JP3444806B2 - GAME DEVICE, MUSIC REPRODUCTION METHOD, AND RECORDING MEDIUM - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a game device, a music reproducing method and a recording medium, and more particularly to a video game BG.
The present invention relates to a technology for playing music such as M (Back Ground Music) without being restricted by hardware.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a video game device such as a home game machine has a sound source device built therein, and by utilizing this sound source device, a music piece pre-composed corresponding to the story of the game is reproduced as BGM. , You can enhance the realism of the game.

Such a sound source device included in a video game device generally has a plurality of channels, each of which reproduces the sound of one track in a musical composition. Then, by assigning each of these plurality of channels to a track of the music and superimposing the sound processed for reproduction on each channel and outputting the sound, a music in which chords and sounds of a plurality of musical instruments are superimposed is reproduced as BGM. can do.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional video game apparatus, since the track of the music has to be assigned to each channel of the sound source apparatus, the number of tracks of the music used as the BGM of the game apparatus is as follows. It was limited to the number of channels of the sound source device. For this reason, the composer must create a music piece as BGM within this restriction, and there are cases in which the music piece cannot be expressed satisfactorily. As a result, there is also a problem that it is not possible to sufficiently enhance the realism of the game.

Further, in general, a video game device is provided with an appropriate sound effect according to the development of the game in order to enhance the realism of the game. However, in order to reproduce this sound effect, one or more channels of the sound source device must be assigned to it. When the channels of the sound source device are assigned to the sound effects in this way, the number of channels of the sound source device that can be assigned to the tracks of the music is relatively reduced, and the expression power of the BGM becomes poor. It was

In a video game device, it is general that an appropriate BGM is prepared for each scene according to the progress of the game, and the BGM is also switched in conjunction with the switching of the scene. However, when switching scenes, BGM
If the whole is momentarily replaced or the BGM is temporarily stopped, the player will feel uncomfortable. On the other hand, if the songs of both BGMs are played back at the same time, there is a problem that the number of tracks that can be played by each song is further limited than the number of channels of the sound source device.

[0007]

[Object] An object of the present invention is to provide a game device for playing a music having a plurality of tracks as a BGM without being restricted by the number of channels of hardware, a music playing method capable of playing a music having a plurality of tracks, It is to provide a recording medium recording this method.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a game device which switches BGM according to the progress of the game without being discomforted, without being restricted by the number of channels of the hardware,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a music reproducing method capable of switching and reproducing a plurality of music without any discomfort, and a recording medium recording this method.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a game device according to a first aspect of the present invention has a plurality of channels for performing processing for reproducing the sound of each occupied track. A sound source means, a plurality of tracks, a music storage means for storing a plurality of music data in which data indicating whether or not to sound each track are stored in time series, and a progress status determination for determining the progress status of the game Means, a music switching instruction means for instructing switching of a plurality of music data stored in the music storage means in accordance with the determination result of the progress status determination means, and stored in each track of the music storage means. Among the existing music data, each track of the music before switching and the music after switching by the instruction of the music switching instruction means is sequentially time-sequentially. A music analyzing means for analyzing, a first channel releasing means for releasing a channel occupied by the track when there is a track whose pronunciation ends by the analysis result of the music analyzing means, and an analysis by the music analyzing means As a result, when there is a track that starts to sound in the music after switching, an empty channel detecting means for detecting a channel which is not occupied by another track among a plurality of channels of the sound source means, and the empty channel detecting means. A first channel occupying means for occupying the track detected by the means in the track for starting sound generation.

In the above game device, each track of the plurality of music data stored in the music storage means may be given a priority. In this case, when the empty channel detection means cannot detect a channel not occupied by another track, the game device has the highest priority among the plurality of channels of the sound source means in the music data before switching. Second channel releasing means for releasing the channel occupied by the low track and second channel occupying means for occupying the channel released by the second channel releasing means in the track for starting sound generation. It may be further provided.

In the above-mentioned game device, when the empty channel detecting means cannot detect a channel which is not occupied by another track, the track of the music data before switching among the plurality of channels of the sound source means. Is released from the occupied track, and the channel released by the third channel release means is occupied by the track for starting sound generation. A third channel occupying means may be further provided.

In the above-mentioned game device, even if the switching of the music is instructed by switching the scene of the game, for example, unless the tracks of the music after the switching stop sounding at the same time, the tracks of the music before the switching are changed. Will continue to be pronounced. In addition, there are some tracks that start sounding after switching, and even if all the channels of the sound source are occupied, there is little problem even if the sound is muted because the priority is low or the audio level is low. The track occupied by is released and can be occupied by the track of the musical composition after switching that starts sounding. For this reason, it is possible to switch the music as BGM without a sense of discomfort, and it is possible to prevent the presence of the game from continuing.

In order to achieve the above object, a game device according to a second aspect of the present invention is a sound source unit having a plurality of channels for performing processing for reproducing the sound of each occupied track, and the sound source. Channels of means
Music storage means for storing a plurality of tracks , the number of which is larger than the number of tracks, and data indicating whether or not to pronounce each track in time series, and each track of the music storage means. Music data stored in
At the start of pronunciation, during pronunciation, end of pronunciation, or not
A music analysis means for time-sequentially analyze Luke, when there is track ends pronounce the analysis result of the music analysis unit, the first channel releasing means for releasing a channel in which the track is occupied An empty channel detecting means for detecting a channel which is not occupied by another track among a plurality of channels of the sound source means when there is a track whose sound is started according to the analysis result of the music analyzing means; First channel occupancy means for occupying the channel detected by the vacant channel detection means in the track for starting sound generation
The empty channel detection means
Undetected channel cannot be detected
Of the multiple channels of the sound source means,
The channel with the lowest voice level is
3rd channel release hand to release from the track you have
And the channel is released by the third channel releasing means.
Channel occupied by the track
Third channel occupying means for
The channel release means that the voice being played is the most
The level of the sound is
Is treated as the maximum level that the voice should reach .

[0014]

In the game device according to the second aspect ,
The tracks for which sound generation has ended release the occupied channels of the sound source means one after another, and the tracks for which sound generation starts occupy the channels of the vacant sound source means. That is, each track in the music data occupies the channel of the sound source means only when the sound of the track is in a sounding state. Therefore, as long as the number of simultaneously sounding tracks in the music data is smaller than the number of channels of the sound source means, the number of tracks of the music data is not restricted by the number of channels of the sound source means. Also, as described above
There is a track to start the sound and all channels of the sound source means
Even if the channel is occupied, the audio level will be
A track occupied by a track that causes less noise even if it sounds is opened.
The track of the song after switching that is released and starts sounding
Can be occupied by. Therefore, it is originally played
Even if the sound that should be
Do not make the listener feel that strange.
Yes. In addition, the voice just pronounced has a low level.
Normal, but important as a song. For this reason,
By setting the sound level artificially like
Sound that is originally important in the song is played on another track.
Being muted by starting a sound
Yes.

In the game device according to the second aspect, each track of the music data stored in the music storage means may be given a priority. In this case, in the above-mentioned game device, when the empty channel detecting means cannot detect a channel which is not occupied by another track, the game apparatus is occupied by the lowest priority track among the plurality of channels of the sound source means. Further comprising second channel releasing means for releasing the existing channel, and second channel occupying means for occupying the channel released by the second channel releasing means in the track for starting sound generation. You can

[0017]

In this case, even if all the channels of the sound source means are occupied, the track occupied by the track having a low priority and having a small problem even if the sound is muted is released, and the musical composition after switching is started to start sounding. Can be occupied by the truck. Therefore, even if the sound to be originally reproduced is to be muted, the listener does not actually feel so uncomfortable.

In order to achieve the above object, the third aspect of the present invention is provided.
The game device according to the viewpoint has the
Channels that perform processing for playing back audio
Sound source means with multiple tracks and multiple tracks.
Data indicating whether to pronounce the rack is recorded in time series.
Music storage means for storing a plurality of stored music data
And a plurality of music data stored in the music storage means.
Music switching instruction means for instructing switching
Of the plurality of music data stored in the music storage means
Before switching by the instruction of the music switching instruction means
Both the track and the track after switching are played.
Whether it is in the beginning, during pronunciation, after pronunciation, or during non-pronouncing
Music analyzing means for sequentially analyzing in sequence, and the music analyzing hand
When there is a track whose pronunciation ends depending on the analysis result of the column
Cause the channel occupied by the track to be released
Analysis of the first channel releasing means and the music analyzing means
Depending on the result, the track that starts to pronounce after switching will be
If there are, a plurality of channels included in the sound source means
Chan not occupied by other trucks
Empty channel detecting means for detecting a channel and the empty channel
The channel detected by the channel detection means
The first channel to be occupied by the track where pronunciation starts
And an occupancy means.

Here, each track of a plurality of music data stored in the music storage means may be given a priority order. In this case, when the empty channel detection means cannot detect a channel not occupied by another track, the game device gives the highest priority to the music data before switching among the plurality of channels of the sound source means. Second to release the channels occupied by lower ranked tracks
The channel releasing means and the second channel occupying means for occupying the channel released by the second channel releasing means in the track where the sound generation is started can be further provided.

At this time, when the track of the music data before switching does not occupy the channel of the tone generator, the second channel releasing means occupies the track having the lowest priority in the music data after switching. The channel being opened may be released.

Further , in the game device according to the third aspect, when the empty channel detecting means cannot detect a channel which is not occupied by another track, it switches among a plurality of channels of the sound source means. A third channel releasing means for releasing the channel having the lowest audio level reproducing the track of the previous music data from the occupied track; and a channel released by the third channel releasing means,
A third channel occupying unit that occupies the track for starting sound generation may be further provided.

At this time, when the track of the music data before switching does not occupy the channel of the sound source means, the third channel releasing means after switching among the plurality of channels included in the sound source means. The channel with the lowest audio level playing the track of the music data can be released from the occupied track.

As described above, when a plurality of pieces of music data are stored, even if an instruction to switch the music is given,
For example, the sound of the track of the music piece before switching continues to be sounded unless the track of the music piece after switching also stops sounding at the same time. In addition, there are some tracks that start sounding after switching, and even if all the channels of the sound source are occupied, there is little problem even if the sound is muted because the priority is low or the audio level is low. The track occupied by is released and can be occupied by the track of the musical composition after switching that starts sounding. For this reason, it is possible to switch the music without feeling awkward.

[0025] Also in the game apparatus according to the third aspect, the third channel release means, when in until sound being reproduced reaches the maximum level from the start of sounding, the voice The level can be treated as the maximum level that the voice should reach.

In other words, although the sound that has just been pronounced is usually low in level, it is important as a musical piece. Therefore, by setting the sound level in such a pseudo manner, the sound that is originally important in the music is not muted by starting sound generation on another track.

In order to achieve the above object, the music reproducing method according to the fourth aspect of the present invention comprises a plurality of tracks using a plurality of channels for performing processing for reproducing the sound of each occupied track. A method of reproducing a music, wherein the number of music is larger than the number of the plurality of channels.
A music storage step for storing music data, which is composed of a number of plural tracks and in which data indicating whether or not to pronounce each track is stored in time series, and music of each track stored in the music storage step. Data is pronunciation
If there is a song analysis step that sequentially analyzes time-sequentially whether it is in the beginning, pronunciation, end of pronunciation, or non-pronunciation , and if there is a track whose pronunciation ends according to the analysis result of the song analysis step, the track A first channel releasing step of releasing the occupied channel, and a channel which is not occupied by another track among the plurality of channels when there is a track whose pronunciation starts according to the analysis result of the music analyzing step. A vacant channel detecting step, and a first channel occupying step for occupying the channel detected in the vacant channel detecting step in the track for starting sound generation ,
In the empty channel detection step, other tracks are
Undetected channel cannot be detected
Of the audio being played on the multiple channels
Which track has the lowest level?
And a third channel releasing step for releasing
Chan released by channel release step 3
The third channel that occupies the flannel in the track where the pronunciation starts
Channel occupancy step, and the third channel
In the release step, the voice being played is the most
The level of the sound is
Is treated as the maximum level that the voice should reach .

In the above music reproducing method, each track of the music data stored in the music storing step may be prioritized. In this case, in the above-mentioned music reproducing method, if the channel not occupied by another track cannot be detected in the empty channel detecting step, the channel occupied by the track having the lowest priority among the plurality of channels. May be further included, and a second channel occupying step of occupying the track released at the second channel releasing step in the track where the sounding is started.

[0029]

In order to achieve the above object, the fifth aspect of the present invention
The music playback method according to the viewpoint is
Multiple channels that perform processing to play the rack audio.
A song that uses a flannel to play a song consisting of multiple tracks
A playback method that consists of multiple tracks,
Data indicating whether or not to
Music storage step for storing multiple music data
And a plurality of music data stored in the music storage step.
Music switching instruction step for instructing switching of data,
Of the plurality of music data stored in the music storage step
According to the instructions in the song switching instruction step
Tracks of both the music before switching and the music after switching
At the start of pronunciation, during pronunciation, end of pronunciation, or not
Music analysis step that sequentially analyzes whether or not
A tiger whose pronunciation ends according to the analysis result of the music analysis step.
If there is a chunk, the chunk occupied by the track
A first channel release step to release the flannel, and
Depending on the analysis result in the music analysis step
If a song has a track that starts
Occupied by other tracks in the channel
Free channel detection step to detect missing channels
And the channel detected in the empty channel detection step.
The first track to occupy the track for starting the sound
And a channel occupying step of.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, a computer readable recording medium in which a program for executing each step of the above music reproducing method is recorded is disclosed.
To do . As a result, a recording medium recording such a program can be distributed in the market independently of the device. Then, by reading and executing the program recorded on the recording medium by a general-purpose game device or a general-purpose computer device, it is possible to configure the game device as described above .

[0032]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[First Embodiment] In this embodiment, there are 6 sound source reproduction channels of the hardware, and a case where a 10-track music piece is reproduced as a BGM of a game on this hardware is taken as an example. explain.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a video game device applied to this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the video game device 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) connected to each other via a bus 10.
11, main memory 12, ROM (Read Only Memo
ry) 13, an input device 14, an audio reproducing device 15, a video reproducing device 16, a disk reading device 17, and a hardware timer interrupt device 18. The audio signal generated by the audio reproduction device 15 and the video signal generated by the video reproduction device 16 are respectively received by the television receiver 2
Is output to.

The CPU 11 executes a game program stored in the main memory 12 and a program for reproducing music (BGM) shown in a flow chart described later, and advances the game. The CPU 11 also controls each unit of the video game device 1.

The main memory 12 is a semiconductor RAM (Rand
om Access Memory), which stores programs executed by the CPU 11, data such as various parameters related to games, data related to music used as BGM, and the like. Regarding the allocation state of the area of the main memory 12 and the data stored in the main memory 12,
More details will be described later.

The ROM 13 is stored in the main memory 12 such as fixed programs and data necessary for the processing by the CPU 11, for example, a boot program first executed by the CPU 11 when the power of the video game apparatus 1 is turned on. Stores operating system programs that use the functions of existing programs.

The input device 14 is provided with, for example, directional keys for moving the character and a plurality of buttons for command input, and is necessary for causing the CPU 11 to progress the game by operating these directional keys and buttons. Input various commands.

The sound reproducing device 15 generates a sound signal of a music piece which becomes BGM from music piece data described later, and includes a sound source circuit 15a, a waveform data storage device 15b, and a D / A.
The converter 15c and the amplifier 15d are provided.

As schematically shown in FIG. 2, the tone generator circuit 15a has six channels (Ch.1 to Ch.6) for reproducing voices corresponding to the tracks of music. Each channel is occupied by one of the tracks included in the music data described later, and the necessary processing for reproducing the audio of the occupied track, that is, the ADSR level of the audio of the track at the target time The digital signal corresponding to the audio waveform to be output is output by analyzing and referring to the waveform data stored in the waveform data storage device 15b. Waveform data storage device 15
b stores voice waveform data corresponding to the voice to be output for each channel of the sound source circuit 15a.

D / A (Digital / Analog) converter 15c
Converts the digital signals output from the respective channels of the tone generator circuit 15a into analog signals and superimposes the converted analog signals of the respective channels. Amplifier 15
d amplifies the analog signal output from the D / A converter 15c and outputs it to the television receiver 2 as a music (BGM) audio signal.

Under the control of the CPU 11, the video reproducing device 16 sequentially generates images according to the progress state of the game by a technique such as perspective transformation, and adds a predetermined synchronization signal to the images to produce a video signal on the television receiver. Output to 2.

The disk reading device 17 includes the CPU 11
CD-ROM (Compact Disc Rea
The program or data stored in the dOnly Memory) 3 is read, and the read program or data is transferred to the main memory 12 via the bus 10.

The hardware timer interrupt device 18 is
A counter that counts up or down each time the system clock is input is provided, and each time this counter shows a predetermined value, that is, a predetermined cycle (for example,
An interrupt is issued to the CPU 11 at 30 Hz or 44 kHz). The interrupt generated by the hardware timer interrupt device 18 with respect to the CPU 11 is used for the video reproduction device 16 to generate a video signal, and the sound source circuit 15a of the audio reproduction device 15 stores the music stored in the main memory 12. Used to time the analysis of data.

The television receiver 2 also comprises a speaker 21 for outputting the audio signal from the audio reproducing device 15 as audio and a screen 22 for displaying the video signal from the video reproducing device 16 as an image. Then, the sound output from the speaker 21, that is, BGM, is linked with the image displayed on the screen 22,
The realism of the game is enhanced.

Next, the allocation state of the areas of the main memory 12 of FIG. 1 and the data stored in the main memory 12 will be described. Areas are allocated to the main memory 12 as shown in FIG. 3, and a program area 12a, a game data area 12b, a music data area 12c, and a track-specific data area 12d are provided.

The program area 12a stores a program for progressing a game, a program for playing music shown in a flowchart described later, and the like. The game data area 12b stores various parameters for the progress of the game, such as the number of the scene of the game, the position and status of the character, and the like.

The music data area 12c stores music data indicating time-sequentially whether or not to pronounce each track constituting the music. Data area for each track 1
2d is a tone generator circuit 1 occupied by each track of music data
Data for each track including a channel 5a and a priority order for sound generation is stored.

The music data and the track-specific data will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. Figure 4
As shown in, the music data stored in the music data area 12c is composed of 10 tracks. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, each track stores data indicating whether or not to sound in time series (indicated by a rectangular wave in this case, and is sounded when the level of the rectangular wave is high. It indicates that it does not pronounce when it is low).

As shown in FIG. 4, the track-specific data stored in the track-specific data area 12d is connected to the tracks of each piece of music data by a pointer, and the data of the channel number of the tone generator circuit 15a that each occupies,
It consists of priority data of the track. When the corresponding track does not occupy the channel of the tone generator circuit 15a, NULL is inserted, for example. The priority is set to a higher priority from a sound (for example, a main melody or a bass sound) that is indispensable when the music data is reproduced, but may be changed in the middle of the music.

Further, in FIG. 5, the sound of each track is simply shown as a rectangular wave at a level indicating whether or not to sound, but in reality, the ADS as shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b) is used.
From the R level, that is, the rising (A), the rising level gradually decreases (D), reaches the maximum level (S), and the level continues or gradually decreases (R). In the process described below, the ADSR level from the rising (A) to the maximum level (S) is treated as a pseudo maximum level. Also, ADS
When the R level falls below a predetermined value, it is treated as muffling.

The operation of the video game device 1 according to this embodiment will be described below. In addition, in fact,
Programs and data stored in the main memory 12,
The disc reading device 17 controlled by the CPU 11 transfers the data from the CD-ROM 3 to the main memory 12, but here, for simplification of description, it is assumed that programs and data are stored in the main memory 12 in advance. Further, the music data is switched according to the switching of the scene of the game, but the description will be made assuming that this is not present.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the processing executed by the CPU 11 in order to reproduce the music data stored in the music data area 12c. The processing of this flowchart is executed by an interrupt generated from the hardware timer interrupt device 18 at a cycle of 44 kHz.

When the processing is started, first, it is analyzed whether each track in the music data stored in the music data area 12c is in the state of starting sound generation, generating sound, ending sound generation, or not generating sound. (Step S100). Next, as a result of this analysis, it is determined whether or not there is a track whose sound generation ends (step S101).

If it is determined that there is no track for which sound generation ends (step S101; No), the process directly proceeds to step S103. On the other hand, when it is determined that there is a track whose sound generation ends (step S101;
Yes), the channel of the tone generator circuit 15a occupied by the track is released (step S102), and step S
Go to step 103.

In step S103, step S100
As a result of the track analysis in step 1, it is determined whether or not there is a track at which sound generation starts (step S103). If it is determined that there is no track to start sounding (step S103; No), the process of this flowchart is ended.

On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a track to start sound generation (step S103; Yes), is there a free channel among the plurality of channels of the tone generator circuit 15a that is not occupied by another track? How about Ch. 1-Ch. 6 are searched in order (step S104). Then, it is determined whether or not a free channel has been found (step S105).

When it is determined that an empty channel has been found (step S105; Yes), the empty channel is determined as a channel to be occupied by the track that starts sound generation (step S106). And
The process proceeds to step S112.

On the other hand, if it is determined that no free channel is found (step S105: No), the priority column corresponding to the track occupying any channel of the track-specific data area 12d is checked, and The item whose priority is set to the lowest is searched (step S107).

Next, as a result of this search, it is judged whether or not there are a plurality of items having the lowest priority (step S).
108). If there is not a plurality of tracks having the lowest priority (step S108; No), it is determined that the track having the lowest priority releases the occupancy of the channel of the tone generator circuit 15a, and the released channel is started to generate sound in step S103. The determined track is determined as the channel to be occupied (step S109). Then, the process proceeds to step S112.

On the other hand, when there are a plurality of tracks having the lowest priority (step S108; Yes), the current ADSR levels of the plurality of tracks are checked (step S110). Here, the ADSR level of the track from the start of sound generation (A) until reaching the maximum level (S) is treated as a pseudo maximum level.

Next, as a result of checking the ADSR level in this manner, the occupation of the channel of the tone generator circuit 15a is released to the track having the lowest ADSR level at the present time, and it is determined in step S103 that the released channel starts sounding. The selected track is determined as the channel to be occupied (step S110). Then, the process proceeds to step S112.

In step S112, step S10
6, the channel determined in S109 or S111 is occupied by the track determined to start sound generation in step S103. Then, the process of this flowchart is ended. By changing the track occupying the channel by the process of the above-mentioned flow chart, the waveform data stored in the waveform data storage device 15b corresponding to the track of the tone generator circuit 15a is also changed to the waveform data corresponding to the track. .

When the track occupied by each track is determined as described above, in the audio reproducing device 15, each channel of the sound source circuit 15a refers to the waveform data stored in the waveform data storage device 15b. While
A digital signal corresponding to the voice waveform to be output is generated. This digital signal is sequentially generated at a cycle of 44 kHz and supplied to the D / A converter 15c.

The D / A converter 15c converts the digital signals sequentially supplied from the respective channels of the sound source circuit 15a at a cycle of 44 kHz into analog signals, and superimposes the converted analog signals of the respective channels. Then, this is amplified by the amplifier 15d and supplied to the television receiver 2 as a BGM audio signal.

On the other hand, the video reproducing device 16 generates a video signal according to the progress state of the game and supplies it to the television receiver 2. Then, an image corresponding to this video signal is displayed on the screen 22 of the television receiver 2, and a sound corresponding to the audio signal is output from the speaker 21, so that the player can play B according to the state of the game in which he or she is progressing.
You can listen to GM.

Hereinafter, in order to make the process for reproducing the music data in the video game device 1 in this embodiment easier to understand, the respective channels of the tone generator circuit 15a and the tracks in the music data occupying the respective channels will be described. The relationship will be described with reference to FIG. It is assumed that the music data used in the description here has a predetermined timing for reproducing the sound of each track as shown in FIG. Further, it is assumed that there is no difference in priority order among the tracks and the ADSR level becomes smaller according to the time from the start of sound generation.

As can be seen from FIG. 8, when the sound of each track in the music data reaches the sound generation start timing, Ch. The vacant tracks from 1 are sequentially used and the corresponding audio is reproduced (indicated by hatching in the figure). Therefore, it can be seen that the track of the tone generator circuit 15a has no pause time as the channel number is smaller, and the audio of any track is played longer. As a result, 10 tracks of music (B
It can be seen that GM) can be reproduced by the 6-channel sound source circuit 15a.

However, in this example, 7 is set at a temporary point.
There are times when the audio for one track should be played. However, even in this case, the sound of the track to be erased is found to have the lowest ADSR level. Therefore, the player does not actually feel a sense of discomfort when listening to the BGM as a whole.

As described above, in the video game device 1 according to the present embodiment, each track in the music data has a tone generator circuit 15 when it is necessary to reproduce its sound.
The vacant channels of a are sequentially searched and occupied, and when the reproduction of the voice ends, the occupied channels are released. Therefore, the channel of the sound source circuit 15a is not occupied by the track in which the sound is not actually reproduced, and the music can be reproduced by effectively utilizing the channel of the sound source circuit 15a.

Therefore, it is possible to perform reproduction processing of music data having more tracks than this without being limited by the number of channels of the tone generator circuit 15a. This allows the composer to compose the music as BGM.
It is not necessary to be limited by the number of channels of the tone generator circuit 15a, and it becomes possible to use a musical piece rich in expressive power as the BGM of the game, which in turn enhances the realism of the game.

When all the channels of the tone generator circuit 15a are occupied when the track from which the audio reproduction is to be started is in the music, the priority of the track or the ADSR of the audio at that time is set. Depending on the level (this level if a pseudo level is set), tracks that have no effect even when muted are selected, and the more important sound that begins to sound is played.

As described above, even if the number of tracks for which sound is reproduced at the same time exceeds the number of channels of the tone generator circuit 15a, the tracks that have the least influence on the entire music are muted. Therefore, the composer uses the tone generator circuit 15
Even if there is a track to be muted in the music data created without considering the number of channels of a, the speaker 2
The player who listens to the sound output from 1 hardly feels a sense of discomfort.

[Second Embodiment] In this embodiment, a case will be described as an example in which the music data consisting of 8 tracks is switched to the music data consisting of 6 tracks in accordance with the switching of the scene of the game.

The structure of the video game device applied to this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment.
The peripheral devices are also the same as those in the first embodiment (see FIG. 1). However, as shown in FIG. 9, in the music data area 12c, two music data of a music 1 composed of 8 tracks and a music 2 composed of 6 tracks are stored.
Along with this, the track-specific data area 12d also stores the channel number of the sound source device 15a that is occupied corresponding to each track of song 1 and song 2, and the priority order. Further, in the work area of the main memory 12, data indicating whether the game is progressing in the scene corresponding to the music 1 or the music 2 or the scene switching timing is stored.

The operation of the video game device 1 according to this embodiment will be described below. When the processing of the game in the scene corresponding to the music 1 is being performed by the processing of the CPU 11, the CPU 11 determines that the music 1 B is reproduced according to the data stored in the work area of the main memory 12.
It can be determined that the GM is a reproduction target. At this time, only the music 1 is treated as the target music, and the processing of FIG. 7 shown in the first embodiment is performed.

When the game progresses to become a switching point from the scene corresponding to the music 1 to the scene corresponding to the music 2, for example, when the character is made to reach the appearance point of the enemy character by operating the input device 14. The CPU 11 performs a process of switching the image reproduced by the image reproducing device 16 to a scene corresponding to the music 2, and writes data indicating the scene change timing in the work area of the main memory 12.

Then, when the hardware timer interrupt device 18 generates an interrupt at a frequency of 44 kHz, the CPU 11 stores such data in the main memory 12.
If it is determined that the data has been written in the work area, the process of the flowchart shown in FIG. 10 is executed instead of the process of the flowchart of FIG. 7 shown in the first embodiment.

In the flowchart of FIG. 10, the processing of steps S200 to S202 is substantially the same as the processing of steps S100 to S102 of FIG. However, the tracks of the target music data include both the tracks of music 1 and music 2.

In step S203, step S200
As a result of the track analysis in step S20, it is determined whether or not there is a track in which sound generation is started in the music 2 (step S20).
3). When it is determined that the track for starting sound generation is not the song 2 (step S203; No), the process of this flowchart is ended as it is.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the track for starting the sound generation is the music 2 (step S203; Yes).
s), whether or not there is an empty channel which is not occupied by the other tracks of the music 1 and the music 2 among the plurality of channels included in the tone generator circuit 15a. 1-C
h. 6 are searched in order (step S204). Then, it is determined whether or not a free channel has been found (step S205).

When it is determined that an empty channel has been found (step S205; Yes), the empty channel is determined as a channel to be occupied by the track of the music 2 which is the start of sound generation (step S206).
Then, the process proceeds to step S212.

On the other hand, when it is determined that no empty channel is found (step S205: No), the priority column corresponding to the track occupying any channel of the track-specific data area 12d in the track of song 1. Are checked, and the one having the lowest priority is searched from among these (step S207).

Next, as a result of this search, it is judged whether or not there are a plurality of tracks occupying the channel in the music 1 with the lowest priority (step S208).
If there are not the lowest priority ones (step S20)
8; No), while releasing the occupation of the channel of the tone generator circuit 15a to the track of the music 1 having the lowest priority, the released channel is occupied by the track of the music 2 determined to start sounding in step S203. It is determined as the power channel (step S209). Then, the process proceeds to step S212.

On the other hand, when there are a plurality of items having the lowest priority (step S208; Yes), the current ADSR levels of the tracks of the plurality of musical pieces 1 are checked (step S210). Here, the ADS of the track from the start of sound generation (A) until reaching the maximum level (S)
The R level is treated as a pseudo maximum level.

Next, as a result of checking the ADSR level in this manner, the track of the musical composition 1 having the lowest ADSR level at the present moment is released from occupying the channel of the tone generator circuit 15a, and the released channel is set to step S20.
It is determined as the channel to be occupied by the track of the music 2 which is determined to start sounding in step 3 (step S211).
Then, the process proceeds to step S212.

In step S212, step S20
6, the channel determined in S209 or S211 is occupied by the track of the musical piece 2 determined to start sounding in step S203. Further, as a result of the analysis in step S200, it is determined whether or not there is a track which is still being reproduced in any of the channels of the tone generator circuit 15a among the tracks of the music 1 (step S213).

When it is determined that the track of the music 1 is not being reproduced on the channel of the tone generator circuit 15a (step S213; No), only the music 2 of the main memory 12 is targeted for reproduction. The data in the work area is rewritten (step S214). Thereafter, the CPU 11 executes the process of the flowchart of FIG. 7 shown in the first embodiment each time the hardware timer interrupt device 18 generates an interrupt of a 44 kHz cycle with the musical piece 2 as a reproduction target. Become.

On the other hand, the sound source circuit 15a is added to the track of the music 1.
When it is determined that there is a channel being reproduced on the channel (step S213; Yes), the processing of this flowchart is ended as it is. Thereafter, step S2
Until the determination result of No. 13 is No, the CPU 11 executes the process of this flowchart from the beginning every time the hardware timer interrupt device 18 generates an interrupt of a 44 kHz cycle.

The processing performed by the audio reproducing device 16 is the same as that described in the first embodiment, and is synchronized with the switching of the game scene displayed on the screen 22 of the television receiver 2. And speaker 2
The BGM output from 1 will be switched.

As described above, in the video game device 1 according to the present embodiment, unless the background music is all sounded at the same time, when the BGM is switched from the music 1 to the music 2, Song 1 and Song 2
And are overlapped. Moreover, as long as there are free channels, the sound of the track of the music 1 continues to sound until the sounding end timing. Further, even if there is no free channel, the track having the least influence in the music 1 releases the channel of the sound source device 15a and occupies it in the track of the music 2 which starts sounding. For this reason, it becomes possible to switch between the two BGMs without a sense of discomfort in accordance with the switching of the scenes of the game, which in turn improves the sense of presence in the game.

[Modification of Embodiment] The present invention is not limited to the above-described first and second embodiments, and various modifications and applications are possible. Hereinafter, modifications of the above-described embodiment that can be applied to the present invention will be described.

In the above first and second embodiments, the program for reproducing the music and the music data are the same C.
The data is stored in the D-ROM 3, read by the disk reading device 17, and transferred to the main memory 12. However, the program and the music data may be stored in separate CD-ROMs. As a result, it becomes possible to use a normal music CD as the BGM of the game.

In the first and second embodiments described above, when there is a track in the music data for which audio is to be reproduced,
All the channels included in the tone generator circuit 15a are searched in order, the vacant channel is assigned to the track, and the music is reproduced. On the other hand, it is possible to set a channel that can be assigned only to a track having a priority equal to or higher than a predetermined level without normally assigning it to a track of a music piece. As a result, for example, a sound that is highly necessary in music can be played back without being erased by the influence of the sound of another track.

In the above first embodiment, the tone generator circuit 1
The case where 5a has 6 channels and the music of 10 tracks is reproduced using this has been described. In the above-described second embodiment, the case where the tone generator circuit 15a has 6 channels, and by utilizing this, the music of 8 tracks and 6 tracks is switched and reproduced. However, the number of channels of the tone generator circuit and the number of tracks of music that can be applied to the present invention are not limited to the above, and any number can be applied.

Further, in the above first and second embodiments, the number of tracks of the music is larger than the number of channels of the tone generator circuit 15a, but the number of tracks of the music is larger than the number of channels of the tone generator circuit 15a. The present invention can be applied even if the number is small. Even in this case, the number of channels of the sound source circuit 15a occupied by the tracks of the music data can be reduced, and, for example, the vacant channels can be used for reproducing the sound effect.

In the above-described second embodiment, when the scene of the game progressed by the video game device 1 is switched, the music 1 and the music 2 are switched as the BGM. However, for example, the music used as BGM may be switched according to the progress of various games, such as the status of the character operated by the player changing even in the same scene.

In the above-mentioned first and second embodiments, the case where the video game apparatus 1 is used as a platform and the present invention is applied to the reproduction of the music used as the BGM of the game has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to reproduction of music used as BGM of a game that operates using a personal computer, a mobile terminal device, or the like as a platform.
Furthermore, the present invention can be generally applied not only to the BGM of the game but also to the case where the music is reproduced by the sound source circuit having a limited number of channels.

In the first and second embodiments described above, the music data and the program for reproducing the music are the CD-
It is assumed that the music is stored in the ROM 3, transferred from here to the main memory 12, and the music is reproduced by executing the program. However, the medium for storing these programs and data is not limited to the CD-ROM, and may be, for example, a ROM card or a DVD-ROM. Furthermore, the program for reproducing the music as described above may be, for example, a carrier wave that is frequency-modulated or phase-modulated according to the data stream, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, it may be provided from the host device 4 through the network 5.

[0100]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to reproduce a plurality of tracks of music without being restricted by the number of channels as hardware.

Further, it is possible to switch a plurality of music pieces without causing a feeling of strangeness without being restricted by the number of channels as hardware.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a game device applied to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing channels included in the tone generator circuit of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an allocation state of areas of the main memory of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing music data stored in a music data area and track-specific data stored in a track-specific data storage area of FIG. 3;

5 is a diagram schematically showing the music data of FIG. 4 in time series.

FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing an ADSR level of voice.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a relationship between each channel of the tone generator circuit and a track occupying it in the first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing music data stored in the music data area and track-specific data stored in the track-specific data storage area of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing processing according to the second embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a network system for program distribution applied in a modification of the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Video Game Device 2 Television Receiver 3 CD-ROM 11 CPU 12 Main Memory 12a Program Area 12b Game Data Area 12c Music Data Area 12d Track-Specific Data Area 13 ROM 14 Input Device 15 Audio Playback Device 15a Sound Source Circuit 15b Waveform Data Storage Device 15c D / A converter 15d Amplifier 16 Video reproducing device 17 Disk reading device 18 Hardware timer interrupt device 21 Speaker 22 Screen

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G10H 1/00-1/00 101-102 G10H 1/18 A63F 13/00

Claims (17)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sound source unit having a plurality of channels, each of which performs a process for reproducing a sound of an occupied track, and a plurality of tracks, and data indicating whether or not to sound each track is time-series. Music storage means for storing a plurality of music data stored in, a progress status determination means for determining the progress status of the game, and a music storage means for storing the music data according to the determination result of the progress status determination means. Music switching instruction means for instructing switching of a plurality of music data, and, of the music data stored in each track of the music storage means, a music before switching and a music after switching by the instruction of the music switching instructing means Each of the tracks starts, sounds, ends, or is not sounding
Music analysis means, when there is track to pronounce terminated by the analysis result of the music analysis unit, a first channel release to release the channel to which the track is occupied either be time-sequentially analyze in Means for detecting a channel that is not occupied by another track among a plurality of channels included in the sound source means when there is a track that starts to sound in the music after switching according to the analysis result of the music analyzing means. A game apparatus comprising: a channel detecting means; and a first channel occupying means for occupying the track detected by the empty channel detecting means in the track where the sound generation starts. 2. A priority order is assigned to each track of a plurality of music data stored in the music storage means, and the empty channel detection means detects a channel not occupied by another track. If not possible, second channel releasing means for releasing the channel occupied by the track having the lowest priority in the music data before switching among the plurality of channels included in the sound source means, and the second channel. A second channel for occupying the channel released by the releasing means in the track for starting sound generation;
The game device according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. When the empty channel detecting means cannot detect a channel which is not occupied by another track, the track of the music data before switching is reproduced among a plurality of channels of the sound source means. A third channel releasing means for releasing the channel having the lowest sound level from the occupied track, and a third channel releasing means for occupying the channel released by the third channel releasing means in the track for starting sound generation.
3. The game device according to claim 1, further comprising: a channel occupying unit. 4. A sound source means having a plurality of channels for performing processing for reproducing the sound of each occupied track, and a plurality of sound source means having a number larger than the number of channels of the sound source means . A music storage means for storing music data, which is composed of tracks and in which data indicating whether or not to pronounce each track is stored in time series, and music data stored in each track of the music storage means starts to sound. , Sounding, ending sounding, or not sounding
Music analysis means, when there is track to pronounce terminated by the analysis result of the music analysis unit, a first channel release to release the channel to which the track is occupied either be time-sequentially analyze in Means, and an empty channel detection means for detecting a channel which is not occupied by another track among a plurality of channels of the sound source means when there is a track whose pronunciation is started by the analysis result of the music analysis means, The first channel occupying means for occupying the channel detected by the vacant channel detecting means in the track for starting sound generation, and the vacant channel detecting means for occupying in the other tracks.
If no unused channels can be detected, then
Play back from multiple channels of the sound source
Occupy the channel with the lowest audio level
A third channel releasing means for freed from the track, tea released by the third channel releasing means
The third track to occupy the track where the sound is started.
Channel occupying means of the third channel releasing means,
When it is between the start of pronunciation and reaching the maximum level
The level of the voice as the maximum level that the voice should reach
A game device characterized by being handled as a product . 5. The tracks of the music data stored in the music storage means are prioritized, and the empty channel detection means cannot detect a channel which is not occupied by another track. The second channel releasing means for releasing the channel occupied by the track having the lowest priority among the plurality of channels of the sound source means, and the channel released by the second channel releasing means. , The second track to be started to occupy the second track
5. The game device according to claim 4 , further comprising: 6. Replaying the audio of each occupied track
Sound source with multiple channels that perform processing to generate
Means and multiple tracks, whether to pronounce each track
Music data in which data indicating
And a plurality of music data stored in the music storage means.
Music switching instruction means for instructing switching, and a plurality of music data stored in the music storage means
Switching by the instruction of the music switching instruction means
Both the previous track and the track after switching are pronounced
Start, sounding, end of sound, non-sounding
A music analysis means for sequentially analyzing in time series, and a track for ending the pronunciation according to the analysis result of the music analysis means.
If there is click, channels in which the track is occupied
The first channel releasing means for releasing the music and the music after switching according to the analysis result of the music analyzing means.
If there is a track that starts to sound, the sound source means
By other tracks out of multiple channels that have
Free channels to detect unoccupied channels
The detecting means and the channels detected by the empty channel detecting means.
The first channel that occupies the flannel in the track where the pronunciation starts
A game device comprising channel occupying means . 7. A priority order is assigned to each track of a plurality of music data stored in the music storage means, and the empty channel detection means detects a channel not occupied by another track. If not possible, second channel releasing means for releasing the channel occupied by the track having the lowest priority in the music data before switching among the plurality of channels included in the sound source means, and the second channel. A second channel for occupying the channel released by the releasing means in the track for starting sound generation;
7. The game device according to claim 6 , further comprising: 8. The second channel releasing means is occupied by the track having the lowest priority in the music data after switching when the track of the music data before switching does not occupy the channel of the sound source means. 8. The game device according to claim 7 , wherein the playing channel is released. 9. When the empty channel detecting means cannot detect a channel which is not occupied by another track, the track of the music data before switching is reproduced among a plurality of channels of the sound source means. A third channel releasing means for releasing the channel having the lowest sound level from the occupied track, and a third channel releasing means for occupying the channel released by the third channel releasing means in the track for starting sound generation.
9. The game device according to claim 6 , further comprising: the channel occupying unit. 10. The third channel releasing means, when the track of the music data before switching does not occupy the channel of the sound source means, the music after switching among a plurality of channels of the sound source means. 10. The game device according to claim 9 , wherein the channel having the lowest audio level reproducing the data track is released from the occupied track. 11. The third channel releasing means handles the level of the voice as the maximum level that the voice should reach when the voice being reproduced is between the start of sounding and the maximum level. 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein
Or the game device according to 10 . 12. A music reproducing method for reproducing a music composed of a plurality of tracks by using a plurality of channels, each of which performs a process for reproducing a sound of an occupied track, the method being more than the number of the plurality of channels. A music storage step that stores music data that is composed of a large number of multiple tracks and that stores in time series data indicating whether or not to sound each track, and the music of each track stored in the music storage step. Whether the data is sounding, sounding, sounding off, or not sounding
A music analysis step for sequentially analyzing whether or not there is a track, and a first channel release for releasing a channel occupied by the track when there is a track whose pronunciation ends according to the analysis result of the music analysis step. A step of detecting a channel which is not occupied by another track among the plurality of channels when there is a track whose pronunciation is started according to the analysis result of the music analyzing step; In the first channel occupying step in which the channel detected in the step is occupied in the track where the sound generation starts, and in the other channel in the vacant channel detecting step.
Undetected channel cannot be detected
Of the audio being played on the multiple channels
Which track has the lowest level?
A third channel releasing step of releasing the
Occupy a channel in the track where the pronunciation starts
A third channel occupying step, the third channel releasing step comprising:
When the voice is between the start of pronunciation and reaching the maximum level
The maximum level that the voice should reach
A music playback method characterized by being treated as . 13. When the tracks of the music data stored in the music storing step are prioritized, and a channel not occupied by another track cannot be detected in the empty channel detecting step. A second channel releasing step of releasing a channel occupied by a track having the lowest priority among the plurality of channels, and a track for starting sounding of the channel released in the second channel releasing step. 13. The music reproducing method according to claim 12 , further comprising: 14. The audio of each occupied track
Multiple channels are used to perform playback processing.
It is a music playback method that plays a song consisting of several tracks.
Te, whether composed of a plurality of tracks, to pronounce on each track
Music data in which data indicating
And a plurality of music data stored in the music storage step.
A music switching instruction step for instructing switching, and a plurality of music data stored in the music storing step.
According to the instructions in the song switching instruction step
Tracks of both the music before switching and the music after switching
At the start of pronunciation, during pronunciation, end of pronunciation, or not
Musical composition analysis step for sequentially analyzing whether or not the musical instrument
If there is a rack, the track occupied by the track
The first channel releasing step for releasing the channel and the switching result depending on the analysis result in the music analyzing step.
If there is a track that starts pronunciation in the song,
Occupied by other tracks out of the
Free channel detection step to detect unused channels
Channel and the channel detected in the empty channel detection step.
The first channel that occupies
A method for reproducing music , including a channel occupying step . 15. A recording medium for recording a program for reproducing a music composed of a plurality of tracks by using a plurality of channels, each of which carries out a process for reproducing a sound of an occupied track . A music storage step of storing a plurality of tracks of which the number is larger than the number of pieces of music, in which data indicating whether or not to pronounce each track is stored in time series, and a music storage step that stores the music data, Whether the music data of the track starts, sounds, ends, or is not sounding
A music analysis step for sequentially analyzing whether or not there is a track, and a first channel release for releasing a channel occupied by the track when there is a track whose pronunciation ends according to the analysis result of the music analysis step. A step of detecting a channel which is not occupied by another track among the plurality of channels when there is a track whose pronunciation is started according to the analysis result of the music analyzing step; In the first channel occupying step in which the channel detected in the step is occupied in the track where the sound generation starts, and in the other channel in the vacant channel detecting step.
Undetected channel cannot be detected
Of the audio being played on the multiple channels
Which track has the lowest level?
A third channel releasing step of releasing the
Occupy a channel in the track where the pronunciation starts
A program for executing the third channel occupation step
Record the arm, the third channel releasing step, the sound being played
When the voice is between the start of pronunciation and reaching the maximum level
The maximum level that the voice should reach
A computer- readable recording medium characterized by being handled as . 16. When the tracks of the music data stored in the music storing step are prioritized, and a channel not occupied by another track cannot be detected in the empty channel detecting step. A second channel releasing step of releasing a channel occupied by a track having the lowest priority among the plurality of channels, and a track for starting sounding of the channel released in the second channel releasing step. up to further execute a second channel occupancy step of occupied
The computer- readable recording medium according to claim 15 , wherein the program is recorded. 17. The audio of each occupied track
Multiple channels are used to perform playback processing.
Record a program to play a song consisting of several tracks
It is a recording medium that consists of multiple tracks, and whether each track is played
Music data in which data indicating
And a plurality of music data stored in the music storage step.
And easy song switching instruction step of instructing the switching, a plurality of music data stored in the music storage step
According to the instructions in the song switching instruction step
Tracks of both the music before switching and the music after switching
At the start of pronunciation, during pronunciation, end of pronunciation, or not
Musical composition analysis step for sequentially analyzing whether or not the musical instrument
If there is a rack, the track occupied by the track
The first channel releasing step for releasing the channel and the switching result depending on the analysis result in the music analyzing step.
If there is a track that starts pronunciation in the song,
Occupied by other tracks out of the
Free channel detection step to detect unused channels
Channel and the channel detected in the empty channel detection step.
The first channel that occupies
Program for executing the channel occupation step
A computer- readable recording medium characterized by recording.