JP5002678B2 - Image generation apparatus, image generation method, and computer program used for image generation apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for generating an image with enhanced stereoscopic effect.

  A so-called 3D computer graphics process is well known as a technique for rendering an image of a game machine or the like three-dimensionally. In this processing, objects are arranged in a virtual three-dimensional space, those objects are photographed with a virtual camera arranged in the three-dimensional space, a two-dimensional image is generated, and an image signal corresponding to the two-dimensional image is generated. An image is generated by a procedure such as outputting to a display device. In recent years, a left-eye image and a right-eye image with parallax are generated, and an image corresponding to the left eye and the right eye of the observer is observed to present a three-dimensional image with a high stereoscopic effect to the observer. A game machine has also been proposed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-161095

  When expressing how a large number of objects diffuse in a virtual three-dimensional space, for example, a state where countless fragments generated by explosions are scattered, the conventional technology is faithful to events in the real world such as natural phenomena. Priority is given to expressing object diffusion for the purpose of rendering highly realistic images. For example, when drawing debris resulting from an explosion, the procedure is to calculate the trajectory of the debris according to the laws of physics, and sequentially photograph with a virtual camera while moving the debris in the virtual three-dimensional space along the obtained trajectory. Has been taken. Until now, no technique has been proposed that enhances the three-dimensional effect by performing control according to the situation in which the object diffuses.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image generation apparatus and the like that can enhance the stereoscopic effect of an image by performing control according to a situation in which an object diffuses.

  The image generation apparatus of the present invention moves each diffusion object in the virtual three-dimensional space (120) so that the plurality of diffusion objects (110) diffuse from a predetermined reference point (B) over time, An image generation device (1) for generating an image obtained by capturing a diffusion object from a camera viewpoint (A) set in the virtual three-dimensional space and displaying the image on a screen of a display device (4), A line-of-sight detection means (10) for detecting the line of sight of the observer with respect to the screen of the display device, and a direction in which the observer is viewing from the camera viewpoint in the virtual three-dimensional space based on the detection result of the line-of-sight detection means And gaze direction discriminating means (2) for discriminating as the gaze direction (Pb) and the angle at which the gaze direction is deviated from the direction connecting the camera viewpoint and the reference point as a declination angle (θ). The number of diffusing objects that move toward the camera viewpoint when the declination is small and the number of diffusing objects that move in the direction crossing the line-of-sight direction when the declination is large Distribution control means (2) for controlling the distribution of the diffusion object in the virtual three-dimensional space based on the declination so as to increase.

  In the image generation method of the present invention, each diffusion object is moved in the virtual three-dimensional space (120) so that the plurality of diffusion objects (110) are diffused from the predetermined reference point (B) with time. An image generation method for generating an image obtained by photographing the diffusion object from a camera viewpoint (A) set in the virtual three-dimensional space, and displaying the image on a screen of a display device (4), the line-of-sight detection Detecting the observer's line of sight with respect to the screen of the display device using the means (10), and based on the detection result of the line-of-sight detection means, the observer from the camera viewpoint in the virtual three-dimensional space; Determining the direction in which the visual line is viewed as the visual line direction (Pb), and determining the angle at which the visual line direction is deviated from the direction connecting the camera viewpoint and the reference point as the deflection angle (θ) The number of diffusing objects that move toward the camera viewpoint increases when the declination is small, and the number of diffusing objects that move in the direction crossing the line-of-sight direction increases when the declination is large. Controlling the distribution of the diffusion object in the virtual three-dimensional space based on the declination.

  Furthermore, the computer program of the present invention moves each diffusion object in the virtual three-dimensional space (120) so that the plurality of diffusion objects (110) are diffused from the predetermined reference point (B) over time, A computer (2) of an image generation device that generates an image obtained by capturing the diffusion object from a camera viewpoint (A) set in the virtual three-dimensional space and displays the image on a screen of a display device (4). Based on the detection result of the line-of-sight detection means (10) for detecting the line of sight of the observer with respect to the screen of the display device, the direction of the observer looking from the camera viewpoint in the virtual three-dimensional space is determined as the line-of-sight direction (Pb ) Gaze direction discriminating means that discriminates the angle of deviation of the gaze direction from the direction connecting the camera viewpoint and the reference point as a declination angle (θ). The number of diffusing objects that move toward the camera viewpoint increases when the angle discriminating means and the declination are small, and the number of diffusing objects that move in the direction crossing the viewing direction increases when the declination is large. Further, it is configured to function as distribution control means for controlling the distribution of the diffusion object in the virtual three-dimensional space based on the declination angle.

  In the present invention, when the declination of the viewing direction with respect to the direction connecting the camera viewpoint and the reference point where the diffusing object diffuses is small, it can be considered that the observer is viewing the reference point or its vicinity. In this case, by increasing the number of diffusing objects that move toward the camera viewpoint, the visual effect that the diffusing objects come from the back of the image toward the viewer is enhanced, thereby enhancing the stereoscopic effect of the image. be able to. On the other hand, when the declination is large, it can be considered that the observer is looking in a direction away from the reference point. In this case, by increasing the number of diffusing objects that move in the direction crossing the viewing direction of the observer, it is possible to enhance the visual effect that the diffusing objects pass through the field of view. Then, by comparing with other objects included in the visual field of the observer, the sense of depth of the image is increased, thereby enhancing the stereoscopic effect of the image. Note that the diffusion reference point need only be a point appropriately determined as a reference for expressing a state in which a plurality of diffusion objects move while diffusing, and does not need to be a physical starting point for diffusion. For example, when a diffuse object diffuses from a specific position, it is possible to set that origin as a reference point for convenience, but when multiple diffuse objects diffuse from multiple origins In this case, an appropriate position that is convenient for representing a collection of diffusion objects, such as the position of the center of gravity of the diffusion objects at the start of diffusion, may be determined as a reference point. In addition, the reference point may move with time.

  In one aspect of the present invention, the distribution control means determines a direction in which the number of diffusion objects should be increased as a main direction, and the high density region (111) in which the diffusion objects are distributed at a higher density than other regions. May be generated along the main direction to change the distribution of the diffused object according to the declination. By creating a high-density region along the main direction according to the declination, the number of diffuse objects that move in a direction that enhances the three-dimensional effect is increased more than that of the other regions, further increasing the three-dimensional effect. Can be emphasized.

  In one aspect of the present invention, the distribution control means is arranged along a main direction as a direction in which the number of the diffusion objects should be increased separately from the diffusion objects arranged in the virtual three-dimensional space according to a predetermined basic distribution. A moving diffusion object may be arranged in addition to the virtual three-dimensional space. As a more specific form, the distribution control means includes basic position calculation means (25) for calculating the position of the diffusion object necessary for arranging the diffusion object in the virtual three-dimensional space according to the predetermined basic distribution. The additional position calculation means (26) for calculating the position of the diffusion object necessary for adding and arranging the diffusion object along the main direction, and the basic position calculation means and the additional position calculation means And object placement means (2) for placing the diffused object according to each of the positions. When a diffusion object is added in this way, a high-density region can be generated simply by adding a diffusion object that moves along the main direction according to the declination without performing any operation on the basic distribution. For example, a high-density area is arranged along the main direction by implementing a logical model in which a functional expression or the like is implemented in each of the basic position calculating means and the additional position calculating means, and arranging diffusion objects according to the positions calculated by them. Is possible.

  In another form, the distribution control means increases the position of at least some of the diffuse objects among the diffuse objects to be arranged in the virtual three-dimensional space according to a predetermined basic distribution, and increases the number of the diffuse objects. The high-concentration region may be generated by correcting and arranging in the virtual three-dimensional space so as to gather along the main direction as a direction to be generated. As a more specific form, the distribution control means includes basic position calculation means (25) for calculating the position of the diffusion object necessary for arranging the diffusion object in the virtual three-dimensional space according to the predetermined basic distribution. The position correcting means (27) for correcting the position calculated by the basic position calculating means so that at least a part of the diffused objects gather along the main direction, and the position corrected by the position correcting means You may provide the object arrangement | positioning means (2) which arrange | positions a spreading | diffusion object. If the position of the diffusion object is corrected in this way, a high-density region can be generated without increasing the total number of diffusion objects to be arranged in the virtual three-dimensional space.

  In one aspect of the present invention, a speed control unit that changes the speed of the diffusing object moving in the direction crossing the line-of-sight direction so as to be slower when the distance from the camera viewpoint to the diffusing object is small than when it is large. 2) may be further provided. By slowing down the speed of the diffusing object that crosses the position close to the observer, the time for the diffusing object to pass the line of sight can be increased, and the observer can be aware of the effect of enhancing the stereoscopic effect for a longer time.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, in the virtual three-dimensional space, a left-eye virtual camera (121L) and a right-eye virtual camera (121R) are provided at a distance corresponding to parallax, and the left-eye virtual camera is provided. A three-dimensional image may be presented to an observer using images captured by the camera and the right-eye camera. In this case, the stereoscopic effect can be further enhanced by controlling the distribution of the diffusion objects.

  In addition, in the above description, in order to make an understanding of this invention easy, the reference sign of the accompanying drawing was attached in parenthesis, but this invention is not limited to the form of illustration by it.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the number of diffusing objects toward a specific direction is increased according to the magnitude of the declination of the viewing direction with respect to the direction connecting the camera viewpoint and the reference point where the diffusing object diffuses. This enhances the visual effect that more diffuse objects are directed toward the viewer from the back of the image, or the visual effect that more diffuse objects pass through the viewer's field of view. Thereby, it is possible to enhance the stereoscopic effect of the image.

1 is a block diagram of a game machine configured as an image generation device according to one embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows an example of a game screen. The perspective view which shows the example which has arrange | positioned the object in virtual three-dimensional space. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the virtual three-dimensional space in FIG. 3. The figure which shows an example of the basic distribution of the fragment as a diffusion object. The figure which shows direction of a high-density area | region when a declination is small. The figure which shows direction of a high-density area | region when a declination is large. The figure which shows an example of the fragment addition area | region utilized in order to draw a high-density area | region. The functional block diagram of an image process part. The functional block diagram concerning one form of a diffusion image processing part. The flowchart which shows the spreading | diffusion event processing routine which an image process part performs. The functional block diagram which concerns on the other form of a diffusion image process part. The flowchart which added the process for changing a speed according to the distance of a diffusion object from a camera viewpoint.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which an image generating apparatus according to the present invention is configured as a game machine will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that in the game machine of this embodiment, whether or not a player can perform a predetermined mission by searching a virtual game space by operating a character (sometimes referred to as a player character) set as an operation target. An action-type game for competing with each other is provided. In addition, the game machine of the present embodiment displays a left-eye image and a right-eye image with parallax on a common display device, and displays these images to the player through the 3D glasses with the left and right eyes. By separately observing, it has a function of presenting the game screen as a three-dimensional image to the player. Below, a game machine is demonstrated on the assumption of presentation of a three-dimensional image. As a method for presenting a 3D image using 3D glasses, a filter for the left eye and a filter for the right eye having different polarization directions are alternately arranged in a line on the screen of the display device, and according to these filters. A left-eye image and a right-eye image are alternately combined into a line to display a one-frame image, and the image is observed through a 3D glass polarizing filter. There is a sequential method in which images for an eye are alternately displayed at a predetermined cycle, and left and right shutters of the 3D glasses are alternately opened and closed in synchronization with the cycle. In the following embodiment, a description will be given assuming that a three-dimensional image is presented by a polarization method. The game machine may be configured as a commercial game machine installed in a commercial facility or the like, or may be configured as a home game machine.

  FIG. 1 shows an outline of a control system in the game machine 1. The control system includes a control unit 2. The control unit 2 is a computer unit that combines a microprocessor and peripheral devices such as a main memory (RAM, ROM) necessary for its operation. Connected to the control unit 2 are a game input device 3, a monitor (a liquid crystal display device as an example) 4 as a display device, a speaker unit 5, and an external storage device 6. In addition, although various peripheral devices can be connected to the control unit 2, they are not shown.

  The input device 3 includes a plurality of operation units (not shown) that accept operations of the player, and outputs signals corresponding to the operations of these operation units to the control unit 2. The input device 3 includes a gun-type controller 7 simulating a handgun. The gun-type controller 7 is provided as an input device that symbolizes a weapon given to the player. The player can shoot the target by directing the muzzle 7a of the gun-type controller 7 to a target appropriately displayed on the screen of the monitor 4 and operating the trigger lever 7b. The gun-type controller 7 is equipped with an aim detection sensor 8 that detects which position on the screen of the monitor 4 the muzzle 7a is directed to. In addition, the game machine 1 is equipped with a 3D glass 9 for a player to view a 3D image displayed on the screen of the monitor 4. The 3D glass 9 is a so-called polarizing glass provided with polarizing filters for the left eye and the right eye.

  The 3D glass 9 is provided with a line-of-sight detection sensor 10 that detects the line of sight of the player (observer) wearing the 3D glass 9, that is, where the player is looking on the screen of the monitor 4. Various known sensors can be used as the aiming detection sensor 8 and the line-of-sight detection sensor 10. As an example, infrared light emitted toward a viewer (player) from a plurality of locations around the observation target (monitor 4) is received by a light receiving unit provided on the viewer side, and received from the light reception state. Sensors that detect the direction in which the part is directed can be used as the aim detection sensor 8 and the line-of-sight detection sensor 10, respectively. Alternatively, a camera may be installed around the monitor 4 and an image captured by the camera may be processed to detect the direction in which the muzzle 7a is directed or the line of sight of the player. Furthermore, the direction in which the muzzle 7a is directed or the line of sight of the player may be detected using various sensors such as a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and an acceleration sensor.

  The external storage device 6 is a storage device including a nonvolatile storage medium such as a magnetic storage medium, an optical storage medium, or an EEPROM. In the external storage device 6, in addition to an operating system for realizing basic control of the control unit 2, a game program 11 as application software for executing a game in a predetermined procedure, and the game program 11 The game data 12 to be referred to as appropriate is recorded. When the control unit 2 reads and executes the game program 11, various logical devices necessary for executing the game are generated in the control unit 2. As one of the logical devices, an image processing unit 13 is formed in the control unit 2. The image processing unit 13 executes various arithmetic processes necessary for generating an image to be displayed on the monitor 4. The image processing unit 13 is provided with a diffusion image processing unit 14. The diffusion image processing unit 14 performs calculations necessary for displaying an image corresponding to the diffusion object generated during the game. A diffusion event is an event in which a large number of objects (sometimes referred to as diffusion objects) diffuse in a game space over time from a predetermined reference point. Details of the image processing unit 13 and the diffusion image processing unit 14 will be described later.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a game screen displayed on the monitor 4. On the game screen 100, a main image 101 showing a state of a game space such as indoors set as a place where the player character PC moves is displayed. The main image 101 includes various objects such as pillars 102 and 103, a box 104, or a character 105 arranged in the game space. The player character PC may be displayed or may not be displayed. The enemy character 105 is operated by the control unit 2 of the game machine 1. Alternatively, the character 105 may be operated by a player of another game machine connected to the game machine 1 via a network. In the main image 101, a viewpoint marker 106 indicating the position viewed by the player and a pair of cursors 107 sandwiching the viewpoint marker 106 on the left and right are displayed. The display position of the viewpoint marker 106 is controlled to coincide with the line of sight detected by the line-of-sight detection sensor 10. An aiming marker 108 indicating the aiming position detected by the aiming detection sensor 8, that is, the position where the muzzle 7a is directed, is also displayed in the main image 101.

  The main image 101 is scrolled up, down, left, and right according to the change in the line of sight detected by the line-of-sight detection sensor 10. The line-of-sight detection sensor 10 is attached to the 3D glass 9. Therefore, if the player moves his / her head, the line of sight detected by the line-of-sight detection sensor 10 changes accordingly, and the screen is scrolled in the direction in which the head is moved. Thereby, the player can intuitively recognize a feeling as if the user is actually moving in the game space. However, it is customary that the player's head is constantly moving finely, and scrolling the main image 101 by following these movements one by one causes an inconvenience that the game screen constantly shakes. Also, if the player scrolls the main image 101 following a temporary change in the line of sight, such as looking around the periphery of the main image 101 and returning the line of sight to the center, the main image 101 may be difficult to see. is there. Therefore, an intentional dead zone or a response delay is set in the scroll process of the main image 101 in response to a change in the line of sight of the player. Therefore, the center point Cm of the main image 101 and the viewpoint marker 106 do not always coincide with each other, and the viewpoint marker 106 may be displaced from the center point Cm of the main image 101 as shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 2, the player notices that the character 105 has appeared from behind the pillar 102 and has just moved his / her line of sight to the character 105. In addition to the above, gauge 109 and other various information are appropriately displayed on game screen 100.

  In order to display the main image 101 as described above on the monitor 4, the image processing unit 13 renders the main image 101 in accordance with a so-called 3D computer graphics processing procedure. The drawing method will be described below. FIG. 3 shows an example of a virtual three-dimensional space that the image processing unit 13 logically generates on the memory of the control unit 2 in order to draw the main image 101. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the virtual three-dimensional space. is there. The virtual three-dimensional space 120 represents a game space displayed as the main image 101 as a three-dimensional model. In the virtual three-dimensional space 120, objects such as pillars 102 and 103, a box 104, and a character 105 to be included in the main image 101 are arranged. In the virtual three-dimensional space 120, two virtual cameras 121L and 121R are arranged. The virtual camera 121L is provided for generating an image for the left eye, and the virtual camera 121R is provided for generating an image for the right eye. The interval between the cameras 121L and 121R is set based on the parallax necessary for generating a 3D video. If it is not necessary to generate a stereoscopic image, a single virtual camera is sufficient.

  The positions of the virtual cameras 121L and 121R are represented by the camera viewpoint A located between them. The camera viewpoint A corresponds to the viewpoint in the game space of the player character PC. The position of the camera viewpoint A is determined by the control unit 2 based on an instruction given by the player to the input device 3 in order to operate the player character. The shooting direction Pa of the virtual three-dimensional space 120 by the virtual cameras 121L and 121R is determined by the control unit 2 based on the line of sight of the player detected by the line-of-sight detection sensor 10. However, as described with reference to FIG. 2, the line-of-sight direction (referred to as the line-of-sight direction) Pb detected by the line-of-sight detection sensor 10 does not necessarily match the imaging direction Pa. In the example of FIG. 3, there is a deviation of the angle δ between the photographing direction Pa and the line-of-sight direction Pb. Note that the position of the object in the virtual three-dimensional space 120 is defined by three-dimensional coordinates according to a three-axis orthogonal coordinate system (world coordinate system) of the XYZ axes with the shooting direction Pa as the Z axis.

  The image processing unit 13 virtually photographs the three-dimensional space 120 with the cameras 121L and 121R while controlling the positions and orientations of the virtual cameras 121L and 121R according to the camera viewpoint A and the photographing direction Pa. These processes are required to calculate a two-dimensional image obtained by projecting the virtual three-dimensional space 120 onto the image planes of the virtual cameras 121L and 121R. The image processing unit 13 synthesizes and draws the obtained two-dimensional image (the image for the left eye and the image for the right eye) on the frame memory so that the image can be presented as a three-dimensional image by the polarization method, and the drawn image data Is output to the monitor 4 at a predetermined cycle. As a result, the main image 101 is displayed on the monitor 4. Note that the gauge 109 and other display elements to be overlaid on the main image 101 are drawn on the frame memory as appropriate. A series of processing such as object placement in the virtual three-dimensional space 120, control of the virtual cameras 121L and 121R according to the camera viewpoint A and the shooting direction Pa, or shooting by the virtual cameras 121L and 121R is a modeling process in 3D computer graphics processing. This is performed using a known process such as a rendering process.

  In the game machine 1 of the present embodiment, a diffusion event occurs in the virtual three-dimensional space 120 when a predetermined diffusion event generation condition is satisfied during the game. Although the outline of the diffusion event has been described above, as a specific example, the box 104 shown in FIG. 3 explodes, and countless pieces (corresponding to the diffusion object) from the reference point B set at the center of the box 104. An event that diffuses (scatters) to the surroundings over time is considered as a diffusion event. In this case, as shown by a large number of arrows in FIG. 3, if it is assumed that fragments having velocity vectors in various directions from the reference point B are generated, the range in which these fragments diffuse is indicated by a one-dot chain line in the figure. As indicated by D, it can be regarded that the reference point B is gradually spread in a dome shape with the passage of time.

  FIG. 5A shows an example of the diffusion range D when it is assumed that the fragments 110 diffuse evenly around the reference point B. FIG. In order to display the state in which the fragments 110 diffuse in the main image 101, the initial condition given at the time of the diffusion event, for example, a physical quantity such as energy given by the explosion, and the trajectory of the fragments 110 such as the initial acceleration of the fragments 110 A function formula (motion equation) for calculating the trajectory of the shard 110 is constructed according to the physical law, using various conditions necessary for the calculation of the above and the elapsed time t from the time of the event occurrence as parameters. The mounted logical model is mounted on a computer, the position of the fragment 110 is sequentially calculated by the model, the position of the fragment 110 in the virtual three-dimensional space 120 is changed according to the calculation result, and the virtual cameras 121L and 121R are photographed. That's fine. Hereinafter, as shown in FIG. 5A, a logical model including a functional expression describing a state in which the fragments 110 are almost equally distributed within the diffusion range D is referred to as a basic model. The distribution of the fragments 110 when the fragments 110 are arranged at the position calculated by the basic model corresponds to the basic distribution.

  When the debris 110 is drawn using the basic model described above, it is possible to correctly represent how the debris 110 scatters according to the physical laws. However, in the game machine 1 of the present embodiment, the process of enhancing the stereoscopic effect is performed by changing the distribution of the fragments 110 in the diffusion range D. As shown in FIG. 3, the change in the distribution of the fragments 110 is obtained when the deviation angle of the player's line-of-sight direction Pb with respect to the direction Po connecting the camera viewpoint A and the diffusion reference point B is defined as the declination angle θ. Control is based on the deflection angle θ. For example, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the line-of-sight direction Pb is directed to the vicinity of the reference point B and the declination angle θ is relatively small, the camera viewpoint is viewed from the direction opposite to the line-of-sight direction Pb, that is, from the reference point B. A high-density region 111 in which the density of the fragments 110 is relatively larger than other regions is generated with the direction E toward A as an axis. As a result, it is possible to enhance the stereoscopic effect by producing an effect that a large number of pieces 110 fly toward the player. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5C, when the line-of-sight direction Pb is directed away from the direction of the reference point B and the declination angle θ is relatively large, the direction F crossing the line-of-sight direction Pb is used as an axis. A high density region 111 is produced. As a result, it is possible to enhance the stereoscopic effect by producing an effect that a large number of pieces 110 cross the front of the player. These axes E and F correspond to the main direction.

  In order to generate the high-density region 111 as described above, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 6, a fragment having a conical shape having a reference point B as an apex, and the density of the fragments 110 increases as the distance from the central axis G increases. The additional area 112 is set such that the reference point B coincides with the reference point B of the diffusion range D of FIG. 5A and the direction of the central axis G coincides with the main direction according to the declination angle θ. D may be superimposed on D. In order to realize such a method, the fragment additional region 112 is generated using the initial condition given at the time of the diffusion event occurrence, for example, the energy given by the explosion and the elapsed time t from the event occurrence time as parameters. A functional expression (equation of motion) for calculating the trajectory of the fragment 110 is constructed so that a logical model that implements the functional expression is mounted on a computer, and the position of the fragment 110 is sequentially calculated using the model. According to the calculation result and the deviation angle θ, the debris addition region 112 may be arranged so as to overlap the diffusion range D in the virtual three-dimensional space 120. Hereinafter, a logical model including a function formula describing the fragment addition area 112 is referred to as a 3D effect enhancement model. In the above description, both the basic model and the 3D effect enhancement model have been described as logical models for calculating the trajectory or position of the fragment 110. However, these models are not limited to the fragment 110, and are displayed as diffusion events. This is applied to the calculation of the trajectory or position of various diffuse objects. That is, in this embodiment, as an example of the diffusion object, only the debris 110 scattered by explosion is taken up.

  Next, the configuration of the image processing unit 13 for generating the main image 101 by the above method will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the image processing unit 13 includes a scene construction unit 20, a left eye image calculation unit 21 </ b> L, a right eye image calculation unit 21 </ b> R, an image composition unit 22, and an image signal generation unit 23. And are provided. The diffusion image processing unit 14 is provided in association with the scene construction unit 20. The scene construction unit 20 arranges various objects in the virtual three-dimensional space 120 and arranges the virtual cameras 121L and 121R in the virtual three-dimensional space 120 according to the camera viewpoint A and the shooting direction Pa. In addition, when a diffusion event occurs, the scene construction unit 20 passes information necessary for calculating the position coordinates of the fragments 110 in the three-dimensional space 120 to the diffusion image processing unit 14, and the diffusion image processing unit 14. The position coordinates of the fragments 110 are received from and the fragments 110 are arranged at those positions. The processing of the diffusion image processing unit 14 will be described later.

  The left-eye image calculation unit 21L performs a calculation necessary for photographing the virtual three-dimensional space 120 constructed by the scene construction unit 20 from the left-eye virtual camera 121L and rendering a two-dimensional left-eye image. To do. The right-eye image calculation unit 21R performs a calculation necessary for photographing the virtual three-dimensional space 120 constructed by the scene construction unit 20 from the right-eye virtual camera 121R and rendering a two-dimensional right-eye image. To do. The image synthesis unit 22 synthesizes the image data necessary for observing the 3D video through the 3D glass 9 by synthesizing the images calculated by the image calculation units 21L and 21R. The image signal generation unit 23 converts the image data combined by the image combining unit 22 into a predetermined image signal and outputs it to the monitor 4.

  FIG. 8 shows the configuration of the diffusion image processing unit 14. The diffusion image processing unit 14 includes a basic model calculation unit 25 and a 3D effect enhancement model unit 26. The basic model calculation unit 25 implements the basic model described above, and based on the initial conditions (energy, initial acceleration, etc.) at the time of occurrence of the diffusion event and the elapsed time t from the event occurrence time, the diffusion range D shown in FIG. 5A. The position of each piece 110 is calculated. Note that the position of the fragment 110 in the basic model calculation unit 25 is first performed in accordance with the model coordinate system Xd-Yd-Zd shown in FIG. 5A, and then in accordance with the world coordinate system XYZ in the virtual three-dimensional space 120. The coordinates are converted. On the other hand, the 3D effect enhancement model unit 26 implements the 3D effect enhancement model described above, and calculates the position of each fragment 110 in the fragment addition region 112 shown in FIG. 6 according to its own model coordinate system based on the above initial conditions. To do. Further, the 3D effect enhancement model unit 26 determines the orientation of the axis G of the debris addition region 112 in the world coordinate system XYZ according to the declination angle θ, and the position of the debris 110 is set to the world coordinates according to the orientation. Convert to coordinates in the system XYZ. The direction of the axis G is such that the axis G is directed toward the camera viewpoint A when the declination angle θ is small as described above, and the axis G is directed in a direction crossing the line-of-sight direction Pb when the declination angle θ is large. It is determined. A threshold value may be set for the deflection angle θ, and the direction of the axis G may be changed in two steps according to the magnitude relationship between the deflection angle θ and the threshold value, or the direction of the axis G may be varied according to the change of the deflection angle θ. It may be changed step by step or steplessly. In order to define the position of the fragment 110 and the direction of the axis G in the world coordinate system, the diffusion image processing unit 14 is also given information specifying the coordinates of the reference point B in the world coordinate system and the shooting direction Pa from the scene construction unit 20. It is done. However, the scene construction unit 20 may perform coordinate conversion of the fragments 110 into the world coordinate system and determination of the direction of the axis G.

  The coordinates of the fragments 110 calculated by both model units 25 and 26 are synthesized and returned to the scene construction unit 20 of the image processing unit 13. The scene construction unit 20 arranges these diffusion objects in the virtual three-dimensional space 120 according to the position coordinates of the diffusion objects (debris 110) such as the fragments 110 returned from the diffusion image processing unit 14. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5B or FIG. 5C, the diffusion range D in which the high-density region 111 occurs in the direction corresponding to the deflection angle θ is drawn on the main image 101.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a diffusion event processing routine executed by the diffusion image processing unit 14 at a predetermined cycle in order to calculate the coordinates of the diffusion object. First, in step S1, the diffusion image processing unit 14 determines whether or not a diffusion event occurrence condition is satisfied. If not, the current routine is terminated. On the other hand, if the diffusion event generation condition is satisfied in step S1, the diffusion image processing unit 14 proceeds to step S2 and acquires an initial condition for calculating the position of the diffusion object. The initial condition is information necessary for specifying the velocity vector given to the diffusion object. In subsequent step S3, the diffusion image processing unit 14 acquires the declination angle θ. The deflection angle θ is given from the camera viewpoint A, the reference point B, and the line-of-sight direction Pb determined by the control unit 2. In the next step S4, the diffusion image processing unit 14 calculates the coordinates of the diffusion object, and further outputs the coordinates calculated in step S5 to the scene construction unit 20. The coordinate calculation procedure is as described above. Thereafter, the diffusion image processing unit 14 determines whether or not a diffusion event end condition is satisfied. The end condition is determined from various viewpoints, for example, whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the occurrence of the diffusion event, or whether all the diffusion objects can be regarded as extinguished by dropping to the ground. Good.

  If the event end condition is not satisfied, the diffusion image processing unit 14 proceeds to step S7 and updates the elapsed time t. The time updated here is equal to the image drawing cycle (frame rate) on the monitor 4. Thereafter, the diffusion image processing unit 14 returns to the process of step S3. Thereby, the direction of the high-density region 111 in the diffusion range D can be made to follow the change in the deflection angle θ after the occurrence of the diffusion event. Moreover, the diffusion range D is gradually expanded by sequentially updating the elapsed time t. When it is determined in step S6 that the diffusion event end condition is satisfied, the diffusion image processing unit 14 ends the current routine.

  In the above embodiment, the line-of-sight detection sensor 10 corresponds to the line-of-sight detection means, and the control unit 2 corresponds to the line-of-sight direction determination means. Further, the control unit 2 functions as a declination angle discriminating unit by executing the process of step S3 of FIG. 9 or FIG. 11, executes step S4 and step S5 of FIG. 9 or FIG. 11, and is output in step S5. It functions as a distribution control means by arranging the fragments 110 as diffusion objects at the coordinates. 8 corresponds to the basic position calculation means, the 3D effect enhancement model calculation section 26 corresponds to the additional position calculation means, and the distribution correction section 27 in FIG. 10 corresponds to the position correction means. The control unit 2 functions as an object placement unit by placing the fragments 110 at the positions calculated by the diffusion image processing unit 14.

  This invention is not limited to the form mentioned above, It can implement with a various form. For example, in the above embodiment, the position of the fragment 110 calculated using the 3D effect enhancement model is superimposed on the position of the fragment 110 calculated using the basic model, thereby obtaining the diffusion range D of FIG. 5A. The debris addition region 112 of FIG. 6 is added, and the high density region 111 is generated in the direction corresponding to the declination angle θ. However, in order to arrange the diffusion objects at a higher density in the direction according to the deflection angle θ, the configuration is not limited to a mode in which the diffusion objects are added. For example, by changing the direction of the velocity vector of a part of the fragment 110 as the diffusion object included in the diffusion range D as shown in FIG. 5A, that is, the direction in which the fragment 110 diffuses, The high density region 111 may be generated by changing the distribution. In that case, the diffusion image processing unit 14 gives the coordinates of the fragments 110 calculated by the basic model calculation unit 25 to the distribution correction unit 27, as shown in FIG. The main direction is determined according to the angle θ, and the coordinates of the partial fragments 110 are changed so that the partial fragments 110 gather in the determined main direction, thereby increasing the direction in the direction corresponding to the deviation angle θ. It may be configured to produce a density region 111. Further, when adding the fragment addition region 112, the distribution of the fragments 110 in the region 112 does not necessarily need to be set so that the density increases toward the center of the axis G. Even when the fragments 110 are evenly distributed in the fragment addition region 112, if the region 112 is added to the diffusion range D, the high-density region 111 can be generated.

  In the above embodiment, the distribution density of the diffuse object is changed according to the deflection angle θ. However, as a further process for enhancing the stereoscopic effect, the speed of the diffuse object is determined according to the distance from the camera viewpoint A to the diffuse object. May be changed. For example, in the case where a large number of diffusing objects are scattered in a direction crossing the line-of-sight direction Pb with a large declination angle θ, the speed of the diffusing object may be changed according to the distance from the camera viewpoint A to the diffusing object. . That is, when diffusion objects cross near the camera viewpoint A, these diffusion objects pass in front of the player character in a short time. Therefore, even if more diffusion objects are arranged in the direction crossing the line-of-sight direction Pb, the effect of enhancing the stereoscopic effect due to them is lost early. Therefore, a diffused object that is close to the camera viewpoint A has a slower speed than a diffused object that is farther away from the camera viewpoint A, thereby further enhancing the stereoscopic effect by making the sense of depth longer. can do.

  FIG. 11 shows a diffusion event processing routine executed by the control unit 2 when the speed is changed according to the distance from the camera viewpoint A to the diffusion object as described above. In FIG. 11, steps S1 to S4 and S5 to S7 are the same processes as the steps with the same numbers in FIG. The routine shown in FIG. 11 is characterized in that after the position of the shard 110 is calculated in step S4, the control unit 2 proceeds to step S10 to calculate the distance from the camera viewpoint A to the shard 110, and the distance is less than a certain value. For 110, the position of the shard 110 closer to the camera viewpoint A is made faster than that of the shard 110 far from the camera viewpoint A by correcting the position so as to be closer to the reference point B than the position calculated in step S 4. Slow down. Thereafter, the control unit 2 proceeds to the process of step S5. By executing the processing of step S10, the control unit 2 functions as a speed control means.

  In the present invention, the diffusion object may be appropriately changed as long as it is an object that should be drawn so as to diffuse with the passage of time from a predetermined reference point. For example, when expressing how a group of objects such as birds and fish is diffused, a reference point is set at an appropriate position in the group, and the distribution of the objects in the group is calculated based on the argument θ. You may control similarly. When the swarm moves while diffusing, the reference point may be gradually moved according to the movement. That is, the reference point does not necessarily need to be fixed at a certain position in the virtual three-dimensional space.

  In the above embodiment, the basic model is constructed so that the trajectory when the fragments as the diffusion object are diffused according to the physical law can be calculated, but the basic model is not limited to the example using such a physical law. When the above-mentioned flock of birds or the like is processed with the basic model, it is possible to construct a basic model by arbitrarily setting how the flock spreads. In short, the basic model is for calculating the position of the diffusing object necessary for arranging the diffusing object according to the predetermined basic distribution in the stage before changing the distribution of the diffusing object according to the argument θ. It is only necessary to use a method such as adding a change in the distribution object according to the declination angle θ to the specific direction of the diffuse object or correcting the distribution using the basic model for the basic distribution of the diffuse object determined by the basic model. It just needs to be realized.

  In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which a deviation may occur between the shooting direction of the virtual camera and the viewing direction of the player, but the virtual camera is controlled so that the detected viewing direction and the shooting direction always coincide. Even in this case, it is only necessary to control the distribution of the diffusing object based on the deflection angle of the viewing direction with respect to the direction connecting the camera viewpoint and the reference point of the diffusing object.

  In the above form, the virtual camera is placed at the eye position of the player so that the player can see the virtual three-dimensional space as viewed from the player. The present invention is described by taking an example in which a game screen is drawn from a so-called subjective viewpoint in which the current direction matches the shooting direction of the virtual camera. However, according to the present invention, a camera is arranged at a so-called objective viewpoint (for example, a position behind the player character) that is different from the character (player character) to be operated by the player, and the player character and other surrounding targets, etc. The present invention can also be applied to an example of drawing a state of inclusion on a game screen. When drawing a game screen from an objective viewpoint, in addition to the above-described declination, other elements may be reflected in the control of the diffusion object distribution. For example, a control of changing the direction in which the diffusion object should be increased may be added depending on whether or not the diffusion object hits the player character.

  In the above embodiment, the image generation apparatus for generating the left-eye image and the right-eye image and presenting the 3D video to the observer is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this. Even when the present invention is applied to an image generation apparatus for presenting an image obtained by photographing a virtual three-dimensional space with a single virtual camera to an observer, the stereoscopic effect perceived by the observer due to a change in the distribution of diffuse objects is enhanced. It is possible. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to a form applied to a game machine, and can be applied to image generation for various uses.

1 Game console (image generator)
2 Control unit (gaze direction discrimination means, declination discrimination means, distribution control means, speed control means)
10 Gaze detection sensor (Gaze detection means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Game program 13 Image processing part 14 Diffusion image processing part 25 Basic model calculating part (basic position calculating means)
26 3D effect enhancement model part (additional position calculation means)
27 Distribution correction unit (position correction means)
100 Game screen 101 Main image 110 Fragment (Diffusion object)
111 High-density area 120 Virtual three-dimensional space 121L Left-eye virtual camera 121R Right-eye virtual camera A Camera viewpoint B Reference point Cm Center point of main image D Diffusion range G Center axis PC Player character Pa Shooting direction Pb Line-of-sight direction θ Bias Corner

Claims (10)

In the virtual three-dimensional space, each diffusion object is moved so that a plurality of diffusion objects diffuse from a predetermined reference point as time elapses, and the diffusion object is photographed from the camera viewpoint set in the virtual three-dimensional space. An image generation device that generates an image and displays the image on a screen of a display device,
Line-of-sight detection means for detecting the line of sight of the viewer with respect to the screen of the display device;
Based on the detection result of the line-of-sight detection means, the line-of-sight direction determining means for determining the direction that the observer is viewing from the camera viewpoint as the line-of-sight direction in the virtual three-dimensional space;
Declination determination means for determining an angle at which the line-of-sight direction is deviated from a direction connecting the camera viewpoint and the reference point as a declination;
When the declination is small, the number of diffusing objects that move toward the camera viewpoint increases, and when the declination is large, the number of diffusing objects that move in a direction crossing the line-of-sight direction increases. Distribution control means for controlling the distribution of the diffusion object in the virtual three-dimensional space based on
An image generation apparatus comprising:   The distribution control means determines a direction in which the number of diffusion objects should be increased as a main direction, and generates a high-density region along the main direction in which the diffusion object is distributed at a higher density than other regions. The image generation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distribution of the diffusion object is changed according to the deviation angle.   The distribution control means includes a virtual object that moves along a main direction as a direction in which the number of the diffused objects should be increased, separately from the diffused objects arranged in the virtual three-dimensional space according to a predetermined basic distribution. The image generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image generating apparatus is additionally arranged in a three-dimensional space.   The distribution control means includes basic position calculation means for calculating a position of a diffusion object necessary for arranging the diffusion object in the virtual three-dimensional space according to the predetermined basic distribution, and the diffusion object along the main direction. An additional position calculating means for calculating the position of the diffused object necessary for adding and arranging the object, and an object arrangement for arranging the diffused object according to each of the positions calculated by the basic position calculating means and the additional calculating means The image generation apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising: means.   The distribution control means is configured to determine the positions of at least some of the diffusion objects to be arranged in the virtual three-dimensional space according to a predetermined basic distribution as main directions as directions in which the number of the diffusion objects should be increased. The image generation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image generation apparatus is arranged so as to be gathered along the virtual three-dimensional space after being corrected.   The distribution control means includes basic position calculation means for calculating a position of a diffusion object necessary for arranging the diffusion object in the virtual three-dimensional space according to the predetermined basic distribution, and at least some of the diffusion objects are the main objects. A position correcting unit that corrects the position calculated by the basic position calculating unit so as to gather along the direction; and an object arranging unit that arranges the diffused object according to the position corrected by the position correcting unit. The image generation apparatus according to claim 5.   The speed control means which changes further the speed of the diffusion object which moves in the direction which crosses the said sight line direction so that it may become slower than when it is large when the distance from the camera viewpoint to the diffusion object is small. The image generation device according to any one of the above. In the virtual three-dimensional space, a left-eye virtual camera and a right-eye virtual camera are provided at a distance corresponding to parallax,
The image generating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a three-dimensional image is presented to an observer using images respectively captured by the left-eye virtual camera and the right-eye camera. In the virtual three-dimensional space, each diffusing object is moved so that a plurality of diffusing objects diffuse from a predetermined reference point as time passes, and the diffusing object is photographed from the camera viewpoint set in the virtual three-dimensional space. An image generation method for generating an image and displaying the image on a screen of a display device,
A step of detecting an observer's line of sight with respect to the screen of the display device using line of sight detection means;
Determining, based on the detection result of the line-of-sight detection means, as the line-of-sight direction as the line of sight of the observer from the camera viewpoint in the virtual three-dimensional space;
Determining an angle at which the line-of-sight direction is deviated from a direction connecting the camera viewpoint and the reference point as a declination;
When the declination is small, the number of diffusing objects that move toward the camera viewpoint increases, and when the declination is large, the number of diffusing objects that move in a direction crossing the line-of-sight direction increases. Controlling the distribution of the diffuse object in the virtual three-dimensional space based on:
An image generation method comprising: In the virtual three-dimensional space, each diffusing object is moved so that a plurality of diffusing objects diffuse from a predetermined reference point as time passes, and the diffusing object is photographed from the camera viewpoint set in the virtual three-dimensional space. A computer of an image generation device that generates an image and displays the image on a screen of the display device,
A line-of-sight direction that determines, as the line-of-sight direction, the direction viewed by the observer from the camera viewpoint in the virtual three-dimensional space, based on the detection result of the line-of-sight detection unit that detects the line of sight of the observer with respect to the screen of the display device Discrimination means,
Declination determination means for determining an angle at which the line-of-sight direction is deviated from a direction connecting the camera viewpoint and the reference point as a declination, and a diffusion object that moves toward the camera viewpoint when the declination is small The distribution of the diffusing objects in the virtual three-dimensional space is controlled based on the declination so that when the declination is large and the declination is large, the number of diffusing objects that move in the direction crossing the line of sight increases. Distribution control means,
A computer program configured to function as a computer program.

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