JP5132157B2 - Game device housing capable of texture mapping - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is a game in which a whole case or a part of a case is covered with a display panel such as an organic EL that is easily deformed, and a digital image or movie is mapped on the case in a dedicated case for a business game such as a car racing game. It relates to the device casing.

  A conventional game apparatus uses a video game dedicated housing having an electric decoration function or a video game general-purpose housing. The electrode function mounted in these conventional game device cases is to produce a game device by blinking a large number of electrical decorations, and has an auxiliary function of the game machine. In addition, by using the Internet, software updates that control blinking of lighting can be updated via the network. However, changes to the game machine housing design can be made by mailing stickers and parts to be attached to the exterior of the housing. It is done by doing.

In addition to this, a game apparatus having an illumination part in a case exterior part that uses the illumination part for advertisement has been proposed (Patent Document 1). This is a game device with an advertising part that gives the audience a more visual impact and has an advertising part that does not get in the way of the game. The light in the direction of the player is constructed so as to perform a secondary emission with a small amount of light.
The illumination function of the exterior part changes the amount of light depending on the direction for advertisement, and the contents cannot be changed.
JP-A-10-216356 JP 2004-62052 A

  Furthermore, an apparatus that can change the appearance image of the surrounding outer frame instead of the original screen display unit has been proposed (Patent Document 2). The purpose of this is to change the appearance freely without repainting or changing the exterior body, so that the external part is displayed when power is supplied to the device, and the display is displayed even after the power supply is stopped. A non-volatile display medium that can be held is provided.

For example, Patent Document 2 is for easily changing the display of an outer frame of a liquid crystal display or an outer frame of a watch. However, as in Patent Document 1, the display content is not changed according to the content of the screen.
A conventional game device housing has a capability that allows a game to be established even if the function can be directly operated from an application as described above, or even if the function is not provided, such as blinking of an illumination.
An object of the present invention is to provide a display panel such as an organic EL display on the entire casing in accordance with the casing shape, and display each surface of a moving body in which a game appears on the display panel and the display direction and the like always change. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a game apparatus casing capable of texture mapping that can express high-level CG on the game apparatus casing side as used in a main game screen.

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention provides a game apparatus housing having a housing portion for housing a player in a part of the game device housing, and having a game screen to be monitored by the player in the housing portion. A camera that shoots the front, back, left and right sides and top side of the moving body in the game screen is installed in the game world, and the front, back, left and right sides and top side of the game apparatus housing are respectively set. Provided with a display panel, corresponding to the front, back, left and right sides and upper part of the moving body displayed on the game screen, the front of the moving body on the front display panel of the game apparatus housing, Control means for controlling the display of the back of the moving body on the display panel on the back, the left and right sides of the moving body on the display panel on the left and right sides, and the upper part of the moving body on the display panel on the top surface. And the control means has the same display on the display panel of the corresponding game apparatus housing when there is a change in the display of the front, back, left and right sides or upper part of the moving body in the game screen. The appearance and environment changes of the moving body on the game screen are displayed in real time, and when there is a second moving body behind the moving body, the moving body is moved from behind the second moving body. An image is taken with a camera that shoots the back surface, and the captured image is displayed on the display panel on the back surface.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the display panel displays an image obtained by rendering a three-dimensional image by photographing with a camera.
A third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the display panel is an organic EL panel.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first, second, or third aspect, the moving body is any one of a motorcycle, an automobile, a train, a ship, an airplane, and a spacecraft.

According to the above configuration, the following effects can be obtained. Since the expression substantially equivalent to the game screen is reflected on each surface of the game apparatus housing, the player and the audience in the vicinity of the game machine can More realistic expression of damage and power-up state of moving objects.
Since the case exterior can be configured to be directly changeable from software, not only the game content but also the case exterior can be changed through the network.
In the case of a dedicated housing, the game screen is often difficult to see from the outside, and it was difficult to appeal the demo dedicated screen, but it is also possible to make the entire housing a “demo screen”, so it will increase the ability to attract customers Can contribute.
In the game machine development process, the designer responsible for the content on the game screen is often separated from the designer responsible for the exterior of the chassis, but when using the present invention, the difference in required technology and skills is reduced. Therefore, the same person can take charge of both the game screen and the exterior, and the unity of the game and the case can be emphasized.
Since it can be used for a general-purpose case, it can be used as an interior without the “plainness” unique to the general-purpose case, and demand can be increased in places other than the game center.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a view for explaining the appearance of a game apparatus housing according to the present invention.
The housing of the game machine 1 has a rectangular shape, and has a housing portion 10 for a player to play a game. The left and right parts and the upper part of the accommodating part 10 are open, and the seat 10a is disposed on the floor part. The player 5 can sit on the seat 10a and play the game by operating the handle 4, the brake pedal, the accelerator pedal, and the like. A game screen 7 is arranged in front of the player 5.

Display panels 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d and 3e such as organic EL are arranged on the front surface 1a, the rear surface 1b, the upper surface 1c, the left side surface 1d and the right side surface 1e of the game machine 1, respectively. Has been.
Each of the display panels 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d and 3e displays a texture screen when the player drives on the game screen 7, for example, when viewed from each direction of the car. The screen of the surface changes every moment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of the game screen of the game apparatus of FIG.
In a state where the player is driving the vehicle 9 by a steering wheel, an accelerator, and a brake operation, an image of a diagram viewed from the back of the vehicle is displayed. The current score is displayed in the upper left of the screen, and a speedometer is displayed in the lower right. The player drives the car 9 along the course from the position seen from the back of the car.

3A and 3B are views of the game world viewed from the side and the top in order to explain the direction in which the car is displayed on the game screen of the game device of FIG.
Cameras 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d, and 6e are installed at positions on the front, back, left and right side surfaces, and the top surface of the vehicle 9, respectively. In addition, a camera 6f is installed directly behind the car as a camera for the game screen. For example, when the enemy 10 is approaching from behind, the camera 6b takes a picture including the appearance of the enemy 10 approaching the back of the car 9.
Note that these cameras are based on three-dimensional calculation parameters, and create an image viewed from the camera position.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the game apparatus housing showing an example of an image of the car in the game screen viewed from each direction.
For example, if the game screen is in a state where a car is driven as shown in FIG. 2, each of the case front surface 1a, case back surface 1b, case top surface 1c, case left side 1d and case right side 1e. On the display panel, a screen including a vehicle front portion 9a, a vehicle rear portion 9b, a vehicle upper portion 9c, a vehicle left side portion 9d, and a vehicle right side portion 9e, which are images rendered by the respective cameras, is displayed. At this time, if the enemy 10 is approaching, the enemy 10 is displayed behind the vehicle rear portion 9b on the housing rear surface 1b. For example, when the left side of the vehicle contacts a guard rail or the like, the spark / smoke 8 at the time of contact is displayed from the left side of the vehicle. As a result, if there are scratches, the left side of the scratched vehicle is displayed.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the circuit of the game apparatus housing according to the present invention.
The coin insertion unit 2 is connected to the coin related device 13, the coin inserted into the coin related device 13 is accommodated, and the data is sent to the input / output control device 14. The operation unit 11 includes an accelerator pedal, a shift lever, a brake pedal, a handle, and the like, and these pieces of information are sent to the input / output control device 14. Further, there is a decision button and the operation information is sent to the input / output control device 14 in the same manner. The input / output control device 14 sends the received data to the CPU 12 via the bus 15. The ROM 18 stores, for example, a program for controlling and executing a drive action game and necessary data (polygon model data and the like), and the RAM 19 is used as a work area when the CPU 12 performs calculation and processing. The RAM 19 also temporarily stores drive action history data (handle, accelerator, brake state, position, speed, etc. for each frame during driving) and data read from the HDD (data table for each course, etc.).

In the sound processing unit 17, music signal output processing such as BGM is performed in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 12, and music or the like flows from the speaker 22 during a demonstration or during a game.
The CPU 12 controls the entire game machine according to a program read from the ROM 18 and executes a drive action game, and a 3D that performs geometry processing and rendering processing on polygon model data read from the ROM 18 and stored in the RAM 19. A rendering control unit 12b and a panel control unit that outputs a control signal for driving the textured image data corresponding to each surface for each surface to display the rendered image data of each surface portion of the car on each display panel 12c. The geometry processing of the 3D drawing processing unit 12b processes the coordinate data of the polygon data at high speed, performs processing for movement, rotation, etc. of the polygon data model, and performs clipping, perspective transformation, and the like. In the rendering process, hidden surface processing and shading processing are performed. Rendering processing as viewed from the camera installed for each surface is performed, and at the same time, rendering processing when viewed from the camera 6f for the game screen is also performed.

  The panel control unit 12c receives the image data for each surface rendered by the 3D drawing processing unit 12b, and sends a drive command for each surface to the panel drive circuit 21. The panel drive circuit 21 receives the image for each surface, and displays each surface portion of the car on the front display panel 3a, the rear display panel 3b, the upper display panel 3c, the left display panel 3d, and the right display panel 3e. On the other hand, the game control unit 12 a displays the rendered image data for the game screen on the image display unit 7 via the image processing unit 16.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of the game main.
The game apparatus starts up, and the CPU 12 starts up a main loop for controlling the apparatus (step (hereinafter referred to as “S”) 001), and starts executing a demo loop (S002). The CPU 12 reads the demo data from the HDD 20, and displays this demo data on the image display unit 7 via the image processing unit 16 (S003). When the player inserts a coin from the coin insertion unit 2, the information is sent to the CPU 12 via the coin related device 13 and the input / output control device 14. The CPU 12 stops the demonstration screen (S004), and displays a screen for reading the game program from the ROM 18 and starting the game on the image display unit 7 (S005). The player can start the game by selecting and determining the type of car to appear in the drive action game by using the operation unit 11, and the image display unit 7 displays a screen as shown in FIG. (S006). The player can enjoy the game by operating the operation unit 11. When the game is over due to game over or the like, the game screen is looped out (S007). Also, when restarted, the system loops out (S008).

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining a game display process when there is no display panel on each surface of the game machine housing.
At the start of the game, the game control unit 12a executes a screen display loop (S101). When the player operates the operation unit 11 (accelerator pedal, shift lever, etc.) (S102), the information is sent to the CPU 12. The model data is deformed and moved according to the information, the light source and the ambient light are converted, and the camera position, angle, and focus are changed to update the three-dimensional information (S103, S104, S105 (geometry processing)). Further, the hidden surface process and the shading process are rendered (S106). This information is displayed on the image display unit 7 via the image processing unit 16 (S107). If such an operation is performed and the screen display loop ends, the screen display loop is exited (S108).

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the display processing of the game machine housing according to the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of projection of each surface of FIG.
8 are the same as S101 to S104 in FIG. 7, and therefore the description thereof is omitted.
After changing the light source and ambient light in S204, the process proceeds to the projection processing of each surface (S205). The projection processing of each surface is performed, and if the screen display loop is completed, the screen display loop is exited (S206).
In S205, the 3D drawing processing unit 12b executes the local flows A to F as shown in FIG. That is, in response to changes in the camera position, angle, and focus (S20511, S20521, S20531, S20541, S20551, S20561) for the left side, right side, top side, front side, back side, and player for the player. Rendering processing is performed respectively (S20512, S20522, S20532, S20542, S20552, S20562).

The panel control unit 12c drives the panel drive circuit 21 based on the rendered image data, and the front display panel 3a, the rear display panel 3b, the upper display panel 3c, the left side display panel 3d, and the right side display panel 3e An image including each surface portion is displayed (S20513, S20523, S20533, S20543, S2053 ) . In addition, the game control unit 12a displays an image rendered by the image processing unit 16 on the image display unit 7 (S20563).

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining another embodiment of the game apparatus casing according to the present invention, and FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the state of the airplane in the game screen of FIG.
This embodiment is a game for maneuvering the airplane 23, and screens obtained by photographing the airplane from the upper part, the side part, and the back part are displayed on the upper surface, the side surface, and the rear surface of the game casing, respectively.
The player performs the operation while sitting in the cockpit, and the airplane advances according to the operation of the operation, and the audience can see the state of the airplane from each direction at that time.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining an example of the shape of another game apparatus housing.
(A) is an example in which the game machine casing is an automobile-type casing, and it is assumed that the player runs the automobile and hits the guard rail to create a scratch near the fender of the vehicle body. In this state, scratches are also displayed at the same time on the funda- nal portion displayed on the side of the appearance.
(B) is an example of a train-type housing, and the player can drive as a train driver.
(C) is a game chassis that has a panel on a vehicle chassis for children to ride on, and the chassis panel can be changed to various colors and patterns regardless of the child's maneuvering content. Can do. This is an application example of the present invention and does not change the content of the display panel to the content of the child playing the game.
(D) further changes the display panel of the housing of the radio controlled car, and the display of the display panel can be changed by the player operating the radio control. This example is also an application example of the present invention. .

In the above embodiment, an example of an organic EL whose surface can be easily bent as a display panel provided on the appearance is shown, but a high-brightness LED array, a liquid crystal display, and other display panels can also be used. is there.
In addition, the example in which the image processing unit for displaying the game screen and the panel drive circuit for driving each display panel are described as separate circuits has been described, but the rendering results are the same for the game screen and each display panel. It is also possible to use a configuration in which image processing is performed by the processing unit and displayed on the game screen and each display panel. Furthermore, an individual image processing unit may be connected to each game screen and each display panel to perform image processing and display the game screen and each display panel.
Such a configuration is advantageous in that it takes less time to create a program than the image processing by the image processing unit 16 and the panel drive circuit 21 in FIG. 5, the image processing speed is increased, and the game machine manufacturing cost is reduced. Have.
The present invention displays the state of a moving body such as a car appearing on the game screen on the game machine housing, but it is also possible to display an image unrelated to the game content on the game machine housing. .

  Used in arcade game machines installed in game centers and event venues.

It is a figure for demonstrating the external appearance of the game device housing | casing by this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the game screen of the game device of FIG. It is a figure which shows the game world seen from the side surface in order to demonstrate the direction which image | photographs the car displayed on the game screen of the game device of FIG. It is a figure which shows the game world seen from the upper surface in order to demonstrate the direction which image | photographs the car displayed on the game screen of the game device of FIG. It is the perspective view of the game device case which shows the example of the picture which looked at the car in the game screen from each direction. It is a circuit diagram which shows embodiment of the circuit of the game device housing | casing by this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the flow of a game main. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the display process of a game when a display panel does not exist in each surface of a game machine housing | casing. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the display process of the game machine housing | casing by this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the flow of the projection of each surface of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating other embodiment of the game machine housing | casing by this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the state of the airplane in the game screen of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of the shape of another game machine housing | casing.

Explanation of symbols

1 Game console
2 Coin slot
3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e Display panel
4 Handle
5 players
6a, 6b, 6c, 6d, 6e Camera
7 Image display (game screen)
8 Sparks / Smoke 9 Bus 11 Operation unit 12 CPU
13 Coin-related device 14 Input / output control device 15 Bus 16 Image processing unit 17 Sound processing unit 18 ROM
19 RAM
20 HDD
21 Panel drive circuit 22 Speaker 23 Airplane

Claims (4)

A game device housing having a housing portion for housing a player in a part of the game device housing, and a game screen to be monitored by the player installed in the housing portion,
Cameras that shoot the front, back, left and right sides and top side of the moving object in the game screen are installed in the game world ,
A display panel is provided on each of the front, back, left and right side surfaces, and the top surface of the game apparatus housing,
Corresponding to the front, back, left and right sides and upper part of the moving body displayed on the game screen, the front display panel of the game apparatus housing has the front portion of the moving body and the rear display panel. Control means for controlling display of the back of the moving body, the left and right side display panels on the left and right sides of the moving body, and the upper display panel on the top of the moving body, respectively.
When the display of the front part, the back part, the left and right side parts or the upper part of the moving body in the game screen is changed, the control means similarly displays the display on the corresponding display panel of the game apparatus housing. Change the appearance of the moving object on the game screen, change the environment in real time,
When there is a second moving body behind the moving body, the image is taken with a camera that captures the back of the moving body from behind the second moving body, and the captured image is displayed on the display panel on the back. A game apparatus housing capable of texture mapping.   The game apparatus housing capable of texture mapping according to claim 1, wherein the display panel displays an image obtained by rendering a three-dimensional image by photographing with a camera.   3. The game apparatus housing capable of texture mapping according to claim 1, wherein the display panel is an organic EL panel.   4. The game apparatus casing capable of texture mapping according to claim 1, wherein the moving body is any one of a motorcycle, an automobile, a train, a ship, an airplane, and a spacecraft.

Images