JP2004329875A - Program, information storage medium, and game device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To naturally control the motion of a character regarding a game development based on the motion of an actual player in the soccer game or the like. <P>SOLUTION: A visual field 300 of a visibility angle α is set in the direction (the direction shown by arrow 122) of the body of a ball keeper character 120 who keeps a ball 500. Then, when the ball keeper character 120 is an NPC, one character from among player characters 100a located in the visual field 300 and belonging to the same team as the ball keeper character 120 is selected as a pass receiver character. Then, the ball keeper character 120 is controlled in such a manner as to pass the ball to the selected pass receiver character. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a program, an information storage medium, and a game device.

  Conventionally, in a game device that arranges and moves a character in a game space, and generates and displays a game image as viewed from a given viewpoint, a game image with a more realistic feeling is generated. Various processes have been performed. For example, in the case of a sports game, the realism and realism of the game are improved by simulating the movement of a character imitating a sports athlete as that of an actual athlete.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that when a physical distance between a character and a target that is related to the character through the game and a relationship regarding the game content are in a predetermined state that matches a predetermined condition, the character's line of sight (face The technology for directing the orientation of the target body toward the target body is disclosed. According to this, for example, in the case of a soccer game, a dribbling character is timed to kick the ball, or looks around as if looking for a pass zone or a friend character (look around) ) Since the action can be performed, the action of the actual soccer player can be simulated more realistically.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-290886

  However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 is control that is limited to the visual effect and is not related to the game development itself, which is performed in order to give the game a sense of realism and realism. In other words, depending on the predetermined condition, the character's line of sight (face orientation) is directed in various directions. By directing the line of sight, the timing at which the dribbling character kicks the ball, It does not determine the character.

  In a conventional soccer game or the like, the action of the character related to the game development is determined based on the position (representative position) of the character, and the direction of the face (line of sight) is not considered. For this reason, for example, even though the character's line of sight is directed to the right front, and a movement to search for a pass zone or a friend character is being performed, a pass is suddenly given to the character at the left rear. An unusual situation occurred.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to naturally control the movement of a character related to game development in a soccer game or the like in accordance with the movement of an actual player.

In order to solve the above problem, the first invention is:
A plurality of characters that can move on a field including a PC (player character) and an NPC (non-player character) that operate in response to an operation input by a player are divided into a plurality of teams and fight against a computer-like device. Game information for running a game that puts the game in the goal area,
Determination means (for example, the ball management unit 53 in FIG. 9) for determining a ball keep character (for example, the ball keep character 120 in FIG. 3) that keeps the ball (for example, the ball 500 in FIG. 3);
Field setting means (for example, pass destination candidate character extraction unit 54a in FIG. 9) for setting the field of view of the ball keep character (for example, field of view 300 in FIG. 9) on the field,
A selection means (for example, a pass destination character determination unit 54b in FIG. 9) that selects one of the characters belonging to the same team as the ball keep character and located within the field of view set by the field of view setting means;
When the ball keep character is an NPC, motion control means for controlling the motion of the ball keep character so as to pass the one character (for example, the pass motion control unit 54c in FIG. 9),
Game information for causing the device to function.

  The game information means information according to a program provided for processing by an electronic computer (computer) such as a game device.

The tenth aspect of the invention is
A game in which a plurality of characters that can move on a field including a PC (player character) and an NPC (non-player character) that operate in response to a player's operation input are divided into a plurality of teams, and a ball is placed in a goal area A game device for executing
Determination means (for example, the ball management unit 53 in FIG. 9) for determining a ball keep character (for example, the ball keep character 120 in FIG. 3) that keeps the ball (for example, the ball 500 in FIG. 3);
A field setting unit (for example, a pass destination candidate character extraction unit 54a in FIG. 9) for setting a field of view of the ball keep character (for example, field of view 300 in FIG. 3) on the field;
A selection means (for example, a pass destination character determination unit 54b in FIG. 9) that selects one of the characters belonging to the same team as the ball keep character and located within the visual field set by the visual field setting means; ,
Action control means (for example, a pass action control unit 54c in FIG. 9) for controlling the action of the ball keep character so as to pass the one character when the ball keep character is an NPC;
It is a game device provided with.

  According to the first or tenth aspect, the field of view of the ball keep character that keeps the ball is set on the field, and the character belonging to the same team as the ball keep character and located in the field of view One character is selected. When the ball keep character is an NPC (non-player character), the operation (behavior) of the ball keep character is controlled so as to pass the selected character. That is, when the ball keep character makes a pass, natural control according to the action of the actual player, such as making a pass to a character located within the field of view, that is, a character that the ball keep character will be able to see, is performed. realizable.

In this case, as the second invention, the game information of the first invention,
The visual field setting means may constitute game information for causing the device to function so as to set the visual field based on the direction of the body or face of the ball keep character.

  According to the second invention, the same effect as that of the first invention is achieved, and the field of view is set based on the body or face orientation of the ball keep character. Therefore, for example, by setting the direction of the body or face of the ball keep character, the field of view of the ball keep character can be more appropriately set as a range that will be actually seen.

Further, as a third invention, the game information of the first or second invention,
A viewing angle is preset for each of the plurality of characters,
The visual field setting means may constitute game information for causing the device to function so as to set the visual field according to the visual field angle set for the character determined as the ball keep character by the determination means.

  According to the third aspect of the invention, the same effects as those of the first or second aspect of the invention can be achieved, and the field of view of the ball keep character can be set according to the view angle preset for the character determined as the ball keep character. Is set. Accordingly, when the ball keep character changes, the field of view set in accordance with the change is changed. Therefore, a more appropriate field of view can be set in accordance with the actual situation that the field of view (viewing range) differs for each character.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided game information according to any one of the first to third aspects of the invention,
Game information for causing the apparatus to function as viewing angle varying means (for example, pass destination candidate character extracting means 54a in FIG. 9) that varies the viewing angle of the field of view set by the field setting means may be configured. .

  According to the fourth invention, the same effects as those of the first to third inventions can be obtained, and the viewing angle of the field of view set on the field can be varied. Therefore, for example, in bad weather such as wind and rain, it can be changed to reduce the viewing angle, to reproduce the appearance of poor visibility, or to change the viewing angle to become smaller as the appearance time in the current game becomes longer, By changing the viewing angle according to conditions such as the weather and the physical condition of the character, such as reproducing a state in which the concentration is reduced due to fatigue, a more appropriate setting of the visual field can be realized.

Further, as a fifth invention, the game information of any one of the first to fourth inventions,
The apparatus functions as storage means (for example, storage unit 70 for storing in-view character history information in FIG. 20) for updating and storing a character positioned in the field of view of the ball keep character from a predetermined time to the present. As well as
The selection means may constitute game information for causing the device to function so as to select one of the characters belonging to the same team as the ball keep character and stored in the storage means. .

  According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the same effects as those of the first to fourth aspects are achieved, and the character positioned in the field of view of the ball keep character from a predetermined time before to the present is updated and stored, and this stored. The action of the ball keep character is controlled so as to pass one character selected from among the characters that are present. Therefore, it is possible to pass not only the character that is currently visible, but also the character that was seen a while ago, so that the character that was seen a while ago but is not currently visible can be passed to the current position. It is possible to realize an expression such as making a pass with a register of.

In this case, as the sixth invention, the game information of the fifth invention,
You may comprise the game information for functioning the said apparatus so that the said memory | storage means may have the time variable means (for example, pass destination candidate character extraction part 54a of FIG. 9) which varies the said predetermined time.

  According to the sixth aspect of the invention, the same effect as the fifth aspect of the invention can be obtained, and a predetermined time which is a past time range in which the character located in the field of view of the ball keep character is stored can be varied. Therefore, by varying this predetermined time for each character, there is a character that can pass a character that is not in the current visual field (not visible), while a character that is in the current visual field (visible). Thus, it is possible to realize control in accordance with the actual action of the player such that there is a character that can pass only the character, and the position determination ability of other characters is different for each character.

Further, as a seventh invention, the game information of any one of the first to sixth inventions,
Point setting means (for example, the game calculation unit 51 and the region information 75 in FIG. 9) for setting a plurality of sample points (for example, the region AR and the representative point Q in FIG. 5) on the field,
For each character, inertia calculation means (for example, the dominance calculation unit 55 in FIG. 8) that calculates a position (for example, the virtual movement point P in FIG. 5) after a predetermined time when the character maintains the current movement state. ),
An arrival time calculation means (for example, the dominance calculation unit 55 in FIG. 5) that calculates the time until the character reaches the set sample point, starting from the calculated position.
An area recognition unit (for example, the dominance calculation unit 55 in FIG. 8) that recognizes an area related to the power of each team based on the calculated arrival time of the character to each sample point;
As the device further functions as
The selection means further constitutes game information for causing the device to function so as to select one character with reference to the area related to the power of the team of the ball keep character that is recognized by the area recognition means. May be.

  According to this seventh invention, the same effects as in any one of the first to sixth inventions can be obtained, and each character's arrival time to a plurality of sample points set on the field can be Areas related to team power are certified. Then, the character at the position is selected with reference to the area related to the power of the team of the ball keep character. As an area related to the power to be recognized, there is, for example, an area where the team is dominant / inferior.

  In calculating the arrival time, a virtual movement position after a predetermined time when the current movement state of the character is maintained is calculated, and the arrival time from the movement position to the sample point is calculated. Thus, it is possible to calculate the arrival time in consideration of the movement of the character with a small calculation load without performing a strict kinematic simulation for each character.

In this case, as the eighth invention, the game information of the seventh invention,
Referring to the arrival time calculated by the arrival time calculation means, a dominance calculation that calculates the dominance degree so that the arrival time of the character that can be reached earliest becomes shorter for each set sample point While further causing the device to function as means (for example, the dominance calculation unit 55 in FIG. 8),
The area certifying means may constitute game information for causing the device to function so as to certify an area related to the power of each team based on the calculated dominance level of each sample point.

  According to the eighth aspect, the same effect as in the seventh aspect is achieved, and the region related to the power is determined based on the length (large or small) of the arrival time of the character at the sample point. For example, when considering the influence at a certain sample point for a plurality of teams, the arrival time of a character belonging to one team is compared with the arrival time of a character belonging to the other team. It can be determined that the character can reach the point faster than the opponent. That is, it can be determined that the sample point is a sample point where the team to which the character having the shortest arrival time belongs is dominant.

  Furthermore, as a ninth invention, an information storage medium that can be read by an apparatus similar to a computer storing the game information of any one of the first to eighth inventions may be configured.

  Information storage media include various IC memories, CD-ROMs, DVDs, MOs, memory cards, memory cassettes, and hard disks. According to the ninth aspect, the same effects as those of the first to eighth aspects are realized by causing a computer-like device to read game information and the like from the information storage medium and perform arithmetic processing. be able to.

  According to the present invention, the field of view of the ball keep character that keeps the ball is set on the field, and one of the characters belonging to the same team as the ball keep character and located in the field of view is selected. Is done. When the ball keep character is an NPC (non-player character), the operation of the ball keep character is controlled so as to pass the selected character. That is, when the ball keep character makes a pass, natural control according to the action of the actual player, such as making a pass to a character located within the field of view, that is, a character that the ball keep character will be able to see, is performed. realizable.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following, the case where the present invention is applied to a soccer game will be described, but the application of the present invention is not limited to this.

[appearance]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example when the present invention is applied to a consumer game device. According to the figure, the home game device includes a main device 1200 and game controllers 1202 and 1204, and is connected to a display 1300 including a speaker 1302.

  Game information, which is information necessary for executing a game such as a game program and initial data, is stored in, for example, a CD-ROM 1212, an IC memory 1214, a memory card 1216, and the like, which are information storage media detachable from the main unit 1200. ing. Alternatively, the game information may be acquired from an external device by connecting to the communication line N via the communication device 1206 provided in the main device 1200. The communication line N means a communication path through which data can be exchanged. That is, the communication line N is meant to include a communication network such as a telephone communication network, a cable network, and the Internet in addition to a dedicated line (dedicated cable) for direct connection and a LAN using Ethernet (registered trademark). The communication method may be wired / wireless.

  The main device 1200 includes an arithmetic processing device such as a CPU, and an information storage medium reading device such as an IC memory 1214 and a CD-ROM 1212. Then, various game processes are executed based on the game information read from the CD-ROM 1212 and the like and the operation signals from the game controllers 1202 and 1204 to display the game screen on the display 1300 and the game sound from the speaker 1302. Output.

  The player enjoys the soccer game by operating buttons provided on the game controllers 1202 and 1204 while viewing the game screen displayed on the display 1300.

[Game screen]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a game screen displayed on the display 1300. The game screen is displayed as a three-dimensional CG image as seen from a given viewpoint (virtual camera or the like) in a game space set by placing objects such as characters and backgrounds in the virtual space.

  This figure shows a game screen in which the A team operated by the player and the B team controlled by the computer are competing, and the player character 100 of the A team (hereinafter referred to as “player character 100a” as appropriate). ), A player character 100 of Team B (hereinafter referred to as “player character 100b” as appropriate), and a ball object (hereinafter simply referred to as “ball”) 500 are displayed.

  The player character 100a includes one character that operates in response to an operation input from the player (hereinafter, referred to as “player character; PC” as appropriate). A marker M is displayed on the player character, and this marker M allows the player to determine which player character 100a to operate. Note that the player character is arbitrarily switched to a character closest to the ball 500, a character designated by the player, or the like as the game (game) progresses.

  Of the player characters 100a, all of the characters excluding the player character and the player character 100b are characters whose movement is controlled by a computer (hereinafter referred to as “non-player character; NPC” as appropriate).

  An embodiment applied to the consumer game device configured as described above will be described.

Embodiment
In the present embodiment, when the player character 100 keeping the ball 500 performs a pass action, the player character 100 to which a pass is to be determined is determined in consideration of the field of view of the player character 100.

[principle]
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the principle of determining the pass destination character in the present embodiment, and shows an overall overhead view of the field FL. According to the figure, eleven player characters 100a-1 to 100a-11 and player character 100b and one ball 500 are arranged on the field FL, respectively, and the operation is performed by the player or the computer. A soccer game advances by being instructed and controlled.

  The position of an object such as the player character 100 or the ball 500 (specifically, the position of the representative point of the object) is a local coordinate system (XYZ orthogonal coordinate system) whose origin is one corner (rectangular vertex) of the field FL. ). The local coordinate system is defined so that the XZ plane and the field FL are parallel to each other, the X-axis direction coincides with the goal line (also referred to as end line) of the field FL, and the Z-axis direction is the side line. (Also referred to as touch line).

  That is, the positions of the objects such as the player character 100 and the ball 500 are represented by three-dimensional coordinates (x, y, z), but in the following, the positions are projected on the XZ plane for the sake of simplicity. It is expressed by two-dimensional coordinates (x, z).

  On the field FL, the field of view 300 of the ball keep character 120 is set based on the position of the player character 100 currently keeping the ball 500 (hereinafter referred to as “ball keep character 120” as appropriate). Is done. In the figure, the player character 100a-8 is the ball keep character 120, and the visual field 300 for the character is shown.

  The field of view 300 is an area representing a range (view) in which the ball keep character 120 can be seen, and has a fan shape. In the field of view 300, the fan-shaped vertex coincides with the position of the ball keep character 120, the bisector of the fan-shaped center angle (hereinafter referred to as “view angle” as appropriate) α, and the ball keep character 120. The direction of the body (the direction indicated by the arrow 122 in the figure) is set to coincide. The visual field 300 is a region virtually set on the field FL and is not displayed on the game screen.

  When the ball keep character 120 is a non-player character, when performing a pass action, a player character 100 as a pass destination (hereinafter referred to as “pass destination character” as appropriate) is determined as follows. . If the ball keep character 120 is a player character, its movement is controlled in accordance with the player's operation input.

  That is, among the player characters 100 of the same team as the ball keep character 120 (hereinafter referred to as “friendly characters” as appropriate), the player character 100 located within the field of view 300 is a candidate for a pass destination character (hereinafter referred to as “pass” as appropriate). This is referred to as “first candidate character”. In the figure, since the ball keep character 120 is the player character 100a of the A team, the player characters 100a-1 to 100a-7 of the A team located in the field of view 300 are extracted as pass destination candidate characters.

Here, the determination of whether or not the player character 100 is located within the visual field 300 is realized as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, an angle β formed by a direction vector 124 indicating the direction of the body of the ball keep character 120 and a target vector 126 from the position of the ball keep character 120 toward the position of the player character 100 to be determined. Is calculated. Then, the angle β and the viewing angle α of the field of view 300 are compared, and if the following expression (1) is satisfied, it is determined that the player character 100 is located in the field of view 300.
β ≦ α / 2 (1)

  When the pass destination candidate character is extracted, one of the pass destination candidate characters is determined as the pass destination character. Then, a pass action of the ball keep character 120 toward the pass destination character is performed.

  The pass destination character is determined based on the geographical power distribution in the game space. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, a mesh area AR is set in the field FL. That is, the area AR is set in a matrix along the X-axis and Z-axis directions as a whole. The ratio of the specific size of the area AR is, for example, a ratio in which the area AR is approximately 2 m square with respect to the size “105 × 68 m” of the field FL in terms of the actual size. The representative point Q of the area AR is set, for example, at a substantially central position of the area AR, but may be set as appropriate as long as it is a position included in the area AR.

  In each area AR, the minimum arrival time Ts and the dominance level for each team are set as geographical power information. The degree of dominance is an index indicating how dominant the power of which team is in the area AR, and indicates a relative power difference (a difference in the degree of power) between the teams. The degree of dominance is given as a difference in the minimum arrival time Ts of each team with respect to the area AR.

  FIG. 6A is a conceptual diagram showing a method for calculating the arrival time T to the area AR for one player character 100. As shown in the figure, a virtual moving point when it is assumed that the player character 100 moves at a constant speed (for example, 0.5 seconds) at a current speed V starting from the current position on the field FL. P is required. Then, an area AR in which the representative point Q is included in the predetermined arrival time calculation range AC (hereinafter simply referred to as “area AR included in the arrival time calculation range AC”) is calculated with the virtual movement point P as the center. The The arrival time calculation range AC is set within a range of a radius of 15 m from the virtual movement point P of the player character 100, for example, in terms of actual size.

  Then, for each of the areas AR included in the arrival time calculation range AC, the distance L from the virtual movement point P to the representative point Q is an ability speed that is one of the ability parameters set in advance for each player character 100. By dividing by Va (for example, the maximum speed of the player character 100), the arrival time T to the area AR is calculated. More specifically, for example, the difference in the coordinate value from the virtual moving point P to the representative point Q is converted into the actual distance from the size of the real field “105 × 68 m” and the ratio of the XZ coordinate value, The arrival time T is calculated by dividing by the speed Va.

  Looking at the arrival time T for one player character 100, as shown in FIG. 6 (b), the arrival time T changes substantially concentrically around the virtual moving point P (the numbers in the figure are the arrival time T). Is an example of the approximate number of seconds.). A sufficiently large virtual arrival time T (for example, 10 seconds) is set for the area AR that is not included in the arrival time calculation range AC.

  Similarly, for the other player characters 100, when the arrival time T for each area AR is calculated for all the player characters 100 existing on the field FL, the minimum arrival time of each team for each area AR. Ts and further dominance are required.

  Specifically, the shortest arrival time T among the arrival times T of the player characters 100 belonging to the team is adopted as the minimum arrival time Ts of the area AR. The difference between the minimum arrival times Ts of the respective teams, specifically, the difference between the minimum arrival time Ta of the A team and the minimum arrival time Tb of the B team is defined as the superiority in the area AR. Therefore, if the value of dominance is positive (ie, Ta> Tb), it indicates that Team B is dominant, and if it is negative (ie, Ta <Tb), Team A is dominant. It will show that there is.

  For example, in FIG. 7, the minimum arrival time Ta of Team A by the player character 100a in the area AR is “3.5 seconds”, and the minimum arrival time Tb of Team B by the player character 100b is “2.6 seconds”. is there. Accordingly, the superiority of the area AR is “0.9 (= 3.5−2.6)”, and the B team becomes dominant.

  In this embodiment, the pass candidate character is determined based on the degree of dominance. Specifically, the superiority of each area AR in which the pass candidate character is located is referred to, and the pass candidate character located in the area AR having the highest “dominance” is determined as the pass character.

  As described above, the superiority indicates which team is dominant depending on whether the value is positive or negative. For this reason, the criterion for determining that the superiority is “high” varies depending on which team the ball keep character 120 belongs to. Specifically, when the ball keep character 120 belongs to the team A, the area AR having the smallest dominance value (a negative value and the largest absolute value) has the “high” dominance degree, On the other hand, when the ball keep character 120 belongs to the B team, the area AR having the highest dominance value (a positive value and the largest absolute value) has the “high” dominance degree.

  For example, FIG. 8 shows player characters 100a-1 to 100a-3 belonging to Team A as pass destination candidate characters for the ball keep character 120 belonging to Team A. The dominance levels of the areas AR-1 to AR-3 in which the player characters 100a-1 to 100a-3 are located are “2.2”, “3.5”, and “1.2”, respectively. Accordingly, here, the player character 100a-2 located in the area AR-2 having the highest dominance is selected and determined as the pass destination character.

[Function configuration]
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration in the present embodiment. According to the figure, in the present embodiment, the consumer game device 1 includes an operation input unit 10, an image display unit 20, a sound output unit 30, a communication unit 40, a processing unit 50, and a storage unit 70. And is configured.

  The operation input unit 10 is realized by, for example, a button switch, a lever, a dial, a mouse, a keyboard, various sensors, and the like, and outputs an operation input signal corresponding to the operation input by the player to the processing unit 50. In FIG. 1, the game controllers 1202 and 1204 correspond to this.

  Based on the image signal from the image generation unit 58, the image display unit 20 displays the game screen while redrawing the screen of one frame every 1/60 seconds, for example. The function is realized by hardware such as CRT, LCD, ELD, PDP, and HMD. In FIG. 1, the display 1300 corresponds to this.

  The sound output unit 30 emits and outputs game sounds such as sound effects and BGM based on the sound signal from the sound generation unit 59. This function is realized by a sound output device such as a speaker, and the speaker 1302 corresponds to this in FIG.

The communication unit 40 transmits / receives data to / from an external device by connecting to a communication line. This function is realized by, for example, a module such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or IrDA, a modem, a TA, a jack of a wired communication cable, a control circuit, and the like. In FIG. 1, the communication device 1206 corresponds to this.

  The processing unit 50 performs various arithmetic processes such as control of the entire home game apparatus 1 and game calculations. The function is realized by hardware such as a CPU (CISC type, RISC type), ASIC (gate array, etc.) and a related control program. In FIG. 1, an arithmetic processing device such as a CPU provided in the main body device 1200 corresponds to this.

  The processing unit 50 also includes a game calculation unit 51 that mainly performs calculation processing related to the game, and image generation that generates an image signal for displaying a game screen from various data obtained by the processing of the game calculation unit 51. And a sound generation unit 59 that generates game sound for outputting game sounds such as sound effects and BGM.

  The game calculation unit 51 executes various game processes based on operation input signals from the operation input unit 10 and programs and data read from the storage unit 70. As the game process, for example, a viewpoint or object placement in a virtual space, a character motion control based on an operation input signal input from the operation input unit 10, a ball movement calculation or control, a game result calculation, or the like is executed. The game calculation unit 51 includes a PC management unit 52, a ball management unit 53, an NPC control unit 54, and a superiority calculation unit 55.

  The PC management unit 52 manages player characters. Specifically, it is determined which player character 100 is the player character, the player character information 74 is updated according to the determination result, and the player character 100 according to the operation signal input from the operation input unit 10. To control the operation.

  The ball management unit 53 manages the ball 500. Specifically, the current position of the ball 500 is detected and the ball position information 75 is updated, and whether or not the ball 500 is kept in the player character 100 (a kept state), and which player character 100 is determined. Is a ball keep character, and the ball keep information 76 is updated according to the judgment result.

  The NPC control unit 54 controls the actions of the non-player characters, that is, the ten player characters 100a and the eleven player characters 100b excluding the player characters. The NPC control unit 54 includes a pass destination candidate character extraction unit 54a, a pass destination character determination unit 54b, and a pass motion control unit 54c.

  The pass destination candidate character extraction unit 54a extracts a pass destination candidate character with reference to the character position information 73 and the visual field information 72a when the ball keep character 120 performs a pass action, and passes the candidate character according to the extraction result. Information 77 is updated. Specifically, with reference to the visual field information 72a, the visual field 300 having the visual angle α corresponding to the ball keep character 120 is set on the field FL. And the player character 100 in the set visual field 300 among the player characters 100 (friend characters) belonging to the same team as the ball keep character 120 is extracted as a pass destination candidate character.

  The pass destination character determination unit 54b determines a pass destination character from the pass destination candidate characters extracted by the pass destination candidate character extraction unit 54a, and updates the pass destination character information 78 according to the determination result. Specifically, with reference to the character position information 73 and the region information 79, the pass destination candidate character located in the region AR having the highest “dominance” is selected and determined as the pass destination character.

  The pass motion control unit 54c controls the pass motion of the ball keep character 120 with respect to the pass destination character determined by the pass destination character determination unit 54b.

  The dominance calculation unit 55 calculates a geographical power distribution in the game space. Specifically, for all the player characters 100 on the field FL, the arrival time T until reaching the representative point Q of each area AR included in the arrival time calculation range AC is calculated. Then, the minimum arrival time Ts for each team in each area AR is calculated, the dominance of the area AR is calculated from the difference in the minimum arrival time Ts, and the area information 79 is updated according to the calculation result.

  The image generation unit 58 is realized, for example, by an arithmetic device such as a CPU or DSP, a control program thereof, a drawing frame IC memory such as a frame buffer, or the like. The image generation unit 58 executes a geometric conversion process and a shading process based on the calculation result by the game calculation unit 51, and generates a game image for displaying the game screen. Then, the image signal of the generated game image is output to the image display unit 20.

  The sound generator 59 generates a sound signal for outputting a game sound. This function is realized by, for example, an arithmetic device such as a CPU or DSP, or a control program thereof. The sound generation unit 59 generates sound such as sound effects and BGM used during the game at an appropriate timing based on sound data (not shown) stored in the storage unit 70, and generates a sound signal of the generated sound. The sound is output to the sound output unit 30.

  The storage unit 70 includes game information 71 including a system program for realizing various functions for causing the processing unit 50 to control the consumer game device 1 in an integrated manner, a program and data necessary for executing the game, and the like. Remember. The storage unit 70 is realized by an information storage medium such as various IC memories, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD, or an MO. In FIG. 1, the CD-ROM 1212, the IC memory 1214, and the memory card 1216 included in the main body apparatus 1200 correspond to this.

  The game information 71 includes a program and data for causing the processing unit 50 to function as the game calculation unit 51. Specifically, a pass destination character determination program 91 is included as a program, and as data, character information 72, character position information 73, player character information 74, ball position information 75, ball keep information 76, Pass destination candidate character information 77, pass destination character information 78, and area information 79 are included.

  The character information 72 is information relating to characters appearing in the soccer game such as the player character 100, for example, in addition to sound data such as modeling data, texture data, motion data, and sound effects, for example, ability parameters such as ability speed Va, visual field, etc. Information 72a is included.

The visual field information 72a is information on the visual field 300 of the player character 100, and FIG. 10 shows an example of the data structure thereof.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the visual field information 72a, and shows data about the team A. According to the figure, the visual field information 72a stores, for each player character 100, a player ID (721a) for identifying the player character 100 and a visual field angle α (722a) in association with each other. The visual field information 72a is fixed data that is not changed through the progress of the game.

The character position information 73 is information on the position of the player character 100, and FIG.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the character position information 73, and shows data about Team A. According to the figure, for each player character 100, the character position information 73 includes the player ID (73a), the current position (73b) on the field FL, the body orientation (73c), and the speed (73d). Are stored in association with each other. Here, the body direction (73c) is converted into a unit vector by normalizing the direction vector 124 (starting from the corresponding current position (73b)) indicating the body direction of the corresponding player character 100, and is converted into a local vector. It is expressed by the two-dimensional coordinates F (x, z) of the end point when the origin of the coordinate system is the start point.

  The player character information 74 is information indicating the player character, and stores the player ID of the player character 100 that is the player character, as shown in FIG.

  The ball position information 75 is information on the position of the ball 500, and stores the current position of the ball 500 as shown in FIG.

  The ball keep information 76 is information on the keep state of the ball 500. As shown in FIG. 14, the keep state of the ball 500 indicating whether or not the ball 500 is currently in a keep state (keep state / non-keep state). And the player ID of the ball keep character 120 are stored. When the ball 500 is in a non-keep state, the player ID of the immediately previous ball keep character 120 is stored.

  Pass destination candidate character information 77 is information of a pass destination candidate character, and stores a player ID of the pass destination candidate character as shown in FIG. There may be a plurality of player IDs stored here.

  The pass destination character information 78 is information of the pass destination character, and stores the player ID of the pass destination character as shown in FIG. The player ID stored here is the player ID of one character selected from the pass destination candidate characters indicated by the pass destination candidate character information 77.

The area information 79 is information on the area AR set in the field FL, and FIG. 17 shows an example of the data structure.
FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of the region information 79. As illustrated in FIG. According to the figure, the area information 79 includes, for each area AR (79a), the coordinates (79b) of the representative point Q, the minimum arrival time Ta (79c) for the A team, and the minimum arrival time Tb (for the B team). 79d) and the superiority (79e) are stored in association with each other.

[Process flow]
FIG. 18 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing relating to determination of a pass destination character in the present embodiment. This process is realized by the NPC control unit 54 executing a process according to the pass destination character determination program 91 in the storage unit 70. Note that the processing related to the progress of the soccer game can be executed in the same manner as in the conventional soccer game, and thus description thereof is omitted here.

  According to FIG. 18, the NPC control unit 54 first determines the current keep state of the ball 500 with reference to the ball keep information 76. As a result of the determination, if it is not in the kept state (step S11: NO), the movement of each player character 100, which is a non-player character, is controlled as in the conventional soccer game.

  On the other hand, if it is in the kept state (step S11: YES), the NPC control unit 54 refers to the ball keep information 76 to determine which player character 100 the ball keep character 120 is (step S12). Next, with reference to the player character information 74, it is determined whether or not the ball keep character 120 is a player character. If it is not a player character (step S13: NO), the next action of the ball keep character 120 is subsequently performed. To decide.

  When the next action is determined as a pass action (step S14: YES), the pass destination candidate character extraction unit 54a extracts a pass destination candidate character. Specifically, first, one player character 100 is selected as a determination target from among the player characters 100 (friend characters) belonging to the same team as the ball keep character 120 (step S15). Here, it is assumed that the player characters 100 selected here are a total of 10 player characters 100 who are currently participating in the game and excluding the ball keep character 120.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4, a direction vector 124 indicating the body direction of the ball keep character 120 and a target vector 126 heading from the position of the ball keep character 120 to the position of the player character 100 selected as a determination target. The angle β formed by both vectors is calculated (step S16).

  Subsequently, the pass candidate character extraction unit 54a compares the calculated angle β with the viewing angle α of the ball keep character 120 and determines whether or not Expression (1) is satisfied. As a result, if it is satisfied, that is, if the angle β is equal to or smaller than ½ of the viewing angle α (β ≦ α / 2) (step S17: YES), the player character 100 to be determined is determined as a pass candidate character. (Step S18).

  Thereafter, it is determined whether or not all the teammate characters have been selected as judgment targets. If they have not been selected (step S19: NO), the process proceeds to step S15 to select another teammate character as the next judgment target. Then, the same processing is performed. Then, when all of the teammate characters are selected as determination targets and the processes in steps S15 to S18 are performed (step S19: YES), the pass destination character determination unit 54b refers to the area information 79 and extracts these items. A pass destination candidate character located in the area AR having the highest “dominance” in the area AR where the pass destination candidate character is located is selected and determined as a pass destination character (step S20).

When the pass destination character is determined, the pass motion control unit 54c controls the motion of the ball keep character 120 to execute the pass motion for the determined pass destination character (step S21).
When the above processing is performed, the NPC control unit 54 ends this processing.

[Hardware configuration]
Next, a hardware configuration capable of realizing the home game device 1 will be described.
FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration according to the present embodiment. According to the figure, the consumer game device 1 has a CPU 1000, a ROM 1002, a RAM 1004, an information storage medium 1006, a sound generation IC 1008, an image generation IC 1010, and I / O ports 1012, 1014. System buses 1016 are connected to each other so as to be able to input and output data. A control device 1022 is connected to the I / O port 1012, and a communication device 1024 is connected to the I / O port 1014.

  The CPU 1000 controls the entire home game device 1 according to programs and data stored in the information storage medium 1006, system programs and data stored in the ROM 1002, operation input signals input by the control device 1022, and the like. Perform data processing. The CPU 1000 corresponds to the processing unit 50 in FIG.

  The ROM 1002, the RAM 1004, and the information storage medium 1006 correspond to the storage unit 70 in FIG. The ROM 1002 stores, in particular, a preset program or data among the system program of the home-use game apparatus 1 and information stored in the storage unit 70 shown in FIG. The RAM 1004 is storage means used as a work area of the CPU 1000, and stores, for example, image data for one frame, given contents of the ROM 1002 and the information storage medium 1006, calculation results of the CPU 1000, and the like. The information storage medium 1006 is realized by an IC memory card, a hard disk unit that can be attached to and detached from the main unit, an MO, and the like.

  The sound generation IC 1008 is an integrated circuit that generates game sounds such as sound effects and BGM based on information stored in the information storage medium 1006 and the ROM 1002, and the generated game sounds are output by the speaker 1020. The sound generation IC 1008 corresponds to the sound generation unit 59 in FIG. 5, and the speaker 1020 corresponds to the sound output unit 30 in FIG. 5 and the speaker 1302 in FIG.

  The image generation IC 1010 is an integrated circuit that generates pixel information of a game screen to be displayed on the display device 1018 based on image information from the CPU 1000. The display device 1018 displays a game screen based on the pixel information generated by the image generation IC 1010. The image generation IC 1010 corresponds to the image generation unit 58 in FIG. 5, and the display device 1018 corresponds to the image display unit 20 in FIG. 5 and the display 1300 in FIG.

  Note that the processing performed by the sound generation IC 1008, the image generation IC 1010, and the like may be executed in software by the CPU 1000 or a general-purpose DSP.

  The control device 1022 is a device for the player to input various game operations as the game progresses. The control device 1022 corresponds to the operation input unit 10 in FIG. 5 and the game controllers 1202 and 1204 in FIG.

  The communication device 1024 is a device for exchanging various types of information used inside the home game device 1 with the outside, and is connected to other game devices to transmit / receive given information according to the game program, It is used for transmitting and receiving information such as game programs via a communication line. The communication device 1024 corresponds to the communication unit 40 in FIG. 5 and the communication device 1206 in FIG.

  Further, the present invention can be similarly applied not only to the home game device 1 shown in FIG. 1 but also to various devices such as an arcade game device, a portable game device, and a large attraction device in which a large number of players participate. .

  Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to a game executed by a stand-alone device, but can be applied to a game called a network game. System configuration for realizing network games, for example: 1) Use a personal computer or home game system installed in the home as a game terminal, and connect to the server via a wired / wireless communication line such as the Internet or a dedicated line Configuration, 2) A configuration in which a plurality of game terminals are connected by a communication line without using a server, 3) A configuration in which a plurality of game terminals are connected by a communication line, but one of them has a server function 4) A configuration in which a plurality of game terminals are physically coupled to form a single system (for example, a business game system) as a whole.

[effect]
As described above, according to the embodiment, when the ball keep character 120 performs the pass action, the field of view 300 of the ball keep character 120 is set on the field FL. Then, the player character 100 (pass destination candidate character) selected from the player characters 100 (pass destination candidate characters) that are located in the visual field 300 and belong to the same team as the ball keep character 120 is passed. The operation of the ball keep character 120 is controlled. Therefore, it is possible to realize a natural control in accordance with the action of the actual soccer player, such as passing a friendly character that is located in the field of view 300 of the ball keep character 120, that is, that will be seen.

  The viewing angle α of the field of view 300 is determined for each player character 100, and the field of view 300 corresponding to the player character 100 to be the ball keep character 120 is set. For this reason, it is possible to realize the setting of the visual field 300 in accordance with the actual situation such that the range that can be seen for each character is different.

[Modification]
In the above-described embodiment, the teammate character currently located in the field of view 300 is extracted as the pass candidate character, but in addition to this, the previous position in the field of view 300 of the ball keep character 120 is determined. It is also possible to extract the ally character that has been used as a pass destination candidate character.

  In this case, the storage unit 70 further includes in-field character history information 91, which is information on a teammate character that has been located in the field of view 300 in the past, and information on a frame to be extracted when extracting a pass destination candidate character. The target frame information 92 is stored.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the in-view character history information 91, and shows data about Team A. According to the figure, the in-view character history information 91 includes, for each player character 100, the player ID (91a) and the ally located in the view 300 in the current frame, one frame before, and two frames before. The character (91b) is stored in association with each other. The player ID of the corresponding player character 100 is stored in the teammate character (91b).

  This visual field character history information 91 is updated every frame. That is, for each player character 100, regardless of whether the player character 100 is a player character / non-player character, the field of view 300 of the player character 100 is set on the field FL, and the same team located in the field of view 300 is assigned to the same team. The player character 100 (friend character) to which it belongs is extracted and stored as a friend character in the current frame.

  FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the target frame information 92, which shows data about the team A. According to the figure, the target frame information 92 stores, for each player character 100, a player ID (92a) and a selection target frame (92b) to be selected in association with each other.

  Then, when extracting the pass candidate character, the pass candidate character extracting unit 54a refers to the target frame information 92 to determine the selection target frame corresponding to the ball keep character 120, and the in-view character history information With reference to 91, a teammate character located (that has been) in the field of view 300 in the determined selection target frame is extracted as a pass candidate character.

  For example, when the ball keep character 120 is the player character 100a of team A (assuming the player ID is “A-03”), according to the target frame information 92 shown in FIG. The selection target frames are “current frame” and “one frame before”. Further, according to the in-view character history information 91 shown in FIG. 20, the player IDs of the teammate characters located in the view 300 in the “current frame” of the player character 100 are “A-01”, “A-04”. ”,“ A-05 ”, and“ A-08 ”, and the player IDs of the teammate characters that were located in the field of view 300 in“ 1 frame ago ”are“ A-01 ”,“ A-02 ”, and“ A-02 ” A-04 ". Accordingly, the player characters 100 with the player IDs “A-01”, “A-02”, “A-04”, “A-05”, and “A-08” are extracted as pass destination candidate characters.

  Thus, by extracting the teammate character that was stored in the field-of-view character history information 91 and was located in the field-of-view 300 several frames ago as a candidate character for the pass destination, It is not limited to this, and it is possible to pass a friend character who was seen a while ago. For this reason, it is possible to realize such an expression that a friend character who has been seen a while ago but is not currently visible is given a pass of the current position.

  Furthermore, since the target frame for extracting the pass candidate character is different depending on which player character 100 the ball keep character 120 is, there is a player character 100 that can pass a teammate character that is not currently visible. On the other hand, it is possible to realize an expression that the position determination ability of other characters is different, for example, there is a player character 100 that can pass only to a teammate character that is currently visible.

  In the above-described embodiment, the field of view 300 is set so that the bisector of the fan-shaped central angle matches the direction of the body of the ball keep character 120. The direction of the face of the keep character 120 may be set to match, and the direction of the body or the face may not necessarily match the fan-shaped bisector of the field of view 300.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the bus destination character is selected / determined from among the pass destination candidate characters with reference to the dominance degree, but for example, it may be selected at random regardless of the dominance degree. It is also possible to select a character located near the front of the ball keep character 120.

[Modification of Embodiment]
The application of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the following modification is mentioned.

(1) Making the viewing angle α variable In the embodiment described above, the field of view 300 of the viewing angle α stored in the field of view information 72a is set. It is also possible to change α and set the field of view at the changed viewing angle α ′.

  For example, the viewing angle α can be varied according to the weather and the physical condition of the player character 100. More specifically, the viewing angle α can be varied to reduce the viewing angle α during bad weather such as wind and rain, or the viewing angle α can be reduced as the appearance time in the current game becomes longer. Thus, it is possible to realize such a state that the concentration is reduced due to fatigue.

  Further, the viewing angle α may be varied by the same amount for all the player characters 100 or may be varied by a different amount for each player character 100. Moreover, it is good also as performing not only about all the player characters but only some player characters 100.

(2) radius r of field of view 300
In addition to the viewing angle α, a viewing radius r that is a fan-shaped radius may be added as the viewing field 300 information. In this case, the visual field information 72a stores the visual field angle α and the visual field radius r in association with each other for each player character 100.

  In the embodiment, when determining whether or not the player character 100 is located within the visual field 300, the pass destination candidate character extracting unit 54a further determines the position of the ball keep character 120 and the player character 100 to be determined. A distance L1 is calculated between the position L1 and the visual field radius r corresponding to the ball keep character 120. If the distance L1 is equal to or smaller than the visual field radius r (L1 ≦ r), it is determined that the player character 100 is located within the visual field 300.

(3) Game to be applied In the embodiment described above, the case where the present invention is applied to a soccer game has been described. However, the types of games to which the present invention can be applied are not limited thereto. Specifically, a plurality of player characters such as basketball, hockey, and rugby that can move on a field including a player character (PC) and a non-player character (MPC) that operate in response to a player's operation input include a plurality of player characters. A game in which teams are divided into battles and the ball is placed in the goal area is preferable.

1 is an external view of a home game device to which the present invention is applied. The figure which shows an example of a game screen. The figure for demonstrating the principle of the pass destination player determination in embodiment. The figure for demonstrating the judgment method of whether a player character is located in a visual field. The figure which shows the area | region set to a field. The conceptual diagram explaining the calculation method of the arrival time T. FIG. The conceptual diagram explaining the calculation method of a dominance degree. The conceptual diagram explaining the determination of a pass destination character. The block diagram which shows the function structure in embodiment. The figure which shows the data structural example of visual field information. The figure which shows the data structural example of character position information. The figure which shows the data structural example of player character information. The figure which shows the data structural example of ball | bowl position information. The example of a data structure of ball keep information is shown. The figure which shows the data structural example of pass destination candidate character information. The figure which shows the data structural example of pass destination character information. The figure which shows the data structural example of area | region information. The flowchart for demonstrating the flow of the process which concerns on the pass destination character determination in embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions for implement | achieving the consumer game device to which this invention is applied. The figure which shows the data structural example of the character historical information in a visual field. The figure which shows the data structural example of object frame information.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Home-use game device 10 Operation input part 20 Image display part 30 Sound output part 40 Communication part 50 Processing part 51 Game operation part 52 PC management part 53 Ball management part 54 NPC control part 54a Pass destination candidate character extraction part 54b Pass destination character Determination unit 54c Pass motion control unit 55 Dominance calculation unit 58 Image generation unit 59 Sound generation unit 70 Storage unit 71 Game information 72 Character information 72a Field of view information 73 Character position information 74 Player character information 75 Ball position information 76 Ball keep information 77 Pass Previous candidate character information 78 Pass destination character information 79 Area information 84 Target position information 91 Pass destination character determination program FL Field AR area Q Representative point 100 Player character 100a Team A player character 100b Team B player Character 120 Ball keep character 130 Defense character 140 Mark character 300 Field of view α Viewing angle 500 Ball object (ball)

Claims (11)

A plurality of characters that can move on a field including a PC (player character) and an NPC (non-player character) that operate in response to a player's operation input are divided into a plurality of teams to play a ball Is a program for executing a game that puts the game in the goal area,
Determining means for determining a ball keeping character that is keeping the ball;
Field of view setting means for setting the field of view of the ball keep character on the field,
A selecting means for selecting one character among the characters belonging to the same team as the ball keep character and located in the field of view set by the field of view setting means;
Action control means for controlling the action of the ball keep character so as to pass the one character when the ball keep character is an NPC;
A program for causing the computer to function as The program according to claim 1,
A program for causing the computer to function so that the visual field setting means sets a visual field based on the direction of the body or face of the ball keep character. The program according to claim 1 or 2,
A viewing angle is preset for each of the plurality of characters,
A program for causing the computer to function so that the visual field setting means sets a visual field according to a visual field angle set for a character determined to be a ball keep character by the determination means. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A program for causing the computer to function as viewing angle varying means for varying the viewing angle of the field of view set by the field setting means. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The computer functions as a storage means for updating and storing a character positioned in the field of view of the ball keep character from a predetermined time to the present,
A program for causing the computer to function so as to select one of the characters belonging to the same team as the ball keep character and stored in the storage means. The program according to claim 5,
A program for causing the computer to function so that the storage means has time variable means for changing the predetermined time. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
Point setting means for setting a plurality of sample points on the field;
For each character, inertia calculation means for calculating a position after a predetermined time when the character maintains the current movement state;
An arrival time calculation means for calculating a time until the character reaches the set sample point, starting from the calculated position;
Area recognition means for certifying an area related to the power of each team based on the calculated arrival time of the character to each sample point;
As the computer further functions as
A program for causing the computer to function so as to select one character with reference to the area related to the power of the team of the ball keep character that is selected by the area recognition means. The program according to claim 7,
Referring to the arrival time calculated by the arrival time calculation means, a dominance calculation that calculates the dominance degree so that the arrival time of the character that can be reached earliest becomes shorter for each set sample point As a means to further function the computer,
A program for causing the computer to function so that the region recognition means recognizes a region related to the power of each team based on the calculated dominance of each sample point. The computer calculates the position data on the virtual field and the body orientation data of a plurality of characters for which the team data and the viewing angle data indicating the viewing angle are set, and calculates the data on the field of each character. A program for controlling the movement of the body and the direction of the body, and for controlling the pass action of the ball keep character among the plurality of characters,
For each of the plurality of characters, by calculation based on the viewing angle data, position data, and body orientation data of the character, the position of the character on the field is a vertex, the viewing angle of the character is a central angle, Visual field setting means for setting, on the field, a fan-shaped virtual visual field in which the bisector of the central angle and the body direction of the character have a predetermined positional relationship;
Judgment means for judging which character is located in the field of view set by the field of view setting means of each of the plurality of characters based on the position data on the field of each character;
For each of the plurality of characters, the character determined by the determining means to be located within the field of view of the character, and the identification information of the character whose team data is the same as the character corresponds to the determination time by the determining means The latest identification information of the character of the same team as the character positioned in the character's field of view from the predetermined time to the present is updated by updating the stored content as needed based on the determination time. Update storage means for storing,
Selecting means for selecting one character by selecting one identification information from among the identification information stored by the update storage means as identification information of a character located in the field of view of the ball keep character;
Action control means for controlling the pass action of the ball keep character to the one character selected by the selection means;
As a computer, and
The plurality of characters are set in advance in association with determination times,
Of the identification information stored by the update storage means as the identification information of the character located in the field of view of the ball keep character, the selection means from before the determination time associated with the ball keep character to the present A program for causing the computer to function so as to select one identification information from among identification information of characters located in the field of view.   The computer-readable information storage medium which memorize | stored the program as described in any one of Claims 1-9. A plurality of characters that can move on the field including a PC (player character) and a NPC (non-player character) that operate in response to the player's operation input are divided into a plurality of teams to play, and the ball is played in the goal area A game device for executing a game to be put in
Determining means for determining a ball keeping character that is keeping the ball;
Field setting means for setting the field of view of the ball keep character on the field;
A selection means for selecting one character among the characters belonging to the same team as the ball keep character and located in the field of view set by the field of view setting means;
Action control means for controlling the action of the ball keep character so as to pass the one character when the ball keep character is an NPC;
A game apparatus comprising:

Images