selected as the target non-player object, and the process proceeds to step S306.

  Steps S313 and S314 target all the non-player objects other than the non-player object that exists in the field of view of the player object and has already been selected as the target non-player object. For the selection, it does not matter whether it exists within the field of view of the player object. Therefore, for example, when there are a plurality of non-player objects in the field of view of the player object and one or more non-player objects exist outside the field of view of the player object, the first operation of the Z button 47Z will The non-player object at the closest position is selected as the target non-player object. In the second and subsequent operations of the Z button 47Z, non-player objects that are non-player objects in the field of view and are omitted from the selection and non-player objects that exist outside the field of view become the target of attention. The second priority is assigned to the closest non-player object.

  If “NO” is determined in step S309, in step S315, a predetermined point in front of the player object at infinity is regarded as a non-player object, and that point is selected. Therefore, when the Z button 47Z is kept on, the player object is kept locked at that point. As another embodiment, when the Z button 47Z is kept on for a predetermined time (for example, several tens of frames of television scanning), the player object is locked at that point even if the Z button 47Z is turned off. You may make it continue. In that case, the lock may be released when the Z button 47Z is turned on again.

  Next, referring to FIG. 10, in the first step S401 of the player object processing step S4 (FIG. 8), by referring to the lock flag F2 of the RAM 14, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the target non-player object is locked. to decide. If “YES” is determined in step S401, that is, if the target non-player object is in a locked state, in the next step S402, the CPU 11 uses the analog joystick 45 or the cross switch 46 to “up” (UP). It is determined whether or not the direction is indicated. That is, it is determined whether or not the player object is instructed to move in the “up” direction. If “YES”, in step S403, the CPU 11 moves the position of the player object in a direction approaching the selected non-player object of interest. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 14, the player object is moved so as to reduce the distance between the player object and the target non-player object (enemy object) while facing the target non-player object (enemy object).

  When the analog joystick 45 or the cross key 46 selects “DOWN”, the player object moves away from the selected non-player object of interest in steps S404 and S405. That is, when “down” is instructed, the player object is moved in a direction away from the target non-player object while facing the target non-player object.

  When the analog joystick 45 or the cross key 46 indicates the “right (RIGHT)” direction, in steps S406 and S407, the CPU 11 keeps the distance between the player object and the non-player object of interest constant. Move to the right. Therefore, in this case, as shown in FIG. 14, the player object moves on a circle centered on the noticeable non-player object. If the player object is paying attention to the above-mentioned “point in front of infinity”, when “right” is instructed by the analog joystick 45 or the cross key 46, the player object It will move to the right while maintaining the distance. That is, in this case, the player object translates rightward on the display screen while facing forward.

  When the analog joystick 45 or the cross key 46 indicates “LEFT”, in steps S408 and S409, as shown in FIG. 14, the player object moves leftward on a circle centered on the non-player object of interest. Moved to. That is, the player object is moved leftward while maintaining a certain distance from the target non-player object. If the player object is paying attention to “a point in front of infinity”, when “left” is instructed, the player object moves to the left while maintaining an equal distance from the point. It will be. That is, in this case, the player object translates leftward on the display screen while facing forward.

Then, the display position of such a player object is registered in the display list area 201 (FIG. 6).
In FIG. 10, when the non-player object is not locked, the player object is moved in the direction indicated by the analog joystick 45 or the cross key 46 as shown in steps S411 to S418.

  Next, the camera processing step S5 (FIG. 8) will be described with reference to FIG. In the first step S501, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the non-player object is locked, that is, whether or not the lock flag F2 is set. If “YES” is determined in step S501, the CPU 11 determines in step S502 a virtual camera (not shown) to a position where the non-player object selected as the target non-player object and the player object can be photographed. )). Specifically, the virtual camera is moved to a position near the line connecting the centers of the non-player object of interest and the player object (not on the line) and behind the player object. The line-of-sight direction of the virtual camera is set to the direction in which the target non-player object is photographed. Therefore, when the Z button 47Z is turned on, as shown in FIG. 12 or FIG. 13, the virtual camera is used so that the player object PO is photographed from the rear of the player object PO when the player object PO faces the non-player object NPO1 or NPO2. The position and shooting direction can be switched. Therefore, when the analog joystick 45 or the cross key 46 is operated in this state, the player object can move while facing the non-player object of interest according to the flowchart of FIG. 10, as shown in FIG.

    In the first step S701 of the selected object processing step S7 (FIG. 8) shown in FIG. 15, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the lock flag F2 is “1”. When the lock flag F2 is “1”, the CPU 11 moves the selected object SO (FIG. 12 or FIG. 13) to the non-player object of interest, NPO1 in FIG. 12, and above NPO2 in FIG. That is, in this step S702, the selected object SO is placed above the target non-player object based on the program data in the selected object program area 22 and the selected object image data area 203e (FIG. 7) in the image data area 203 shown in FIG. Move. In the next step S703, the type of the target non-player object selected at that time is detected, and in step S704, it is determined whether or not the target non-player object is an enemy object. In other words, as described above, the non-player object selected as the target non-player object includes a stationary object in addition to the enemy object. It is determined whether it is a non-player object other than. In the case of an enemy object, in step S705, the CPU 11 sets the color of the selected object SO to “red” by the RDP 123 (FIG. 2). If it is a non-player object other than an enemy object, the selected object SO is set to yellow in step S706. After step S705 or S706, the CPU 11 registers the selected object SO in the display list area 201.

  Note that when the locked state of the target non-player object is released in step S708, the selected object is displayed above the player object in step S709.

1 is a schematic illustration showing a video game system according to one embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the video game machine of FIG. 1 in detail. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the controller control circuit of FIG. 2 in more detail. It is a block diagram which shows the controller and cartridge of FIG. 1 in detail. FIG. 3 is an illustrative view showing a memory map of the external ROM of FIG. 2. It is an illustration figure which shows the memory map of RAM of FIG. It is an illustration figure which shows the image data area | region contained in RAM of FIG. 6 in detail. It is a flowchart which shows the whole operation | movement of FIG. 1 Example. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing in detail a lock processing routine of FIG. 8 embodiment; FIG. 10 is an illustrative view showing in detail a player object processing routine of FIG. 8 embodiment; FIG. 9 is an illustrative view showing a camera processing routine of FIG. 8 embodiment in detail; It is an illustration figure which shows an example of the image displayed according to FIG. 10 Example and FIG. 11 Example. It is an illustration figure which shows an example of the image displayed according to FIG. 10 Example and FIG. 11 Example. FIG. 12 is an illustrative view showing that the position and shooting direction of the virtual camera are moved according to the embodiment in FIG. 11; FIG. 9 is an illustrative view showing in detail a selected object processing routine of FIG. 8 embodiment; FIG. 9 is an illustrative view showing in detail a drawing processing routine of FIG. 8 embodiment;

Explanation of symbols

10: Video game machine 11: CPU
17: Controller control circuit 20: ROM cartridge 40: Controller 50: Cartridge

Claims (10)

A game device for displaying an object in a virtual three-dimensional space on a display and playing a game,
First image data generating means for generating first image data for a player object;
Second image data generating means for generating second image data for the non-player object;
An image according to at least one of the first image data and the second image data so as to display at least one of a player object and a non-player object photographed from a virtual camera in the virtual three-dimensional space on the display. Image processing means for supplying a signal to the display;
Controller means comprising: first operating means for instructing a moving direction of the player object; and second operating means for operating when the player object is directed in the virtual three-dimensional space toward the non-player object;
Non-player object detection means for automatically detecting whether or not the non-player object exists in the virtual three-dimensional space in response to an operation of the second operation means;
Attention target selection means for selecting the non player object detected by the non player object detection means as the attention non player object,
Lock means for locking the direction of the player object to the direction of the target non-player object;
Lock state determination means for determining whether or not the orientation of the player object is locked in the direction of the target non-player object by the lock means, and an instruction from the first operation means And a movement control means for moving the player object in response.
In response to the determination that the lock state determination unit is in the lock state, the movement control unit instructs the first operation unit while keeping the orientation of the player object in the direction of the target non-player object. The player object is moved in a direction according to the movement, and the player object is moved in a direction according to an instruction from the first operation means in response to the determination that the lock state determination means is not in the lock state. A game device.   When the movement control unit determines that the lock state determination unit is in the locked state, the movement control unit moves the player object in a direction approaching the target non-player object in response to an upward direction instruction of the first operation unit. The game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the game apparatus is moved and moves the player object in a direction away from the target non-player object in accordance with a downward direction of the first operation means. When the non-player object detecting means detects a plurality of non-player objects, the non-player object detecting means further comprises priority order giving means for giving a predetermined priority to each non-player object,
The game device according to claim 1, wherein the selection unit first selects a non-player object having the highest priority as the target non-player object.   The game device according to claim 3, wherein the selection unit selects a different non-player object as the attention non-player object according to the priority order for each operation of the second operation unit.   The game device according to claim 1, wherein the lock unit is set to the locked state in response to the operation of the second operation unit.   6. The game apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the lock unit alternately switches between the locked state and a non-locked state that is not locked every time the second operating unit is operated. When the non-player object detecting means detects a non-player object in the field of view of the player object, the priority order giving means gives a first priority to the non-player object,
4. The video game apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when the non-player object detecting means detects a non-player object outside the field of view of the player object, the priority order assigning means assigns a second priority order to the non-player object. Further comprising camera control means for determining the viewing direction of the virtual camera;
The camera control means sets the line-of-sight direction of the virtual camera to a direction in which the target non-player object is photographed when the lock state determination means determines that the lock state is determined, and determines that the camera is not in the lock state. 2. The game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the visual line direction of the virtual camera is set according to an instruction from the first operation means. The lock means fixes the orientation of the player object to the current orientation when the non-player object detection means detects that the non-player object does not exist,
The movement control means translates the player object in accordance with an instruction from the first operation means while fixing the orientation of the player object when the orientation of the player object is fixed at the current orientation. The game device according to claim 1, wherein: A display for displaying an object in the virtual three-dimensional space, a first operating means for instructing a moving direction of the player object, and a direction of the player object in a direction of the non-player object in the virtual three-dimensional space A CPU of a game device coupled to controller means including second operating means for operating,
First image data generating means for generating first image data for the player object;
Second image data generating means for generating second image data for the non-player object;
An image according to at least one of the first image data and the second image data so as to display at least one of a player object and a non-player object photographed from a virtual camera in the virtual three-dimensional space on the display. Image processing means for supplying a signal to the display;
Non-player object detection means for automatically detecting whether or not the non-player object exists in the virtual three-dimensional space in response to an operation of the second operation means;
Selection means for selecting the non-player object detected by the non-player object detection means as a target non-player object;
Lock means for locking the direction of the player object to the direction of the target non-player object;
Lock state determination means for determining whether or not the orientation of the player object is locked in the direction of the target non-player object by the lock means, and an instruction from the first operation means A storage medium storing a program for functioning as a movement control means for moving the player object in response,
In response to the determination that the lock state determination unit is in the lock state, the movement control unit instructs the first operation unit while keeping the orientation of the player object in the direction of the target non-player object. The player object is moved in a direction according to the movement, and the player object is moved in a direction according to an instruction from the first operation means in response to the determination that the lock state determination means is not in the lock state. , Storage medium.

Images