JP2005204949A - Electronic apparatus and image display method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic apparatus and an image display method of game apparatuses etc. capable of easily and clearly demonstrating the state of displayed objects to users without having to use a dedicated display part or superimposition and effectively using a display region. <P>SOLUTION: In a game terminal for displaying characters through the use of polygons, an attribute information of a character such as "physical strength" is related to the number of polygons constituting the character and stored in a database. In the case of the occurrence of, for example, such an event as to "throw a punch" to the character, the attribute information of the character is altered according to the event, and the number of the polygons of the object is altered according to the alteration of the attribute information. It is thereby possible for a user to easily recognize changes in the attribute of the character by changes in the number of the polygons without having to use a dedicated display part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device device such as a game machine and an image display method capable of displaying an image expressed by a polygon.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an electronic device such as a game device that displays an object by using a polygon in a three-dimensional drawing, for example, a technique for clearly showing the ability, physical strength, experience value, etc. Alternatively, a dedicated display section such as “Life Counter” or “Health Gauge” is prepared at the bottom. For example, when a character is injured and damaged, an image showing the injured state is displayed. It is known to display and change the state of the “life counter” or “physical strength gauge” by the amount of damage received by the injury (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Also, there is a display using superimpose instead of the dedicated display unit.
JP 2000-107454 A (paragraph [0003], FIG. 13)

  However, in the above-described technique, it is necessary to secure an area for displaying the dedicated display unit. Therefore, a game image cannot be displayed in the area, and the display area can be used effectively. There wasn't. In addition, the dedicated display unit may cover a background image of the game, for example, and the user may not be able to visually recognize the part. This problem is particularly noticeable in an electronic device having a limited display area, such as a portable game terminal.

  In view of the circumstances as described above, an object of the present invention is to easily indicate the state of a displayed object to a user without using a dedicated display unit or a superimpose, and to display a display area. An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device such as a game machine and an image display method that can be effectively used.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an electronic device according to the main aspect of the present invention relates to display means for displaying an object using polygons, and attribute information of the object is associated with the number of polygons constituting the object. Storing means for storing, event generating means for generating an event for the object, first changing means for changing attribute information of the object according to an event generated by the generating means, and the first And a second changing means for changing the number of polygons of the object in accordance with the change of the attribute information by the changing means.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image display method comprising: (a) displaying an object using polygons; and (b) associating the attribute information of the object with the number of polygons constituting the object. And (c) generating an event for the object; (d) changing attribute information of the object according to the event generated by the generating means; And a step of changing the number of polygons of the object in response to the change of the attribute information by the first changing means.

  Here, the object refers to, for example, a character displayed in a game, and the attribute information refers to, for example, the character's physical strength, damage level, experience value, and the like in the game.

  The event refers to an event such as an attack such as punching or kicking in a fighting game, or a defeating enemy or obtaining an item in a role playing game.

  According to these configurations, since the number of polygons of the object is changed in accordance with the change of the attribute information of the object, the object by changing the number of polygons can be used for the attribute information without using a dedicated display unit or a superimpose. By changing the display of, the state of the object can be easily indicated to the user.

  In addition, the display area can be effectively used by not using the dedicated display unit or the superimpose. This is particularly effective in an electronic device having a small display area such as a portable game terminal.

  Furthermore, the user's interest can be improved by changing the number of polygons for display. This is not limited to the above-mentioned fighting games and role-playing games, but also in puzzle games and games such as mahjong, othello, shogi, and samurai, for example, depending on the event that the puzzle is nearing completion or the appearance is worse It is also possible by changing the number.

  In the electronic device, the object may be a game character, and the storage unit may store at least one ability value indicating the ability state of the character as the attribute information.

In the image display method, the object is a game character.
The step (b) may store at least one ability value indicating the ability state of the character as the attribute information.

  Thus, for example, when a character of a fighting game is weakened due to an attack from an enemy, the number of polygons of the character is changed, so that the physical strength is reduced by using a dedicated display unit or superimpose. And can be easily shown to the user.

  In the electronic apparatus, the second changing unit may change the number of polygons such that the number of polygons decreases as the ability value of the character decreases.

  In the image display method, the step (e) may change the number of polygons so that the number of polygons decreases as the character's ability value decreases.

  Thus, for example, when a character of a game is damaged by an enemy attack and its physical strength is reduced, the character is displayed roughly and squarely by decreasing the number of polygons of the character as the physical strength is reduced. The change in the display allows the user to easily recognize a decrease in physical strength with a natural feeling.

  Further, since the number of polygons is reduced, the above-mentioned character is aesthetically pleasing or humorous for the user, thereby improving the user's interest.

  In the electronic apparatus, the display unit displays a plurality of characters, the event generation unit generates the event independently for each of the characters, and the second change unit responds to each event. The number of polygons may be changed independently for each character.

  In the image display method, the step (a) displays a plurality of characters, the step (c) generates the event independently for each character, and the step (e) The number of polygons may be changed independently for each character in accordance with an event.

  As a result, for example, when a plurality of characters are displayed on the display screen at the same time, different events can be generated for each character, and the number of polygons can be changed for each character according to each event. Can be improved. For example, in a fighting game, the degree of damage between fighting characters can be clearly indicated to the user, and in a role playing game, an experience value that is different for each player can be clearly indicated to the user.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the state of the character can be clearly shown to the user and the display area can be effectively used without using a dedicated display unit or a superimpose in a game machine or the like. An electronic device and an image display method can be provided.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a portable game terminal will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of the game terminal 100 in the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, a game terminal 100 includes a main memory 101, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102, a display unit 103, a recording medium interface 104, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 106, a graphic processor 107, a sound processor 108, an operation. An input unit 109 is included, and each unit is connected by a bus 110.

  The main memory 101 is a high-speed readable / writable memory such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), and is used as a working area of the CPU 106, a frame buffer, and the like. The ROM 102 is a nonvolatile memory in which various programs and data are fixedly stored. For example, an OS (Operating System) that performs basic control of each unit of the game terminal 100 and various data for controlling the game terminal 100 are used. And a program are stored.

  Examples of the display unit 103 include an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) such as a TFT (Thin Film Transistor), a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), a PDP (Plasma Display Panel), an OEL (Organic Electroluminescence), and the like. In the recording medium such as the CD-ROM 105, in addition to programs for executing various games, the polygon number data of characters displayed on the game terminal 100, and attribute information such as character physical strength to be referred to when changing the number of polygons. Data, event data generated by characters, and the like are stored, and the recording medium interface 104 reads the various data and programs.

  The CPU 106 controls the exchange of information of each department through the bus 110, loads necessary programs and data from the ROM 102 and the CD-ROM 105 to the main memory 101, and controls the game terminal 100 and various data processing according to the programs. To run the game.

  The graphic processor 107 uses a polygon to generate an image necessary for the game to proceed, such as a character or a background image on the game terminal 100, and sets the number of polygons in the image according to the change in the character attribute information. change. Specifically, the surface of the three-dimensional shape is represented as a set of polygons, and the texture of the image is pasted on the surface of the polygons by texture mapping. Texture mapping is realized, for example, by pasting texture bitmap data on each polygon and performing three-dimensional rendering.

  The sound processor 108 generates audio information necessary for progressing the game based on the data read from the CD-ROM 105 or the like, and outputs it through an amplifier and a speaker (not shown).

  Specifically, the operation input unit 109 is a push button, a jog dial, or the like. The operation input unit 109 accepts operation input from the user such as a character fighting operation and selection of each mode, and transmits an operation signal corresponding to the operation input to the CPU 106.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between the occurrence of an event and various databases necessary for changing the number of polygons in this embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a detailed example of each database.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the game terminal 100 has three databases, a player database 201, an event database 202, and a polygon setting database 203, and the graphic processor 107 includes a polygon number calculation unit 204 and an image data drawing unit 205. Have These databases are configured based on the data read from the CD-ROM 105 and the ROM 102, and are expanded in the main memory 101.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the player database 201 is a database related to a player (user) who plays a game. For each player identification number for identifying a player, for example, a character name operated by the player, attribute information of the character, for example, Data such as initial values and current values of various parameters such as physical strength and striking force, and initial values and current values of the number of polygons of the character are associated with each other. When there are two players A and B as shown in the figure, identification number 1 is assigned to player A and identification number 2 is assigned to player B. For example, the player performs the assignment by the operation input unit 109 at the start of the game. Of course, the initial value of each parameter may be set differently for each character.

  The CPU 106 refers to the player database 201 to identify the player, recognizes the character operated by the player, the current parameters, and the like, and then accesses the event database 202.

  In the event database 202, an increase / decrease value of the above parameter is designated in advance for each event occurring in each character, and data as shown in FIG. 3 exists for each character appearing in the game. For example, as shown in the figure, when the event 1 is performed for the player A (player identification number 1), the parameter P1 is +10 and the parameter P2 is −50. At this time, the parameter values P1 and P2 before the event occurrence are In the case of 100 respectively, it becomes 110 and 50, respectively. Specifically, for example, if the event 1 is an event “Character A punches the character B”, for example, the striking power of the parameter 1 is increased by 10, and the physical strength of the parameter 2 is decreased by 50. The parameter value may be changed for each character even in the same event.

  The CPU 106 accesses the polygon setting database 203 after updating the player database 201 using the increased / decreased value as a new parameter value.

  The polygon setting database 203 is a database for referring to the parameter value determined in the event database 202 and determining a parameter coefficient corresponding to the parameter value. The data also exists for each character. Specifically, for example, when the parameter P1 is 100 or more, the coefficient of the parameter P1 is 1.0, and when the parameter P1 is 90 or more and less than 100, the coefficient of the parameter P1 is 0.9. It is set according to each stage.

  In the figure, since the parameter P1 is 110 and the parameter P2 is 50, the coefficient of the parameter P1 is 1.0 and the coefficient of the parameter P2 is 0.9. A polygon number setting coefficient for finally setting the number of polygons is a multiplier of each parameter coefficient obtained above. Therefore, in the figure, the polygon number setting coefficient is 1.0 × 0.9 = 0.9.

  The polygon number calculation unit 204 receives the polygon number setting coefficient and finally calculates the number of polygons of the character. The number of polygons of the character is calculated by the equation “polygon number setting coefficient × current value of number of polygons of character”. Therefore, the number of polygons of the character A selected by the player A in FIG. 3 is 90% of the number of polygons before the occurrence of the event.

  The image data drawing unit 205 receives the number of polygons calculated by the polygon number calculation unit 204 and redraws the character with the number of polygons.

  It should be noted that other events that occur after the player A are processed in the same manner as described above, and the same processing is performed for the player B. For example, when an event “receiving a punch” occurs as the event 4 of the player A, for example, both the hitting force and the physical strength are reduced based on the setting of the event database 202 in advance.

  In the fighting game, when the player A and the player B are competing, for example, when the character A operated by the player A punches the character B operated by the player B, the character A An event “Punch” occurs in A, and an event such as “Receive punch” or “Defense punch” occurs in the character B. Therefore, in this case, the number of polygons of both characters is updated according to each event.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a result of changing the number of polygons of the character. As shown in the figure, in the present embodiment, the number of polygons of the character decreases as the above parameters and parameter coefficients decrease due to the occurrence of the event, and the originally smoothly expressed character gradually For example, in a state of being roughly expressed, for example, just before losing in a fighting game, the character is displayed as, for example, two heads and bodies.

  Next, an operation when changing the number of polygons in the game terminal 100 configured as described above will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation. In the figure, the initial value of the polygon number of the character A of the player identification number 1 is 1 million, the parameters P1 and P2 are “strike strength” and “physical strength”, respectively, and the initial values of P1 and P2 are 100, 100, The case will be described assuming that event 1 is “punching”.

  As shown in the figure, the CPU 106 first identifies each player during the execution of the game (step 501). The identification is realized, for example, by recursively processing the number of players by time division processing. That is, for example, if there are four players, the process may be performed as “player 1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → 1.

  Next, the CPU 106 accesses the player database 201 and reads out the current number of polygons and parameter values of the player identified in step 501 (step 502). For example, when the player 1 is identified and the number of polygons has not been changed even immediately after the start of the game, the number of polygons is 1 million, “blowing power” P1 = 100, and “physical strength” P2 = 100.

  Subsequently, the CPU 106 checks whether any event has occurred for the character (step 503). The event can be detected by setting a flag when the event occurs, for example.

  If an event has occurred (YES in step 503), the CPU 106 accesses the event database 202 and reads the data of the corresponding event (step 504). Then, each parameter is changed according to the event (step 505). For example, when an event 1 (punching) occurs in the character A, according to the example of the database in FIG. 3, P1 and P2 of the character A are “strike strength” P1 = 100 + 10 = 110, “physical strength”, respectively. P2 = 100−50 = 50.

  Next, the CPU 106 refers to the polygon setting database 203 and calculates a coefficient for each changed parameter (step 506). For example, since the “strike power” P1 of the character A is 110, according to the example of the database of FIG. 3, the parameter coefficient is 1.0, and similarly the “physical strength” P2 is 50, so the parameter coefficient is 0.9. Become. If no event has occurred in step 503 (NO in step 503), the process proceeds to step 506, and a coefficient assigned to each parameter in the current state is calculated. In this case, since no event has occurred, the parameter coefficient does not change as a result.

  Subsequently, the CPU 106 calculates a polygon number setting coefficient by using each parameter coefficient (step 507). For example, the polygon number setting coefficient of the character A is a parameter coefficient 1.0 of “blowing power” P1 × a parameter coefficient 0.9 of “physical strength” P2 = 0.9. Next, the CPU 106 transmits the calculated polygon number setting coefficient to the polygon number calculation unit 204 to calculate a new polygon number (step 508). For example, the new polygon number of the character A is the current polygon number of 1 million × 0.9 = 900,000. Then, the CPU 106 transmits the calculated new polygon number to the image data drawing unit 205 to redraw the character with the polygon number (step 509). For example, in the case of the character A, redrawing is performed with the updated number of polygons of 900,000. Then, the CPU 106 updates the player database 201 by reflecting the data updated in the above steps in the player database 201 (step 510), and ends. For example, in the database of the player identification number 1, “current value of the number of polygons” = 900,000, “current value of parameter P1” = 1.0, and “current value of parameter P2” = 0.9.

  If a new event occurs after that, the above operation is repeated to change the number of polygons. The same process is performed for all characters until the game is over.

  According to the above operation, without using a dedicated display unit or superimpose, by changing the parameter according to the event that has occurred in the character, and changing the number of polygons of the character based on the change of the parameter, By changing the display of the character, it is possible to easily indicate to the user the character state such as physical strength and striking power. In addition, the display area can be effectively used by not using the dedicated display unit or the superimpose. This is particularly effective in an electronic device having a small display area, such as the portable game terminal 100 in the present embodiment.

  As a result of changing the number of polygons of each character as described above, if there are a plurality of characters, characters having different numbers of polygons are mixed on the display unit 103. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the display unit 103 in such a case. As shown in the figure, a character 601 with a large number of polygons, a medium character 602, and a small character 603 are mixedly displayed on the display unit 103. In this way, by changing the number of polygons for each character and mixing characters with different numbers of polygons, it is possible to improve the game characteristics, and the player compares the state of himself and other characters and himself / herself in the game It is possible to grasp the status of In addition, by changing the number of polygons and displaying in this way, it is possible to improve the interest of each player.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the aspect in which the number of polygons gradually decreases has been described. Of course, an aspect in which the number of polygons increases in accordance with an event may be used. For example, when an event of “mealing” by a character occurs, the physical strength as a parameter is recovered, and the number of polygons of the character may be increased accordingly.

  In addition, the setting of parameters, parameter coefficients, etc. in each of the above databases may be configured so that the user can rewrite freely. This makes it possible to develop a game that suits the user's taste.

  In the above-described embodiment, the fighting game has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to other various games. For example, in the case of a role playing game, in addition to attacks and defenses, various events such as “get an item” and “rest” may be considered, and the polygon may be changed according to those events. Further, the present invention may be similarly applied to a puzzle game, a game such as mahjong, othello, shogi, and samurai. For example, the number of polygons such as a piece and a meteorite may be changed according to the status of each player.

  Furthermore, although the present invention is applied to the game terminal 100 in the above-described embodiment, an image can be generated using polygons such as a PC (Personal Computer), a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), and the elements of the game are Any electronic device can be applied. Further, the present invention may be applied to a so-called communication game in which electronic devices of a plurality of players can communicate via a network.

It is the figure which showed the structure of the game terminal 100 in this embodiment. It is the figure which showed the relationship between generation | occurrence | production of the event in this embodiment, and various databases required for the polygon number change. It is the figure which showed the detailed example of various databases. It is the figure which showed the example of the result of changing the number of polygons of a character. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an operation when changing the number of polygons in game terminal 100. It is the figure which showed a mode that the character from which the number of polygons mixed on the display part 103. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

100 ... Game terminal 101 ... Main memory 102 ... ROM
103 ... Display unit 105 ... CD-ROM
106 ... CPU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 107 ... Graphic processor 201 ... Player database 202 ... Event database 203 ... Polygon setting database 204 ... Polygon number calculation part 205 ... Image data drawing part

Claims (8)

Display means for displaying the object using polygons;
Storage means for storing attribute information of the object in association with the number of polygons constituting the object;
Event generating means for generating an event for the object;
First changing means for changing attribute information of the object in response to an event generated by the generating means;
An electronic apparatus comprising: a second changing unit that changes the number of polygons of the object in response to the change of the attribute information by the first changing unit. The electronic device apparatus according to claim 1,
The object is a game character,
The electronic device apparatus, wherein the storage means stores at least one ability value indicating the ability state of the character as the attribute information. The electronic device apparatus according to claim 2,
The electronic device apparatus, wherein the second changing unit changes the number of polygons so that the number of polygons decreases as the ability value of the character decreases. The electronic device apparatus according to claim 2,
The display means displays a plurality of characters,
The event generating means generates the event independently for each character,
The electronic device apparatus, wherein the second changing unit changes the number of polygons independently for each character in accordance with each event. (A) displaying an object using polygons;
(B) storing the attribute information of the object in association with the number of polygons constituting the object;
(C) generating an event for the object;
(D) changing attribute information of the object in response to an event generated by the generating means;
And (e) changing the number of polygons of the object in response to the change of the attribute information in the step (d). The image display method according to claim 5,
The object is a game character,
The step (b) stores at least one ability value indicating the ability state of the character as the attribute information. The image display method according to claim 6,
In the step (e), the number of polygons is changed so that the number of polygons decreases as the ability value of the character decreases. The image display method according to claim 6,
The step (a) displays a plurality of characters,
The step (c) generates the event independently for each character,
The step (e) is characterized in that the number of polygons is independently changed for each character in accordance with each event.

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