JP4967064B2 - Three-dimensional animation display device and program for realizing the display device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a three-dimensional animation display device for converting an object defined in a three-dimensional virtual space into a two-dimensional image projected on a screen by a perspective projection method and displaying the same on a monitor. it relates to the program to realize.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a game apparatus that displays a game development by animation using three-dimensional computer graphics (hereinafter referred to as “CG”) is known. In the three-dimensional CG animation used in this type of game device, a two-dimensional image of each frame is generally created using a perspective projection camera model.

  For example, two objects exist in a three-dimensional virtual space, and one object is operated by a main player's operation, while the other object is operated by a subordinate player's operation or a computer and the two objects are played against each other. In the competitive game, as shown in FIG. 9, a predetermined position behind the one object A (hereinafter referred to as “main character”) (a position with a height H behind the main character A by a distance D). ), A two-dimensional image G (see FIG. 10) obtained by photographing the main character A side with the virtual camera C is generated as an image of each frame of the three-dimensional CG and displayed on the monitor. The

  Note that the image G shown in FIG. 10 is not a simulation of a captured image obtained when the main character A side is actually captured by the virtual camera C, and the line of sight extends from the position of the virtual camera C to the main character A side. The main character A, the opponent's object B (hereinafter referred to as “enemy character”), and the building E1 at a position where the line of sight intersects the screen S virtually disposed between the virtual camera C and the main character A. , E2, and other objects such as the background mountain M are drawn (two-dimensional image by perspective projection method).

  In the three-dimensional CG animation, when the operator operates the movement button of the operation controller, the main character A is moved in the virtual space in accordance with the operation, and the virtual camera C is also moved according to the main character A, for each frame. A two-dimensional image is generated by the perspective projection method, and the image of the main character A moving in the virtual space is displayed on the monitor.

Oite to competitive game, the main character A and enemy character B in accordance with the operation of the player is the virtual space (ie, space becomes a battle field. Hereinafter referred to as the "battle space".) Be free to move within the However, for example, of the buildings E1 and E2 provided in the battle space, those for which an internal image is not created cannot enter the building. Such a building is drawn as if there is a trap in the virtual space, but in the drawing process, the inside of the building is hollow and there is only an image of the building surface seen from the outside. is there. For this reason, even if the player performs an operation to move the main character A into the building, the main character A can move only to the wall portion of the building, and the movement of the main character A is restricted at the wall portion of the building. The drawing process in the performed state is performed.

  The same thing occurs for the movement position of the virtual camera C. That is, as shown in FIG. 11, the virtual camera C is arranged at the position P3 with respect to the main character A existing in P1, and the operator moves the main character A from the perspective of the main character A side. When moved to P2 in front of the building E1, the position of the virtual camera C becomes P4 in the building E1, and the virtual camera C cannot be moved.

  When the virtual camera C is moved to P4 in the building E1 to create a two-dimensional image by the perspective projection method when the main character A side is viewed, the screen is displayed by the wall of the building E1 existing between the virtual camera C and the main character A. Since the whole is covered and the main character A and the virtual camera C cannot display the enemy character B behind the main character A on the monitor, the virtual camera C is not moved into the building E1 by the program. It is because it is doing.

  Accordingly, in such a case, the virtual camera C is moved to the intersection P5 between the line connecting P2 and P4 and the wall of the building E1, and the main character A side is perspectively projected from the position of P5. A 3D animation will be created.

  In this case, the distance D ′ between the main character A and the virtual camera C is shorter than the distance D in the case of normal perspective projection, and the image displayed on the monitor is a two-dimensional image as shown in FIG. The area occupied by the main character A in the screen of G becomes too large, and the image of the enemy character B, the building E3, and the background F behind the main character A is almost hidden from the virtual camera C. In such a case, if the normal drawing process is performed, the drawing of the main character A completely hides the state of the enemy character B, the building E3, and the background F behind, and the operator loses sight of the battle state. Therefore, for example, the transparency process is performed on the image of the main character A by using the transparency process technique disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3 so that the portion hidden by the main character A is visible.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of a conventional transmission process in which an image of the main character A is converted into a transmission image.

  Here, the conventional transmission process will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 13, taking the configuration of the perspective projection shown in FIG. 14 as an example.

  In the configuration of perspective projection shown in FIG. 14A, a three-dimensional view in which objects are arranged in the order of a sphere OJ1, a rectangular parallelepiped OJ2, and a mountain OJ3 with respect to the virtual camera C, and the direction of the line of sight L is viewed from the position of the virtual camera C. The CG image G (two-dimensional image G) is as shown in FIG. In addition to the three objects OJ1, OJ2, and OJ3, the background OJ4 exists in the screen, but in the two-dimensional image G, the mountain OJ3 is included in the background OJ4, and the mountain OJ3 is drawn together with the background OJ4. It will be. Therefore, in the two-dimensional image G, there are three areas, that is, the area of the sphere OJ1, the area of the rectangular parallelepiped OJ2, and the area of the mountain OJ3 and the background OJ4.

  Each region is composed of a large number of triangular polygons, and when creating a two-dimensional image G, after drawing processing is performed on the polygons that form the object farthest from the virtual camera C, the next distant object is formed. The drawing process is performed on the polygon to be processed, and the drawing process is performed on the polygon constituting the object closest to the end. The polygon included in the region of the sphere OJ1 is g (k), the polygon included in the region of the cuboid OJ2 is g (j), and the polygon included in the region of the portion including the mountain OJ3 and the background OJ4 is g (i). ), After drawing processing is performed on the polygon g (i), drawing processing is performed on the polygon g (j), and finally drawing processing is performed on the polygon g (k). Then, a transparency process is performed in the drawing process for the last polygon g (k).

  The contents of the above processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. That is, the drawing order is determined for the polygon g (i) (i = 1, 2,... N1) included in the area of the mountain OJ3 and the background OJ4, and then the polygon g included in the area of the rectangular parallelepiped OJ2 (j) The drawing order is determined for (j = 1, 2,... N2), and finally the drawing order for the polygon g (k) (k = 1, 2,... N3) included in the region of the sphere OJ1. It is determined.

  Accordingly, if all the polygons g (i), g (j), and g (k) for which the drawing order is determined are g (h) (h is the drawing order, h = 1, 2,... (N1 + N2 + N3)), Subsequently, the counter value h for counting the drawing order of the polygons is set to “1” (S31), and the light source process is performed on the first polygon g (h) (S32). The light source process is a process of giving information on the reflection characteristics of incident light from the light source and the light source with respect to the vertices constituting the polygon.

  Subsequently, texture processing is performed on the polygon g (h) (S33). The texture processing is processing for pasting a corresponding texture (two-dimensional image) on the polygon g (h). Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the transmission process is necessary for the polygon g (h) (S34). This determination is performed by determining whether or not the polygon g (h) is a polygon included in the region of the sphere OJ1. If transmission processing is necessary for the polygon g (h) (S34: YES), alpha blending processing is performed (S35). In the alpha blending process, for example, the texture color of the polygon g (h) and the overlapping polygon g (h ′) are mixed or multiplied to make the color of the polygon g (h) a transparent color. . If the transmission process is not required for the polygon g (h) (S34: NO), the process of step S35 is skipped. For the first polygon g (1), the transmission process is unnecessary, so step S35 is skipped and the process proceeds to step S36.

  Subsequently, after the counter value h is incremented by “1” (S36), it is determined whether or not the counter value h exceeds the number of all polygons (N1 + N2 + N3) (S37), and h ≦ (N1 + N2 + N3). If this is the case (S37: NO), the process returns to step S32, and the processing of steps S32 to S35 is performed for the next polygon g (h + 1). The process of S35 is performed. When h> (N1 + N2 + N3) is satisfied (S37: YES), the transmission process is terminated.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 09-50541 Japanese Patent No. 2902352 JP 2002-45566 A

  By the way, for example, when the conventional transparent process is applied in the state as shown in FIG. 12, the transparent process is performed on the main character A, so that the player cannot see the enemy overlapping the main character A. Although the character B and the background F can be visually recognized, since the light source process and the texture process are performed on the polygon of the main character A in this transmission process, the transmission image of the main character A is also glossy. There is an inconvenience that information on the color, pattern, and the like remains, which makes it difficult to see the enemy character B, the building E3, and the background F.

  In FIG. 12, the shaded portion applied to the main character A indicates that the transmitted image has a color or pattern, the transparent portion has a larger reflection of the transmitted image, and the color, pattern, or pattern is more than the other portion. It is bright.

  In order to solve this problem, a method of stopping displaying the main character A as a transmission image and not displaying the main character A is also conceivable. However, in the case of a competitive game, it is important that the player can recognize the positional relationship between the main character A and the enemy character B and the action state of the enemy character B when controlling the attack or defense action of the main character A. If this information is not clearly obtained from the monitor screen, the main character A takes damage or enters the attack action of the main character A without knowing whether the enemy character B has been attacked or not. Therefore, it is not preferable to adopt a method in which the main character A is not displayed.

  In a competitive game, the player often moves the main character A to a position where the state shown in FIG. 11 or FIG. 12 is reached in accordance with the situation of the game, and the main character A is not displayed on the monitor each time. The player cannot know the position of the main character A, and the operability is significantly reduced.

  On the other hand, when the main character A is displayed by the conventional transparent processing, if the player causes the main character A to perform an attack or defense action while the main character A is displayed transparently, Since the image in which both characters A and B move in a state where the enemy character B overlaps is displayed as a transparent image, information such as the color, pattern, and pattern of the main character A in the transparent display is rejected and the enemy character B is displayed. This makes it difficult for players to understand the battle situation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and when the position of the virtual camera is close to the main character, the main character can be displayed in silhouette to make it easier to see the portion hidden by the main character than before. and to provide a program for implementing the display device and a display device of a three-dimensional animation.

The program provided by the first aspect of the present invention is obtained by perspectively projecting a predetermined object placed in a three-dimensional virtual space from a predetermined viewpoint set in the virtual space. create a three-dimensional animation consisting dimensional image, a program to function as a three-dimensional animation display device for displaying the three-dimensional animation on the monitor, the computer, the viewpoint and the person in accordance with the movement of the front SL product body a determination unit that the distance between said object is determined whether proximate to or less than a predetermined distance, the distance between the viewpoint and the front Symbol object body is judged to have approached less than a predetermined distance by said determining means when the two-dimensional image of the background other portions obtained by perspective projection when said object is not present, the concentration of the background other parts hidden by the object By drawing in so that different from the concentration in the case of the the object does not exist, the moving image creating means for creating a three-dimensional animation of a two-dimensional image displaying the person said object silhouette, front Stories moving picture It is characterized by functioning as display control means for displaying the three-dimensional animation created by the creation means on the monitor (claim 1).

It should be noted that the method of making the density of the portion hidden by the object different from the density when the object does not exist may be different depending on the brightness of the entire screen. The predetermined distance is the size of the first object in the photographing screen when taken with the first object by a virtual camera from the viewpoint may be a distance equal to or greater than a predetermined size (claim 3 ).

Also, the moving image creating means includes a pre-Symbol product image producing means by the body excluding the perspective projection method to create a two-dimensional image of each frame, calculates the display position before the SL material body in the monitor of the display screen calculation means for, in the two-dimensional image created by the image creation means, with respect to pixels included in the display position before SL product of the display screen of the monitor that is calculated by said calculation means, for each pixel a density changing means for changing the density at a predetermined rate, may include a (claim 4).

Also, the moving image creating means includes a storage means for storing by reducing the number of colors in the two-dimensional image of each frame that is created by the image creation unit, the display position of the previous SL product body calculated by the calculating means Conversion means for converting the frame into a display position in the two-dimensional image of each frame stored in the storage means, the density changing means using the two-dimensional image of each frame stored in the storage means The density changing process may be performed (claim 5 ).

The display device of three-dimensional animation is provided by the second aspect of the present invention includes a program storage unit which records a program according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the program storage unit a program stored in And a computer that executes the above (claim 6 ).

According to the present invention, when the three-dimensional animation created by the perspective projection method is displayed on the monitor, the distance between the viewpoint (the position of the virtual camera) and the predetermined object is, for example, the predetermined object in the shooting screen of the virtual camera. 2D images of background and other parts obtained by perspective projection when the object does not exist when the object is close to a predetermined distance that is larger than the predetermined size by concentration of the portion is drawn in so that different from the concentration in the case of that there is no such object, three-dimensional animation of a two-dimensional image displaying the person said object silhouette is displayed on the monitor is created Runode, objects of operator without losing the position and status of the person said object, yet also be clearly visible background and other parts hidden by those said object Runode, without impairment of operability for the object body.

  In particular, when the transparent processing method according to the present invention is applied to a battle-type game, information (main character and enemy character) necessary for grasping the battle situation even when the virtual camera is too close to the main character operated by the operator. Acquisition of information such as the positional relationship between the two characters and the attitudes of both characters) can be prevented, and deterioration of the operability of the main character and loss of the player's willingness to play based on this can be prevented. Therefore, the player can enjoy the competitive game comfortably.

Further, since only the process reduces or increases the concentration of the portion hidden by the object body (main character), as compared to the conventional transmission process, to reduce the computational load for drawing.

It is a block block diagram which shows an example of the game device to which the display method of the three-dimensional animation which concerns on this invention is applied. It is a flowchart which shows the basic process sequence which shows the drawing control relevant to the silhouette transparent display method concerning this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the silhouette permeation | transmission process which displays a main character in silhouette. It is a figure for demonstrating the drawing order of the two-dimensional image by the perspective projection method displayed on a monitor when a virtual camera adjoins to the main character. It is a figure which shows the state by which the enemy character, building, and background which are behind the main character were drawn on the screen buffer. It is a figure which shows the reduction example of the number of colors at the time of reducing the number of colors from a screen buffer to a texture buffer, and taking in an image. It is a figure which shows the drawing position of the main character in a screen buffer. It is a figure which shows an example of the three-dimensional animation image by which the said main character is silhouette-displayed by reducing the density of the part hidden by the enemy character drawn in the screen buffer, and the main character of the background. It is a figure for demonstrating the three-dimensional CG image by a perspective projection method. It is a figure which shows the three-dimensional CG image displayed on a monitor by the structure of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating correction of a camera position when a camera position will move in the building where the inside is not defined by the movement of a main character. It is a figure which shows an example of the three-dimensional CG image displayed on a monitor when a virtual camera adjoins to the main character. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence of the conventional transparent process. It is a figure for demonstrating the content of the conventional transparent process.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a game apparatus to which the animation display method according to the present invention is applied. The game apparatus 1 is a television game machine used for home use, and the game program and game data are stored in a memory (RAM) in the apparatus from a CD-ROM (Compact Disc-ROM) on which the game program and game data are recorded. By reading and executing a game program by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), the player can enjoy the game contents.

  The present embodiment is a home video game machine, but the 3D animation display method according to the present invention is not limited to a home video game machine, but other types of game machines such as arcade game machines and game machines. It can also be applied to an apparatus using three-dimensional animation by the perspective projection method. In the following description, a battle type game (a game in which a main character and an enemy character fight or fight) will be described as an example of game content.

  The game apparatus 1 includes a CPU 2, a drawing data generation processor 3, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 4, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 5, a drawing processor 6, a VRAM (Video-RAM) 7, and a D / A (Digital-Analog). A converter 8, an audio processor 9, an amplifier 10, an interface (I / F) 11, a CD-ROM driver 12 and a bus 13 are included.

  A television is connected to the game apparatus 1, and a display device such as a cathode ray tube or a liquid crystal display of the television is used as a monitor 14 externally connected to the D / A converter 8, and a speaker built in the television is an amplifier 10. It is used as a speaker 15 connected externally. In the game apparatus 1, a CD on which a game program and game data (character and background image data, image data for displaying information such as status, sound data such as sound effects and BGM, message data using characters and symbols, etc.) are recorded. The ROM 17 is mounted on the CD-ROM driver 12, the game program and game data in the CD-ROM 17 are read into the RAM 4 by the CD-ROM driver 12, and the game program is executed by the CPU 2 so that the game contents can be enjoyed.

  An operation controller 16 is connected to the game apparatus 1 via an interface (I / F) 11, and the player can advance the game by operating an operation member of the operation controller 16.

  The CPU 2, the drawing data generation processor 3, the RAM 4, the ROM 5, the drawing processing processor 6, the sound processing processor 9, the interface (I / F) 11, and the CD-ROM driver 12 are connected to each other via a bus 13 so that data transmission is possible.

  The CPU 2 comprehensively controls the game progress by executing the game program read from the CD-ROM 17 into the RAM 4 by the CD-ROM driver 12 as described above. More specifically, when a player's operation signal is input from the operation controller 16, the CPU 2 performs a predetermined game progress process for the operation signal in accordance with the game program, and the processing result is displayed on the monitor 14 by three-dimensional animation. While being displayed, the sound is output from the speaker 15 by sound effects.

  The drawing process of the three-dimensional animation to be displayed on the monitor 14 is mainly performed by the drawing processor 6. The CPU 2 determines the content of the three-dimensional animation to be displayed on the monitor 14 based on the player's operation signal from the operation controller 16, and causes the drawing data generation processor 3 to generate the necessary drawing data for the content, The drawing data is transferred to the drawing processor 6 to perform drawing processing. Further, the CPU 2 determines the sound effect or BGM sound content to be output from the speaker 15, causes the sound processing processor 9 to generate sound data corresponding to the sound content, and outputs the sound data from the speaker 15.

  The drawing data generation processor 3 performs various arithmetic processes necessary for the drawing process. The CPU 2 determines an image to be displayed on the monitor 14, reads out image data (background, main character and enemy character polygon data, texture data, light source data, etc.) necessary for drawing the image from the RAM 4 and generates drawing data. This is supplied to the processor 3. Further, the CPU 2 supplies operation information input from the operation controller 16 to the drawing data generation processor 3. Based on the image data and operation information supplied from the CPU 2, the drawing data generation processor 3 generates data necessary for drawing (virtual camera, main character, enemy character and background positional relationship in perspective projection, screen screen (monitor screen (E.g., coordinates of polygons constituting the main character, enemy character, and background, texture corresponding to each polygon, reflection characteristics of each polygon, etc.) and supplying the calculation result to the drawing processor 6. .

  The RAM 4 provides an area for storing the game program and game data read from the CD-ROM 17 by the CD-ROM driver 12 and a work area for the CPU 2 to process the game program. In the RAM 4, a game program and game data necessary for the progress of the game are read from the CD-ROM 17 and stored.

  The game program describes processing procedures and various instructions to be executed by the CPU 2, and includes contents for controlling the game screen, sound, and the like according to operation signals from the operation controller 16. include. The game data includes, for example, polygon data and texture data constituting the main character, enemy character, background and other objects, and also includes sound data used as BGM and various sound effects.

  In the present embodiment, the game program stored in the CD-ROM 17 includes, for example, a main character whose operation is controlled by a player operating the operation controller 16 and a plurality of operations whose operations are controlled by another player or a computer. It is an action game that battles enemy characters. More specifically, in this action game, various situations such as urban area, desert, sea, sky, outer space, etc. are used as battlefields, and the main character uses a variety of weapons such as guns and missiles to fight multiple enemy characters. The purpose is to fight and defeat stronger enemy characters.

  The ROM 5 stores a basic program indicating a basic function of the game apparatus 1 such as a disk loading function, a game program stored in the CD-ROM 17 and a procedure for reading game data, and the like. When the CD-ROM 17 is mounted on the CD-ROM driver 12, the CPU 2 operates the CD-ROM driver 12 according to the basic program in the ROM 5, reads the game program and game data from the CD-ROM 17 into the RAM 4, and enters the game start state. Set.

  The drawing processor 6 generates an image of each frame of the three-dimensional animation (two-dimensional image by a perspective projection method) and displays it on the monitor 14. The drawing processor 6 creates a two-dimensional image of each frame to be displayed on the monitor 14 using data supplied from the drawing data generation processor 3 based on a drawing command from the CPU 2. Connected to the drawing processor 6 is a VRAM 7 for creating a two-dimensional image of each frame. The drawing processor 6 uses the VRAM 7 to generate 2D image data of each frame every 1/30 seconds.

  In the VRAM 7, a buffer memory 72 (hereinafter referred to as “screen buffer”) for storing two-dimensional image data of each frame displayed on the monitor 14 and image data to be stored in the screen buffer 72 are created. A buffer memory 71 (hereinafter referred to as “texture buffer”) is provided. The screen buffer 72 comprises two screen buffers 72A and 72B having the same memory structure and memory capacity.

  The reason why the two screen buffers 72 are configured is that the drawing speed on the screen buffer 72 is more than the display speed on the monitor 14. That is, while performing display processing on the monitor 14 using one screen buffer 72A, image data of the next frame is generated by the other screen buffer 72B, and this processing is performed by the screen buffer 72A and the screen buffer 72B. By alternately performing between the frames, display processing of each frame on the monitor 14 every 1/30 seconds is performed smoothly.

  The texture buffer 71 is a buffer for performing preprocessing for creating data of a two-dimensional image to be displayed on the monitor 14 in the screen buffer 72. The texture buffer 71 has a smaller memory capacity than the screen buffer 72. In the screen buffer 72, R (red), G (green), and B (blue) color components are drawn with, for example, 256 gradations (8 bits). In the texture buffer 71, R, G, and B color components are drawn. By reducing the number of gradations, the memory capacity of the texture buffer 71 is made smaller than that of the screen buffer 72.

  The D / A converter 8 converts the image data output from the screen buffer 72 into an analog signal and outputs the analog signal to the monitor 14. The D / A converter 8 is provided with a switch circuit for switching the image data from the screen buffer 72A and the image data from the screen buffer 72B. Switching of the switch circuit is controlled by the drawing processor 6.

  That is, when the drawing processor 6 uses the screen buffer 72A as the buffer of the monitor 14, the switching circuit is switched so that the image data of the screen buffer 72A is output to the monitor 14, and the screen buffer 72B is used as the buffer of the monitor 14. When switching, the switch circuit is switched so that the image data of the screen buffer 72B is output to the monitor 14.

  The sound processor 9 reads out sound effects or BGM sound data from the RAM 4 based on a sound command from the CPU 1, performs necessary processing and D / A conversion processing, and outputs the processed sound to the amplifier 10. The amplifier 10 amplifies the audio signal input from the audio processor 9 with a predetermined amplification degree, and then outputs it to the speaker 15.

  The interface (I / F) 11 is an interface for connecting the operation controller 16 to the game apparatus 1. The operation controller 16 is for inputting various types of operation information to the game apparatus 1. The operation controller 16 is provided with a plurality of operation members such as a cross key, a left button, a right button, a select button, a start button, and a joystick. The start button is a button for inputting a game start, and the select button is a button for selecting menu contents. The joystick and the cross key are mainly used as operation members for instructing the main character to perform various actions such as movement, attack and defense, and the left button and the right button are, for example, three-dimensional animations displayed on the monitor. This is used to rotate the line-of-sight direction of the image to the left or right.

  Next, the 3D animation display method according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The present invention provides a viewpoint when a main character, an enemy character, a background and other objects defined in a three-dimensional virtual space are converted into a two-dimensional image projected on a screen by a perspective projection method and displayed on a monitor. When the distance between the (virtual camera position) and the main character is close enough that the size of the main character on the screen becomes too large to see distant enemy characters, backgrounds and other objects, the main character And the main character is displayed as a silhouette (hereinafter, this display method is referred to as “silhouette transparent display method”). Therefore, in the following description, the silhouette transparent display method will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a basic processing procedure showing drawing control related to the silhouette transparent display method according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of silhouette transmission processing for silhouette display of the main character.

  The CPU 2 monitors the interruption of the operation signal from the operation controller 16 when controlling the progress of the competitive game (S1). If there is no operation signal interruption from the operation controller 16 (S1: NO), the process proceeds to step S6, and the drawing processor 6 performs normal drawing processing. If there is an operation signal interruption from the operation controller 16 (S1: YES), it is further determined whether or not the operation signal is a main character moving operation (S2), and if it is not a main character moving operation (S2: NO), the process proceeds to step S6, where the drawing processor 6 performs normal drawing processing.

  The normal drawing process is to convert the 3D image data of the main character, enemy character, background and other objects existing in the 3D battle space into 2D image data of each frame projected on the screen by the perspective projection method. This is a process of converting and displaying on the monitor 14. In this drawing process, since the distance between the virtual camera C and the main character A is maintained at a predetermined distance D as shown in FIG. 9, the monitor 14 has, for example, as shown in FIG. The main character A, the enemy character B, the buildings E1, E2, the mountain M, etc. are displayed in an appropriate size.

  Therefore, when the player performs an operation to attack or defend the main character A while the three-dimensional animation shown in FIG. 10 is displayed on the monitor 14, for example, the image shown in FIG. A three-dimensional animation in which the main character A performs an attack or defense action according to the player's operation while holding the corner is displayed. Further, for example, if the player does not operate the operation controller 16 in a state where the three-dimensional animation shown in FIG. 10 is displayed, the display state is maintained.

  When there is an interrupt of an operation signal for moving the main character A from the operation controller 16 (S2: YES), the CPU 2 calculates the moving position of the main character A on the battlefield in the virtual space and accompanies the movement of the main character A. The movement position of the virtual camera C is calculated (S3). Subsequently, whether or not the distance between the virtual camera C and the main character A is close to a predetermined distance in which the size of the main character A in the screen is a predetermined size (for example, a size that occupies 70% or more of the screen). Is discriminated (S4). This determination is performed, for example, by comparing the distance D with a preset threshold Dr in FIG.

  If the distance D between the virtual camera C and the main character A is not close to the predetermined distance Dr or less (S4: NO), the process proceeds to step S6, where normal drawing processing is performed, and the virtual camera C and the main character A are performed. If the distance D is close to the predetermined distance Dr or less (S4: YES), a rendering process that performs a transparency process (hereinafter referred to as a “silhouette transparency process”) for displaying the main character A portion as a silhouette. Is performed (S5).

  For example, in FIG. 11, when the operation of moving the main character A located at P1 to P2 is performed, the position of the virtual camera C moves to P5, and the distance D ′ between the virtual camera C and the main character A is greater than the threshold Dr. Since the three-dimensional animation displayed on the monitor 14 is in a state as shown in FIG. 12, in this case, a transparent process for displaying the main character A portion as a silhouette is performed.

  Next, the silhouette transmission process will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 using the perspective projection examples shown in FIGS.

  It should be noted that an operation of moving the main character A by the player is performed in a state where the normal drawing process is performed and the two-dimensional image shown in FIG. 10 is displayed on the monitor 14 (loop of steps S1 and S6). As a result (steps S1, S2, S4: YES), a case where the silhouette transmission process is performed on the two-dimensional image shown in FIG. 12 in step S5 will be described as an example.

  In the frame immediately before shifting to step S5, the two-dimensional image shown in FIG. 10 is drawn on, for example, the screen buffer 72A and displayed on the monitor 14. In the screen buffer 72B, a two-dimensional image drawing process shown in FIG. 12 is performed as an image of the next frame. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, the two-dimensional image shown in FIG. 12 is in order from polygons g (i), g (j), and g (m) constituting the building E3 and the background F and the enemy character B behind. Therefore, when the building E3, the background F, and the enemy character B are drawn in the screen buffer 72B (S11), the image data in the screen buffer 72B is taken into the texture buffer 71 (S12). That is, the texture buffer 71 stores an image shown in FIG. 5 (an image in which the main character A is not drawn).

  At this time, the texture buffer 71 captures image data in which the number of gradations of each of the R, G, and B color components is reduced, that is, the number of data is reduced by reducing the number of colors. For example, when the number of gradations of each color component of R, G, B is halved, as shown in FIG. 6, the color component data (R, G, B) of the original image = (11/16, 14/16, 7/16) is converted into (R ′, G ′, B ′) = (5/8, 7/8, 3/8) and stored in the texture buffer 71. In FIG. 6, the white bar graph indicates the density level of the color component of the original image, and the shaded bar graph indicates the density level of the color component stored in the texture buffer 71.

  In this way, the number of colors is reduced in the texture buffer 71 by changing the density of the image of the enemy character B, the building E3, and the background F that appears to be transparent mainly with respect to the polygons constituting the main character A. Since only the process of displaying the main character A as a silhouette is performed, accurate color information is not required. Therefore, the memory capacity of the texture buffer 71 is reduced by reducing the number of colors, and the process It is intended to speed up.

  Subsequently, the drawing position of the main character A in the screen buffer 72B, that is, the coordinates of the plurality of polygons g (k) constituting the main character A (hereinafter referred to as “screen coordinates”) are calculated (S13). That is, as shown in FIG. 7, if the screen buffer 72B is composed of 480 × 640 pixels, the address of the pixel corresponding to the vertex position of each polygon g (k) is calculated. Subsequently, the screen coordinates of each polygon g (k) are further converted into coordinates in the texture buffer 71 (hereinafter referred to as “texture coordinates”) (S14).

  Subsequently, in the texture buffer 71, for each polygon g (k) constituting the main character A, the density levels of the R, G, B color components of the pixels included in the polygon g (k) are set at a predetermined ratio. It is changed (S15).

  In the texture buffer 71, since the position of each polygon g (k) of the triangle is determined by the texture coordinates of the three vertices, pixels included in the triangular region surrounded by these texture coordinates can be extracted. . Since the texture buffer 71 stores the image data of the enemy character B, the building E3, or the background F that has passed through the main character A at the position where the main character A is drawn, each polygon g constituting the main character A is stored. The color components of R, G, B of the pixels included in (k) are the color components of R, G, B of the enemy character B, building E3 or background F corresponding to the position of each polygon g (k). It has become.

  Therefore, the density data of each color component of R, G, B of the pixel included in the polygon g (k) is extracted for each polygon g (k) constituting the main character A, and the density data level is set to a predetermined level. The color of the part hidden by the main character A of the enemy character B, the building E3 or the background F becomes blackish or whitish.

  Whether the density level is lowered or raised is determined by the brightness of the entire screen. For example, when the battle space is totally dark such as a night view or outer space, the concentration level is increased, and when the battle space is generally bright such as a city area or the sky in the daytime, the concentration level is decreased. Data for controlling how the density level is changed (for example, flag data) is set for each battle scene based on the movement of the main character A, for example, for each battle space or in the same battle space. Based on this, the density changing process in step S15 is performed.

  Subsequently, the enemy drawn in the screen buffer 72B based on the density data of the R, G, B color components of the pixels included in each polygon g (k) included in the main character A created by the texture buffer 71. The density data of the color components R, G, and B of the pixels hidden by the main character A in the image of the character B, the building E3, and the background F are changed (S16). As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the main character A is displayed as a silhouette in the screen buffer 72 </ b> B, and a two-dimensional image that transmits the portion of the main character A is created.

  FIG. 8 shows an example in which the density of the enemy character B, the building E3, and the background F that are hidden by the main character A is lowered. In FIG. 8, the enemy character B is dotted, the building E3 is right-slanted, and the background F is left-slanted, but these are pasted on the enemy character B, the building E3, and the background F. It represents the color density of the texture. By enlarging each point of the stipple of the part hidden by the main character A of the enemy character B, the density of the color of the texture pasted on the enemy character B is darker than the density of the part not hidden by the main character A. It is shown that. Further, the density of the texture color pasted on the building E3 and the background F is not hidden by the main character A by increasing the density of the right oblique line and the left oblique line of the part hidden by the main character A of the building E3 and the background F. It is darker than the density.

  As described above, according to the silhouette transparent process, the enemy character B, the building E3, and the background F that are to be seen without the main character A are displayed in black or white in the main character A portion. As a result, the outline of the main character A is displayed as a silhouette.

  Therefore, in the silhouette transmission process, the shape, color, and pattern of the main character A are not displayed in a semi-transparent manner in the portion hidden by the main character A, so that it is hidden by the main character A compared to the conventional transmission process. There is an advantage that the portion is easy to see. Further, since the presence of the main character A is displayed by a silhouette, the main character A will not be lost regardless of how the player moves the main character A.

  Further, in the conventional transparency process, the main character A requires a polygon-by-polygon sort process, a light source process, a texture process, and an alpha blending process. In the silhouette transparency process according to the present invention, a polygon-by-polygon sort process, Since the light source process and the texture process are not required and only the density of the portion hidden by the main character A is changed, the calculation load of the drawing process can be reduced.

  In the above embodiment, the game apparatus to which the silhouette transparent display method according to the present invention is applied has been described. However, the silhouette transparent display method according to the present invention is a three-dimensional animation display apparatus using a perspective projection method other than the game apparatus. It can also be applied to. In this case, the program for executing the flowchart of the silhouette transparent process shown in FIG. 3 is read into a computer from a recording medium such as a CD-ROM in which the program is recorded so as to be readable by the computer, or the program is transferred to the computer through an electric communication line. Then, the silhouette transmission display device according to the present invention can be easily realized by executing the program.

  In addition, the game content is not limited to a competitive game, and can be applied to all games using a display method using three-dimensional animation using a perspective projection method.

  In the above embodiment, when the distance D between the virtual camera C and the main character A is close to the predetermined distance Dr or less, only the silhouette transparent process is performed on the main character A. You may make it use separately the transparent process of this, and the silhouette transparent process which concerns on this invention.

  For example, the size of the main character A in the screen of the virtual camera C is classified into three levels: extra large, large, and standard. If “extra large”, silhouette transparent processing is performed, and if “large”, conventional transparent processing is performed In the case of “standard”, normal drawing processing may be performed. In terms of the distance D between the virtual camera C and the main character A, if the virtual camera C is a standard viewpoint position (distance D is greater than or equal to the first threshold Dr1), normal drawing processing is performed, and the virtual camera C and the main character A If the distance D to the character A is between the first threshold Dr1 and the second threshold Dr2 (<Dr1), conventional transmission processing is performed, and the distance D between the virtual camera C and the main character A is the second. If it is equal to or less than the threshold Dr2, the silhouette transmission process may be performed.

1 game machine 2 CPU
3 drawing data generation processor 4 RAM
5 ROM
6 Drawing processor 7 VRAM
71 Texture buffer 72, 72A, 72B Screen buffer 8 D / A converter 9 Audio processor 10 Amplifier 11 I / F
12 CD-ROM driver 13 Bus 14 Monitor 15 Speaker 16 Operation controller 17 CD-ROM
A Main character B Enemy character C Virtual camera E1, E2, E3, M Other objects F Background G Two-dimensional image

Claims (6)

Create a three-dimensional animation consisting of a two-dimensional image obtained by perspectively projecting a predetermined object placed in a three-dimensional virtual space from a predetermined viewpoint set in the virtual space. A program that functions as a three-dimensional animation display device for displaying an animation on a monitor,
The computer,
A determination unit that the distance between the viewpoint and the person said object in response to movement of the front Symbol object body is determined whether or not close to or less than a predetermined distance,
Wherein the distance between the viewpoint and the front SL was member by determining means is determined to have approached to or less than the predetermined distance, the background other parts obtained by perspective projection when said object is not present two dimension image, by the concentration of the background other parts hidden by the object is drawn in so that different from the concentration in the case of that there is no such object, a two-dimensional image displaying the person said object silhouette A moving image creation means for creating a three-dimensional animation ;
Display control means for displaying a three-dimensional animation created in the previous SL moving image creating means on the monitor,
Program to make it function. The program according to claim 1, wherein a method of making the density of the portion hidden by the object different from the density when the object does not exist varies depending on the brightness of the entire screen . 3. The program according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined distance is a distance at which a size of the object in a shooting screen is equal to or larger than a predetermined size when the object is photographed by the virtual camera from the viewpoint . The moving image creating means includes
Image creating means for creating a two-dimensional image of each frame by a perspective projection method excluding the object;
Calculating means for calculating a display position of the object on the display screen of the monitor;
The density of each pixel is changed at a predetermined ratio with respect to the pixels included in the display position of the object in the display screen of the monitor calculated by the calculating unit of the two-dimensional image generated by the image generating unit. Concentration changing means for causing
4. The program according to claim 1 , comprising: The moving image creating means includes
Storage means for reducing and storing the number of colors of the two-dimensional image of each frame created by the image creation means;
Conversion means for converting the display position of the object calculated by the calculation means into a display position in a two-dimensional image of each frame stored in the storage means,
The program according to claim 4, wherein the density changing unit performs a density changing process using a two-dimensional image of each frame stored in the storage unit. A program storage unit that records the program according to claim 1;
A computer for executing the program stored in the program storage unit;
3D animation display device with

Images