JP7170397B2 - Program, image processing method, and image processing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a program, an image processing method, and an image processing apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in computer games, simulations, and the like, there is known a technique of duplicating one character and drawing the plurality of characters when the characters are arranged and displayed in close proximity.

Also, in order to express the plurality of characters more naturally, there is also known a technique of displaying the plurality of characters so that their movements are different from each other (see Patent Literatures 1 to 3, for example).

Japanese Patent No. 5149956 JP 2010-287191 A JP-A-2000-172868

However, in the prior art, for example, when displaying a relatively large number of characters simultaneously by real-time processing using three-dimensional computer graphics, the processing load becomes high. There is a problem that it may be difficult to display

Accordingly, an object of one aspect is to provide a technology capable of displaying a plurality of objects in a more natural manner.

In one proposal, the image processing device is provided with a predetermined threshold for the distance between a predetermined position corresponding to a first object that moves in the virtual three-dimensional space in response to a user's operation and the position of the object to be processed. When the object to be processed is the second object, causing the second object to perform an action corresponding to the action of the third object associated with the second object and displaying the action on the screen. and a first display step of displaying the third object when the distance is less than a threshold, or when the distance is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold and the object to be processed is the third object. a second display step of causing the second object to perform a motion independent of the motion to be displayed on a screen ; When a fifth object different from the emitted fourth object collides with the second object, the fifth object performs a motion independent of the motion of the third object when the fifth object collides with the second object. and a third display step of causing the second object to be displayed on the screen .

According to one aspect, multiple objects can be displayed in a more natural manner.

It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of the image processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment. 1 is a functional block diagram of an image processing device according to an embodiment; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of processing of the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment; It is a figure which shows an example of the unit data which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure explaining an example of a display screen. It is a figure explaining an example of a display screen. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen in which characters to be attacked are unitized;

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

<Hardware configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration example of an image processing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment. The image processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a drive device 100, an auxiliary storage device 102, a memory device 103, a CPU 104, an interface device 105, a display device 106, an input device 107, etc., which are connected to each other via a bus B. .

A game program for realizing processing in the image processing device 10 is provided by the recording medium 101 . When the recording medium 101 recording the game program is set in the drive device 100 , the game program is installed from the recording medium 101 into the auxiliary storage device 102 via the drive device 100 . However, the game program does not necessarily have to be installed from the recording medium 101, and may be downloaded from another computer via the network. The auxiliary storage device 102 stores the installed game program, as well as necessary files and data.

The memory device 103 is, for example, a memory such as DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) or SRAM (Static Random Access Memory). . The CPU 104 implements functions related to the image processing apparatus 10 according to programs stored in the memory device 103 . The interface device 105 is used as an interface for connecting to a network. A display device 106 displays a GUI (Graphical User Interface) or the like by a program. The input device 107 is composed of a controller or the like, a keyboard and a mouse or the like, or a touch panel and buttons or the like, and is used for inputting various operational instructions.

Note that an example of the recording medium 101 is a portable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD disc, a Blu-ray disc, or a USB memory. Examples of the auxiliary storage device 102 include a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), flash memory, and the like. Both the recording medium 101 and the auxiliary storage device 102 correspond to computer-readable recording media.

<Functional configuration>
Next, a functional configuration of the image processing apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the image processing device 10 according to the embodiment.

The image processing device 10 has a storage unit 11 . The storage unit 11 is implemented using, for example, the auxiliary storage device 102 or the like. The storage unit 11 stores three-dimensional data 111 and the like. The three-dimensional data 111 is three-dimensional model data of each object, and is data including model data of each object, texture image data, and the like.

The image processing apparatus 10 also has a reception unit 12 , a control unit 13 , and a display control unit 14 . Each of these units is implemented by one or more programs installed in the image processing apparatus 10 causing the CPU 104 of the image processing apparatus 10 to execute.

The reception unit 12 receives an operation from the user such as moving the player character (an example of the “first object”) in the virtual three-dimensional space.

The control unit 13 controls the progress of the game and the like. In addition, in response to the operation received by the receiving unit 12, the control unit 13 determines the predetermined position corresponding to the player character and the position of the enemy or ally character (an example of the "second object"). It is determined whether or not the distance is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold.

Then, when the distance is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the control unit 13 performs an action corresponding to the action of the leader character (an example of the "third object") associated with the enemy or ally character. is displayed on the screen by the display control unit 14 as the enemy or ally character or the like.

Further, when the distance is less than the threshold, the control unit 13 causes the enemy or ally character or the like to perform actions independent of the actions of the leader character, and causes the display control unit 14 to display them on the screen.

Here, the predetermined position (hereinafter also referred to as "reference position") is, for example, the position of the player character in the virtual three-dimensional space or the viewpoint of the user in the virtual three-dimensional space (virtual camera, virtual camera ). Note that the control unit 13 displays the virtual three-dimensional space captured by the virtual camera on the screen using three-dimensional computer graphics. The position of the virtual camera is, for example, a position on a spherical surface separated by a predetermined distance in the virtual three-dimensional space from the center position of the player character, and may be moved on the spherical surface by the user's operation. Also, the predetermined distance may be changed by a user's operation.

The display control unit 14 displays the image in the game on the screen according to the instruction from the control unit 13 .

<Processing>
Next, processing of the image processing apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5B. FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing an example of processing of the image processing apparatus 10 according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of unit data according to the embodiment; 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating examples of display screens.

An open world (sandbox, free roaming) game will be described below as an example. In an open-world game, three-dimensional data such as terrain, buildings, plants, and the like around the player character are read and displayed according to the movement of the player character operated by the user. This allows the user to seamlessly move the player character around in a relatively large virtual three-dimensional space without switching maps or the like.

In step S1, when the game is started by a user's operation or the like, the control unit 13 reads game data including the three-dimensional data 111, the unit data 112, and the like. Each object in the virtual three-dimensional space includes, for example, landforms, buildings, plants, characters, and the like.

Subsequently, the control unit 13 causes the display control unit 14 to display each object in the virtual three-dimensional space on the screen by three-dimensional computer graphics using the data stored in the memory device 103 (step S2).

Subsequently, the reception unit 12 receives an operation from the user to move the player character (step S3).

Subsequently, the control unit 13 moves the player character in the virtual three-dimensional space in response to the user's operation (step S4). Even when the player character does not move in the virtual three-dimensional space, the following processing may be executed when each object in the virtual three-dimensional space moves. As a result, for example, even when an enemy character approaches the player character, the following processing is executed.

Subsequently, the control unit 13 selects one object as an object to be processed from among the objects representing each character other than the player character in the virtual three-dimensional space (step S5). An arbitrary one of the objects is hereinafter referred to as a "processed object". Therefore, the following processing is executed for each object.

Subsequently, the control unit 13 calculates the distance in the virtual three-dimensional space from the reference position described above to the position of the object to be processed (step S6).

Subsequently, the control unit 13 determines whether or not the calculated distance is less than a predetermined threshold (step S7). Here, the predetermined threshold value may be a value equal to or greater than the reachable distance of a predetermined object released from the player character. Examples of the predetermined object include an object that can reach a relatively long distance, such as an arrow shot from a bow possessed by the player character, a spear or stone thrown from the player character (an example of the "fourth object"). It's okay. As a result, for example, an object within a predetermined range from the reference position can be made to act under the influence of the action of the player character. More specifically, it is possible to cause an enemy character within an attackable range of the player character's attack with a projectile or the like to perform an action or the like that is damaged by the attack with the projectile or the like.

If the calculated distance is less than the predetermined threshold (YES in step S7), the control unit 13 processes the object to be processed as an object (unit) independent of the group (step S8), and performs the process of step S12 described later. proceed to Here, the control unit 13 causes the object to be processed to perform actions independent of the actions of characters other than the player character, and causes the display control unit 14 to display them on the screen. In this case, the control unit 13 uses AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the game, for example, to cause the enemy soldier, which is the object to be processed, to attack the player character, or to cause the player character to attack in response to the user's operation. Depending on the action of attacking the enemy soldier, the enemy soldier is made to perform an action such as blowing away.

If the calculated distance is not less than the predetermined threshold (NO in step S7), the control unit 13 refers to the unit data 112 and determines whether or not the object to be processed is the leader of the group (step S9). In the example of the unit data 112 shown in FIG. 4, group IDs, group IDs, object IDs, and leader attributes are set in association with each other. A group ID is an ID of a group (collection) including a plurality of groups. A corps is, for example, an army corps led by a military commander. A cluster may be composed of, for example, thousands to tens of thousands of objects. Group ID is the ID of each group included in the group. A group is, for example, a unit led by a captain (leader). A troop may consist of, for example, 10 to 30 objects. Object ID is the ID of each object included in the group. An object may be, for example, a character, such as an enemy soldier. The leader attribute is information indicating whether the object is the leader of the group. In the example of FIG. 4, in the group with the team ID of "2001" and the group ID of "1001", the object with the object ID of "0001" is set as the leader of the group.

If the object to be processed is the leader of the group (YES in step S9), the process proceeds to step S8.

If the object to be processed is not the leader of the group (NO in step S9), the control unit 13 processes the object to be processed as an object dependent on the group (member of the group) (step S10). Here, the control unit 13 causes the object to be processed to perform an action corresponding to the action of the object of the leader of the group to which the object to be processed belongs, and causes the display control unit 14 to display the action on the screen. In this case, for example, the control unit 13 causes the object to be processed to perform the same action as the leader at a position within a predetermined range from the leader operated by AI. Here, the motion similar to that of the leader may be, for example, the same motion as the leader, a motion partially modified from the motion of the leader, or a predetermined motion corresponding to the motion of the leader. In the case where the leader's motion is partially deformed, the control unit 13, for example, changes the inclination of the weapon and body possessed by the leader slightly from the inclination of the weapon and body possessed by the object to be processed. It may work differently. When performing a predetermined action according to the action of the leader, the control unit 13 may, for example, cause the object to be processed to follow the leader with a momentary delay after the leader starts running.

As a result, each group walks, attacks, or waits in unison according to the leader's actions. In this case, the object to be processed is displayed relatively small because it is positioned relatively far from the reference position described above. Therefore, it is difficult for the user to perceive detailed movements of the object to be processed, so even if the object is made to perform the same movements as the leader, the user will feel relatively little discomfort. In addition, as a result, the processing load on the CPU 104 can be reduced compared to the case where all the characters are operated independently by AI.

Subsequently, the control unit 13 determines whether or not there is an unprocessed object that has not been selected as an object to be processed among the objects in the virtual three-dimensional space (step S11).

If there is an unprocessed object (YES in step S11), the unprocessed object is selected as an object to be processed (step S12), and the process proceeds to step S6.

If there is no unprocessed object (NO in step S11), the control unit 13 determines whether or not to end the game by user's operation or the like (step S13). If the game is not to be ended (NO in step S13), the process proceeds to step S3. When ending the game (YES in step S13), the process ends.

By the above-described processing, the display control unit 14 displays images as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B in the virtual three-dimensional space. In the example of FIG. 5A, a scene is displayed in which a player character 501A is looking down on a group of characters 502A to 505A, etc. from a relatively high place. Here, since the position of each character included in groups 502A to 505A is relatively far from the reference position, each character is treated as a leader of the group or a member of the group.

In the example of FIG. 5B, a scene is displayed in which the player character 501B is fighting an enemy character. Here, since the position of each character included in group 502A and the like is relatively far from the reference position, each character is treated as the leader of the group or a member of the group. On the other hand, since the characters 503B to 507B are relatively close to the reference position, each character is processed as a unit in step S8 and displayed so as to make different actions.

<Modification 1>
The control unit 13 may perform the following processing when the user is away from the reference position by a predetermined threshold value or more and is not the leader of the group (NO in step S9).

When the object to be processed collides with a predetermined object released from the player character, the control unit 13 controls the operation or collision of the predetermined object independently of the action of the leader of the group. causes the object to be processed.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen in which characters that are attacked are unitized. As shown in FIG. 6, for example, the control unit 13 allows the user to use a projectile with a relatively long range, such as a laser beam, a gun, a longbow, etc. When a character is attacked, the character of the enemy to be attacked may be made to perform the action of escaping or receiving damage. In the example of FIG. 6, an enemy character 604 hit by an arrow 603 shot by a player character 601 with a longbow 602 behaves differently from the actions of other characters 605 in the group, indicating that it has received damage. there is

<Modification 2>
The control unit 13 may determine the predetermined threshold based on the number of character objects displayed on the screen among the objects in the virtual three-dimensional space. For example, the control unit 13 may set the predetermined threshold value to a smaller value as the number of character objects displayed on the screen increases.

In this case, when the number of character objects displayed on the screen is a predetermined number (eg, 100) or more, the control unit 13 sets the predetermined threshold to a first value (eg, 100 m in the virtual three-dimensional space). and On the other hand, when the number of character objects displayed on the screen is less than the predetermined number, the control unit 13 sets the predetermined threshold to a first value (for example, 200 m in the virtual three-dimensional space). As a result, the processing load on the CPU 104 can be reduced in, for example, scenes in which many enemy characters are looked down from a relatively high place, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 6 .

<Modification 3>
The control unit 13 may determine the predetermined threshold based on at least one of the usage status of the CPU 104 (an example of a “processor”) and the usage status of the memory device 103 (an example of a “memory”). good. For example, the control unit 13 may set the predetermined threshold to a smaller value as the usage rate of the CPU 104 is higher or the free space of the memory device 103 is smaller.

As a result, for example, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 6, when the CPU 104 usage rate is high or when the free space of the memory device 103 is high, in the case of a scene where many enemy characters are looked down from a relatively high place. When there are few, it is possible to reduce the processing load on the CPU 104 and the like.

<effect>
In an open-world game in which a player character can move freely in a vast virtual three-dimensional space, large-scale image expression is possible when viewing a landscape from a high position. In this case, it is preferable to display not only surrounding characters and the like but also characters and the like located far away as much as possible from the standpoint of realism.

Therefore, in open world games, compared to non-open world games that switch to another space when reaching the edge of each space, the amount of data such as objects that should be loaded into memory, the display of objects, etc. The processing load for is large.

On the other hand, depending on the performance of the hardware of the game device, there is an upper limit to the memory size and computational speed of the CPU and the like. Therefore, in the conventional technology, for example, in 3D computer graphics where the processing load is relatively high due to the large number of characters to be displayed, such as open world games, it is necessary to reduce the number of characters to be displayed. Become.

On the other hand, according to the above-described embodiment, when the distance between the reference position corresponding to the player character and the position of the other character is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the movement of the leader character associated with the other character Make the other character perform the action according to Also, if the distance is less than the threshold, the other character is made to perform a motion independent of the motion of the leader character. This allows multiple objects to be displayed in a more natural manner.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the invention described in the claims.・Changes are possible.

Each functional unit of the image processing apparatus 10 may be implemented by cloud computing configured by one or more computers, for example. The image processing device 10 may also be a server for online games that displays game screens on user terminals.

In the above-described embodiment, an open-world game has been described as an example, but the disclosed technology can be applied to games other than open-world games, simulations, and other 3D computer graphics in which a predetermined object is displayed in a virtual 3D space. Can be applied when placed on top of other objects.

In addition, the control unit 13 is an example of the “first control unit” and the “second control unit”.

10 image processing device 11 storage unit 111 three-dimensional data 112 unit data 12 reception unit 13 control unit 14 display control unit 103 memory device 104 CPU

Claims (8)

image processing equipment,
a distance between a predetermined position corresponding to a first object that moves in a virtual three-dimensional space in response to a user's operation and the position of the object to be processed is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, and the object to be processed is if the object is a second object, a first display step of causing the second object to display on a screen an action corresponding to the action of a third object associated with the second object;
When the distance is less than a threshold, or when the distance is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold and the object to be processed is the third object, the motion independent of the motion of the third object is performed. a second display step of causing the second object to be displayed on the screen ;
If a fifth object whose distance is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold and is different from a fourth object released from the first object in response to the user's operation collides with the second object, and a third display step of causing the second object to display on a screen an action independent of the action of the third object when a fifth object collides with the third object . The second display step causes the second object to display on a screen an action corresponding to the action of the first object in response to the user's operation.
A program according to claim 1. The predetermined threshold is a value greater than or equal to the reachable distance of a fourth object emitted from the first object,
3. A program according to claim 1 or 2. 2. The program according to claim 1 , wherein a reachable distance of said fifth object emitted from said first object is longer than a reachable distance of a fourth object emitted from said first object. the second object includes a plurality of objects;
In the image processing device,
determining the predetermined threshold based on the number of objects included in the second object displayed on the screen;
A program according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . In the image processing device,
determining the predetermined threshold based on at least one of processor usage and memory usage;
A program according to any one of claims 1 to 5 . The image processing device
a distance between a predetermined position corresponding to a first object that moves in a virtual three-dimensional space in response to a user's operation and the position of the object to be processed is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, and the object to be processed is if the object is a second object, a first display step of causing the second object to display on a screen an action corresponding to the action of a third object associated with the second object;
When the distance is less than a threshold, or when the distance is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold and the object to be processed is the third object, the motion independent of the motion of the third object is performed. a second display step of causing the second object to be displayed on the screen;
If a fifth object whose distance is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold and is different from a fourth object released from the first object in response to the user's operation collides with the second object, a third display step of causing the second object to perform a motion independent of the motion of the third object and displaying it on a screen when the fifth object collides;
An image processing method that performs a distance between a predetermined position corresponding to a first object that moves in a virtual three-dimensional space in response to a user's operation and the position of the object to be processed is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, and the object to be processed is a first control unit for causing the second object to perform an action corresponding to the action of a third object associated with the second object and displaying the second object on a screen when the second object is the second object;
When the distance is less than a threshold, or when the distance is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold and the object to be processed is the third object, the motion independent of the motion of the third object is performed. a second control unit for causing a second object to be displayed on the screen;
If a fifth object whose distance is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold and is different from a fourth object released from the first object in response to the user's operation collides with the second object, and a third control unit configured to cause the second object to perform a motion independent of the motion of the third object and display the motion on a screen when the fifth object collides with the fifth object .

Images