JP2023059644A - Game program and game device - Google Patents

Abstract

To grasp a position of an object within a screen without depending on eyesight in a game executed by a computer.SOLUTION: A computer is allowed to function as an operation part for determining operation within a virtual space of a first character according to a user's operation and as a display part for simultaneously displaying a second character and the first character within the virtual space on a screen according to determination of the operation part. The computer is allowed to function as an output part for outputting information that expresses a positional relationship between the first character and the second character in the virtual space and can be recognized without using eyesight.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present disclosure relates to game programs and game devices.

Among games executed by a computer, there is a game in which a user fights characters against each other in a virtual space (see Patent Document 1, for example).

JP 2021-126435 A

In the game, characters are displayed as images. However, depending on the player, there are people who cannot see the character or who have difficulty seeing the character.

An object of the present disclosure is to make it possible to grasp the position of an object within a screen without relying on vision in a game executed on a computer.

A first aspect provides a computer comprising:
an action unit that determines the action of the first character in the virtual space according to the user's operation;
a display unit for simultaneously displaying the second character and the first character in the virtual space on a screen in accordance with the determination of the action unit;
an output unit for outputting information representing the positional relationship in the virtual space between the first character and the second character, which can be perceived without using sight;
It is a game program characterized by functioning as

Moreover, in the first aspect, the information may be represented by sound.

Further, in the aspect, the sound may be a voice explaining the positional relationship in a natural language.

Moreover, in the above aspect, the sound may be a loop sound that is always reproduced during the game.

Moreover, in the aspect, the information may be represented by vibration.

Further, in the aspect, the computer is
functioning as a calculation unit for obtaining the distance between the first character and the second character in the virtual space as the positional relationship;
The output unit may output the information according to the distance.

In the aspect, the output unit may output the information in a different aspect from the initial state when the positional relationship between the first character and the second character is switched from the initial state. good.

Further, in the above aspect,
said computer,
It may function as a mode switching unit that stops the output of the output unit according to the user's operation.

Further, in the above aspect, the output unit may output the information in consideration of position coordinates in the virtual space of at least one of the first character and the second character.

Moreover, the second aspect is
a storage unit storing the game program according to any one of the first to ninth aspects;
a control unit that executes the game program;
A game device comprising:

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present disclosure, in a game executed on a computer, it is possible to grasp the position of an object within a screen without relying on vision.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a game device of this embodiment; FIG. Show an example of a game image It is an example of the positional relationship between the first character and the second character. It is another example showing the positional relationship between the first character and the second character.

A game program and a game device according to the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the following description, the term "game" refers to an activity to achieve some purpose according to predetermined rules, which is carried out using a computer. Some of the games involve a plurality of participants competing (determining victory or defeat), while others are evaluated based on some index, such as score or time, for each participant. Participants here include both individuals and teams.

[Embodiment]
《Game Overview》
A game according to the present embodiment is performed, for example, at an e-sports competition. In this game, the player (participant) operates the player character to act in a two-dimensional virtual game space (hereafter referred to as virtual space VS) and to perform various actions with the player character's companions. or

The game described below is a battle-type action game in which a player character battles other player characters or non-player characters in a virtual space VS. More specifically, this game is a so-called fighting game.

Hereinafter, the player character operated by the player (player P1) will be referred to as the first character C1. A character that fights against the first character C1 is called a second character C2. In this embodiment, the first character C1 and the second character C2 are always displayed on the screen (display 61 described later) during the battle.

In this embodiment, the second character C2 is operated by another player (player P2). Depending on the game or game mode, the second character C2 may be operated by a computer.

In this fighting game, two players compete one-on-one. In the battle, each game player selects and operates one character as a player character. In a match, victory or defeat is determined, for example, when one of the characters' physical strength value (a parameter indicating the possibility of survival and activity in the game) becomes zero. For example, in an e-sports competition, the competition progresses according to a tournament system (elimination system) or the like.

《Hardware configuration》
<overview>
The game device 5 executes the game based on the operation of the game player. In this embodiment, the game device 5 plays a competitive action game. In this embodiment, one game device 5 receives operations from a set of players (two players in this example).

As the game device 5, commercially available devices such as personal computers, PlayStation (registered trademark), XBox (registered trademark), PlayStation Vita (registered trademark), and Nintendo Switch (registered trademark) can be used.

The game device 5 may receive (download) a game program and game data from a server device (not shown) via a communication network (not shown). After receiving the game program or the like, the game device 5 installs the received game program or the like.

The game device 5 starts a battle in a battle-type action game based on the operation of each player (players P1, P2). The game device 5 advances the game. The game device 5 outputs a game image to a display 61 (described later) and outputs a sound to a speaker 62 (described later) based on the operations of each player during the progress of the game.

<Structure of game device 5>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the game device 5. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the game device 5 has a display 61, a speaker 62 and a controller 63 externally connected or built therein. Two displays 61 are provided. The game device 5 is also provided with two controllers 63 . In the following, constituent elements such as the display 61, which have a plurality of components, are distinguished by adding branch numbers to reference numerals as necessary (for example, 61-1, 61-2, etc., and the same applies hereinafter).

The display 61-1 and controller 63-1 are used by player P1. The display 61-2 and controller 63-2 are used by player P2. The controller 63 may be prepared by the players (players P1, P2) themselves instead of the controller 63 provided as standard in the game device 5 in some cases.

The game device 5 has a network interface 51 , a graphics processing section 52 , an audio processing section 53 , an operation section 54 , a storage section 55 and a control section 56 . The network interface 51 , the graphics processing unit 52 , the audio processing unit 53 , the operation unit 54 and the storage unit 55 are electrically connected to the control unit 56 via the bus 59 .

The network interface 51 is communicably connected to a communication network (not shown) for transmitting and receiving various data between the game device 5 and a server device (not shown).

The graphics processing unit 52 draws game images including various objects related to the virtual space VS in a moving image format according to game image information (described later) output from the control unit 56 . The graphics processing unit 52 is connected to displays 61 (61-1, 61-2), which are liquid crystal displays, for example. A game image drawn in a moving image format is displayed on the display 61 as a game screen.

The audio processing section 53 is connected to the speaker 62 . The audio processing unit 53 reproduces and synthesizes the game sound according to the instruction of the control unit 56 and outputs it from the speaker 62 .

The operation unit 54 is connected to the controllers 63 (63-1, 63-2). The operation unit 54 transmits and receives data regarding operation inputs to and from the controller 63 . The players P<b>1 and P<b>2 input operation signals to the game apparatus 5 by operating various operators such as buttons of the controller 63 .

In this game, the first character C1 and the second character C2 face each other side by side on the display 61 (see FIG. 2). In this game, even if the type of action (for example, the type of technique such as kicking) is the same depending on whether the character to be operated is positioned on the right side or the left side of the opponent, the manipulator of the controller 63 can be changed. It changes the way you move.

The storage unit 55 is composed of an HDD, an SSD, a RAM, a ROM, and the like. The storage unit 55 stores game data downloaded from a server device (not shown), various programs including part of the game program, and the like.

The control unit 56 controls operations of the game device 5 . The control unit 56 includes a CPU (microcomputer) and a semiconductor memory (not shown). The semiconductor memory stores programs and the like for operating the CPU.

<<Functional Configuration of Control Unit 56 in Game Device 5>>
The control unit 56 functions as an operation unit 561, a display unit 562, an output unit 563, a calculation unit 564, and a mode switching unit 565 by the CPU executing various programs.

The motion unit 561 determines the motion of the first character in the virtual space VS according to the user's operation of the controller 63 . Specifically, the action unit 561 determines the character's posture, techniques (jumping, kicking), etc. according to the user's operation of the controller 63 .

The display unit 562 simultaneously displays the first character C1 and the second character C2 on the display 61 (61-1, 61-2) according to the determination of the operation unit 561. FIG. Specifically, the display unit 562 generates information (game image information) for displaying a moving image representing the action determined by the action unit 561 . In this game, game image information is information for generating a two-dimensional moving image. Depending on the game, the game image information is information for generating a three-dimensional moving image.

The display unit 562 transmits game image information to the graphics processing unit 52 . The game image information is processed by the graphics processing section 52 . A game image (moving image) is displayed on the display 61 by the processing of the graphics processing unit 52 . For example, a game image Sc as shown in FIG. 2 is displayed on the display 61 .

The game image Sc may be displayed on spectator displays installed at the venue of the e-sports competition. The game image Sc may be distributed to spectators via a communication network.

The calculation unit 564 obtains the distance between the first character C1 and the second character C2 in the virtual space VS (game image Sc) as the positional relationship (see FIG. 3). The example of FIG. 3 shows the distance D (positional relationship) between the first character C1 and the second character C2 in the initial state (immediately after the start of the game).

The distance D may be measured using any part of the character as a reference point. For example, the calculation unit 564 can set the center of the head of the character as the reference point for measurement, or the center of the torso as the reference point for measurement.

In this game, the positional relationship between the first character C1 and the second character C2 may change from the initial state (see FIG. 3) during play. In the example of FIG. 4, the positional relationship between the first character C1 and the second character C2 is reversed from the initial state (see FIG. 3).

When the positional relationship between the first character C1 and the second character C2 is switched from the initial state, the calculation unit 564 outputs the calculated value after inverting the sign of the calculated distance D.

For example, assume that the state in FIG. 3 is the initial state. The calculator 564 of this embodiment outputs a positive value as the value of the distance D in the state of FIG. 3, and outputs a negative value as the value of the distance D in the state of FIG. Of course, the calculator 564 may be configured so that a negative value is output as the value of the distance D in the state of FIG. 3, and a positive value is output as the value of the distance D in the state of FIG.

The output unit 563 outputs information representing the positional relationship in the virtual space VS between the first character C1 and the second character C2. "Information representing a positional relationship" is information that the player can perceive without sight. In the present embodiment, the output unit 563 outputs the information representing the positional relationship by using sound (hereinafter referred to as position identification sound). Specifically, the output unit 563 causes the speaker 62 to output the desired sound by transmitting a predetermined signal to the audio processing unit 53 .

In this embodiment, when the first character C1 and the second character C2 are displayed, the position identification sound is always output. Further, when either the first character C1 or the second character C2 is not displayed, no position identification sound is output.

In this embodiment, the position identification sound is a loop sound that is always played during the match. The position identification sound (loop sound) of this embodiment is an alarm sound. In the present embodiment, the output unit 563 shortens the length (beat) of the sound forming the position identification sound as the absolute value of the distance D becomes smaller. In other words, the output unit 563 outputs a sound that changes in a shorter cycle as the absolute value of the distance D becomes smaller.

For example, it is assumed that the output unit 563 is currently outputting a position identification sound (alarm sound) such as "beep beep beep beep..." that changes in a relatively long period. In other words, it is assumed that the beat of the sound (“peep” sound) forming the position identification sound is relatively long.

When the absolute value of the distance D becomes smaller than the current value, the output unit 563 changes the position identification sound to a sound that changes in a shorter period (continuous short sound) like "beep beep beep beep...". When the absolute value of the distance D further decreases, the output unit 563 changes the position identification sound to a sound that changes in a shorter period (a series of shorter sounds) such as "beep-beep-beep-beep...".

When the positional relationship between the first character C1 and the second character C2 is switched from the initial state, the output unit 563 outputs information in a manner different from the initial state. In this embodiment, the output unit 563 changes the type of sound (for example, the type of alarm sound) when the positional relationship between the first character C1 and the second character C2 is switched from the initial state. Note that in the present embodiment, the output unit 563 determines whether or not the positional relationship between the first character C1 and the second character C2 has been switched based on whether the distance value is positive or negative.

The output unit 563 also outputs information (in this example, sound) in consideration of the positional coordinates of at least one of the first character C1 and the second character C2 in the virtual space VS. In this embodiment, the sound is changed according to the distance between the position coordinates of each of the first character C1 and the second character C2 and the object (wall object, tree object, etc.) in the virtual space VS. For example, the output unit 563 outputs a sound that changes in a short period as the first character C1 approaches the wall.

The mode switching unit 565 switches ON/OFF of the output of the output unit 563 according to the operation of the user (players P1 and P2, for example). This game program has a function of displaying a setting screen (not shown) superimposed on the game screen as a user interface.

This setting screen is implemented so that the user can give an instruction to the mode switching unit 565 . In this embodiment, a button for switching on/off of the position identification sound is displayed. A user can operate this button via the controller 63 . That is, the user can stop the output of the output section 563 via the mode switching section 565 when the output of the position identification sound is unnecessary.

The volume of sounds other than the position identification sound may be adjusted depending on whether the position identification sound is turned on or off. For example, when the position identification sound is on, the volume of sounds other than the position identification sound (for example, BGM, etc.) may be made smaller than when the position identification sound is off.

《Example of operation》
At the start of the game, the user (not limited to the players P1 and P2) sends an instruction to the mode switching section 565 via the operation section 54 as necessary. Here, it is assumed that the user permits the output by the output section 563 to the mode switching section 565 .

A battle starts when a player or the like operates a predetermined operator. When the battle starts, the first character C1 and the second character C2 are displayed on the displays 61-1 and 61-2 (see FIG. 2).

The calculator 564 calculates the distance between the first character C1 and the second character C2. In this embodiment, the value of the distance D output by the calculator 564 in the initial state is a positive number. If the positional relationship between the first character C1 and the second character C2 has changed from the initial state, the value of the distance D is a negative number.

The output unit 563 causes the speaker 62 to output a sound corresponding to the value of the distance D output by the calculation unit 564 . In this game program, the calculation of the distance D and the output of the sound according to the distance D are performed continuously (for example, periodically) during the game. Accordingly, in this game, when the distance between the first character C1 and the second character C2 changes, the position identification sound changes.

In this embodiment, as the second character C2 approaches the first character C1, the length (beat) of the sound forming the position identification sound becomes shorter. The player can recognize the distance between the character operated by the player and the opponent character by the change in sound (in other words, by hearing).

The player can decide the next action (eg, kick, jump, etc.) based on the perceived distance. In other words, the player can decide the next action without using sight. After determining the next action, the player can operate the controller 63 . In this manner, the game (competition) progresses in this embodiment.

To summarize the above, in this aspect, the computer is provided with an action unit 561 that determines the action of the first character C1 in the virtual space VS according to the user's operation, and the virtual space A display unit 562 for simultaneously displaying the second character C2 and the first character C1 in the VS on the screen, and information representing the positional relationship in the virtual space VS between the first character C1 and the second character C2. This is a game program characterized by functioning as an output unit 563 for outputting information that can be perceived without using sight.

<<Effect of this embodiment>>
In this embodiment, the distance between the first character C1 and the second character C2 is represented by sound. Also, the player can grasp whether the character operated by the player is positioned on the right side or the left side of the opponent by the sound.

As described above, according to this embodiment, in a game executed by a computer, the position of an object within the screen can be grasped without relying on vision.

[Other embodiments]
The positional relationship between the first character C1 and the second character C2 may be represented by the pitch of the output sound. Specifically, the pitch may be changed when the positional relationship between the first character C1 and the second character C2 changes.

Information representing the positional relationship is not limited to the alarm sound. The output unit 563 may be configured to output voice explaining the positional relationship in natural language. For example, it is conceivable to configure the output unit 563 so as to convey the positional relationship by live voice such as "The second character C2 is approaching!" and "Distance is 50!".

The information representing the positional relationship may be vibration. In this case, depending on the absolute value of the distance D, it is preferable to change the amplitude of vibration or change the frequency of vibration. Of course, the positional relationship may be expressed using both sound and vibration.

The game may use a three-dimensional virtual space. In this case, it is preferable to select the type of sound used to express the distance and the output speaker (output channel selection) so that the position in the three-dimensional space can be grasped.

The game program may be implemented so that information other than the positional relationship is represented by sound. For example, the game program may be implemented so that the state of the opponent character (for example, the attitude of the opponent character), the result of the game (win or lose in the battle, etc.), etc. are represented by sounds. Also, the type of position identification sound may be changed according to the type of the opponent character.

The game program may be implemented as a so-called online game game program. When the game program is for an online game, the processing performed by the control unit 56 may be performed on the server side, or may be shared between the server side and the client (game device 5) side.

A position identification sound may also be output when distributing a game video. In that case, for the video to be distributed, the on/off switching of the position identification sound may be made independent of the on/off setting of the position identification sound on the distributor side. For example, when the distributor (player) of the game video turns on the position identification sound, it is conceivable that the recipient of the distribution turns off the position identification sound. Alternatively, when the distributor of the game animation turns off the position identification sound, the recipient of the distribution may turn on the position identification sound.

The position identification sound can also be applied to games other than fighting games. For example, it may be applied to action games, shooting games, battle royal games, RPGs, and the like.

A plurality of opponent characters may exist at the same time. In that case, it is optional to indicate the distance to which opponent character by the position identification sound. For example, the position identification sound may be output according to the distance to the opponent character closest to the player character.

Even when these other embodiments are employed, the effects of this aspect are exhibited. Further, it is also possible to appropriately combine this embodiment with other embodiments, and other embodiments with each other.

5 game device
55 Memory
56 Control section (computer)
561 Actuator
562 Display
563 Calculator
564 output section
565 Mode switching section
C1 first character
C2 second character
D distance
VS virtual space

Claims (10)

the computer,
an action unit that determines the action of the first character in the virtual space according to the user's operation;
a display unit for simultaneously displaying the second character and the first character in the virtual space on a screen in accordance with the determination of the action unit;
an output unit configured to output information representing the positional relationship between the first character and the second character in the virtual space, the information being recognizable without the use of sight;
A game program characterized by functioning as In the game program according to claim 1,
A game program, wherein the information is represented by sound. In the game program according to claim 2,
A game program, wherein the sound is a voice that describes the positional relationship in a natural language. In the game program according to claim 2 or claim 3,
A game program, wherein the sound is a loop sound that is always reproduced during the game. In the game program according to claim 2 or claim 4,
A game program, wherein the information is also represented by vibration. In the game program according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
said computer,
functioning as a calculation unit for obtaining the distance between the first character and the second character in the virtual space as the positional relationship;
The game program, wherein the output unit outputs the information according to the distance. In the game program according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The game program, wherein the output unit outputs the information in a manner different from the initial state when the positional relationship between the first character and the second character is switched from the initial state. In the game program according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
said computer,
A game program characterized by functioning as a mode switching section that stops the output of the output section according to the user's operation. In the game program according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The game program according to claim 1, wherein the output unit outputs the information in consideration of the positional coordinates of at least one of the first character and the second character in the virtual space. a storage unit storing the game program according to any one of claims 1 to 9;
a control unit that executes the game program;
A game device comprising:

Images