JP5356193B2 - GAME DEVICE, GAME CONTROL PROGRAM, AND GAME CONTROL METHOD - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve amusement of a game by effectively reproducing an extending ball. <P>SOLUTION: A moving part 442 moves a ball object so that as the ball object approaches a batter character, the distance between the ball object and the ground surface increases and also the acceleration of the ball object increases. A display control part 443 displays the ball object on a display part 420 by intersecting the ball object moved by the moving part 442 in the advancing direction of the ball object and projecting the same on a virtual screen VS corresponding to a display screen of the display part 420. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for controlling the progress of a game that causes a character to send a ball object in a virtual three-dimensional space.

  Conventionally, there is known a baseball game in which a ball object is hit by aligning the center portion of a meet cursor with the arrival position of a ball object moving in a game space and pressing a push button of a controller.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for changing the size of a ball object displayed on a display screen according to the power of a ball thrown from a pitcher character that changes from moment to moment, and allowing the player to recognize the power of the ball object. Has been.

  By the way, in actual baseball, a so-called elongating ball is known in which the batter feels like hopping at the batter's hand. This stretched ball actually draws a parabolic trajectory under the influence of gravity, but the actual position of the ball near the home base shifts upward from the position predicted by the batter. In addition, the batter feels like a hop at hand.

JP 2007-222398 A

  However, in the conventional baseball game, there is no reproduction of such a stretching ball, and how to reproduce this stretching ball has been a problem.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a game apparatus or the like that can effectively reproduce a growing ball and realize a highly entertaining game.

(1) A game device according to an aspect of the present invention is a game device that controls the progress of a game in which a character sends a ball object toward a virtual screen corresponding to a display screen of a display unit in a virtual three-dimensional space. And moving means for moving the ball object in the virtual three-dimensional space so that the speed of the ball object increases as the ball object approaches the virtual screen, and the ball object moved by the moving means Is projected onto the virtual screen, and the obtained image is displayed on the display unit. As the ball object approaches the virtual screen, the ball object is moved from the first enlargement ratio due to the proximity of the normal ball object. The ability information of the character with a large expansion rate Comprising a display control means for projecting to expand at a second magnification that is defined based, and capability information storage means for previously storing the capability information defining the ability of the character, the speed of the ball object, The batter character is increased based on the ability information, the game is a baseball game, the character is a pitcher character, and further includes a batter character that hits a ball object sent from the pitcher character. Placed at a position near the screen, the pitcher character is placed at a position facing the batter character, and in response to a batting input signal output from the operation unit when a batting command is input from the player , A ball object corresponding to the ball object enlarged based on the first enlargement ratio Further comprising a striking determination means for performing a striking determination process with respect to frequency.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a game control program for controlling the progress of a game in which a character sends a ball object toward a virtual screen corresponding to a display screen of a display unit in a virtual three-dimensional space. As a game control program for causing a computer to function, the game is a baseball game, the character is a pitcher character, and further includes a batter character that hits a ball object sent from the pitcher character. The pitcher character is placed in a position near the virtual screen, and the pitcher character is placed at a position facing the batter character, and based on the ability information of the pitcher character as the ball object approaches the virtual screen. Te, the ball object Moving means for moving the ball object in the virtual three-dimensional space so as to increase the speed of the image, projecting the ball object moved by the moving means onto the virtual screen, and displaying the obtained image on the display unit Display, and as the ball object approaches the virtual screen, the ball object has a magnification rate greater than a first magnification rate due to the proximity of the normal ball object, and is defined based on the ability information of the character. Display control means for projecting to enlarge at a second enlargement ratio, ability information storage means for preliminarily storing ability information defining the ability of the pitcher character, and operation by receiving a batting command from the player In accordance with the batting input signal output from the section, the ball opening expanded based on the first expansion rate. Causing a computer to function as striking determination means for performing a striking determination process with respect to the ball object area corresponding to the object.

In addition, in a game control method according to still another aspect of the present invention, in a virtual three-dimensional space, a game device displays a progress of a game in which a character sends a ball object toward a virtual screen corresponding to a display screen of a display unit. A game control method for controlling, wherein the game is a baseball game, the character is a pitcher character, and further comprises a batter character that strikes a ball object sent from the pitcher character, wherein the batter character Placed at a position near the screen, the pitcher character is placed at a position facing the batter character, and as the ball object approaches the virtual screen , based on the ability information of the pitcher character, The ball object is increased so that the speed of the ball object increases. A moving step of moving the object in the virtual three-dimensional space, and projecting the ball object to be moved by said moving step in the virtual screen, the resulting image displayed on the display unit, the ball object the virtual As approaching the screen, the ball object is enlarged at a second enlargement ratio that is larger than the first enlargement ratio due to the proximity of the normal ball object and that is defined based on the character's ability information. a display control step of projecting such, according to the striking input signal output from the operation section by striking command from the player is inputted, corresponding to the ball object to be enlarged on the basis of the first magnification ratio A hit determination step for performing a hit determination process on the ball object area to be played .

  According to these configurations, the ball object thrown toward the virtual screen set in the virtual three-dimensional space from the character moves in the virtual three-dimensional space so that the speed increases as it approaches the virtual screen. . Then, the ball object moving in the virtual three-dimensional space is projected on the virtual screen, and the obtained image is displayed on the display unit. As a result, the ball object is displayed on the display unit so that the speed increases as it approaches.

  As a result, it appears to the player that the ball object gradually increases in speed and comes toward itself. For example, in baseball in the real world, it is impossible for the ball released from the pitcher to further increase the speed thereafter, but in this configuration, the speed increases with increasing proximity to the virtual screen (player side). By doing so, it simulates a ball that extends in the hands of a batter in a real-world baseball that has not been realized in a conventional game, thereby providing a highly entertaining game it can.

Further, since the speed of the ball object is increased based on the ability information of the character, the ability of the character, for example, the ability of the pitcher can be reflected in the game in the case of a baseball game, and the game's interest is improved. it can.
Further, according to this configuration, the projection is performed so that the ball object is enlarged at the second enlargement rate that is larger than the first enlargement rate that is the normal enlargement rate of the ball object projected onto the virtual screen at the time of projection.
Here, the first enlargement factor and the second enlargement factor indicate the following. For example, a ball object that approaches a fixed camera (fixed viewpoint) from a predetermined position in the distance will naturally be displayed as a larger image on the fixed camera as it approaches, The first enlargement ratio indicates how much the ball object is now displayed in comparison with the size of the ball object at the predetermined position. In this configuration, the ball object enlarged at the first enlargement rate is further enlarged to express the enlargement of the ball that cannot be in the real world. Then, the second enlargement ratio is determined by the first enlargement ratio and the additional enlargement ratio. The specific numerical value of the enlargement ratio can take various units and sizes as a matter of course, but as an example of expression, looking at the diameter of the ball object, the first enlargement ratio = 120%, the additional enlargement ratio = For example, 105% is set. Therefore, in this example, when compared with the time when it was released from the pitcher character, it is displayed with a size of 126% (= second enlargement factor) when passing the batter's hand (according to this configuration). 120% if not).
For this reason, the size of the ball object can be deformed and enlarged from the normal size obtained by projection as it goes to the display screen, so that the familiarity of the eye with the normal ball enlargement rate (first enlargement rate) can be obtained. The player feels that the elongation of the ball object by this configuration is very vigorous. This makes it possible to make the player feel the growth of the ball more reliably and strongly, and realize a highly entertaining game.
In the above description, the first enlargement rate and the additional enlargement rate are divided, but depending on the game design, the final enlargement rate (in the above example, the second enlargement rate) is set from the beginning. May be.
Further, according to this configuration, the ball object is deformed and enlarged on the display screen, but since the hit determination process is performed on the ball object area corresponding to the first enlargement ratio, the ball object is deformed and enlarged. As a result, it is possible to prevent the ball object from being easily hit, and on the other hand, it is possible to prevent the game from being impaired.

  (2) The moving means determines an increase pattern of the speed of the ball object based on the ability information of the character and the game situation, calculates the speed of the ball object at a predetermined period based on the determined increase pattern, When the speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined upper limit value, the speed is preferably maintained at the upper limit value.

  According to this configuration, since the speed of the ball object is prevented from being displayed on the display unit when the speed exceeds the upper limit value, a speed that cannot actually exist, for example, 200 km in the example of a baseball game The situation where the speed of the ball object is prevented from increasing to such a speed that the player can not hit at all, and the difficulty of the game is remarkably increased and the game's interest is lost. It can be avoided.

  (3) The virtual three-dimensional space further includes a ground surface on which the character is placed, and the moving means moves the distance between the ball object and the ground surface as the ball object approaches the virtual screen. Is preferably increased based on the capability information.

  According to this configuration, the ball object thrown toward the virtual screen from the character moves in the virtual three-dimensional space so as to move away from the ground surface as it approaches the virtual screen. Therefore, the ball object is displayed on the display unit so as to hop. Thereby, the extending ball can be produced more effectively, and a highly entertaining game can be provided. In real-world baseball, there is no ball that actually hops, and it only appears to hop when viewed from the batter's point of view. The reason for this phenomenon is that the level at which the ball falls before reaching the batter's hand is suppressed by the rotation of the ball, etc., so that the batter who is familiar with the normal fall level has come up with a floating ball. Because it is felt. In this configuration, a floating ball that does not actually exist is realized, and the level to rise is determined according to the ability information of the character, for example, the ability of the pitcher if it is a baseball game. Such an interesting property can be realized.

( 4 ) The display control unit causes the display unit to display a meet cursor that is moved based on an operation command from a player in a predetermined movable area arranged in the virtual three-dimensional space, and performs the hit determination. The means allows the batter character to hit the ball object when the ball object overlaps the hit possible area in the meat cursor at the hit timing determined based on the input timing of the hit input signal, and the hit is possible The region has a symmetrical shape, passes through the midpoint of the symmetry line, and is a line orthogonal to the symmetry line, and the area of the lower region when the region is divided into the upper region and the lower region is It is preferable to have a shape smaller than the area of the upper region.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to further emphasize the elongation of the ball, in particular, the elongation and momentum of the hopping ball produced by the configuration (3) included in the present configuration.

  That is, in the game having the configuration (3), even though the player intends to hit the meat cursor with the ball well, the ball is rising (because it is hopping). There is a tendency to hit under and fly. In this configuration, the difficulty of hitting a hopping ball, which does not exist in real baseball, is emphasized further in terms of internal processing. This makes the ball more hopping and thus has a momentum in the growth of the ball. This can indirectly make the player feel strongly. Specifically, for the ball hitting determination such as hopping as described above, the internal determination area for the ball is set to have a narrow area on the lower side, which makes it easier to fly in a pseudo manner. It is set as follows. As a result, when the player hits the ball object according to the present configuration, it is necessary to carefully determine the level of the hop, so that a highly difficult game can be realized.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the extended ball can be produced effectively and a highly entertaining game device etc. can be provided.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the game device of one embodiment of this invention. It is a main functional block diagram of the game device shown in FIG. It is a screen figure for demonstrating the outline | summary of the baseball game which the game device by this Embodiment performs. It is the figure which showed the virtual three-dimensional space where a game is expand | deployed by the game device by embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the process at the time of a display control part displaying a ball object on a display part. It is a figure showing an example of ball object BL moved and displayed on a display part. It is the figure which showed an example of the meat cursor. It is a screen figure which shows an example of the impact production process by a display control part. It is a figure when the virtual three-dimensional space shown in FIG. 4 is seen from the x-axis direction. (A)-(C) are the figures which showed the calculation process of the initial velocity of the ball object hit. It is a figure explaining the process of the hit | judging determination part when a ball object passes the movable area at the time of the middle of a frame period, and has shown the state which looked at the virtual three-dimensional space from the y direction. It is the flowchart which showed the process at the time of the game device by embodiment of this invention moving a ball object. It is a flowchart which shows the batting process which the game device by embodiment of this invention performs.

  Hereinafter, a game device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a game device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, a home video game apparatus configured by connecting a home video game machine to a home television will be described as an example of the game apparatus, but the present invention is not particularly limited to this example. The present invention can be similarly applied to a portable game device or mobile phone in which a monitor is integrated, or a personal computer that functions as a game device by executing a game control program according to the present invention.

  The game device shown in FIG. 1 includes a consumer game machine 100 and a television 200. The home-use game machine 100 is loaded with a computer-readable recording medium 300 on which a game program is recorded, and the game program is appropriately read to execute the game.

  A consumer game machine 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1, a bus line 2, a graphics data generation processor 3, an interface circuit (I / F) 4, a main memory 5, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 6, and an expansion circuit 7. , Parallel port 8, serial port 9, drawing processor 10, audio processor 11, decoder 12, interface circuit (I / F) 13, buffers 14 to 16, recording medium drive 17, memory 18, and controller 19. The television 200 includes a television monitor 21, an amplifier circuit 22 and a speaker 23.

  The CPU 1 is connected to the bus line 2 and the graphics data generation processor 3. The bus line 2 includes an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. The CPU 1, interface circuit 4, main memory 5, ROM 6, decompression circuit 7, parallel port 8, serial port 9, drawing processor 10, audio processor 11, decoder 12 And the interface circuit 13 are connected to each other.

  The drawing processor 10 is connected to the buffer 14. The audio processor 11 is connected to the buffer 15 and the amplifier circuit 22. The decoder 12 is connected to the buffer 16 and the recording medium drive 17. The interface circuit 13 is connected to the memory 18 and the controller 19.

  The television monitor 21 of the television 200 is connected to the drawing processor 10. The speaker 23 is connected to the amplifier circuit 22.

  In addition, when the game apparatus is configured with a personal computer, a workstation, or the like as a core, the television monitor 21 or the like corresponds to a computer display. In addition, the decompression circuit 7, the drawing processor 10, the audio processor 11, and the like are respectively provided on a part of the game control program data recorded on the recording medium 300 or on hardware on an expansion board installed in an expansion slot of the computer. Correspond. The interface circuit 4, the parallel port 8, the serial port 9, and the interface circuit 13 correspond to hardware on an expansion board mounted in an expansion slot of the computer. The buffers 14 to 16 correspond to the storage areas of the main memory 5 or the expansion memory, respectively.

  Next, each component shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The graphics data generation processor 3 serves as a coprocessor for the CPU 1. That is, the graphics data generation processor 3 performs coordinate conversion and light source calculation, for example, calculation of a fixed point format matrix or vector by parallel processing.

  The main processing performed by the graphics data generation processor 3 includes predetermined data based on the coordinate data, movement amount data, rotation amount data, and the like of each vertex in the two-dimensional or three-dimensional space of the image data supplied from the CPU 1. There are processing for obtaining address data of the processing target image on the display area and returning it to the CPU 1, processing for calculating the luminance of the image according to the distance from the virtually set light source, and the like.

  The interface circuit 4 is used for an interface of a peripheral device such as a pointing device such as a mouse or a trackball. The main memory 5 is composed of a RAM (Random Access Memory) or the like. The ROM 6 stores program data serving as an operating system for the game device.

  The decompression circuit 7 performs decompression processing on a compressed image compressed by intra coding conforming to the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) standard for moving images and the JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) standard for still images. The decompression processing includes decoding processing (decoding of data encoded by VLC: Variable Length Code), inverse quantization processing, IDCT (Inverse Discrete Cosine Transform) processing, intra image restoration processing, and the like.

  The drawing processor 10 performs a drawing process on the buffer 14 based on a drawing command issued by the CPU 1 every predetermined time T (for example, T = 1/60 seconds in one frame).

  The buffer 14 is constituted by a RAM, for example, and is divided into a display area (frame buffer) and a non-display area. The display area is composed of a development area for image data to be displayed on the display surface of the television monitor 21. The non-display area is composed of storage areas such as data for defining a skeleton, model data for defining polygons, animation data for causing the model to move, pattern data indicating the contents of each animation, texture data, and color palette data.

  Here, the texture data is two-dimensional image data. The color palette data is data for designating a color such as texture data. The CPU 1 records these data in the non-display area of the buffer 14 in advance at a time from the recording medium 300 or in a plurality of times according to the progress of the game.

  The drawing command includes a drawing command for drawing a stereoscopic image using a polygon and a drawing command for drawing a normal two-dimensional image. Here, the polygon is a polygonal two-dimensional virtual figure, and for example, a triangle or a quadrangle is used.

  A drawing command for drawing a stereoscopic image using polygons is polygon vertex address data indicating the storage position of polygon vertex coordinate data on the display area of the buffer 14, and the storage position of the texture to be pasted on the polygon 14 on the buffer 14. Is performed on each of the color address data indicating the storage position on the buffer 14 and the color data indicating the texture brightness.

  Among the above data, the polygon vertex address data on the display area is converted by the graphics data generation processor 3 by performing coordinate conversion of the polygon vertex coordinate data in the three-dimensional space from the CPU 1 based on the movement amount data and the rotation amount data. It is replaced with polygon vertex coordinate data in two dimensions. The luminance data is determined by the graphics data generation processor 3 based on the distance from the position indicated by the polygon vertex coordinate data after the coordinate conversion from the CPU 1 to the light source virtually arranged.

  The polygon vertex address data indicates an address on the display area of the buffer 14. The drawing processor 10 performs a process of writing texture data corresponding to the display area range of the buffer 14 indicated by the three polygon vertex address data.

  An object such as a character in the game space is composed of a plurality of polygons. The CPU 1 stores the coordinate data of each polygon in the three-dimensional space in the buffer 14 in association with the corresponding skeleton vector data. When the character is moved on the display screen of the television monitor 21 by an operation of the controller 19 to be described later or when the viewpoint position where the character is viewed is changed, The following processing is performed.

  That is, the CPU 1 obtains the graphics data generation processor 3 from the three-dimensional coordinate data of the vertices of each polygon held in the non-display area of the buffer 14, the skeleton coordinates, and the rotation amount data. Polygon movement amount data and rotation amount data are given.

  The graphics data generation processor 3 sequentially obtains the three-dimensional coordinate data after moving and rotating each polygon based on the three-dimensional coordinate data of the vertex of each polygon and the movement amount data and rotation amount data of each polygon.

  Of the three-dimensional coordinate data of each polygon thus obtained, the coordinate data in the horizontal and vertical directions are supplied to the drawing processor 10 as address data on the display area of the buffer 14, that is, polygon vertex address data.

  The drawing processor 10 writes the texture data indicated by the texture address data assigned in advance on the display area of the buffer 14 indicated by the three polygon vertex address data. As a result, on the display screen of the television monitor 21, an object in which textures are pasted on a large number of polygons is displayed.

  A drawing command for drawing a normal two-dimensional image indicates vertex address data, texture address data, color palette address data indicating the storage position on the buffer 14 of color palette data indicating the color of the texture data, and luminance of the texture. This is performed on the luminance data. Among these data, the vertex address data is obtained by the coordinate conversion of the vertex coordinate data on the two-dimensional plane from the CPU 1 by the graphics data generation processor 3 based on the movement amount data and the rotation amount data from the CPU 1.

  The audio processor 11 stores ADPCM (Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation) data read from the recording medium 300 in the buffer 15, and the ADPCM data stored in the buffer 15 becomes a sound source.

  Also, the audio processor 11 reads ADPCM data from the buffer 15 based on, for example, a clock signal having a frequency of 44.1 kHz. The audio processor 11 performs processing such as pitch conversion, noise addition, envelope setting, level setting, and reverb addition on the read ADPCM data.

  When the audio data read from the recording medium 300 is PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) data such as CD-DA (Compact Disk Digital Audio), the audio processor 11 converts the audio data into ADPCM data. Further, the processing for the PCM data by the program is directly performed on the main memory 5. The PCM data processed on the main memory 5 is supplied to the audio processor 11 and converted into ADPCM data. Thereafter, the various processes described above are performed, and sound is output from the speaker 23.

  As the recording medium drive 17, for example, a DVD-ROM drive, a CD-ROM drive, a hard disk drive, an optical disk drive, a flexible disk drive, a silicon disk drive, a cassette medium reader, or the like is used. In this case, as the recording medium 300, a DVD-ROM, a CD-ROM, a hard disk, an optical disk, a flexible disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like is used.

  The recording medium drive 17 reads image data, audio data, and program data from the recording medium 300 and supplies the read data to the decoder 12. The decoder 12 performs error correction processing by ECC (Error Correction Code) on the reproduced data from the recording medium drive 17 and supplies the data subjected to the error correction processing to the main memory 5 or the audio processor 11.

  For example, a card-type memory is used as the memory 18. The card type memory is used for holding various game parameters at the time of interruption, such as holding the state at the time of interruption when the game is interrupted.

  The controller 19 is an operation device used by the player who is an operator to input various operation commands, and sends an operation signal corresponding to the operation of the player to the CPU 1. The controller 19 includes a first button 19a, a second button 19b, a third button 19c, a fourth button 19d, an up key 19U, a down key 19D, a left key 19L, a right key 19R, and L1 buttons 19L1, L2. A button 19L2, an R1 button 19R1, an R2 button 19R2, a start button 19e, a select button 19f, a left stick 19SL and a right stick 19SR are provided.

  The up direction key 19U, the down direction key 19D, the left direction key 19L, and the right direction key 19R are used, for example, to give the CPU 1 a command for moving a character or cursor up, down, left, or right on the screen of the television monitor 21. .

  The start button 19e is used to instruct the CPU 1 to load a game program from the recording medium 300. The select button 19f is used to instruct the CPU 1 to make various selections related to the game program loaded from the recording medium 300 to the main memory 5.

  The buttons and keys of the controller 19 except for the left stick 19SL and the right stick 19SR are turned on when pressed from the neutral position by an external pressing force, and return to the neutral position when the pressing force is released. It consists of an on / off switch that turns off.

  The left stick 19SL and the right stick 19SR are stick-type controllers having almost the same configuration as a so-called joystick. This stick-type controller has an upright stick, and can be tilted over a 360 ° direction including front, rear, left and right with a predetermined position of the stick as a fulcrum. The left stick 19SL and the right stick 19SR are connected to the CPU 1 via the interface circuit 13 using the values of the x-coordinate in the left-right direction and the y-coordinate in the front-rear direction as the operation signals according to the tilt direction and tilt angle of the stick. To send.

  The first button 19a, the second button 19b, the third button 19c, the fourth button 19d, the L1 button 19L1, the L2 button 19L2, the R1 button 19R1, and the R2 button 19R2 are added to the game control program loaded from the recording medium 300. It is used for various functions accordingly.

  Next, a schematic operation of the above game device will be described. When the recording medium 300 is loaded in the recording medium drive 17, when a power switch (not shown) is turned on and the game apparatus is turned on, the recording medium 300 is based on the operating system stored in the ROM 6. The CPU 1 instructs the recording medium drive 17 to read the game program from. As a result, the recording medium drive 17 reads image data, audio data, and program data from the recording medium 300. The read image data, audio data, and program data are supplied to the decoder 12, and the decoder 12 performs error correction processing on each data.

  The image data that has been subjected to error correction processing by the decoder 12 is supplied to the decompression circuit 7 via the bus line 2. The image data that has been subjected to the expansion processing described above by the expansion circuit 7 is supplied to the drawing processor 10, and is written into the non-display area of the buffer 14 by the drawing processor 10. The audio data that has been subjected to the error correction processing by the decoder 12 is written into the buffer 15 via the main memory 5 or the audio processor 11. Program data that has been subjected to error correction processing by the decoder 12 is written into the main memory 5.

  Thereafter, the CPU 1 causes the game to proceed based on the game control program stored in the main memory 5 and the content instructed by the player using the controller 19. In other words, the CPU 1 appropriately performs control of image processing, control of sound processing, control of internal processing, and the like based on content that the player instructs using the controller 19.

  As image processing control, for example, the calculation of the coordinates of each skeleton or the calculation of the vertex coordinate data of polygons from the pattern data corresponding to the animation instructed to the character, the obtained three-dimensional coordinate data and the graphics data of the viewpoint position data Supply to the generation processor 3, issue of a rendering command including address data and luminance data on the display area of the buffer 14 obtained by the graphics data generation processor 3 are performed.

  As control of audio processing, for example, issue of an audio output command to the audio processor 11, specification of level, reverb, etc. are performed. As control of the internal processing, for example, calculation according to the operation of the controller 19 is performed.

  Next, the game executed based on the game program recorded on the recording medium 300 will be described. The game in this embodiment is based on a baseball game.

  FIG. 3 is a screen diagram for explaining an outline of the baseball game executed by the game device according to the present embodiment. This baseball game is a game in which a pitcher character CL2 (an example of a character) sends a ball object toward a virtual screen corresponding to a display screen of a display unit in a game space that is a virtual three-dimensional space. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, this baseball game is a baseball game in which the pitcher character CL2 throws the ball object BL and the batter character CL1 returns the ball object BL with the bat object BT.

  In this baseball game, when the player is on the attack side, the player operates the controller 19 to move the meet cursor K displayed in the outer frame WK indicating the strike zone on the display screen, so that the ball object BL moves to the home base. When the vicinity is reached, the meat cursor K is positioned on the ball object BL and a batting command is input. Then, the bat object BT is displayed as a swing, and the ball object BL is hit back.

  Next, main functions of the game apparatus when a baseball game is played using the game apparatus configured as described above will be described. FIG. 2 is a main functional block diagram of the game apparatus shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the game apparatus functionally includes an operation unit 410, a display unit 420, a speaker 430, a program execution unit 440, a data storage unit 450, and a program storage unit 460.

  The operation unit 410 includes the controller 19 and the like, and receives various inputs necessary for the game to progress by the player. In the present embodiment, when the player is on the attack side and the game apparatus is on the defensive side, the operation unit 410 moves the move cursor for moving the meet cursor and the hit command for determining the hit timing of the ball object. Is entered. When the player is on the defense side and the game device is on the attack side, the operation unit 410 receives a pitching start command for starting a pitching action on the pitcher character CL2.

  The display unit 420 includes the television 200 shown in FIG. 1 and displays various images under the control of the program execution unit 440. The speaker 430 is configured by the speaker 23 shown in FIG. 1, and outputs various sounds necessary for the progress of the game such as effect sounds under the control of the program execution unit 440.

  The program execution unit 440 includes the CPU 1 and the graphics data generation processor 3 shown in FIG. 1, and the like, and includes a game progress control unit 441, a movement unit 442 (an example of movement means), and a display control unit 443 (an example of display control means). , An impact determination unit 444 (an example of an impact determination unit) and an audio control unit 445 (an example of an audio control unit).

  The game progress control unit 441 is for making the baseball game progress. Specifically, when the player is on the attack side, the game progress control unit 441 notifies the display control unit 443 of an instruction for causing the pitcher character to perform a pitching motion at a predetermined timing, and the pitcher character An instruction for starting the movement processing of the thrown ball object is notified to the moving unit 442.

  Further, when the player is on the defensive side, the game progress control unit 441 gives an instruction to the display control unit 443 to cause the pitcher character to perform a pitching operation when a pitching start command is input from the player to the operation unit 410. In addition to notifying, the moving unit 442 is notified of an instruction for starting the moving process of the ball object thrown by the pitcher character.

  The moving unit 442 moves the ball object in the virtual three-dimensional space so that the speed of the ball object increases as the ball object approaches the virtual screen set in the virtual three-dimensional space. Also, the moving unit 442 increases the distance between the ball object and the ground surface based on the ability information of the pitcher character as the ball object approaches the virtual screen.

  In addition, the moving unit 442 determines an increase pattern of the speed of the ball object based on the ability information of the pitcher character, calculates the speed of the ball object at a predetermined cycle based on the determined increase pattern, and the speed is a predetermined upper limit. If the value is greater than or equal to the value, the speed is held at the upper limit value.

  Here, when the game progress control unit 441 notifies the moving unit 442 of an instruction to start the ball object moving process, the moving unit 442 determines the ball type of the ball object. Here, when the player is on the attacking side, the moving unit 442 determines the ball object ball type from the ability information of the pitcher character and the game situation, and when the player is on the defensive side, Therefore, it is only necessary to determine the ball type of the ball object.

  The ball types include straight, curve, fork, chute, knuckle and the like. The information indicating the straight ball type includes the degree of extension indicating how much the straight extends at the hand of the batter character, the course indicating the passing position of the ball object, and the like. As the degree of elongation, for example, it is specified by a numerical value in five stages of 1 to 5, and as the numerical value increases, the ball object is displayed to hop more at the hand of the batter character. Further, as the course, an inner angle, a middle, an outer angle, or the like can be adopted. Hereinafter, the case where the straight ball type is determined will be mainly described.

  Then, when the moving unit 442 determines the straight as the ball type, the moving unit 442 determines the degree of elongation based on the ability information of the pitcher character.

  Here, in determining the degree of growth, the moving unit 442 sets a lottery probability of the degree of growth of 1 to 5 according to the ability information of the pitcher character, and performs a lottery process according to the set lottery probability. Then, the degree of elongation may be determined.

  For example, when the ability information indicates a fastball group, the lottery probability of each degree of elongation is set so that the lottery probability of 5 is maximized, and when the ability information indicates the soft throwing group, the lottery probability of 1 is maximized. In addition, a lottery probability for each degree of elongation may be set. Also, when setting a course, the lottery probability of each course is set so that the lottery probability of the good course becomes high according to the ability information of the pitcher character (for example, the outer course is a good course), and the lottery probability that is set Any one of the courses may be determined by lottery processing according to the above.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a virtual three-dimensional space in which a game is developed by the game device according to the embodiment of the present invention. Note that z shown in FIG. 4 indicates a direction parallel to a straight line L3 connecting the center O2 of the pitcher mound and the center O3 of the home base HB in the virtual three-dimensional space, and indicates the traveling direction of the ball object. In addition, y indicates a vertical direction, and x indicates a direction orthogonal to the vertical direction and the traveling direction. Here, the xz plane is parallel to the ground surface ES, and the x and z coordinates define each position of the ground surface ES. The vertical direction is a direction orthogonal to the ground surface ES. In the present embodiment, y increases as the distance from the ground surface ES increases. Further, z increases from the center O2 of the pitcher mound toward the center O3 of the home base HB. Further, x is, for example, + on the left side and-on the right side when viewed in the + z direction. The origin of the x, y, and z axes is assumed to be at the center O2.

  The meat cursor K is assumed to move on the movable area SF that is a plane that passes through the center O3 and is parallel to the xy plane, for example, according to the movement command input to the operation unit 410. However, this is only an example, and the meet cursor K may be moved on a plane slightly shifted in the z direction from the movable area SF. Further, as the size of the movable area SF, a size slightly larger than the size of the strike zone when viewed from the z direction or the size of the strike zone when viewed from the z direction can be adopted.

  The virtual screen VS corresponds to the display screen of the display unit 420, and is parallel to the xy plane, for example, and is arranged at a position separated from the movable area SF by a predetermined distance in the + z direction. A pitcher character and a batter character are placed on the ground surface ES.

  The moving unit 442 obtains the position of the ball object BL individually from the movement start position SP every time a predetermined period (for example, one frame period) elapses in each of the x component, the y component, and the z component. The ball object BL is moved in the virtual three-dimensional space toward the virtual screen VS. Here, the movement start position SP corresponds to the release point of the ball object BL by the pitcher character, and the position is determined according to the course determined by the moving unit 442, for example.

  Specifically, as the movement start position SP, for example, when the batter character is right-handed and the outer angle is determined as the course, a position separated by a predetermined distance dL from the position SP ′ in the + x direction is adopted. When the interior angle is designated as the course, a position that is a predetermined distance dL away from the position SP ′ in the −x direction is adopted, and when the center is designated as the course, the position SP ′ can be adopted.

  The position SP ′ indicates a position that is separated from the center O2 by a predetermined distance H (0) in the y direction. Further, as H (0), the height position from the ground surface ES of the dominant hand of the pitcher character when the ball object BL is released may be adopted, or the ball object BL hops at the hand of the batter character. In view of this, a position lower than the pitcher character's waist, knees, or other hand may be employed.

  Here, for the z component, the moving unit 442 sets the speed in the nth frame to Vz (n), the acceleration in the nth frame to Az (n), the speed in the nth frame to Vz (n), and up to the nth frame. When the moving distance is Dz (n), Vz (n) is calculated from the following equation. However, n represents an integer greater than or equal to 0, and indicates the frame number of each frame when the frame number of the frame when the pitcher character releases the ball object BL is 0. Further, Vz (0) = 0 and Dz (0) = 0.

Dz (n) = Dz (n-1) + Vz (n)
Vz (n) = Vz (n-1) + Az (n)
Here, the moving unit 442 determines the value of Az (n) using a predetermined function indicating the relationship between Az (n) and n. This function may be a function in which Az (n) increases monotonically (eg, increases linearly, logarithmically, or hyperbola, etc.) as n increases, or Az until n becomes a constant value. The function may be such that (n) changes at a substantially constant value and Az (n) monotonously increases when n exceeds a certain value.

  Then, the moving unit 442 repeatedly calculates the value of Dz (n) until Dz (n) exceeds a predetermined maximum moving distance TL. The maximum movement distance TL indicates the distance from the center O2 to the catch position EP. The catch position EP is a position on the straight line L3 and a predetermined distance away from the home base HB in the + z direction, and is a position where the catcher mitt is set.

  As a result, the speed of the z component gradually increases as the ball object BL moves toward the home base HB.

  Further, regarding the y component, when the velocity in the nth frame is Vy (n), the acceleration in the nth frame is Ay (n), and the moving distance to the nth frame is Dy (n), Vy (n) is calculated from the equation.

Dy (n) = Dy (n-1) + Vy (n)
Vy (n) = Vy (n-1) + Ay (n)
Here, the moving unit 442 determines the value of Ay (n) using a predetermined function indicating the relationship between Ay (n) and n. This function may be a function in which Ay (n) increases monotonically (eg, increases linearly, logarithmically, or hyperbola, etc.) as n increases, or Ay until n reaches a constant value. The function may be such that (n) changes at a substantially constant value, and when n exceeds a certain value, Ay (n) monotonously increases. Ay (n) may be a constant value. In this case, Vy (n) increases by a certain value. Further, Vy (0) = 0 and Dy (0) = H (0).

  Then, the moving unit 442 repeatedly calculates the value of Dy (n) until Dz (n) exceeds a predetermined maximum moving distance TL.

  Thereby, as the ball object BL moves toward the home base HB, the speed of the y component gradually increases and the height of the y component gradually increases.

  The moving unit 442 may adopt the value of the x component at the movement start position SP for the x component. That is, for the x component, the ball object BL moves with a certain distance from the straight line L3.

  The relationship between the degree of growth notified from the game progress control unit 441 and Ay (n) and Az (n) is determined in advance. Therefore, the moving unit 442 identifies Ay (n) and Az (n) corresponding to the notified degree of elongation, and calculates the position of the ball object BL using the identified Ay (n) and Az (n). do it. As the degree of elongation increases, a variation pattern of Ay (n) and Az (n) is used that draws a trajectory in which the ball object BL extends more at the hand of the batter character. Specifically, Ay (n) and Az (n) having a high degree of elongation have a higher acceleration increase rate than Ay (n) and Az (n) having a low degree of elongation.

  The accelerations Ay (n) and Az (n) correspond to an example of a speed increase pattern. In the above equation, the movement distances Dy (n) and Dz (n) are calculated by changing the speeds Vy (n) and Vz (n) by changing the accelerations Ay (n) and Az (n). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and Dz (n) = Dz (n−1) + Vz (n), Dy (n) = Dy (n−1) + Vz (n) of Vy (n), Vy (n) may be set directly to calculate the movement distances Dz (n) and Dy (n).

  In this case, Vz (n) and Vy (n) having different change patterns depending on the degree of elongation are determined in advance, and the moving unit 442 determines Vz (n) and Vy (n) corresponding to the degree of elongation. Dz (n) and Dy (n) may be calculated using Vz (n) and Vy (n). In this case, Vz (n) and Vy (n) correspond to an example of a speed increase pattern.

  Returning to FIG. 2, when the velocity of the ball object in the y component and the z component calculated using the above equations reaches a predetermined upper limit value, the moving unit 442 sets the velocity of the ball object in the y component and the z component to a predetermined value. The upper limit value is set, and the ball object is moved so that the velocity of the ball object in the y component and the z component maintains this upper limit value. As the upper limit value, a predetermined value may be adopted for each of the y component and the z component that makes it difficult for the advanced player to position the meat cursor on the ball object.

  In addition, when the velocity of the ball object in the y component and the z component calculated using the above equations is lower than a predetermined lower limit value, the moving unit 442 sets the speed of the ball object to the lower limit value, and the velocity of the ball object If the value exceeds the lower limit, the velocity of the ball object may be calculated using the above formula. Here, as the lower limit value, a predetermined value can be adopted for each of the y component and the z component.

  The display control unit 443 projects the ball object moved by the moving unit 442 on a virtual screen, and displays the obtained image on the display unit 420.

  Specifically, the display control unit 443 moves the ball object to the display unit 420 by projecting the ball object onto the virtual screen each time the position of the ball object moves after the frame period has passed by the moving unit 442. Display.

  Further, the display control unit 443 has a larger magnification rate than the first magnification rate due to the proximity of the normal ball object as the ball object approaches the virtual screen, based on the ability information of the character. Projection is performed so as to enlarge at the second enlargement ratio specified.

  Here, the projection is a character placed in the virtual three-dimensional space or a ball object moving in the virtual three-dimensional space with reference to a virtual viewpoint and a virtual light source set at a predetermined position in the virtual three-dimensional space. Is drawn on a virtual screen, for example, rendering.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing when the display control unit 443 displays the ball object BL on the display unit 420. Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the virtual screen VS shown in FIG. 5 intersects the moving direction (z direction) of the ball object, and is set at a position separated by a predetermined distance from the catch position EP toward the + z direction. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a virtual viewpoint VE is arranged at a predetermined position in the virtual three-dimensional space. Here, as the values of the x and y components of the virtual viewpoint VE, for example, the values of the x and y components of SP ′ shown in FIG. 4 and the values of the x and y components of SP ′ are slightly smaller than SP ′. As the value of the z component of the virtual viewpoint VE, for example, a position separated from the virtual screen VS by a predetermined distance in the + z direction can be used.

  Then, the display control unit 443 increases the radius r1 (n) of the ball object BL projected on the virtual screen VS by Δr (n) to obtain the radius r1 ′ (n), and calculates a circle with the radius r1 ′ (n). It is displayed on the display unit 420 as a ball object BL.

  Here, r1 (n) indicates the radius of the ball object BL projected on the virtual screen VS in the nth frame, Δr (n) indicates the increase value of the radius in the nth frame, and r1 ′ ( n) indicates the radius of the ball object BL displayed on the display screen of the display unit 420 in the nth frame.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the ball object BL moved and displayed on the display unit 420. In FIG. 6, a ball object BL indicated by a dotted line indicates a display pattern of the ball object BL at the time of normal projection, and the ball object BL indicated by a solid line is displayed so as to be larger than that at the time of normal projection. The display pattern of BL is shown.

  Δr (n) employs a function that increases according to the value of n. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the ball object BL for the previous frame of the current frame is displayed on the display screen. A function for enlarging at a second enlargement ratio that is larger than the first enlargement ratio that is the enlargement ratio at the time of normal projection is employed.

  Here, Δr (n) is predetermined for each degree of elongation, and the display control unit 443 may obtain r1 ′ (n) using Δr (n) corresponding to the degree of elongation.

  By doing so, as the ball object BL comes close to the display screen, it has an enlargement rate larger than the first enlargement rate that is the enlargement rate at the time of normal projection, and the ability information of the pitcher character is taken into consideration. The image is enlarged and displayed at the second magnification. As a result, the player can more reliably feel that the ball object BL is extended.

  Further, the display control unit 443 causes the display unit 420 to display a closed-curved meet cursor K that is moved based on an operation command from the player in the movable area SF shown in FIG.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the meet cursor K. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the meet cursor K is circular and a hittable area KD is set inside. The hitable area KD is composed of an upper area UD composed of an upper semicircle of the meet cursor K and a lower area DD composed of a triangle in the lower semicircle of the meet cursor.

  The hittable area KD has a symmetrical shape, is a line KL2 that passes through the center O1, which is the midpoint of the symmetry line KL1, and is orthogonal to the symmetry line KL1, and is 2 in the upper area UD and the lower area DD. It is divided and has a shape in which the area of the lower region DD is smaller than the area of the upper region UD.

  The upper area UD has a semicircular shape, and the lower area DD has a triangular shape. Here, the angle formed by the side DDL1 and the side DDL2 of the lower region DD is, for example, 90 degrees. In the example of FIG. 7, the lower region DD has a triangular shape. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a shape in which the side DDL1 and the side DDL2 are recessed may be adopted. A shape in which the side DDL2 is inflated to the outside may be employed.

  Setting the area of the upper area UD to be larger than the area of the lower area DD makes it difficult for the player to hit the meat cursor K over the ball object. Thereby, it is possible to reproduce the tendency of the ball to hit in actual baseball.

  In addition, the meet cursor K is divided into a fly determination area FD including a partial area DD 'of the lower area DD connected to the upper area UD and the upper area UD, and a remaining goro determination area GD.

  Here, the outer periphery DDL 'on the lower side of the region DD' has, for example, an arc shape connecting from one end to the other end of the upper region UD.

  Note that the meet cursor K displayed on the display screen is a semi-transparent circle, and the side DDL1 and the side DDL2 for identifying the strikeable area KD are not displayed.

  In addition, when the pitcher character is operated by the player and the batter character is operated by the game device, the display control unit 443 executes a batting effect process by the batter character so that the bat object hits the lower part of the ball object.

  FIG. 8 is a screen diagram illustrating an example of a batting effect process performed by the display control unit 443. As shown in FIG. 8, when the batter character CL1 hits the bat object BT against the ball object BL, a batting effect process is performed such that the lower side of the ball object BL and the bat object BT come into contact with each other. As a result, the player operating the pitcher character CL2 can more feel that the pitcher character CL2 operated by the player is throwing the extended ball.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the hit determination unit 444 receives a ball hit command from the player in order to hit the ball object to the batter character, and the ball by the batter character is output according to the hit input signal output from the operation unit 410. The hitting timing of the object is determined. When the ball object overlaps the hittable area KD of the meat cursor K at the determined hitting timing, it is determined that the batter character can hit the ball object.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram when the virtual three-dimensional space shown in FIG. 4 is viewed from the x-axis direction. As shown in FIG. 9, the hit determining unit 444 causes the batter character to start swinging the bat object from the time when the hit command is input to the operation unit 410, and is a predetermined time until the bat object reaches the movable area SF. The time when the time has passed is determined as the hitting timing. When the ball object BL and the hit possible area KD of the meat cursor K overlap at the hitting timing, it is determined that the ball object BL has been hit by the batter character.

  However, in this case, the difficulty level of the game becomes extremely high, and there is a possibility that the game is not interesting. Therefore, in the present embodiment, for example, at the hitting timing, the z component of the ball object BL is a distance in the −z direction from the movable area SF by a distance d1 and a distance in the + z direction from the movable area SF. If the extension line of the ball object BL at that time intersects with the hit possible area KD of the meet cursor K on the movable area SF, the ball object BL and the meet cursor K It may be determined that has overlapped.

  Here, as an extension line of the ball object BL, for example, a straight line extending from the center of gravity G1 of the ball object BL in the direction of the speed of the ball object BL when the hitting timing is determined can be employed.

  Alternatively, when the z component of the ball object BL exists between a position that is a distance d1 away from the movable area SF and a position that is a distance d2 away from the movable area SF at the hitting timing, A movable area SF ′ that passes through the center of gravity G1 and is parallel to the movable area SF is set, and a strikeable area KD of the meat cursor K on the movable area SF is projected onto the set movable area SF ′. When the hit possible area KD and the ball object BL overlap, it may be determined that the ball object BL and the meat cursor K overlap.

  As d1 and d2, the same distance as the z component length of the strike zone from the movable area SF, or a distance obtained by adding or subtracting some margin can be used.

  As shown in FIG. 6, as the ball object approaches, the display screen is enlarged and displayed at a second enlargement ratio that is larger than the first enlargement ratio that is the enlargement ratio at the time of normal projection. However, the hit determination unit 444 performs the hit determination process with the same size without enlarging the ball object BL moving in the virtual three-dimensional space as described above. That is, the hit determination unit 444 does not apply the ball object area corresponding to the ball object enlarged based on the first enlargement ratio, but the ball object area corresponding to the ball object enlarged based on the first enlargement ratio. The batting judgment process is performed for it. Therefore, as a result of being enlarged and displayed at the second enlargement rate, the ball object can be easily hit, and on the contrary, it is possible to prevent the interest of the game from being impaired.

  When the hit determination unit 444 determines that the ball object BL and the hit possible area KD of the meat cursor K overlap at the hit timing, the hit determination unit 444 sets the hit power.

  Here, the hit determination unit 444 sets the hitting power to be larger as the passing position of the center of gravity G1 of the ball object BL with respect to the meet cursor K is closer to the center of gravity of the meet cursor K at the hit timing. In the present embodiment, the initial velocity V0 of the ball object BL can be adopted as the hitting power, and the hit determination unit 444 determines the magnitude and direction of the reference initial velocity Vref that is predetermined for the ball object BL. By correcting, the initial velocity V0 of the ball object BL is obtained.

  FIGS. 10A to 10C are diagrams illustrating a calculation process of the initial velocity V0 of the hit ball object BL. As shown in FIG. 10, it is assumed that the center of gravity of the overlapping area between the ball object BL and the hit possible area KD of the meet cursor K is a point P4 (u, v). However, u is a coordinate axis passing through the center O1 of the meet cursor K and parallel to the x axis, and v is a coordinate axis passing through the center O1 and parallel to the y axis.

  In this case, the hit determination unit 444 obtains the distance ds between the point P4 and the center O1, obtains a correction coefficient β for setting the reference initial speed Vref to be smaller as the distance ds increases, and uses the correction coefficient β as the reference initial value. By multiplying the velocity Vref (β · Vref), the magnitude of the reference initial speed Vref is corrected, and the magnitude of the corrected reference initial speed Vref may be set as the magnitude of the initial velocity V0 of the ball object BL.

  The hit determination unit 444 outputs the correction coefficient β, receives the distance ds, and calculates the correction coefficient β using a predetermined function that increases as the distance ds decreases.

  In addition, when the hit determination unit 444 determines whether the ball object BL has passed through the fly determination area FD or the goro determination area GD at the hit timing, and determines that the ball object BL has passed through the fly determination area FD, If it is determined that the fly has been shot and it is determined that the ball has passed the golo determination area GD, it is determined that the batter character has hit the goro. Here, “fly” refers to a ball object whose ballistic trajectory is no-bound and rises above a certain height in a virtual three-dimensional space, and includes infield fly, outfield fly, long run such as 2 strikes, 3 strikes, and the like, and Includes home runs. Further, the term “goro” refers to a ball object whose ballistic trajectory does not rise above a certain height in the virtual three-dimensional space, and includes infield goro, hit before center, and the like.

  Next, a method of calculating the direction of the initial velocity V0 of the ball object BL by the hit determination unit 444 will be described with reference to FIGS. As illustrated in FIG. 10A, when the point P4 belongs to the fly determination area FD, the hit determination unit 444 determines that the batter character shot the fly. Then, as shown in FIG. 10B, the pitch angle θF in the reference direction Dref_F predetermined for the fly is corrected according to the value of v at the point P4, and the pitch angle θF in the corrected reference direction Dref_F is corrected. Is set as the pitch angle of the initial speed V0.

  Specifically, the hit determination unit 444 sets the correction amount of the reference direction Dref_F to 0 when v at the point P4 is located on the u-axis, and v value at the point P4 when v at the point P4 is positive. The pitch angle θF of the reference direction Dref_F is rotated clockwise by a predetermined angle, and when v at the point P4 is negative, the pitch angle θF of the reference direction Dref_F is determined counterclockwise according to the value of v at the point P4. What is necessary is just to rotate an angle.

  On the other hand, when the point P4 belongs to the goro determination area GD, the hit determination unit 444 corrects the pitch angle θG of the reference direction Dref_G predetermined with respect to the goro according to the value of v of the point P4, and corrects it. The pitch angle θG in the subsequent reference direction Dref_G is set as the pitch angle of the initial speed V0. Specifically, the hit determination unit 444 sets the correction amount of the reference direction Dref_F to 0 when v at the point P4 is positioned on the outer periphery DDL ′, and increases the absolute value of v at the point P4 in the reference direction Dref_G. The pitch angle θG may be rotated by a predetermined angle counterclockwise.

  Note that the pitch angle θF of the reference initial speed Vref in the fly is located in the counterclockwise direction with respect to the z axis, and the pitch angle θG of the reference initial speed Vref in the fly is in the clockwise direction with respect to the z axis. positioned.

  Further, if u at the point P4 is positive, the batting determination unit 444 does not care whether the point P4 belongs to the fly determination area FD or the point P4 belongs to the goro determination area GD. As shown, the yaw angle θ2 of the reference directions Dref_F and Dref_G is rotated by a predetermined angle in the clockwise direction (+ θ2 side) with respect to the z axis according to the value of u at the point P4, and the rotated reference directions Dref_F, The yaw angle θ2 of Dref_G is set as the yaw angle of the initial speed V0.

  On the other hand, if u of the point P4 is negative, the hit determination unit 444 determines whether or not the reference direction Dref_F, Dref_G regardless of whether the point P4 belongs to the fly determination region FD or whether the point P4 belongs to the goro determination region GD. Is rotated by a predetermined angle counterclockwise (−θ2 side) with respect to the z axis in accordance with the value of u at the point P4, and the yaw angle θ2 of the reference directions Dref_F and Dref_G after rotation is set to the initial velocity V0. Set as the yaw angle.

  In the conventional baseball game, since the speed of the ball object BL is not increased for each frame, it is easy to set the speed for each frame so that the ball object BL is positioned on the movable area SF. And was actually set that way.

  However, in this game apparatus, the moving unit 442 calculates the position of the ball object BL in the virtual three-dimensional space at a predetermined frame period, and the speed of the ball object BL increases for each frame. Therefore, in FIG. 9, a case where the calculated position of the ball object BL is not located on the movable area SF may occur.

  Therefore, when the ball object BL passes through the movable area SF at the intermediate point of the frame period, the hit determination unit 444 passes after the ball object BL passes through the movable area SF until the next frame is updated. And the yaw angle of the initial velocity of the ball object BL is set based on the fractional time.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the processing of the hit determination unit 444 when the ball object BL passes through the movable area SF at an intermediate point in the frame period, and shows a state when the virtual three-dimensional space is viewed from the y direction. ing. In FIG. 11, Dz (n−1) indicates the position of the z component of the ball object in the frame immediately before the ball object BL passes through the movable area SF, and Dz (n) indicates the area in which the ball object BL can move. The position of the z component of the ball object BL in the frame immediately after passing through SF is shown.

  In the example of FIG. 11, it is assumed that the z component of the ball object BL is located at Dz (n) at the hitting timing, and the hit determining unit 444 determines that the hit of the batter character is successful.

  And the hit | judging determination part 444 performs the following process in a hit timing. First, a distance l1 between Dz (n−1) and the position of the z component of the movable area SF is obtained. Next, a distance l2 between Dz (n) and the position of the z component of the movable area SF is obtained. Next, the frame period T is multiplied by l2 / (l1 + l2), and the obtained time is obtained as a fractional time HFT.

  The hit determination unit 444 uses the obtained fractional time HFT as the swing delay time, and sets the yaw angles of the reference directions Dref_F and Dref_G corrected according to the values of u shown in FIGS. 10A and 10C to a predetermined angle. The yaw angle of the initial velocity V0 of the ball object BL may be set by rotating the ball object BL.

  Here, the relationship between the fractional time HFT and the rotation angle of the yaw angle is predetermined. The batting determination unit 444 identifies the rotation angle of the yaw angle corresponding to the fractional time HFT, and corrects according to the value of u shown in FIGS. 10A and 10C when the batter character is a right batter. The yaw angle of the initial velocity V0 of the ball object BL is set by rotating the yaw angles of the reference directions Dref_F and Dref_G clockwise by the specified rotation angle (θ2 side).

  On the other hand, when the batter character is a left batter, the batting determination unit 444 rotates the specified yaw angles of the reference directions Dref_F and Dref_G corrected according to the value of u shown in FIGS. 10 (A) and 10 (C). By rotating the angle counterclockwise (−θ2 side), the yaw angle of the initial velocity V0 of the ball object BL is set.

  As described above, a swing delay caused by the ball object BL deviating from the movable area SF can be reflected in the game, and the player can further feel that the ball object BL is extending.

  Returning to FIG. 2, when a straight ball type is determined by the game progress control unit 441, the sound control unit 445 outputs a predetermined effect sound along with the movement of the ball object BL. Here, the sound control unit 445 may change the type of the effect sound so that the volume increases or the frequency increases as the degree of elongation increases, for example. Note that the sound data of the effect sound is stored in advance in the data storage unit 450 for each degree of expansion, and the sound control unit 445 reads out the sound data corresponding to the degree of expansion from the data storage unit 450 and outputs it to the speaker 430. That's fine.

  The data storage unit 450 includes, for example, the main memory 5 and functions as an image storage unit 451 and a capability information storage unit 452 (an example of capability information storage means). The image storage unit 451 stores image data necessary for realizing the baseball game. For example, the image storage unit 451 stores image data of a defensive character, a batter character, a bat object, a baseball field background image, a pitcher character, and the like. To do. Here, as the image data of the background image of the baseball field, for example, image data created in advance by projecting a virtual three-dimensional model created in advance in a virtual three-dimensional space from a predetermined viewpoint can be adopted. .

  The ability information storage unit 452 stores ability information of each fielder. In the present embodiment, the ability information of the pitcher character is particularly stored. Here, as the ability information of the pitcher character, for example, a fast ball group, a soft pitcher, a defense rate, a strike rate, a strikeout rate, a good ball type, a good course, a pitcher's dominant arm, and the like can be adopted.

  The program storage unit 460 includes, for example, the recording medium drive 17 and includes a computer-readable recording medium 461. The recording medium 461 is composed of the recording medium 300 and stores a game control program according to the present invention. When the game control program is read from the recording medium 461 and the game control program is recorded in the main memory 5, the main memory 5 functions as the program storage unit 460.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing processing when the game apparatus moves the ball object according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  First, in step S1, the game progress control unit 441 displays the image data such as the batter character CL1, the bat object BT, the baseball field background image, the pitcher character CL2, and the fielder character on the display unit 420. Instructing the control unit 443, the display control unit 443 reads out necessary image data from the image storage unit 451, displays it on the display unit 420, and performs initial setting. In this case, an image as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the display unit 420, for example.

  Next, when the player is on the attack side, when the predetermined timing comes, or when the player is on the defensive side, when the pitching start command is input by the player, the player gives an instruction to start the pitching operation. 443 and the moving unit 442 are notified to cause the pitcher character to start pitching (step S2).

  At this time, the display control unit 443 changes the display mode of the pitcher character CL2 so that the pitcher character CL2 throws the ball object BL. The moving unit 442 determines the ball type, the degree of elongation, the course, and the movement start position SP based on the ability information of the pitcher character CL2.

  Next, the moving unit 442 sets n indicating the frame number to n = 1, and initializes n (step S3). Next, the moving unit 442 identifies and identifies Ay (n) that is the acceleration of the y component and Az (n) that is the acceleration of the z component corresponding to the degree of elongation notified from the game progress control unit 441. According to Ay (n) and Az (n), accelerations of the y component and z component of the ball object BL with respect to the current value of n are calculated (step S4).

  Next, the moving unit 442 calculates the speed (Vz (n)) of the z component of the ball object BL with respect to the current value of n by Vz (n) = Vz (n−1) + Az (n), and Vy The speed (Vy (n)) of the y component of the ball object BL with respect to the current value of n is calculated from (n) = Vy (n-1) + Ay (n) (step S5).

  Next, when Vz (n) and Vy (n) calculated in step S5 are equal to or lower than the lower limit values LVz and LVy (YES in step S6), the moving unit 442 values Vz (n) and Vy (n). Is set too low, Vz (n) and Vy (n) are set to the lower limit value LVz and the lower limit value LVy.

  Here, the moving unit 442 sets only Vz (n) to LVz when only Vz (n) is LVz or less, and sets only Vy (n) to LVy when only Vy (n) is LVy or less. When Vz (n) and Vy (n) are both LVz and LVy or less, Vz (n) = LVz and Vy (n) = LVy may be set.

  On the other hand, when both Vz (n) and Vy (n) are larger than LVz and LVy (NO in step S6), the moving unit 442 passes through step S7 and advances the process to step S8.

  Next, when Vz (n) and Vy (n) are equal to or higher than the upper limit values HVz and HVy (YES in Step S8), the moving unit 442 performs Vz (n) = HVz and Vy in the same manner as Step S7. (N) = HVy is set (step S9). On the other hand, when both Vz (n) and Vy (n) are smaller than HVz and HVy (NO in step S8), the moving unit 442 passes through step S9 and advances the process to step S10.

  Next, the moving unit 442 calculates the position of the z component of the ball object BL at the current value of n by Dz (n) = Dz (n−1) + Vz (n), and Dy (n) = Dy. The position of the y component of the ball object BL at the current n value is calculated by (n−1) + Vy (n), and the value of the x component of the movement start position SP is calculated from the current n value of the ball object BL. Calculated as the position of the x component (step S10). At this time, the moving unit 442 moves the ball object BL to the calculated position in the virtual three-dimensional space.

  Next, the display control unit 443 projects the nth frame on the display unit 420 by projecting the ball object BL whose position is calculated in Step S10 on the virtual screen VS with reference to the virtual viewpoint VE shown in FIG. Display and update the frame (step S11).

  Here, as shown in FIG. 5 described above, the display control unit 443 sets the size of the ball object BL displayed on the display unit 420 to the first enlargement ratio at the time of normal projection as the ball object BL approaches. The enlargement ratio is larger than the second enlargement ratio, and is enlarged and displayed at the second enlargement ratio in consideration of the ability information of the pitcher character. In this frame, the display control unit 443 displays a baseball field image as a background, and also displays a pitcher character and a batter character.

  Next, the moving unit 442 increments n by adding 1 to n (step S12). Next, the moving unit 442 determines whether or not the moving distance Dz (n) of the z component of the ball object BL is greater than or equal to the maximum moving distance TL (see FIG. 4), and Dz (n) ≧ TL. In the case (YES in step S13), the process is terminated assuming that the ball object BL has reached the catch position EP. On the other hand, when Dz (n) <TL (NO in step S13), the moving unit 442 returns the process to step S4 and repeats the processes of steps S4 to S13.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the batting process executed by the game device according to the embodiment of the present invention. Note that the flowchart shown in FIG. 13 is triggered by the fact that the hit determination unit 444 determines that the batter character has hit the ball object during the execution of the flowchart shown in FIG. Then, when the flowchart shown in FIG. 13 is started, the flowchart of FIG. 12 is ended.

  First, when the point P4 (see FIG. 10) that is the center of gravity of the overlapping area between the ball object BL and the hit possible area KD of the meat cursor K is located in the fly determination area FD, the hit determination unit 444 determines that the batter character flies. When it determines with having shot and is located in the goro determination area GD, it determines with the batter character having hit the goro (step S21).

  Next, as described above, the hit determination unit 444 calculates the magnitude and direction of the initial velocity V0 of the ball object BL, and calculates the trajectory of the ball object BL based on the calculated direction and magnitude (step) S22).

  Here, even if the hit determination unit 444 establishes the motion equation of the ball object BL from the direction and size of the initial velocity V0 in the virtual three-dimensional space and solves this motion equation, the trajectory of the ball object BL is obtained. good. Alternatively, when it is determined that the hit determination unit 444 has shot the fly, the ball object BL is corrected by correcting the fly trajectory as a predetermined reference according to the magnitude and direction of the determined initial velocity V0. You may seek the trajectory of In addition, when the hit determination unit 444 determines that the ball has been shot, the ball path of the ball object BL is corrected by correcting the ballistic trajectory serving as a predetermined reference according to the determined magnitude and direction of the initial velocity V0. You may ask for.

  Next, the display control unit 443 changes the display mode of the batter character so that the batter character hits the ball object BL (step S23).

  Next, the display control unit 443 moves and displays the ball object BL on the display unit 420 according to the trajectory calculated in Step S23 (Step S24). In this case, the display control unit 443 sets the virtual viewpoint VE and the virtual screen VS at a position different from that in FIG. 5 (for example, a position where the stadium is viewed from above), and projects the ball object BL onto the virtual screen VS. Thus, the ball object BL may be moved and displayed on the display unit 420.

  When the batting determination unit 444 determines that the batter character has not been hit although the batting command has been input by the player, the display control unit 443 displays the ball object as the ball object during execution of the flowchart of FIG. What is necessary is just to change the display mode of a batter character so that it may be swung.

  In the above description, the degree of growth is determined using the pitcher's ability information. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the degree of growth is further determined using the game situation in addition to the ability information. May be. Here, as a game situation, for example, there is a case where a runner is in the bag.

  In this case, a lottery probability for each degree of elongation may be set so that the probability that a high degree of elongation will be drawn is higher than in the normal case, and the degree of growth may be determined by lottery processing. The degree of elongation determined by the lottery process may be increased by a predetermined point.

  Thus, when the pitcher character is in a pinch situation where there is a runner in the cage, it is possible to perform a pitch at a speed that cannot normally be put out.

  When a tennis game is adopted as a game, for example, a ball object hit by a character with a chance of winning shot may be a powerful shot exceeding the normal ability of the character.

  In addition, when soccer is adopted as a game, in a PK game, at the time of PK that determines the victory or defeat of the game, the shot that the kicker kicks may be a shot that exceeds the normal ability.

  In the above description, the moving unit 442 may set the degree of elongation according to a shot strength value that indicates a degree of shot strength, which is predetermined as the ability information of the pitcher character.

  Thus, according to the present game device, the speed of the ball object BL thrown from the pitcher character CL2 toward the virtual screen VS set in the virtual three-dimensional space increases as it approaches the virtual screen VS. Move in a virtual three-dimensional space. Then, the ball object BL moving in the virtual three-dimensional space is projected on the virtual screen VS, and the obtained image is displayed on the display unit 420. As a result, the ball object BL is displayed on the display unit 420 such that the speed increases as it approaches. As a result, it is possible to effectively produce a growing ball and provide a highly entertaining game.

  In addition, since the speed of the ball object BL is increased according to the degree of growth determined based on the ability information of the pitcher character CL2, the ability of the pitcher character CL2 can be reflected in the game, and the game is more interesting. be able to.

410 Operation unit 420 Display unit 430 Speaker 440 Program execution unit 441 Game progress control unit 442 Moving unit (moving means)
443 Display control unit (display control means)
444 Impact determination unit (impact determination means)
445 Voice control unit BL Ball object CL1 Batter character CL2 Pitcher character (character)
DD Lower area ES Ground surface HFT Fraction time HVz Upper limit KL1 Symmetry line LVz, LVy Lower limit K Meat cursor KD Strikeable area SF Moveable area UD Upper area VS Virtual screen

Claims (6)

A game device that controls the progress of a game in which a character sends a ball object toward a virtual screen corresponding to a display screen of a display unit in a virtual three-dimensional space,
Moving means for moving the ball object in the virtual three-dimensional space so that the speed of the ball object increases as the ball object approaches the virtual screen;
The ball object moved by the moving means is projected onto the virtual screen, the obtained image is displayed on the display unit, and as the ball object approaches the virtual screen, the ball object is changed to a normal ball object. Display control means for projecting to enlarge at a second enlargement rate that is larger than the first enlargement rate due to the proximity of the character and that is defined based on the ability information of the character ;
Ability information storage means for preliminarily storing ability information that defines the ability of the character,
The speed of the ball object is increased based on the ability information,
The game is a baseball game;
The character is a pitcher character;
A batter character that strikes the ball object sent from the pitcher character;
The batter character is placed at a position near the virtual screen,
The pitcher character is placed at a position facing the batter character,
Hitting determination for the ball object area corresponding to the ball object that is enlarged based on the first enlargement ratio in response to a batting input signal output from the operation unit when a batting command is input from the player A game apparatus , further comprising a hit determination unit that performs processing .   The moving means determines an increase pattern of the speed of the ball object based on the ability information of the character and the game situation, calculates the speed of the ball object at a predetermined period based on the determined increase pattern, and the speed is The game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the speed is held at the upper limit value when a predetermined upper limit value is exceeded. The virtual three-dimensional space further includes a ground surface on which the character is placed,
The game according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the moving means increases the distance between the ball object and the ground surface based on the ability information as the ball object approaches the virtual screen. apparatus. The display control means causes the display unit to display a meet cursor that is moved based on an operation command from a player in a predetermined movable area arranged in the virtual three-dimensional space,
The hit determining means causes the batter character to hit the ball object when the ball object overlaps a hittable area in the meat cursor at a hit timing determined based on an input timing of the hit input signal,
The hittable region has a symmetrical shape, passes through the midpoint of the symmetry line, and is a line orthogonal to the symmetry line, and is divided into an upper region and a lower region, and the area of the lower region The game device according to claim 1, wherein the game device has a shape smaller than an area of the upper region. A game control program that causes a computer to function as a game device that controls the progress of a game in which a character sends a ball object toward a virtual screen corresponding to a display screen of a display unit in a virtual three-dimensional space,
The game is a baseball game;
The character is a pitcher character;
A batter character that strikes the ball object sent from the pitcher character;
The batter character is placed at a position near the virtual screen,
The pitcher character is placed at a position facing the batter character,
Moving means for moving the ball object in the virtual three-dimensional space so as to increase the speed of the ball object based on the ability information of the pitcher character as the ball object approaches the virtual screen;
The ball object moved by the moving means is projected onto the virtual screen, the obtained image is displayed on the display unit, and as the ball object approaches the virtual screen, the ball object is changed to a normal ball object. Display control means for projecting to enlarge at a second enlargement rate that is larger than the first enlargement rate due to the proximity of the character and that is defined based on the ability information of the character ;
Ability information storage means for preliminarily storing ability information defining the ability of the pitcher character ;
Hitting determination for the ball object area corresponding to the ball object that is enlarged based on the first enlargement ratio in response to a batting input signal output from the operation unit when a batting command is input from the player A game control program that causes a computer to function as an impact determination unit that performs processing . A game control method in which a game device controls the progress of a game in which a character sends a ball object toward a virtual screen corresponding to a display screen of a display unit in a virtual three-dimensional space,
The game is a baseball game;
The character is a pitcher character;
A batter character that strikes the ball object sent from the pitcher character;
The batter character is placed at a position near the virtual screen,
The pitcher character is placed at a position facing the batter character,
Moving the ball object in the virtual three-dimensional space so that the speed of the ball object increases based on the ability information of the pitcher character as the ball object approaches the virtual screen;
The ball object moved by the moving step is projected on the virtual screen, and the obtained image is displayed on the display unit. As the ball object approaches the virtual screen, the ball object is changed to a normal ball object. a first larger magnification than the magnification of the due to the proximity of a display control step of projecting to expand at a second magnification that is defined based on the capability information of the character,
Hitting determination for the ball object area corresponding to the ball object that is enlarged based on the first enlargement ratio in response to a batting input signal output from the operation unit when a batting command is input from the player A game control method comprising a batting determination step for performing processing .

Images