JP2004241873A - Story continuous reproduction program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a story continuous reproduction program that enables a story to be continuously reproduced in terms of time by using media data of 3D graphics, a moving picture, a sound, still pictures, texts, etc., only by describing a summary and enables a reproduction position to be moved to an arbitrary point of time in the story. <P>SOLUTION: Behavior of an object constituting a story world can directly be described and a scenario is described with a macro instruction which do not require specifications regarding presentation output of media data. On the basis of the scenario, an internal state in the story is generated and the media data are presented and outputted according to the internal state. A method of restoring a scene file wherein the internal state of the story is recorded and a method of carrying out the macro instruction are carried out in combination to move the reproduction position to an arbitrary point of time in the story. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a technique for reproducing a complex story such as a history, a current affair, or a story using a computer. In more detail, a story can be played back continuously in time using media data such as 3D graphics, moving images, audio, still images, and text simply by writing a scenario by a user. The present invention relates to a story continuous playback program that can move a playback position to an arbitrary point in a story.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Techniques for expressing or reproducing stories such as history, current affairs, and stories include books, comics, radio, television, and movies in the old days. However, these techniques have a problem in that since the usable media data is limited, the expressive power is poor, and random access to a desired portion is difficult. Thus, a technology has been realized in which different media data such as 3D graphics, moving images, audio, still images, and texts are digitized and centrally managed as multimedia. As a system for reproducing a story based on a scenario described in advance using this multimedia technology, there are a multimedia reproducing device in the business field and a computer game in the amusement field.
[0003]
However, the above-described conventional multimedia reproducing apparatus and computer game have the following problems. First, as a first problem, it is difficult for a user without programming knowledge to describe a scenario in a complicated story such as history, current affairs, and narrative. It is difficult to continuously reproduce temporally using media data such as 3D graphics, moving images, audio, still images, and text.
[0004]
For this reason, an apparatus for facilitating the description of a scenario is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-88963, “Recording Medium and Multimedia Reproduction Apparatus”. In this example, the instructions describing the scenario are constituted by direct instructions for outputting media data without depending on the language used by the playback device. For example, in the macro command “Display a, b, c”, a indicates an image to be displayed, b indicates a display position in a horizontal direction, and c indicates a display position in a vertical direction. Also, the macro instruction “Audio-play d, e, f” means that the sound data d is sounded for f seconds from the position of e. With such a macro instruction, a scenario can be easily described without any knowledge of programming.
[0005]
However, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-88963 "Recording medium and multimedia reproducing apparatus" has the following problems. An instruction for describing a scenario and a mechanism for executing the instruction are limited to a presentation output method such as a timing and a position for presenting and outputting media data. Therefore, the scenario must be described while replacing the scenario as a story with a media data presentation output method. For example, a simple event such as "Caesar has become emperor in Rome" can also be done with a command to specify the image of the city of Rome and the display position to display the city of Rome, and an image of Caesar to display the city of Caesar. It is necessary to describe, as a scenario, a command for designating a display position, a command for designating an audio data for notifying an event, a position of the speech data, and a sound generation time. Therefore, as the story becomes more complex, the efficiency of describing the scenario decreases significantly. For example, it is clear that it is not practical to scenario a long history chart in this way.
[0006]
This is due to the fact that the appearance objects and their behavior, which constitute the story world, which is the essence of the story, cannot be directly described as a scenario. For example, if you can write "Commissioner, Emperor, Caesar, Rome", you can easily describe the scenario.
[0007]
Further, in the above-described conventional computer game, the scenario, the media data, and the reproduction program are integrated, and it is difficult to describe the scenario without programming knowledge. In some cases, simple initial values such as the ability values of appearing objects and map terrain can be described as scenarios, but none can describe the storyline of a complicated story. This is for the following reasons.
[0008]
In order to be able to describe a scenario without programming knowledge, it is necessary that a macro-like instruction for describing the scenario includes only information unique to the scenario and does not include internal information of the computer. For example, in "Display a, b, c" of JP-A-5-88963 "Recording Medium and Multimedia Reproducing Apparatus", a, b, and c correspond to internal information of the computer. Also, the above-mentioned description of "commission, emperor, Caesar, Rome" does not include information inside the computer, and is all information unique to the scenario. However, in the latter method, an overhead for converting the information unique to the scenario into the internal information of the computer is generated, and the processing speed is reduced.
[0009]
In computer games, a reduction in processing speed is a major obstacle. In recent computer games, 3D games that display 3D objects in real time are mainly used. In order to obtain a smooth image by this method, it is necessary to update the screen of 30 to 60 frames per second. For example, in order to realize 30 frames per second, the internal data must be updated within 1/30 second, that is, about 33 milliseconds, and all display processing for one screen must be completed. If this processing is delayed, the display screen becomes jerky, giving the user a sense of discomfort. This time of 33 milliseconds is by no means affordable with current CPU, memory, and graphics chip capabilities. Therefore, at the production site, various measures are taken, such as reducing the number of 3D objects to be displayed at the same time, reducing the number of polygons of the 3D object, and the like.
[0010]
Under these circumstances, in order to increase the processing speed even a little, the program is optimized for each scenario, and the scenario, the media data, and the reproduction program tend to be integrated.
[0011]
The second problem is that it is difficult to independently reuse a scenario, which is a story scenario, and media data, which is an expression form thereof. This means that if one of the scenario and the media data is changed, the other must also be changed.
[0012]
For example, in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-88963, "Recording Medium and Multimedia Reproducing Apparatus", it is not possible to change only the scenario without changing the media data. This is because when the macro instruction “Display a, b, c” of the scenario is changed to “Display, b, c”, the image d must be newly added. This is because the macro instruction of the scenario, which should be the essence of the story, includes a method of presenting and outputting the media data, which is merely an expression form. In other words, this is because the scenario, which is the essence of the story, and the media data, which is merely an expression form, are not completely separated.
[0013]
Further, a third problem is that it is difficult to move the reproduction position to an arbitrary point in the story.
[0014]
For this reason, a method of moving the reproduction position to an arbitrary position is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-26868 “Multimedia title reproduction device”. In this example, the presentation state information data of the object at an arbitrary position of the title is generated and held, and the state of the arbitrary position of the title can be restored by using this data. In other multimedia playback apparatuses and computer games of the prior art described above, essentially the same technique is used when the playback position is moved to an arbitrary position. That is, it is a technique that relies only on recording and restoration of internal information at a reproduction position.
[0015]
However, such a conventional technique has the following problems. In order to move the playback position to an arbitrary point on the story, the time information inside the story at all points on the story time axis must be recorded. This means that infinite time information is needed. Because time specifies the beginning and end, there is infinite time between them. Therefore, it is actually impossible to adopt such a method.
[0016]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and a first object of the present invention is to allow a user who has no programming knowledge to easily describe a scenario in a complicated story such as history, current affairs, and a story. Further, a story continuous reproduction program is provided, which can reproduce a story temporally continuously using media data such as 3D graphics, moving images, audio, still images, and text simply by describing a scenario. It is in.
[0017]
It is a second object of the present invention to provide a continuous story reproducing program that can independently reuse a scenario, which is a scenario of a story, and media data, which is an expression form thereof.
[0018]
Further, a third object of the present invention is to provide a story continuous reproduction program that can move a reproduction position to an arbitrary point in a story.
[0019]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem. The invention according to claim 1 uses a computer to reproduce a story continuously in time using multimedia based on a scenario. Instruction input means for receiving an instruction for reproduction from a user, media data recording means for storing media data including 3D graphics, moving images, audio, still images, texts, and the like, and a media data ID for identifying each data. A reproduction time point updating means for updating a reproduction time point by adding an update unit time to a reproduction time point indicating a reproduction position on the story time axis, and a command for describing a story scenario, wherein the command is executed. The execution time point parameter that specifies the execution time point on the story time axis, and the creation and deletion of the appearance objects that make up the story world Scenario recording means for recording a scenario in which a macro instruction having an object parameter designating a change and not including a parameter relating to the method of presenting and outputting media data is arranged in chronological order according to the execution time; Scene data recording means for recording scene data including information of all the appearing objects constituting the story world at the time, referring to the scenario, and executing a macro instruction whose execution time of the execution time parameter matches the reproduction time. The scene data is generated by selecting and executing the scene data at the time of the reproduction. The scene data is referred to from the scene data recording means. Select the data ID and select the media data Reading the media data corresponding to D from the media data recording means, and presenting and outputting the scene data; activating the reproduction time updating means, the scene data generating means, and the scene data presenting means at regular intervals. This is a story continuous playback program for functioning as continuous playback means for playing back stories continuously in time.
[0020]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the continuous story reproducing program of the first aspect, a destination time point input means for receiving a destination time point on a story time axis from a user in order to move a reproduction position, and a story time axis. A scene in which a plurality of scene files including information of all the appearing objects constituting the story world at one time point above and a scene file time point list in which the time point of each scene file is registered as a scene file time point File recording means, reading a scene file from the scene file recording means, generating scene data of the scene data recording means based on information of the appearing objects included in the scene file, and determining a scene file time point corresponding to the scene file. By setting a new playback point, Scene restoration means for moving the scene data to the scene file time point, and repeatedly executing the reproduction time point updating means and the scene data generation means until the reproduction time point coincides with the movement destination time point, so that the scene data at the movement destination time point is obtained. The reproduction position moving means for moving the reproduction position to an arbitrary time point in the story by generating and executing the scene fast forward means for moving the reproduction position to the movement destination time point, the scene restoring means and the scene fast forward means in combination. , And more.
[0021]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the story continuous reproduction program according to the second aspect,
The playback position moving means searches the scene file time list of the scene file recording means when the movement destination time point is earlier than the movement source time point at which the movement of the playback position is started. Also selects a scene file time point that is located in the past and is closest to the movement destination time point, and moves the playback position to the scene file time point by the scene restoring means. If the destination time is later than the source time, a scene file time list of the scene file recording means is searched, and the scene file time is moved between the source time and the destination time. It is checked whether or not the destination is registered. If not registered, the scene fast-forward means starts moving from the source to the destination. If the playback position is moved to a point and the scene file time point is registered, the scene restoration means moves the playback position to the scene file time point, and the scene fast forward means moves the playback position to the movement destination time point. A moving method is compared with a method of moving a reproduction position from the movement source time point to the movement destination time point only by the scene fast-forward means, and the reproduction position is moved by a method with a shorter processing time.
[0022]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the story continuous reproduction program according to the second or third aspect, the scene file recording means is arranged such that scene file points registered in a scene file point list are arranged in chronological order. The time interval between adjacent scene file times is within a certain value.
[0023]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the continuous story reproducing program according to the second to fourth aspects, the macro instruction described in the scenario of the scenario recording means is an event name designating an event name in the story of the macro instruction. Further comprising a parameter, wherein the destination time point input means extracts only the macro instruction in which the event name parameter is valid from the scenario, and executes the execution time point parameter of the extracted macro instruction and the event name of the event name parameter. And displaying the list of records, and allowing the user to select a record to input the destination time point.
[0024]
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the program for continuously reproducing stories according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the scene file recording means executes a macro instruction in which an event name parameter is valid among macro instructions described in the scenario. All of the execution points specified in the parameters are registered in the scene file point list as scene file points.
[0025]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, the story continuous reproduction program according to the present invention can be realized on a very common computer such as a personal computer.
[0026]
(Embodiment 1) First, a first embodiment corresponding to claim 1 of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a story continuous reproduction program according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0027]
In FIG. 1, a data processing device 100 includes a CPU, a memory, and various controllers, and executes a story continuous reproduction program of the present invention.
[0028]
The input device 101 includes input devices such as a mouse and a keyboard, and receives an input from a user. The display device 110 is a graphic display device and displays a story world. The audio output device 111 is an output device including a voice synthesis device and a speaker, and outputs audio, sound effects, and music. The external storage device 112 is a randomly accessible large-capacity storage device such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, and a magneto-optical disk, and records program codes and data necessary for executing the story continuous reproduction program of the present invention. .
[0029]
The reproduction instruction input means 102 interprets the input from the user received from the input device 101 and notifies the continuous reproduction means 103 described later as a story reproduction / stop command.
[0030]
The reproduction point updating means 104 updates the reproduction point indicating the reproduction position on the story time axis.
[0031]
The story time axis is a one-dimensional time axis for managing points in the story world. The time point on the story time axis is configured to include at least one of a date and a time, and the content of the configuration is determined by the embodiment. For example, if the scenario is about the history of a chronology, the composition of the time points is year / month / day, and if the detailed time point is expressed like a modern affair, it is year / month / day / hour / minute. , Set according to the content of the scenario.
[0032]
The playback time point is a time point on the story time axis, and particularly indicates a time point during playback on the display device 110 or the audio output device 111, and corresponds to the current time point in the real world.
[0033]
The update of the reproduction time is performed by adding the update unit time to the reproduction time. Therefore, the reproduction point is updated every update unit time. The value of the update unit time is determined according to the minimum unit of the time point on the story time axis described above. For example, when the time point is composed of year / month / day, the update unit time is one day. This is because if the update unit time is two days, the reproduction time point can be expressed only every two days, and the consistency cannot be obtained.
[0034]
The scenario recording unit 107 records a scenario in which a story scenario is described. This scenario describes the behavior of an appearing object that is a component of the story world, and does not include the method of presenting and outputting media data. Therefore, the macro instruction for describing the scenario is a macro instruction unique to the embodiment, but has the following features.
[0035]
First, all macro instructions have an execution time point parameter that specifies a time point on the story time axis at which the instruction is executed. Hereinafter, the time point designated by the execution time point parameter is referred to as the execution time point.
[0036]
Second, the macro instruction includes object parameters for designating creation, deletion, and modification of the appearing objects that make up the story world, and does not include the above-described parameters related to the media data presentation output method. This is because the presentation output processing of the media data is automatically processed by a scene data presentation unit 106 to be described later, and thus does not need to be described as a scenario.
[0037]
Third, the macro instructions are arranged in a time series on the scenario according to the execution time specified in the above-mentioned execution time parameter. This is because, in the story progress processing, the macro instructions are executed in the order of the execution time points, so that the processing efficiency is better if the macro instructions are arranged in the time order.
[0038]
Here, in the scenario, in addition to the method of arranging the macro instructions themselves in the order of execution time, there is also a method of assigning a unique index to the macro instruction and using an index table in which the indexes are arranged in the order of execution time of the macro instruction. . In the latter case, the macro instructions do not need to be arranged in the order of execution.
[0039]
Here, a format example of the scenario is shown in FIG. 11, and the macro instruction will be described in detail. In this format, the scenario is history, and the configuration of the time point on the story time axis is year, month, day, and the update unit time is one day for the above-described reason. From FIG. 11, it can be seen that the execution time point parameter is specified by year / month / day. Further, in this example, the object parameter for designating creation, deletion, and change of the appearing object is composed of a plurality of parameters. The command is used to determine the meaning of the following object parameter. Aux 1 and Aux 2 are used to assist the command word. The numerical value and name are used to specify the numerical value and name, respectively. The parameters of the person, the country (countries 1 and 2), and the position are used to specify the person, the country, and the position, respectively. The ID is a unique number for identifying a macro instruction on a scenario. Also, the scenarios in the figure do not guarantee historical accuracy.
[0040]
Hereinafter, each macro instruction will be specifically described. The macro instruction of ID7 in FIG. 11 means “On May 10, 1857, a Sepoi disturbance occurred in Delhi”. Since the execution time parameter of this command is “May 10, 1857”, this command is used when the playback time updated by the playback time update means 104 described above matches May 10, 1857. This is executed by the generation unit 105. The content to be executed is that the instruction word is “rebellion” and the auxiliary 1 is “occurrence”, so that a new revolt appearance object is generated. In the macro instruction, the rebellion name is specified as "Sepoi's Rebellion" and the position is "Delhi", so the revolt name of the newly created rebellion appearing object is "Sepoi's Revolt" and the position is "Delhi" Become. Here, the position is represented by a point name.
[0041]
In the present embodiment, positions in the story world are managed by points. A point is also an appearing object, and is managed in a point data table as a record including latitude / longitude on the earth as position information and a point name as a name. Therefore, the latitude and longitude can be specified from the point data table using the point name as a keyword.
[0042]
The macro instruction of ID8 in FIG. 11 is an instruction to end the rebellion generated by the macro instruction of ID7, and means "the Sepoi revolt ends in Delhi on September 1, 1857". This macro instruction is executed when the reproduction time point updated by the reproduction time point update means 104 matches “September 1, 1857”, and as a result, the object of the rebellion whose name is “Sepoi turbulence” is deleted. Is done.
[0043]
Next, other macro instructions in FIG. 11 will be briefly described. The macro instruction of ID4 means "On January 1, 1853, Cecil Rose was born in London as a male citizen of London." This macro instruction is executed when the playback time matches "January 1, 1853". As a result, the gender is "male", the first and last names are "Cecil Rose", the nationality is "UK", and the position is "London". Is generated.
[0044]
The macro instruction of ID11 is an instruction to set the status of Cecil Rose, which was born by the macro instruction of ID4, and means "On January 1, 1881, Cecil Rose becomes President of De Beers in Cape". ing. This macro instruction is executed when the playback time coincides with “January 1, 1881”, and as a result, the status of the appearing object of the person whose first and last name is “Cecil Rose” is changed to “President De Beers”, The position is changed to "Cape" respectively.
[0045]
The macro instruction of ID5 means "September 1, 1856, in Guangzhou, an arrow war occurs between France and the Qing country". This macro instruction is executed when the playback time coincides with "September 1, 1856", and as a result, the war name is "Arrow War", the warring countries are "France" and "Qingdom", and the location is "Guangzhou". The war appearance object is generated.
[0046]
The macro instruction of ID10 is an instruction to end the arrow war generated by the macro instruction of ID5, and means "January 1, 1860, the arrow war is over". This macro instruction is executed when the reproduction time coincides with “January 1, 1860”, and as a result, the war entry object whose war name is “Arrow War” is deleted.
[0047]
The macro instruction of ID6 means "On January 1, 1857, a famine occurred in Guangzhou, killing 70,000 people." This macro instruction is executed when the execution time coincides with “January 1, 1857”, and as a result, the disaster with the type of disaster “famine”, the number of victims “70000”, and the location “Guangzhou” Is generated.
[0048]
The macro instruction of ID9 means "Gold will be a special product in Denver on January 2, 1858." This macro instruction is executed when the execution time coincides with "January 2, 1858", and as a result, a special product appearance object with the special product item "Gold" and the position "Denver" is generated. You.
[0049]
Thus, it is only necessary to describe the behavior of the appearing objects constituting the story world, and it is not necessary to specify the presentation output method of the media data, such as the display timing and display position for screen display. Therefore, even a user without programming knowledge can easily describe a scenario.
[0050]
The scene data recording means 108 in FIG. 1 records the internal state of the story at the time of reproduction indicating the reproduction position on the story time axis as scene data. This scene data includes information on all the appearing objects constituting the story world at the time of reproduction. In the present embodiment, the information of these appearing objects is recorded and managed in a data table created for each type of appearing object. This data table has records as appearance objects and fields (items) as components of the appearance objects.
[0051]
The records (appearing objects) of the data table are generated, deleted, and changed on the data table in accordance with the generation, deletion, and change of the appearing object specified by the above-described macro instruction.
[0052]
FIG. 14 shows an example of this data table. The rebel data table shown in the figure records objects appearing as "rebel", and the items of the record are the rebel name and the position. ID is a record number. The record of ID0 is a revolt appearance object whose rebellion name is “Sepoi's Rebellion” and whose position is “Delhi”.
[0053]
The person data table records the appearance objects of "person", and the items of the record are gender, first and last name, status, nationality, and position. The record of ID0 is an appearance object of a person whose gender is "male", whose first and last name is "Cecil Rose", whose status is "President De Beers", whose nationality is "UK", and whose position is "cape".
[0054]
The war data table records the appearance objects of "war", and the items of the record are the war name, the war country 1, the war country 2, and the position.
[0055]
The disaster data table records the appearance objects of “disaster”, and the items of the record are the type (of disaster), the number of victims, and the position.
[0056]
The special product data table records appearance objects of "special product", and the items of the record are items and positions.
[0057]
The point data table records the appearance objects of "point", and the items of the record are the point name, latitude, and longitude.
[0058]
In this way, information on the appearing objects is recorded and managed in a data table created for each type of appearing object, such as rebellion, person, war, disaster, specialty product, and spot.
[0059]
The scene data generating means 105 of FIG. 1 refers to the scenario of the scenario recording means 107, selects and executes a macro instruction whose execution time parameter coincides with the above-mentioned reproduction time, thereby obtaining the scene data at the reproduction time. Is generated and recorded in the scene data recording unit 108.
[0060]
The scene data generating means 105 has a macro instruction pointer inside. The macro instruction pointer stores a pointer to a macro instruction to be processed next by the scene data generation unit 105.
[0061]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the scene data generating means 105. The operation of the scene data generating means 105 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the macro instruction pointed to by the macro instruction pointer is obtained from the scenario of the scenario recording unit 107 (step 501). Next, it is determined whether the read macro instruction is the last instruction in the scenario (step 502). If the last instruction is the last instruction (step 502: Yes), the processing is terminated. If not, the processing is not the last instruction (step 502: No), proceed to the next process.
[0062]
As the method of determining the last instruction of the scenario, an END instruction is defined in advance as a macro instruction, and it is determined whether or not the macro instruction matches the END instruction. There is a method to judge by pointing to.
[0063]
Next, the execution time specified in the execution time parameter of the read macro instruction is compared with the reproduction time indicating the above-described reproduction position (step 503). If they do not match (step 503: No), the processing is performed. When the macro instruction ends and matches (step 503: Yes), the macro instruction is executed (step 504).
[0064]
The execution of this macro instruction will be specifically described using a format example of the scenario in FIG. 11 and a data table example in FIG. First, the macro instruction of ID7 in FIG. 11 will be described. As described above, the macro instruction of ID7 instructs to generate a revolt appearance object whose name is “Sepoi's Rebellion” and the position is “Delhi”. Therefore, when this macroinstruction is executed, a record (ID0) is newly generated in the revolt data table of FIG.
[0065]
Also, as described above, the macro instruction of ID8 in FIG. 11 instructs to delete the object of the rebellion whose name is “Sepoi's Rebellion”. Therefore, when this macroinstruction is executed, the record (ID0) whose rebel name matches “Sepoi's Rebellion” is deleted from the rebel data table of FIG.
[0066]
As described above, the macro instruction of ID11 in FIG. 11 changes the status of the appearing object of the person whose first and last name is "Cecil Rose" to "De Beers President" and changes the position to "Cape". Instructed. Therefore, when this macro instruction is executed, in the person data table of FIG. 14, the name of the record (ID0) whose first and last name matches "Cecil Rose" is "President De Beers" and the position is "Cape". It is changed (FIG. 14 shows the state after the change).
[0067]
As described above, the record (appearing object) of the data table that records the appearing object is generated, deleted, and changed according to the generation, deletion, and change of the appearing object specified by the macro instruction.
[0068]
Next, the macro instruction pointer is incremented (step 505), and the process returns to step 501.
[0069]
As described above, the loop processing from step 501 to step 505 is repeated until all the macro instructions whose execution time point coincides with the reproduction time point are executed. As a result, all events on the story that occur at the time of playback are executed as macro instructions, and scene data (internal state of the story) at the time of playback is generated.
[0070]
The media data recording unit 109 in FIG. 1 records media data such as 3D graphics, moving images, audio, still images, and text, and media data IDs for identifying the respective data.
[0071]
Here, the 3D graphic is different from a moving image in which a plurality of continuous solid images created by computer graphics are continuously displayed and reproduced. That is, the objects appearing on the screen are configured based on the information of the three-dimensional shape of the object and the surface image information and color information of the object, and the movement or change of the object moves or deforms the information of the three-dimensional shape itself. To do.
[0072]
As a standard format of such 3D graphics, for example, there is an X file format of Microsoft Corporation. The X file format is configured using polygons as information of the three-dimensional shape of the object and textures as information of the surface image of the object. Here, the description will proceed on the premise of the X file format, but the present invention is not limited to a specific format.
[0073]
The media data ID is an identifier for identifying the media data. FIG. 10 shows an example of the media data ID. The relationship between the structure of the media data ID and the presentation output of the media data will be described with reference to FIG. In this example, the media data ID includes a media ID for identifying a media type and a data ID for identifying data.
[0074]
Here, a specific description will be given assuming that the media ID is 4 and the data ID is 9. First, since the media ID is 4, it can be seen from the media ID table in the figure that the media type is the X file format. Therefore, the data address of data ID 9 is acquired with reference to the X file address table of FIG. This data address indicates the address of the memory in which the media data of the X file format expressing the rebellion is stored.
[0075]
Next, since the media type is known to be in the X file format, the obtained data address is passed to a dedicated program for presenting and outputting the X file format, and is executed. Thereby, the media data of the X file format expressing the rebellion is presented and output.
[0076]
In this example, the media types are MPEG format for moving images, BMP format for still images, text format for text, WAVE format for audio, and X file format for 3D graphics, but the formats are not limited to these.
[0077]
Also, as can be seen from FIG. 10, similarly to the X file address table, other media types also hold respective address tables that associate data IDs with data addresses.
[0078]
The scene data presentation unit 106 in FIG. 1 selects a media data ID according to the information of the appearing object included in the scene data of the scene data recording unit 108, and replaces the media data corresponding to the selected media data ID. The data is referred to from the media data recording means 109 and is presented to the display device 110 and the audio output device 111 for presentation.
[0079]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the scene data presentation means 106. The operation of the scene data presentation means 106 will be described with reference to FIG. First, an appearance object to be processed is selected from scene data of the scene data recording means 108 (step 601). More specifically, as described above, since the appearing objects are recorded in the data tables created for each type, records are sequentially selected from these data tables.
[0080]
Here, as an example, the description will be given assuming that the selected appearing object is ID0 “Sepoi's turbulence-Delhi” in the rebellion data table of FIG. First, it is determined whether this appearing object is within the display range of the screen (step 602). Specifically, it holds the latitude and longitude in the story space corresponding to the upper left and lower right points of the display screen, respectively, and compares this positional information with the latitude and longitude of the appearing object in the story space. Is determined. In this example, since the appearing object is ID0 in the rebel data table of FIG. 14, the position is “Delhi”. Thus, using the location name "Delhi" as a keyword, the latitude can be specified as 28.40 degrees and the longitude as 77.14 degrees from the location data table of FIG. Here, the latitude / longitude data represents the north latitude and the east longitude with a plus sign, and the south latitude and the west longitude with a minus sign. By comparing these pieces of position information, it is determined whether the selected appearing object is within the display range of the screen. If it is out of the display range (step 602: No), there is no need to present and output, so the process returns to step 601. .
[0081]
If it is within the display range (Step 602: Yes), the corresponding media data ID is selected according to the information of the appearing object (Step 603). Here, since the appearing object to be processed is “Sepoi's turbulence-Delhi” of ID0 in the rebellion data table in FIG. 14, the X-file format media data expressing the revolt is selected. From FIG. 10, it can be seen that the media data ID is “00040009”. As described above, the association between the record of the data table (information of the appearing object) and the media data ID is predetermined in the scene data presentation means 106.
[0082]
Next, a media presentation output program for presenting and outputting the media data is specified from the media ID of the media data ID (step 604). In this example, since the media ID is 4 (X file format), the presentation output program is in the X file format.
[0083]
Further, the data address at which the media data is stored is obtained from the address table (X file address table) corresponding to the media ID 4 and the data ID 9 (step 605). From FIG. 10, this data address indicates the address of the memory where the media data in the X file format expressing the rebellion is stored.
[0084]
Here, the selected media presentation output program presents and outputs the media data indicated by the acquired data address to a corresponding position on the display screen (step 606). In this example, the X-file format presentation output program presents and outputs the X-file format rebel media data on the display screen.
[0085]
The position on this display screen is calculated by calculating the relative position of the appearing object on the screen from the latitude and longitude corresponding to the positions of the upper left and lower right points of the display screen described above, and the latitude and longitude of the appearing object. Desired.
[0086]
Further, the media presentation output program outputs 3D graphics, moving images, still images, and text to the display device 110, and outputs audio, sound effects, and music to the audio output device 111, respectively.
[0087]
Next, it is confirmed whether or not all the appearing objects have been processed (step 607). If the objects have been processed (step 607: Yes), the process is terminated, and if there are unprocessed appearing objects (step 607: No), returning to step 601;
[0088]
In this way, the loop processing from step 601 to step 607 is repeated until all the appearing objects have been processed. That is, this loop processing is executed for all data tables and all records in which appearing objects are recorded. Thus, the state of the story world is expressed using the media data.
[0089]
As described above, in the scenario, only the information of the appearing object is updated, and the media data is presented and output based only on the information of the appearing object. Therefore, even if the scenario is changed, only the information of the appearing object changes, and the media data is presented and output in accordance with the change, and operates normally. Therefore, even if the scenario is changed, there is no need to change the media data. Conversely, even if the media data is changed, the normal operation is performed only by changing the expression form of the corresponding appearing object and presenting and outputting it. Therefore, even if the media data is changed, there is no need to change the scenario. For these reasons, the scenario and the media data can be reused independently. As a result, work efficiency in content production can be significantly improved.
[0090]
The continuous playback unit 103 shown in FIG. 1 is started up in response to a playback notification from the playback instruction input unit 102, and then uses a timer to perform a playback time update unit 104, a scene data generation unit 105, and a scene data presentation unit at regular intervals using a timer. In order to activate and execute 106, playback of a temporally continuous story is guaranteed.
[0091]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the continuous reproduction means 103. As a rough outline, steps 702 to 708 form a loop in continuous reproduction. In one process of this loop, generation and presentation output of scene data at one reproduction time point are executed. The actual time required for this one loop process is defined as a time slice. Therefore, the playback speed can be changed by changing the value of the time slice. For example, if the value of the time slice is reduced, the time of one loop is reduced, so that the reproduction speed is increased.
[0092]
Next, the processing will be described in detail. First, a time slice is set (step 701). Next, a timer count value is read from the timer and stored in the timer counter 1 (step 702). This timer count value represents the actual time at the time when step 702 is being processed. Here, a timer built in a computer is used as the timer, but any means can be used as long as it can measure time.
[0093]
Next, the reproduction time point is updated by the reproduction time point updating means 104 (step 703). Next, the scene data generation means 105 updates the scene data of the scene data recording means 108 to the state at the time of reproduction (step 704). This step 704 corresponds to the flowchart of the scene data generating means 105 in FIG. Next, the state inside the story is presented and output to the display device 110 and the audio output device 111 based on the scene data by the scene data presenting means 106 (step 705). This step 705 corresponds to the flowchart of the scene data presentation means 106 in FIG. Next, it is determined whether or not a new reproduction instruction input has been made (step 706). If there is an input (step 706: Yes), this processing ends for reproduction instruction input processing, and if there is no input (step 706: No) ), Go to the next.
[0094]
Next, in order to realize temporally continuous reproduction, processing for maintaining a constant reproduction speed is performed. First, the value of the timer count is read from the timer and stored in the timer counter 2 (step 707). Since the actual time in step 702 is stored in the timer counter 1, the actual time elapsed from step 702 to step 707 is represented by (timer counter 2−timer counter 1). Here, the loop from step 707 to step 708 is repeated until (timer counter 2−timer counter 1 ≧ time slice) is satisfied. As a result, the processing time from step 702 to step 708 becomes equal to the time slice, the reproduction speed is kept constant, and temporally continuous reproduction becomes possible.
[0095]
Next, the flow of processing of the entire program will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of the entire process. When the story continuous reproduction program of the present invention is started, first, the following processing is performed to initialize the system. The scenario file is read from the external storage device 112, and the scenario is stored in the scenario recording means 107 (step 301). The media data file is read from the external storage device 112, and the media data and the media data ID are stored in the media data recording means 109 (step 302). The scene data file at the start of the scenario is read from the external storage device 112, and the scene data is stored in the scene data recording means 108 (step 303).
[0096]
Next, when a user inputs an instruction from the input device 101, an input event occurs (step 304), and processing corresponding to each event is executed. If the input event is reproduction, continuous reproduction is executed (step 305). If it is stopped, a stop event is generated (step 306). Reproduction is stopped. Here, the continuous reproduction in step 305 corresponds to the flowchart of the continuous reproduction means 103 in FIG.
[0097]
(Embodiment 2) Next, a second embodiment according to claims 2 and 3 of the present invention will be described. The second embodiment of the present invention is obtained by adding a function of moving the reproduction position to an arbitrary point in the story to the first embodiment.
[0098]
This arbitrary time point is a time point on the story time axis, and indicates a time point after the execution time point specified in the execution time point parameter of the first macro instruction of the scenario. The movement of the reproduction position can be executed even during reproduction.
[0099]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a story continuous playback program according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The story continuous reproduction program according to the present embodiment includes a destination time point input means 201, a reproduction position moving means 202, a scene fast forward means 203, and a scene added to the structure of the story continuous reproduction program according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. A restoring unit 204 and a scene file recording unit 205 are added. Since other means are the same as those of the story continuous reproduction program according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the corresponding means and the like are denoted by the same reference numerals and their detailed description is omitted.
[0100]
In FIG. 2, a destination time point input unit 201 receives, via the input device 101, a destination time point indicating a destination on the story time axis in order to move the playback position.
[0101]
The scene fast-forward means 203 is activated by the playback position moving means 202, and repeatedly executes the playback time updating means 104 and the scene data generating means 105 until the playback time reaches the movement destination time. Generate. As a result, the playback position moves to the destination time point.
[0102]
Here, the operation of the scene fast-forward means 203 will be described in detail. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the scene fast-forward means 203. First, the scene data generation means 105 generates scene data at the time of reproduction (step 801). This step 801 corresponds to the flowchart of the scene data generating means 105 in FIG. Next, the reproduction time point is updated by the reproduction time point updating means 104 (step 802). If the updated playback time coincides with the movement destination time (Step 803: Yes), the process is terminated. If not (Step 803: No), the process returns to Step 801.
[0103]
As described above, the loop processing from step 801 to step 803 is repeated until the reproduction time coincides with the movement destination time. As a result, all the macro commands in the scenario from the start of the movement of the playback position to the destination are executed, and scene data (internal state of the story) at the destination is generated. As a result, the playback position has moved to the movement destination time point.
[0104]
Here, there is a merit that the scene fast-forward means 203 can move to all points by executing the macro instruction if there is a scenario.
[0105]
On the other hand, as a disadvantage, the more the number of macro commands existing between the start time of the movement of the reproduction position and the movement destination time, the longer it takes to move the reproduction position. In other words, the time required for moving the reproduction position varies depending on the destination point.
[0106]
The scene file recording unit 205 in FIG. 2 records a plurality of scene files and a scene file time point list in which all scene file time points of each scene file are registered. The scene file contains information on all the appearing objects constituting the story world at one point on the story time axis. The scene file time point indicates a time point on the story time axis of the scene file.
[0107]
In this embodiment, since these scene files have a large data amount, they are stored not in the memory but in the external storage device 112 after the continuous story reproducing program according to the present invention is started. Therefore, hereinafter, the expression of reading a scene file from the scene file recording unit 205 means reading from the external storage device 112 to the memory on the hardware. Of course, if the memory capacity is sufficient, there is a method in which all the scene files are temporarily read from the external storage device 112 to the memory and used when the continuous story reproducing program according to the present invention is started.
[0108]
The scene file records the result of executing all the macro commands from the first macro command of the scenario to the scene file time point on the story time axis of the scene file in the order of execution time. In other words, the accumulation of the cause and effect of executing all the events from the first event of the scenario to the time of the scene file is recorded without excess or deficiency. Therefore, when the scene file is restored, the internal state of the story at the time of the corresponding scene file can be directly generated. Thus, the playback position can be instantaneously moved to the scene file. This function is realized by a scene restoration unit 204 described later.
[0109]
From the scene file time point list, it is possible to refer to which point on the story time axis the scene file exists. In the present embodiment, the scene file time points are arranged in the order of the time points in the scene file time point list.
[0110]
The scene restoring means 204 is activated by the reproduction position moving means 202, reads the scene file of the scene file recording means 205, directly generates the scene data of the scene data recording means 108, and moves the reproduction position.
[0111]
Specifically, the destination point received from the playback position moving unit 202 is searched for from the scene file time point list of the scene file recording unit 205, the corresponding scene file is read from the scene file recording unit 205, and based on this data, The scene data of the scene data recording means 108 is generated. Further, by setting the movement destination time point as a new reproduction time point, the reproduction position moves to the movement destination time point.
[0112]
There is a disadvantage that the movement of the reproduction position by the scene restoration means 204 cannot be executed unless the movement destination time point is registered in the scene file time point list.
[0113]
On the contrary, as a merit, the time required for moving the playback position is substantially equal to the time required for reading the scene file, that is, the time required for reading the hardware of the external storage device 112. There is no variation due to this, and it is constant.
[0114]
The playback position moving means 202 receives the movement destination time from the movement destination time input means 201 and moves the playback position to the movement destination time by executing a combination of the scene fast forward means 203 and the scene restoration means 204.
[0115]
FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram in moving the reproduction position. The movement of the reproduction position will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Time points t1 to t14 represent time points on the story time axis.
[0116]
The scene files 1 to 5 are scene files recorded in the scene file recording unit 205. However, the arrangement of the scene files is merely an example for describing the present embodiment. As can be seen from this figure, the scene file time of the scene file 1 is t1, the scene file time of the scene file 2 is t2, the scene file time of the scene file 3 is t9, the scene file time of the scene file 4 is t10, and the scene file 5 Is a scene file at time t13. Accordingly, in the scene file time point list of the scene file recording means 205, t1, t2, t9, t10, and t13 are registered as scene file time points.
[0117]
Further, the movement patterns 1, 2, and 3 in the figure are reproduction position movement patterns, and all reproduction position movements correspond to any of these three patterns. Shows a pattern. As can be seen from the figure, the destination point of each movement pattern is t4 for movement pattern 1, t8 for movement pattern 2, t11 for movement pattern 3, and the current time (start time of movement of the playback position) is t6. I understand.
[0118]
First, the movement pattern 1 will be described. As can be seen from the figure, since the movement from t6 to t4 is a movement to the past, the movement cannot be directly performed by the scene fast forward means 203. Then, the playback position is moved to t2 by restoring the scene file 2 by the scene restoration means 204, and then the playback position is moved from t2 to t4 by the scene fast forward means 203. Here, there is a method of restoring the scene file 1 instead of the scene file 2. However, since the movement by the scene fast-forward means 203 changes from t1 to t4 and it takes more processing time, the scene file 2 is selected.
[0119]
Next, the movement pattern 2 will be described. As can be seen from the figure, the movement from t6 to t8 is a movement to the future. Since there is no scene file between t6 and t8, the scene restoration means 204 cannot be used. Therefore, the playback position is moved from t6 to t8 by the scene fast forward means 203.
[0120]
Next, the movement pattern 3 will be described. As can be seen from the figure, the movement from t6 to t11 is a movement to the future. Similarly to the movement pattern 2, there is a method of moving the reproduction position from t6 to t11 by the scene fast-forward means 203. This is called method 1.
[0121]
However, as can be seen from the figure, between t6 and t11, a scene file 3 exists at t9 and a scene file 4 exists at t10. Therefore, there is also a method of restoring the scene file 4 at t10 by the scene restoring means 204 to move the playback position at t10, and then moving the playback position from t10 to t11 by the scene fast forward means 203. This is called method 2. Although there is a method of restoring the scene file 3 at t9 in this method 2, the scene file 4 is selected because the movement by the scene fast-forward means 203 is changed from t9 to t11 and it takes more processing time.
[0122]
As described above, the movement pattern 3 includes the method 1 and the method 2 described above, and therefore, the one that can process at higher speed is selected. Here, the selection method will be described. First, the time required for moving the reproduction position by the scene restoration means 204 is represented by tL. As described above, since tL is substantially equal to the reading time of the scene file, that is, the reading time of the external storage device 112 on the hardware, it is constant regardless of the movement destination time.
[0123]
Next, the processing time per one reproduction time of the scene fast-forward means 203 is set to tF. tF is the time required to generate the sea data of the scene data recording unit 108 at the updated reproduction time, and is the processing time of steps 801 to 803 in the flowchart of FIG.
[0124]
Here, assuming that the processing time of the reproduction position movement by the method 1 is tP1, tP1 is processing only by the scene fast forward means 203.
tP1 = tF * (t11−t6) (1)
It becomes. On the other hand, assuming that the processing time of moving the reproduction position by the method 2 is tP2, tP2 is the total time of moving from t10 to t11 by the scene restoring means 204 and moving from t10 to t11 by the scene fast forward means 203.
tP2 = tF * (t11−t10) + tL (2)
It becomes. here,
tP1 <tP2 (3)
Substituting equations (1) and (2) into equation (3) and transforming
tF * (t10−t6) <tL (4)
It becomes.
[0125]
That is, when the formula (4) is satisfied, the method 1 requires less processing time than the method 2, and thus the method 1 is selected. Conversely, when the equation (4) does not hold, the method 2 may be selected.
[0126]
After the story continuous reproduction program of the present invention is started, tF and tL are measured using a timer when the program is executed. There are a method of using the first measured value as a constant, a method of actually measuring and using the latest value each time, and a method of actually measuring the latest value each time and calculating the previous value and the average value.
[0127]
Here, the above operation will be briefly described with reference to a flowchart. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the reproduction position moving means 202. First, it is determined whether the movement destination time point, which is the movement destination, is past or future from the current time point (start time point of the movement of the reproduction position) (step 901). If the destination time point is earlier than the current time point (step 901: Yes), the process proceeds to step 904, and if it is future time (step 901: No), the scene file time list of the scene file recording unit 205 is searched. Then, it is determined whether a scene file time point is registered between the current time point and the movement destination time point (step 902). If the corresponding scene file point is not registered (step 902: No), the process moves to step 907. If the corresponding scene file time point has been registered (step 902: Yes), it is determined from the above-described equation (4) whether or not to use the scene restoration means 204 (step 903). (Step 903: Yes), selects a scene file time point that is earlier than the movement destination time point and is closest to the movement destination time point (Step 904), and moves to the scene file time point by the scene restoration means 204 (Step 905). . If the scene restoring unit 204 is not used (Step 903: No), the process moves to Step 907.
[0128]
After the processing by the scene restoring means 204, it is determined whether or not the reproduction time coincides with the movement destination time (step 906). If not (step 906: No), the scene fast forward means 203 moves to the movement destination time. If they match (step 906: Yes), it means that the playback position has reached the movement destination time point, and the process ends.
[0129]
In step 903, the faster method is selected in the method 1 and the method 2 described above, but may be fixed to the method 2. If the method is fixed to the method 2, although the overall processing speed is inferior, the step 903 which is the selection processing can be omitted.
[0130]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of the entire processing in the present embodiment. It can be seen that the processing for moving the playback position is added to the overall flowchart in the first embodiment of FIG. The process of moving the added reproduction position will be described. When an input event at the movement destination time point occurs to move the reproduction position (step 304), the movement time point is received from the user by the movement time point input means 201 (step 402), and the reproduction position is moved by the reproduction position movement means 202. The position is moved to the destination (step 401). Step 401 corresponds to the flowchart of the reproduction position moving means 202 in FIG.
[0131]
(Embodiment 3) Next, a third embodiment of the invention will be described. The block diagram showing the configuration of the story continuous reproduction program according to the third embodiment of the present invention is the same as the block diagram according to the second embodiment, and is shown in FIG.
[0132]
In the scene file recording unit 205 according to the present embodiment, the scene file points registered in the scene file point list are arranged in chronological order, and the time interval between adjacent scene file points is within a certain value. . If this constant value is set to tW, it means that a scene file exists at least at tW intervals on the story time axis.
[0133]
Here, the movement of the reproduction position using the scene file recording means 205 will be described. Method 1 described in the second embodiment for moving the reproduction position does not use a scene file, and thus will be described in Method 2. Assuming that the scene file time point of the scene file restored by the scene restoring means 204 is tS and the movement destination time point is tG, the processing time tP2 for moving the reproduction position is expressed by the following equation (2).
tP2 = tF * (tG-tS) + tL (5)
It becomes. Here, since the scene files are arranged at least at tW intervals, the moving section (tG-tS) by the scene fast-forward means 203 is
tG−tS <tW (6)
Holds. Here, from equations (5) and (6)
tP2 <tF * tW + tL (7)
Holds.
[0134]
As can be seen from equation (5), tP2 originally fluctuates greatly depending on tG and tS. However, by arranging the scene files at least at the constant interval tW, the expression (7) is established, and tP2 is suppressed to within (tF * tW + tL) regardless of tG and tS. As a result, the processing time for moving the playback position is within (tF * tW + tL) irrespective of the destination time, and the waiting time of the user can be minimized.
[0135]
The macro instruction described in the scenario of the scenario recording unit 107 in the present embodiment is such that the macro instruction in the first embodiment and the second embodiment further includes an event name parameter for specifying an event name in a story. Has been added. FIG. 12 is a format example of a scenario by a macro instruction to which an event name parameter is added. Comparing with the example of the format of the scenario in FIG. 11, it can be seen that a new event name item is added to the object parameter. In FIG. 12, event names are specified in event name parameters (event names of object parameters) of macro instructions of IDs 5, 6, 7, and 10, respectively. This event name parameter is treated as valid if a character string of one or more characters is specified, and treated as invalid if it is blank.
[0136]
The movement destination time point input means 201 in the present embodiment extracts only the macro instruction in which the event name parameter is valid from the scenario of the scenario recording means 107, and executes the execution time point of the extracted macro instruction and the event of the event name parameter. Display a list of records consisting of first names and enter the destination point by letting the user select a record. FIG. 13 shows a display screen at this time. From this figure, it can be seen that each record listed as a candidate at the destination corresponds to a macro instruction (ID 5, 6, 7, 10) in which the event name parameter is valid in FIG.
[0137]
In addition, the cursor points to the record of “January 1, 1857-famine occurred in Guangzhou!”, But if the input operation for confirmation is performed here (for example, left-click if the input device is a mouse), the cursor becomes the destination point. "January 1, 1857" is input. In this way, instead of the complicated point-in-time input, a record selection input is performed, so that the input operation at the destination point becomes very easy.
[0138]
Further, at the time when the record is selected by the destination time point input means 201, the selected time point is re-displayed, so that the numerical value can be corrected directly by inputting the value. In this way, first, a rough time point is input by record selection as the first step, and if necessary as the next step, the time point can be directly corrected, so that input operability and flexibility can be realized at the same time.
[0139]
In the present embodiment, the scene file time list of the scene file recording means 205 is such that all of the execution times specified in the execution time parameter of the macro instruction whose event name parameter is valid in the scenario of the scenario recording means 107 are set as scene file times. Contains. That is, the scene file at the time of these executions always exists. Therefore, when the playback position is moved to the execution point of the macro instruction in which the event name parameter is valid, only the processing of the scene restoring means 204 is performed, and the processing time is within a certain time regardless of the movement destination time point. .
[0140]
From the above, when describing a scenario, an event that is likely to be the destination of the movement of the playback position is selected, and the event name is specified in the event name parameter of the corresponding macro instruction. Then, when the playback position is moved to the time of occurrence of these events for the above-described reason, the input of the movement destination time can be performed by simple record selection, and the movement of the playback position depends on the movement time. Processing within a certain period of time.
[0141]
As described above, since the operability and the processing speed can be controlled only by describing the scenario, the adjustment of the content becomes very easy.
[0142]
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and applications are possible within the scope of the claims.
[0143]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the behavior of the appearing objects constituting the story world can be directly described as a scenario, so that even a user without programming knowledge can easily describe the scenario.
[0144]
Also, the story progresses in synchronization with the timer, and the media data is automatically presented and output according to the information of the appearing object updated by the scenario. Using media data such as graphics, moving images, audio, still images, and text, it is possible to continuously reproduce the data temporally.
[0145]
Thus, the content can be produced only by the story creator (scenario creator). For example, a teacher can create historical content at an educational site, a news creator at a broadcast site, and a scenario creator at a game site.
[0146]
Also, the scenario updates only the information of the appearing object, and the media data is presented and output based only on the information of the appearing object. Can be reused alone. As a result, work efficiency in content production can be significantly improved.
[0147]
For example, if one history scenario is described, and only media data is changed for elementary school students, junior high school students, and adults, three types of content can be created with one scenario. Conversely, if the same media data is used to describe a world history scenario, a Japanese history scenario, and an exploration history scenario, three contents can be produced simply by describing the scenario.
[0148]
According to the second and third aspects of the present invention, all macro instructions have an execution point on the story time axis at which the instruction is executed. Therefore, by restoring a scene file that records the internal state of the story, By executing a combination of the method of generating the internal state of the story and the method of generating the internal state of the story by executing the macro instruction, the playback position can be moved to an arbitrary point in the story.
[0149]
For example, if the scenario is history, it is possible to reproduce the era on the screen simply by specifying the year, month, and day to be viewed. This is a virtual “watching time machine” that can be used as a supplementary educational material for history, or as an educational content for learning history while having fun.
[0150]
Furthermore, the ability to move the playback position to any point in the story means random access to the story, and story-type data consisting of time-series occurrences and events that occur at that time, A database that can be saved, searched, and played back can be realized. As a result, a history database and a current news database can be easily constructed.
[0151]
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the scene files are arranged within a certain time interval on the story time axis, when the playback position is moved, the processing by the scene restoring means is performed for a certain time. Can be expected within the interval. Therefore, as compared with the case where the scene files are randomly arranged, the processing time for moving the reproduction position is shorter, and the waiting time of the user can be minimized.
[0152]
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when moving the reproduction position, the input of the movement destination time point can be selected from a list of records including the event name and the execution time point of the macro instruction whose event name parameter is valid. . Therefore, if a candidate for the destination point of the reproduction position movement is selected in advance and the event name parameter of the macro instruction corresponding to this point is enabled, the input of the destination point is not a complicated numerical input, It becomes record selection, and input operation becomes very easy.
[0153]
At the same time, the operability can be controlled only by the description of the scenario, thereby facilitating content adjustment.
[0154]
According to the invention of claim 6, there is always a scene file corresponding to the execution point of the macro instruction in which the event name parameter is valid. Therefore, if a candidate for the movement destination time point of the movement of the playback position is selected in advance and the event name parameter of the macro instruction corresponding to this time point is enabled, the movement of the playback position to this time point is executed only by the scene restoration means. Therefore, the processing time for moving the playback position is kept within a certain time irrespective of the destination time point, and there is no variation in the user's waiting time.
[0155]
At the same time, the processing speed can be controlled only by the description of the scenario, which makes it easy to adjust the content.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a story continuous reproduction program according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a story continuous reproduction program according to second and third embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of an entire process according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of overall processing according to the second and third embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a scene data generation unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a scene data presentation unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation of a continuous reproduction unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation of a scene fast-forward unit according to the second and third embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a reproduction position moving unit according to the second and third embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of a media data ID according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a format example of a scenario in the first and second embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a format example of a scenario according to the third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an interface screen for inputting a destination point in the third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a data table for managing appearing objects according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram of movement of a reproduction position according to the second and third embodiments of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
100 Data processing device
101 Input device
102 Playback instruction input means
103 Continuous playback means
104 Reproduction point updating means
105 Scene Data Generation Means
106 Scene Data Presentation Means
107 Scenario recording means
108 scene data recording means
109 media data recording means
110 Display device
111 audio output device
112 External storage device
201 Destination time point input means
202 Playback position moving means
203 scene fast forward
204 scene restoration means
205 Scene File Recording Means

Claims (6)

Based on the scenario, the computer is used to continuously reproduce the story in time using multimedia, and a reproduction instruction input means for receiving a reproduction instruction from a user, 3D graphic, moving image, audio, still image Media data recording means storing media data including text and the like and media data ID for identifying each data, by adding an update unit time to a playback time point indicating a playback position on a story time axis, A reproduction time point updating means for updating a reproduction time point, an instruction describing a story scenario, an execution time point parameter specifying an execution time point on a story time axis in which the instruction is executed, and an appearance object An object parameter for specifying creation, deletion, and modification; A macro instruction that does not include a parameter related to a presentation output method includes scenario recording means that records a scenario arranged in chronological order according to the execution time, and includes information on all appearing objects constituting a story world at the reproduction time. Scene data recording means for recording scene data, referring to the scenario, selecting and executing a macro instruction whose execution time of the execution time parameter coincides with the reproduction time to execute the scene data at the reproduction time A scene data generating unit for generating the media data ID, selecting the media data ID in accordance with information of an appearance object included in the scene data, and selecting media data corresponding to the media data ID. From the media data recording means. , A scene data presenting means for presenting and outputting, a continuous reproduction for reproducing the story temporally continuously by activating the reproduction time updating means, the scene data generating means, and the scene data presenting means at regular intervals. A continuous story playback program to function as a means. Destination time point input means for receiving a movement time point on the story time axis from the user to move the playback position, a scene including information on all the appearing objects constituting the story world at one time point on the story time axis Scene file recording means for recording a plurality of files and a scene file time point list in which the time point of each scene file is registered as a scene file time point; a scene file read out from the scene file recording means; The reproduction position is moved to the scene file time point by generating scene data of the scene data recording means based on the information of the appearing object to be reproduced and setting a scene file time point corresponding to the scene file as a new reproduction time point. Scene restoring means, the reproduction time is shifted A scene fast forward means for generating scene data at a movement destination time point and moving a playback position to a movement destination time point by repeatedly executing the reproduction time point updating means and the scene data generation means until the time point coincides with the time, 2. The story continuous reproduction program according to claim 1, further comprising: a reproduction position moving means for moving a reproduction position to an arbitrary point on the story by executing the combination of the means and the scene fast-forward means. The playback position moving means searches the scene file time list of the scene file recording means when the movement destination time point is earlier than the movement source time point at which the movement of the playback position is started. Also selects a scene file time point that is located in the past and is closest to the movement destination time point, and moves the playback position to the scene file time point by the scene restoring means. If the destination time is later than the source time, a scene file time list of the scene file recording means is searched, and the scene file time is moved between the source time and the destination time. It is checked whether or not the destination has been registered. If the destination has not been registered, the scene fast-forward means starts moving from the source to the destination. If the playback position is moved to a point and the scene file time point is registered, the scene restoration means moves the playback position to the scene file time point, and the scene fast forward means moves the playback position to the movement destination time point. A method of comparing a moving method with a method of moving a reproduction position from the movement source time point to the movement destination time point only by the scene fast-forward means, and moving the reproduction position by a method with a shorter processing time. Item 2. A continuous story reproduction program according to Item 2. The scene file recording means is characterized in that scene file points registered in the scene file point list are arranged in chronological order, and a time interval between adjacent scene file points is within a certain value. The program for continuously reproducing stories according to claim 2 or 3. The macro instruction described in the scenario of the scenario recording means further includes an event name parameter for designating an event name in the story of the macro instruction, and the destination time point input means includes a macro in which the event name parameter is valid. Only the instruction is extracted from the scenario, and a list of records including the execution time of the extracted macro instruction and the event name of the event name parameter is displayed. The continuous story playback program according to any one of claims 2 to 4, further comprising: The scene file recording means includes, among the macro instructions described in the scenario, all of the execution times specified in the execution time parameter of the macro instruction whose event name parameter is valid, as a scene file time, 6. The story continuous reproduction program according to claim 5, wherein the program is registered in the program.

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