JP2023027205A - Direction indication input program, direction indication input device, and program utilizing direction indication input - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve such problems that the direction indication input cannot be set to a desired value unless an indication point is moved after the coordinate input start when a reference point is set to the indication point in the time of coordinate input start in a case of calculating the direction indication input according to the physical relation between the reference point and the indication point, and an important portion of a screen is concealed by a finger or a pen that performs input when the coordinate input is performed with a display on which the touch input can be performed since the position of the indication point for realizing the direction indication input is fixed in a case of using the fixed reference point.

SOLUTION: By setting a processing method of the position of a reference point and the direction indication input according to the state of the coordinate input after the coordinate input is started, since a user can properly use a setting method of the reference point, the processing method of the direction indication input and the calculation method, the operability of the direction indication input is improved.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

COPYRIGHT: (C)2023,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a directional input program, a directional input device, and a program and device using directional input.

Devices such as smartphones, which do not have input devices such as joysticks and buttons used in home game machines, may progress games based on inputs from input devices capable of touch input. A tablet device having a touch input screen displays virtual buttons and a virtual joystick on the screen, and the game is progressed by operating them by touch input. Some do not display, ie, use transparent buttons or joysticks.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-068385

Patent Document 1 discloses a technique of setting a reference point and an indication point according to an input from an input device capable of touch input, and performing a direction instruction input corresponding to the position of the indication point from the reference point. . When the reference point is set as the designated point at the start of input, the user can intuitively input the direction because it is possible to input the direction according to the direction and amount of movement of the designated point from the point at the start of input. has the advantage of being able to When inputting a direction instruction corresponding to the position of the designated point from a fixed reference point, the reference point and the designated point can be set to different positions according to the point at the start of the input. A desired direction instruction input can be performed even without the .

When the reference point is set to the indicated point at the start of coordinate input, the direction indicating input cannot be set to a desired value unless the indicated point is moved after the start of coordinate input. That is, the input amount of the direction input remains 0 as long as the pointing point does not move. On the other hand, when a fixed reference point is used, the position of the pointing point for realizing a certain directional input is also fixed. An important part of the screen may be obscured by a finger, pen, or the like used for input. Therefore, it is possible to improve the operability if there is an input means that can make use of the respective advantages.

It is assumed that coordinate input is performed using a device capable of coordinate input such as a touch input device. The pointing point is the point where the coordinates are input. In the case of touch input means, the point corresponds to the point where the user touches the touch input means or device. The coordinate system corresponds to a device capable of inputting coordinates. For example, in the case of a touch display, an x-y coordinate system with the lower left corner of the screen as the origin, the right direction as the x axis, and the upper direction as the y axis.

A program for calculating a direction instruction input according to the positional relationship between an instruction point input by a coordinate input means and a reference point. A direction instruction input includes at least one of an input direction and an input amount. The input direction may be considered as an input corresponding to the direction in which the joystick in the game is tilted. The input amount may be considered as an input equivalent to the amount of tilting the stick.

For the sake of explanation, the reference point is denoted as O(ox, oy), the pointing point is denoted as P(px, py), and the directional input is denoted as J(jx, jy). An example of how to determine J(jx,jy) is jx = px-ox, jy = py-oy. Consider J(jx,jy) as a vector, and let the input direction be the direction of the vector and the input quantity be the magnitude of the vector. You can set a maximum value and modify the jx and jy values so that the vector magnitude does not exceed the maximum value. At this time, it is modified so that the input direction is maintained.

A process of bringing the reference point closer to the indicated point may be performed so that the distance between the reference point and the indicated point does not exceed a predetermined distance.

The position of the reference point is set according to the state of coordinate input after the coordinate input is started.

After the start of coordinate input, the reference point is set based on setting 1 if a predetermined condition is satisfied, and the reference point is set based on setting 2 if the predetermined condition is not satisfied.

An example of the condition is that "the amount of change in the indicated point within a predetermined period of time after the start of coordinate input is a predetermined amount or less". In other words, this is the case where the position of the indicated point does not change after the coordinate input is started. Here, examples of determination of the amount of change in the indicated point are "the distance from the indicated point when coordinate input is started is a predetermined amount or more" and "the total amount of change in the indicated point is a predetermined amount or more". be.

Further, when coordinate input is performed by a touch operation on the input device, the pressure and strength at the time of touch input and the area of the contact surface may be taken into consideration. For example, "when the touch input pressure is equal to or greater than a predetermined value".

Examples of setting 1 are "Set the reference point to a predetermined fixed point", "Set the reference point based on the previous coordinate input", and "The direction instruction input is the same as the value at the end of the previous coordinate input". Set the reference point so that If the direction instruction input is the same as the previous direction instruction input, the reference point is set so that the positional relationship between the instruction point and the reference point is the positional relationship corresponding to the previous direction instruction input.

If the input is the same as the previous direction instruction input, either the direction of input or the amount of input may be the same. When matching only the input direction, for example, the reference point is set so that the input direction is the same as the previous time and the amount of input is maximized by the current pointing point.

If the distance between the indicated point and the reference point is greater than or equal to a predetermined distance when the previous reference point was adopted, the reference point may be brought closer to the indicated point. For example, a reference point that maximizes the amount of input is set.

Here, the previous direction instruction input may be considered to be the state at the end of the previous direction instruction input.

Examples of setting 2 are "set the reference point to the designated point at the start of coordinate input" and "set the reference point to the designated point when the above conditions are no longer satisfied".

Example 1 sets the reference point based on a predetermined fixed point or the previous coordinate input when the amount of change in the indicated point within a predetermined period of time after the start of coordinate input is less than or equal to a predetermined amount. If it is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, the reference point is set to the designated point at that time or the designated point at the start of coordinate input.

In example 2, if the amount of change in the designated point within a predetermined amount of time after the start of coordinate input is less than a predetermined amount, the reference point is set to a predetermined fixed point. Set the reference point to the indicated point at that time.

If the reference point is not set at the same point as the indication point, the direction indication input amount may be gradually changed from the minimum value to a value according to the positions of the reference point and the indication point. For example, in the case of example 2 above, if the designated point is not moved for a certain period of time after the start of coordinate input, a predetermined fixed point, for example, the center point of the touch display, is set as the reference point, and the positional relationship with the designated point is set. input amount is calculated. At this time, the input amount is corrected to an amount corresponding to the amount multiplied by the coefficient a. a may gradually increase from an initial value, eg, 0.0 to 1.0.

In setting 1 or 2, the reference point may be set to a point corresponding to the position of the character in the virtual space. For example, the position of the character displayed on the touch display is set as the reference point. Alternatively, the direction instruction input may be such that the character in the virtual space is moved to a location corresponding to the indicated point. At least the input direction may be a direction instruction input such that the character moves to a location corresponding to the indicated point.

A method of calculating the direction input may be selected depending on whether the condition is met. For example, when the above conditions are satisfied, a calculation method is adopted in which the reference point is fixed in the direction instruction input based on the coordinate input, and when the condition is not satisfied, the reference point is kept within a predetermined distance from the indicated point. Adopt a tracking method. Other calculation methods may be employed.

The pointing point may be one from which noise due to camera shake or the like has been removed.

Multiple coordinate inputs may be handled simultaneously. For example, two touch inputs allow two directional inputs at the same time. Which directional input is to be determined may be determined depending on the starting point of the coordinate input. For example, a touch input started on the right side of the touch display is used to operate the directional input 1, and a touch input started on the left side is used to operate the directional input 2.

Alternatively, a direction instruction input start area may be set, and a corresponding direction instruction input may be performed when the coordinate input start point is within the direction instruction input start area.

After the coordinate input is completed, if the coordinate input resumes while the predetermined conditions are satisfied, the reference point is set to the same point as the previous reference point, otherwise, the reference point is set to the predetermined point. good too.

In one example of the configuration, the method of setting the reference point, the processing method of direction input, and the calculation method can be selectively used according to the input state after the start of coordinate input, so that the operability of direction input is improved.

Flowchart 1 explaining the processing of the present invention Flowchart 2 for explaining the processing of the present invention Block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of a tablet device Example of virtual user interface display

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of a tablet device. The tablet device in this embodiment is a general computer comprising a CPU (100), a main memory (101), an auxiliary memory (102), a display section (106) and an input section (103). Among these, the program according to the present embodiment is stored in the auxiliary memory (102). The display (106) includes a touch display. The input unit (103) includes coordinate input means (104). The coordinate input means (104) includes a touch display touch input means (105). A program executed on the tablet device can detect that there is some kind of operation on the touch display by means of the touch input means (105). Here, the touch input means (105) is implemented by hardware, software, or a combination thereof.

It is assumed that the touch input means can sequentially calculate the coordinates corresponding to the touch-inputted point as the indicated point. Furthermore, the contact area of touch input may be acquired. In addition to the coordinates, the strength of the force applied to the touch surface may also be obtained. This makes it possible to detect things such as being pressed hard.

The touch input means is provided when touch input is used. A display is provided as a display unit (106) when displaying moving images. For example, in embodiments that do not display moving images, the computer may not have a display.

Examples of embodiments other than the tablet device are, for example, input devices provided with touch input means. For example, a game controller with a touch surface capable of touch input. In such cases, the touch input means and any other components may be separated, depending on the embodiment, and may not include components not required for that embodiment. The above is just an example, and the configuration is appropriately set according to the embodiment.

Each component may be replaced by another component with similar effect or feature. Also, the function of one component in the embodiment may be distributed as a plurality of components, or the functions of a plurality of components may be integrated into one component.

An embodiment of a program for moving a character in virtual space according to coordinate input by touch input will be described. It is also possible to implement processing according to a direction instruction input other than the movement of the character illustrated here.

In this embodiment, the program is executed by a computer equipped with a display capable of touch input, such as a smartphone. Coordinates are input by the user's touch input. The pointing point is a point corresponding to the touch point. For the purpose of explanation below, it is assumed that coordinate input is performed by the user touching the display with a finger, but the method of touch input is not limited to the finger, and for example, a pen-type device or tool may be used. The indicated point is the point corresponding to the point touched by the user.

In this embodiment, the reference point is O (ox, oy), the indication point is P (px, py), and the direction indication input J (jx, jy) is determined by jx = px-ox, jy = py -oy. However, this is an example for explanation, and the directional input may be determined based on another process. Let us consider the right direction of the touch display as the x-axis and the upward direction as the y-axis. Also, here, the character is assumed to move left and right according to the value of jx, and up and down/back and forth according to the value of jy, as viewed from the display.

In order to simplify the explanation, in each flowchart of Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the designated point at the start of coordinate input, the current designated point, whether the coordinate input is completed, the designated point at the end of coordinate input, and the start of coordinate input Various input states, such as the elapsed time and the amount of movement of the pointing point, are treated as appropriately obtained even if the acquisition process is not specified. It may be considered that these acquisition processes are appropriately performed at the start of the process or at the start of the loop. Alternatively, it may be considered that various acquisition processes are being performed in parallel.

The flowchart in FIG. 1 shows an example of a reference point resetting process. When the coordinate input is started, the reference point is set as the indicated point at the start of the coordinate input, and the direction instruction input process is also started. When coordinate input is started, a reference point is set (S101). Here, the indicated point at the start of coordinate input is used as the reference point. Next, the conditions are determined (S102). Here, it is assumed that "a predetermined time or more has passed since the start of coordinate input, and the amount of movement of the indicated point is equal to or less than a predetermined amount". Although not shown in the flowchart, a process of measuring the time from the start of coordinate input and a process of calculating the amount of movement of the designated point are also performed. For example, in (S101), the elapsed time from the start of coordinate input and the movement amount of the indicated point are initialized and updated before (S102). If the conditions are not satisfied in (S102), direction instruction input processing is performed (S104). In this example, since the designated point and the reference point should be the same immediately after the coordinate designation input is started, the input amount is 0. By changing the position of the designated point during coordinate input, a direction instruction is input according to the direction and amount of movement of the designated point from the coordinate input start point.

When the condition is satisfied in (S102), in this example, when "the amount of movement of the indicated point within a predetermined period of time after the start of coordinate input was equal to or less than a predetermined amount", the reference point is reset (S103). . In this example, the coordinates are set to a point set in advance, for example, the coordinates corresponding to the center of the display. Another example is the same as the reference point at the end of the previous direction instruction input.

With the above processing, when the indicated point does not move for a predetermined period of time after the start of coordinate input, an operation such as long-pressing on the screen enables direction indication input according to the direction and distance of the indicated point from the center of the display. is started, and if the designated point is moved within a predetermined time, direction instruction input can be performed according to the direction and amount of movement of the designated point from the designated point at the start of coordinate input.

When the coordinate input ends in (S105), the process at the time of coordinate input end is performed (S106). Here, the direction instruction input is terminated by, for example, setting the input amount of the direction instruction input to 0. Also, if the previous reference point is used in (S103), the position of the reference point is recorded.

In this example, one direction instruction input process is used, but the direction instruction input process may be changed depending on whether the condition (S102) is satisfied or not. For example, if the above condition is not satisfied, a direction instruction input process is performed that involves moving the position of the reference point so that the distance between the reference point and the indicated point is within a predetermined distance, and the above condition is satisfied. In some cases, direction instruction input processing is performed in which the position of the reference point is not moved according to the distance between the indicated point and the reference point.

Alternatively, a plurality of types of conditions may be prepared, and a method of resetting the reference posture and a direction instruction input process corresponding to each may be adopted. For example, in touch input, when the contact is made with a strong force, the maximum value of direction input is increased.

In the example of FIG. 1, direction instruction input is started when coordinate input is started, but direction instruction input may not be started until a predetermined condition is satisfied. That is, after the coordinate input is started, the corresponding direction instruction input may be started when a predetermined condition is satisfied. Here, the corresponding direction instruction input may be a direction instruction input value based on the processing of FIG. That is, after a predetermined condition is satisfied, another direction instruction input process may be performed when a further predetermined condition is satisfied. The conditions and the number of calculation methods for the corresponding direction input can be set arbitrarily.

An example of processing is shown in the flowchart of FIG. Here, the operation described below will be described as an example. If the indicated point moves by a predetermined amount or more within a predetermined time 1 from the start of coordinate input (S201), the reference point is set to the indicated point at that time, and the distance between the reference point and the indicated point is within the predetermined distance. Direction instruction input processing for controlling the position of the reference point is performed (S204). If the amount of movement of the indicated point after the elapse of the predetermined time 1 is less than the predetermined amount (S202), set the reference point to a preset point or the previous reference point, and change the reference point by inputting the coordinates. A direction instruction input process is performed (S205). When the previous reference point is used, direction instruction input processing may be performed to maintain the distance between the reference point and the designated point.

When coordinate input ends within a predetermined time 2 after the start of coordinate input, when a so-called tap input is performed (S203), the character is moved to the location corresponding to the tapped point (S206). . At this time, the path from the character's current location to the point corresponding to the tap point may be calculated, and the character may be automatically moved along the path. In the present embodiment, processing for moving a character in response to touch input is taken as an example, so processing related to movement is performed, but naturally other processing may be assigned. If the conditions for starting the direction instruction input are not satisfied, it may be considered that the existing processing is executed.

In this example, when each of the above conditions is satisfied (S201, S202, S203) and the corresponding processing (S204, S205, S206) is started, the determination and processing of the end of the direction input are performed by each processing (S204, S204, S206). S205, S206). That is, it can be considered that the processing in FIG. 2 stays in each processing (S204, S205, S206) block until it is determined that the direction instruction input is finished.

With respect to the direction instruction input when the indicated point does not move for a predetermined time after the start of the coordinate input, the input amount of the direction instruction input is gradually changed from a predetermined initial value to a value corresponding to the reference point and the indicated point. processing may be performed. In one example of operation, when a direction instruction input is started by an operation such as a long press on the touch display, the reference point is set to a predetermined point or the previous reference point in the above example, so the input amount immediately corresponds. However, instead of doing so, for example, it may be gradually changed from 0 to a value corresponding to the reference point and the indicated point. That is, the value of J(jx, jy) may be multiplied by a constant between 0.0 and 1.0 while the process of gradually changing is being performed. This processing can suppress abrupt changes in the input direction, thereby avoiding, for example, a sudden movement of the character. Of course, this process may also be used under other conditions.

With these processes, if the touch point is not moved after the touch start, move the character in the direction and speed according to the direction and distance of the touch point from a predetermined reference point such as the center of the display or the previous reference point, If the touch point is moved by sliding the finger immediately after the touch start point, move the character in the direction and speed according to the direction and distance of the touch point from the touch start point, and tap the display. can move the character towards the location in the virtual space corresponding to the tapped point.

Another example of the calculation method of the direction instruction input is the direction instruction input according to the moving speed of the indicated point. For example, the input amount is determined according to the amount of movement of the designated point within the most recent arbitrary time period, and the input direction is determined according to the direction of movement of the designated point. It may be considered that the input amount corresponds to the changing speed of the pointing point and the input direction corresponds to the changing direction.

In the case of moving a moving body such as a character, the movement of the pointing point and the movement of the moving body may be interlocked.

The positional relationship from the reference point to the designated point may be associated with the position of the moving body at the time of determining the reference point and the current positional relationship of the moving body. For example, in the case of moving a character, let C0(c0x, c0y) be the character's position in the virtual space when the reference point O(ox, oy) is determined. By that series of touch inputs, the character's position C(cx,cy)
cx=c0x+(px-ox),cy=c0y+(py-oy)
so that At this time, the coordinates of the character may be immediately moved to C(cx, cy), or if there is an upper limit to the movement speed of the character, it may be gradually approached. At this time, a route that avoids obstacles may be taken. Also, cx=c0x+a*(px-ox),cy=c0y+a*(py-oy)
It is also possible to change the amount of movement of the character according to the change in the indicated point by multiplying by the coefficient a as in . a may be a set value, or may be changed according to the state of the application such as a game.

By combining with the method of calculating direction input, for example, in the case of moving a character in response to touch input, if the touch point is moved within a predetermined time after the start of touch input, the touch from the touch start point The character is moved at a speed and direction according to the position of the point, and if the touch point is not moved within a predetermined time after the start of touch input, the character can be moved so as to match the subsequent movement of the touch point. Of course, the combination of the condition and the calculation method of the directional input may be reversed, or a different one may be used.

Only a single component may be applied for the coordinates associated with the present directional input. For example, when handling a coordinate input including x and y components, the reference point change processing may be performed only for the x component, and not performed for the y component. Also, a different condition for each coordinate component or a method of calculating a direction input may be used.

When the above conditions (for example, S201, S202, S203 in FIG. 2) are met, the user may be notified of this fact. For example, when a touch display is used, the notification is given by displaying a moving image. One example is to change the image showing the reference point. The colors may be changed, the shape and size of the UI may be changed, and animation such as ripples may be displayed. Not limited to moving image display, it may be perceived by sound or vibration. This allows the user to perceive which direction instruction input process is being performed and how the reference point is determined.

When the touch display (121) is used, a virtual joystick may be drawn on the display so that the position of the reference point (122), the position of the indication point (123), etc. can be visually confirmed. This is a so-called virtual pad. It visually changes according to the processing state of the direction instruction input and the input state.

The program of the present application can also be implemented as part of a program that uses direction input, such as a game program. It can also be implemented as an independent program.

For example, it may be implemented as a program that generates a signal equivalent to a direction instruction input by an analog stick of a game controller. It may be implemented like a device driver for a so-called game controller. For example, regarding direction instruction input, the value corresponding to the signal when the analog stick is tilted horizontally is determined according to jy, and the signal corresponding to the signal when the analog stick is tilted vertically is determined according to jx.

While the device driver is active, it generates directional input signals to the system of the executing computer, and the system takes action in response to the directional signals. For example, if software compatible with an analog stick is running, the analog stick can be operated in accordance with coordinate input.

By generating in the device driver, in response to the coordinate input, a signal equivalent to the signal generated in response to the button of the game controller, as in the case of the direction instruction input, the software corresponding to the button is generated. allow operation. As an example, the button (124) is drawn on the display and it is determined whether the button is pressed depending on whether the button is touched. Here, it is called a touch button.

When drawing the user interface (UI) for touch input such as touch buttons and virtual pads, it is desirable to draw on the foreground of the screen. Further, optional permeation processing may be performed. At this time, the degree of equivalence may be individually set, or may be made transparent to be invisible. Also, it may be displayed while the UI is being operated or not operated.

Further, when detection of a touch input overlaps with detection of the original touch input, the processing for the touch input according to the present application may be preferentially performed, and the original processing for the touch input may be ignored.

For example, if the target program has a touch UI such as a touch button, and the program of the present application sets an area for detecting touch input to cover the button UI, the touch input to the touch UI is ignored. be.

The detection of touch input according to the present application may not overlap with the detection of the original touch input.

With the above combination, for example, in a computer with a touch display as shown in Figure 4, virtual pads (122, 123) and buttons (124) are placed on the touch display and generated according to the analog sticks and buttons of the game controller. By generating a signal equivalent to the signal received, it is possible to operate the software corresponding to the game controller by touch input without a real game controller.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made. For example, it can be implemented as an electric or electronic circuit that executes the above processing, or it can be implemented as a device that executes the above program.

100 CPUs
101 main memory
102 Auxiliary memory
103 Input section
104 Inclination calculation means
105 Touch Input Means
106 Display
120 tablet devices
121 touch display
122 Image showing the reference point
123 Image showing pointing point
124 buttons

Claims (3)

A program executed by a computer provided with coordinate input means capable of outputting information on a point in a predetermined coordinate system specified by a user as an indication point,
Calculating a directional input according to the positional relationship between the reference point and the indicated point,
A program that causes the computer to execute at least one of a process of determining the position of the reference point and a process of determining the calculation method of the direction input according to the state of the coordinate input after the coordinate input is started.
A program executed by a computer provided with coordinate input means capable of outputting information on a point in a predetermined coordinate system specified by a user as an indication point,
Calculating a directional input according to the positional relationship between the reference point and the indicated point,
If the amount of movement of the coordinate-inputted point is less than or equal to a predetermined amount after a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of coordinate input, the reference point is set to the predetermined point or the reference point in the previous direction instruction input. let me set
when the amount of movement of the coordinate-inputted point exceeds a predetermined amount within a predetermined period of time from the start of coordinate input, the reference point is changed to the point whose coordinates were input at the start of coordinate input; Or let it be set to the point whose coordinates are input when it exceeds the above A program according to any one of claims 1 to 2,
moving the character in the virtual space according to the direction instruction input;
The coordinate input means is touch input means,
If the time from the start of coordinate input to the end of the coordinate input is equal to or less than the predetermined time 2, the character is placed in the virtual space corresponding to the indicated point when the coordinate input started or ended. A program to move to a point.

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