JPH0470038B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a main body that imitates the cockpit of various vehicles such as automobiles, motorcycles, ships, aircraft, and animals;
an image display means for displaying to the player image information such as a running route, a background that changes successively as the game progresses, and a character to be operated representing the vehicle to be operated by the player; The present invention relates to a video display game machine that includes a game progress control means that adds and processes operation information from the player from the cockpit to a game progress program to control the formation of image information, and also manages the progress of the game.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, a player rides on a main body imitating the cockpit of various vehicles such as automobiles, motorcycles, ships, aircraft, and animals, and by appropriately shifting his/her weight, the player can shake the vehicle. There is a game machine that is played by moving the player (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 31784/1984). Furthermore, some of the above-mentioned game machines have a driving device attached to them and are played by forcing the game to swing.

On the other hand, as a type of TV game machine using a CRT display, a moving image is displayed on the CRT screen, and the vehicle displayed on the screen can be controlled by an attached input means, such as a simulated handle.
2. Description of the Related Art There is a game machine in which you operate a shift lever, a brake pedal, an accelerator pedal, a keyboard, a joystick, etc., enter control information, and operate the machine as you wish. This type of TV game machine has plenty of game-like elements, such as competitiveness, the display of a variety of situations such as the appearance of unexpected situations, and a large degree of freedom in operating the target vehicle displayed on the screen. , the player can demonstrate relatively advanced abilities such as situational judgment and operation, and the so-called game nature is very large.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the former type of swinging game machine is one in which the player directly moves his or her body to play, but it is not just for enjoying the fun of swinging. hand,
The game is monotonous and is suitable for relatively young children. As a result, the game had the disadvantage that it was not possible to play using advanced operations, and the gameplay was poor.

On the other hand, although the latter type of TV game consoles are rich in game features, they are simply enjoyed with the eyes and fingertips, and cannot be played using the whole body, so they lack a sense of realism. .

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, and includes displaying a variety of situations such as competitiveness and the appearance of unexpected situations, and a large degree of freedom in operating the target vehicle displayed on the screen. The game elements are sufficient, and the player is able to demonstrate relatively advanced abilities such as situational judgment and manipulation, and is also able to play using not only the fingertips but also the movement of the body. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a moving image display game machine having excellent game performance and functions that give a sense of realism.

[Means for Solving the Problems] As shown in FIG. An image display means for forming and displaying image information such as a running route, a background, and a character to be operated representing the vehicle to be operated by the player, which changes continuously over time, and for displaying it to the player; and a preset game. A video display game machine comprising a game progress control means for controlling the formation of image information by processing the operation information by the player from the cockpit as data based on the progress program, and for managing the progress of the game,
As a means to solve the above problem, the above-mentioned cockpit is provided so as to be able to swing at least backwards according to the player's weight shift, and the swinging angle of the cockpit is detected, and the swinging angle is determined as one of the maneuvering information. An angle detection means for outputting angle information is provided, and based on the swing angle information, the attitude of the character image to be controlled is determined by referring to the other control information.
The present invention is characterized in that it is configured to include a character image setting means that calculates aspects such as changes in vertical position and sets corresponding image information.

In the above configuration, the mechanism for rocking the cockpit includes, for example, providing the cockpit supported so as to be swingable back and forth by a support that is attached to a base so as to be swingable back and forth; , can be formed by connecting a biasing means for restoring the swinging motion to the original position.

Further, in the above configuration, the angle detecting means may, for example, extract the swinging motion as a rotational motion from the swinging center of the support column using a gear, and by this rotation,
A sliding terminal such as a variable resistor is rotated, and the swing angle is detected as a corresponding change in resistance value.

[Operation] In the above-described configuration, when the player is seated in the cockpit and starts the game, various images that change sequentially as the game program progresses are continuously displayed on the image display means. On the other hand, the player can move the image of his or her vehicle as appropriate by operating the handle or the like. That is,
Control information based on various operations by the player is incorporated into the game program as data, and the progress of the game and the state of the images are successively changed.

Further, in the present invention, the cockpit can be rocked by moving the weight in the cockpit. This rocking motion is detected as an angular displacement by the angular displacement detection means. This swing angle information is used as data by the character image setting means, together with the other control information, to calculate the attitude, vertical position change, etc. of the control target character image.

In this way, according to the present invention, not only the fingertip operations but also the movement of the player's body are incorporated as control information, so that, in combination with the game nature of the TV game machine, a sense of realism is achieved. You can enjoy the game.

[Example] An example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Configuration of Embodiment> FIG. 2 shows the appearance of an embodiment of the moving image display game machine of the present invention. The present embodiment is an example in which a game machine is provided with a driver's seat modeled after a motorcycle (hereinafter abbreviated as a motorcycle), and displays an image of the rear view of the motorcycle as a character to be operated.

As shown in the figure, a main body 12 imitating the cockpit of a motorcycle and image information such as a running route, background, and characters to be controlled that change successively as the game progresses are displayed to the player. An image display section 14 is provided on the base 10.

The main body 12 includes a seat part 16, a handle 18 disposed in front of the seat part 16, and a footrest 20, and is supported on the base 10 by a support 22.

The image display unit 14, as shown in FIG.
A moving image, which is a game screen, is displayed on the CRT display 102. In this screen, background A
, driving route B, obstacle C, and competitor's bike D
, a street light E, and a motorcycle O, which is the player's vehicle, are depicted, and as the game progresses, these move sequentially and change their position, shape, size, etc. That is, as the player's bike advances, the positions, shapes, sizes, etc. of background A and running route B change according to a preset program, and obstacles C and competitors change. The position, shape, size, etc. of the motorcycle D and street light E also change according to the program, and the situation changes from moment to moment, enhancing the gameplay.

As shown in FIG. 4, the handle 18 is provided at one end with an accelerator 26 and a brake 28, and the operational displacements of these are mechanically transmitted to the steering information forming section 34 through wires 30. A clutch 24 is provided on the opposite side of the handle 18 and functions as a high/low two-speed transmission. This clutch 24 is composed of a changeover switch,
The signal is electrically transmitted to the maneuver information forming section 34 through a signal line 32. In addition, this operation information forming section 34
is provided with means (not shown) for electrically detecting the rotation angle of the handle 18.

In the operation information forming section 34, the accelerator 2
6 and the brake 28 via the wire 30, for example, displaces the movable piece of each variable resistor, sets a corresponding change in resistance value, and is converted into an electrical signal. Similarly, the rotation angle of the handle 18 is also converted into an electrical signal.

As shown in FIG. 5, the pillar 22 is provided with a fulcrum 40 near its base.
It is rotatably supported by a bearing 42 fixed to the base 10, and is swingably connected to the base 10. One end of a biasing means 36 for restoring the swinging motion to the original position is connected to the support column 22 at a position upwardly removed from the fulcrum 40 thereof.

This biasing means 36 includes a bracket 33 connected to the column 22 side, a bracket 35 connected to the base 10 side, and a shaft 37 fixed to the bracket 33 and slidably held on the bracket 35 side. and a coil spring 38 wound around the shaft 37.

Further, around the base of the support column 22, there are stoppers 44, 4 formed by fixing rubber cushions to the base 10.
6 are arranged substantially opposite to each other across the base, and the swing range is determined by this and the stroke range of the shaft. In the case of this embodiment, as is clear from the figure, it is arranged so as to swing mainly toward the rear of the bike.

A sector-shaped gear 48 is attached to the fulcrum 40 of the support column 22.
is attached and meshes with a gear 50 that rotates a movable piece of a variable resistor (not shown). This constitutes an angle detection means 52 that detects the swing angle of the cockpit and outputs swing angle information as one of the operation information.

Next, the configurations of the game progress control means, character image setting means, and image display means for executing the game using the above-mentioned operation information will be explained.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a hardware configuration for realizing these means.

The hardware shown in the figure includes a steering information forming section 34 that forms clutch information, accelerator information, brake information, and handle information, the angle detection means 52 that forms rocking angle information, and information other than the clutch information. A/D that selectively converts A/D
A converter 54 is provided as a control information input means.

Further, a microprocessor (hereinafter abbreviated as MPU) 56, a read-only memory (hereinafter abbreviated as ROM) 58 that stores an operation control program for the MPU 56 and a game program for progressing the game, and a read-only memory (hereinafter abbreviated as ROM) 58 that stores the operation control program of the MPU 56 and a game program for progressing the game, and A microcomputer consisting of a random access memory (hereinafter abbreviated as RAM) 60 used for game progress control means is provided.

Further, a control information memory 62 which is a RAM and stores the above-mentioned control information, and a character image forming each character image of the obstacle C, the competitor's bike D, the street light E, and the bike O which is the vehicle of the player. The setting means 70, the background image generation means 77 that generates an image of background A, the traveling route image generating means 82 that generates an image of traveling route B, and the timing of forming the above-mentioned XY address together with the vertical and horizontal synchronization signals. The circuit 90 and the character image setting means 7
0. A priority circuit 88 that selectively outputs images from the background image generation means 77 and the running road image generation means 82 according to the priority, and the color of the image information output from the priority circuit 88 is changed to more diverse colors. color expansion circuit 100 and CRT display 10
An image display means consisting of 2 is provided.

The character image setting means 70 includes an image information parameter memory 72 that stores and holds image information parameters set based on the game program from the operation information, and a ROM, and stores character images corresponding to various image information parameters in advance. The character image memory 74 that has been set and the image information parameters correspond to vertical and horizontal synchronization signals.
It is comprised of a comparison circuit 76 which sets the display position on the screen by comparing it with the XY address and outputs the corresponding image information from the character image memory 74. In this embodiment, this character image setting means 70 includes an obstacle C, a competitor's motorcycle D, and a street light E.
Four systems are provided corresponding to each character image of the motorcycle O, which is the vehicle of the player. The character image memory 74 differs depending on the system, but
Each of them stores image data of about 100 to several hundred images.

Background image generation means 77 for generating an image of background A
As shown in FIG. 6, a character generator 78 outputs a planar image element of 8×8 dots.
and a scroll 80 for expanding this image element. In addition, the traveling road image generating means 8
2, as shown in FIG. 6, includes a character generator 84 that outputs a linear image element, and a scroll 86 that expands this image element. These means form images of the background A and the running path B that change as the game program progresses. The progress of the game is set according to the running state of the bike O, and a new image is formed in accordance with the speed of the bike O so as to draw a screen preset by the game program.

The timing circuit 90 includes a clock generator 92 and a horizontal counter 9, as shown in FIG.
4, a vertical direction counter 96, and an arithmetic circuit 98 that forms vertical and horizontal synchronization signals from the counted values of both the counters 94 and 96, and sets the XY address of the position on the screen corresponding to the synchronization signal. It consists of Note that the arithmetic circuit 98 is
The MPU 56 may also be used.

<Operation of the Embodiment> The operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be explained with reference to the above figures and FIGS. 8 and 9. Note that FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an overview of the operation of this embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the procedure of game processing in this embodiment.

The MPU 56 executes various processes according to programs stored in the ROM 58. Processing can be broadly divided into game machine management and game progress processing. FIG. 8 shows the former processing procedure, and FIG. 9 shows the latter processing procedure. In addition, MPU5
6 has an address bus AB and a data bus DB.
is connected, other hardware devices are connected by addressing, and data bus
Transfer data via DB. However,
For the sake of simplicity, descriptions of addressing and data transfer routes will be omitted.

In Figure 8, when the device is started up, the MPU
56 displays the game title of the game machine on the CRT display 102 and monitors whether or not coins have been inserted to start the game (steps 1 and 2). Then, until the coin is inserted, the initial demonstration screen will be displayed.
The process continues until the display timer set in the program reaches 0, at which point the ranking list is displayed and the process returns to step 1 (steps 3, 4,
5) After this, repeat this operation until a coin is inserted.

Here, when a coin is inserted, a detection signal from a limit switch (not shown) or the like is input, and in response to this, the MPU 56 checks whether or not the start button to start the game has been pressed (step 6). When is pressed, game start is displayed on the screen (step 7).

When the game starts, the MPU 56 takes in control information from various operations performed by the player, and
Game progress processing is performed (step 8). Then, when the timer set by the program reaches 0, the ranking list is displayed and then
Display “GAME OVER” and return to step 1 (steps 9 to 11).

The flow of the above processing is basically the same as the flow of conventional gaming machines of this type. In addition, except for the screen during game processing, the data of the standard screen is
Image data stored in the ROM 58 is used.

Next, details of the above game processing will be explained with reference to FIG. 9.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, a game is taken as an example in which the player controls the motorcycle O on a traveling path displayed on the screen, and the winner or loser is determined by the distance traveled within a certain period of time. Note that in this game, obstacles C and other bikes D appear on the travel route, so it is necessary to avoid them. That is, regarding obstacle C, the main body (driver's seat) is swung backwards to raise the motorcycle and jump over the obstacle C, and regarding the other motorcycle D, the handlebar,
It is necessary to overtake the vehicle while avoiding a rear-end collision by operating the brakes, accelerator, etc. Furthermore, since street lights E are arranged at regular intervals on both sides of the travel path B, if the steering wheel is operated incorrectly, the vehicle will collide with the street lights E. Therefore, if the correct operation is not performed, the motorcycle O will collide with an obstacle C or another motorcycle D, fall down, and collide with a street lamp E, causing the screen to temporarily stop.

Here, the formation of the screen of the CRT display 102 will be explained.

The background A and the running route B are generated by the background image generating means 77 and the running route image generating means 8, as described above.
2, image information is formed and sent to the CRT display 102 via the priority circuit 88 for display. Furthermore, these images are sequentially rewritten in accordance with the traveling speed of the motorcycle O. Therefore, the faster the bike O is, the more frequently these screens are rewritten. In addition, background A and running route B are
In this embodiment, since the images are divided and arranged at the top and bottom of the screen, they can be combined at the same time. Therefore, the priorities of both images A and B in the priority circuit 88 are equal.

On the other hand, as described above, various types of image data of the motorcycle O, the obstacle C, the other motorcycle D, and the street light E are stored in the character image memory 74. The positions of these images on the screen are set according to the progress of the game and the player's control status, and the optimal image data is selectively read out.
The signal is sent to the CRT display 102 via the priority circuit 88 and displayed on the background A and the running route B. Note that character images such as the bike O, obstacle C, other bike D, and street light E are given higher priority than the images of background A and running route B, so it is difficult to display these character images on the screen. It is preferentially displayed in the appropriate position.

Next, the relationship between the player's operation and the display on the screen will be explained with reference to FIG. 9.

The MPU 56 performs initial settings for starting the game, such as clearing each memory and setting initial values, and also sets initial values of each parameter in the image information parameter memory 72 (steps 12 to 3).
13).

When a player takes a seat on the seat section 16 and starts the game, an image as shown in FIG. 3, for example, is displayed on the screen of the CRT display 102. Therefore, the player controls the motorcycle O that he/she is controlling.
In order to drive the motorcycle, he selects the clutch, turns the accelerator, operates the steering wheel, and performs various operations such as operating the brakes to avoid a collision with the competitor's motorcycle D. On the other hand, the MPU 56 selects a background A, a driving route B, an obstacle C, a competitor's bike D, and a computer according to a preset game program.
A street light E etc. is made to appear on the screen. At this time, the various maneuvering information described above is referred to, and processing such as relatively changing the running route B in accordance with the speed of the motorcycle O is performed to improve the realism of the screen.

Various operations by the player are performed by the operation information forming section 34.
The controller 52 outputs clutch information, accelerator information, brake information, and handle information, and the backward rocking of the main body by the player is output as rocking angle information by the angle detecting means 52. Among these pieces of information, clutch information is directly converted, and other information is selectively A/D converted by an A/D converter 54.
Each is stored in the maneuver information memory 62. The storage of these data in the memory 62 is performed by the MPU 56.
This is done at regular intervals. Note that this maneuver information memory 62 stores current values and previous values, and these values are updated every time new data is input.

The MPU 52 reads both old and new data stored in the maneuvering information memory 62, performs comparison calculations, and determines the running state of the bike O, i.e., current position, direction, speed, acceleration, deceleration, normal running, jump state. Calculate various parameters related to
At the same time, parameters are calculated for each character image of the obstacle C, the competitor's bike D, and the street light E. These parameters are stored in the image information parameter memory 72 corresponding to each character C, D, E, and O (step
14-19).

Here, the MPU 56 determines whether or not the motorcycle O to be controlled is in a running state, and if so, further determines whether or not it is in a jump state (steps 20 and 21). In this determination, for example, if the accelerator information is the minimum and the brake information is the maximum, it is determined that the bike O is stopped. In addition, in the steering wheel information, if the angle of the steering wheel is too large, it is determined that the vehicle deviates from the traveling path B and collides with a street light E depending on the position and timing.

If it is determined that the vehicle is not running, the MPU 56 will
An image pattern of the overturned state of the motorcycle O is selected from the character image memory 74 and passed through the priority circuit 88.
The data is transferred to the CRT display 102. On this occasion,
The position on the screen where the image pattern should be displayed is
The comparison circuit 76 compares the XY address supplied from the timing circuit 90 and the current position parameter of the bike stored in the image information parameter memory 72, and sets the corresponding position (step 32).

For other character images (excluding competitor bike D), the screen is brought to a halt state by sending the image data currently being transferred to the same position on the screen. Similarly, background A and running path B
also freezes the screen (step
33). Then, the competitor's bike D is allowed to pass and the obstacles are removed (step 34).

When the bike O is in normal running condition,
The MPU 56 reads the positions (XY addresses) of the obstacle C and the other bike D displayed on the screen, respectively, and compares them with the position of the bike O (step 23).

Here, if the XY addresses do not match, there is no conflict and the process returns to step 14. On the other hand, when any of the XY addresses match, the MPU 56 transfers the falling image of the bike O to the matching XY address (step
29). Then, in the same way as above, the screen is stopped by sending the image data currently being transferred for other character images (excluding competitor bike D), background A, and running route B to the same position on the screen. state (step 30). Then, the competitor's bike D is allowed to pass (step 31).

Furthermore, when the player looks at the obstacle C on the screen and shifts his/her weight to the rear of the main body, the support 22 tilts toward the rear of the main body about 40, and the angle detection means 52 detects the swing angle. be done.
As a result of this operation, when the bike O enters the jump state, the MPU 56 sequentially transfers the initial jump image and the mid-jump image determined based on the parameters stored in the image information parameter memory 72 from the character image memory 74. Select,
The data is transferred to the CRT display 102 via the priority circuit 88 (steps 24 and 25). Here, the parameters are calculated as jump height, time, and distance using a falling motion equation with reference to swing angle information and speed information.

In addition, the MPU 56 performs the above processing and also sends a signal to the background image generating means 77 and the running road image generating means 82 to change the boundary position of the background A and the running road B on the screen up and down according to the jump height. O (step 26). Further, a signal is sent to the comparison circuit 76 to change the vertical positions of the obstacle C, the competitor's motorcycle D, and the street light E (step 27).

Then, for example, the MPU 56 checks whether the bike O has landed or not based on the elapse of the jump time, and if it is jumping, returns to step 25.
On the other hand, if it has landed, return to step 14 (step 28).

In this way, the MPU 56 refers to the player's operating state and advances the game according to the game program.

Note that the rearward tilt of the main body is restored by the coil spring 38 when the player returns his/her weight to the original position.

Here, to summarize the above-mentioned embodiment, the structural feature of this embodiment is that a support is swingably erected on the base of the video display game machine, and the main body is attached to the upper end of the support. and a biasing means for returning the support to its original position is provided between the support and the base, so that the main body imitating a cockpit can be moved forward and backward relative to the image display means. The effect of this structural feature is that, as mentioned in the text, for example, in the case of a simulation game where the bike on the screen is driven along a road that appears on the screen, When an obstacle appears in front of the riding path, the main body, which is the driver's seat with a handle, swings backwards by an instantaneous shift of the body weight, making it appear as if the motorcycle is standing up. This allows the bike on the screen to jump over obstacles on the screen.

<Modifications of Embodiments> In the above embodiments, a motorbike was used as the object to be operated, but the present invention can of course be applied to other vehicles. Further, the content to be displayed on the screen can also be set as appropriate.

Further, in this embodiment, the main body swings only backwards, but it may be configured to swing back and forth.

In addition, in this embodiment, RAMs are provided separately for each purpose, but a common RAM may be used in separate areas.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention has advantages such as displaying a variety of situations such as competitiveness and the appearance of unexpected situations, and having a large degree of freedom in operating the target vehicle displayed on the screen. There are enough game elements,
The game is designed to provide sufficient game playability and immersive functions that allow players to demonstrate relatively advanced abilities such as situational judgment and operation, as well as to use not only their fingertips but also their body movements. This has the effect of making it possible to realize a video display game machine with the following features.

The present invention will now be summarized.

・Because the structure and composition are extremely simple,
Not only is manufacturing easy, but the maintenance and management of the entire device is also extremely simple.

- The player can easily swing the cockpit back and forth by simply shifting his or her weight on the cockpit.

- Note that this back-and-forth rocking of the cockpit can be easily detected as an angular displacement by the angle detection means.

- Also, this swing angle information is used as data, along with other operation information, to calculate the attitude, vertical position change, etc. of the operation target image.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present invention, Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present invention.
The figure is a side view showing the appearance of one embodiment of the video display game machine of the present invention, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of image display of the present embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the handle portion of the present embodiment. 5 is a side view showing a mechanism for swinging the main body, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration for realizing the game progress control means and image display means of this embodiment. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the timing circuit in the above hardware configuration, FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an overview of the operation of this embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the procedure of game processing in this embodiment. be. 10... Base, 12... Main body, 14... Image display section,
16... Seat part, 18... Handle, 22... Support column, 2
4...Clutch, 26...Accelerator, 28...Brake, 34...Maneuvering information forming unit, 36...Biasing means, 3
8... Coil spring, 40... Fulcrum, 42... Bearing, 4
4, 46...Stopper, 48...Sectoral gear, 50...Gear, 52...Angle detection means, 54...A/D converter,
56...Microprocessor (MPU), 58...Read only memory (ROM), 60...Random access memory (RAM), 62...Control information memory,
70... Character image setting means, 72... Image information parameter memory, 74... Character image memory,
76... Comparison circuit, 77... Background image generation means, 7
8, 84...Character generator, 82...Travel road image generating means, 80, 86...Scroll, 88
...Priority circuit, 90...Timing circuit, 102...
CRT display, A... Background, B... Driving path, C
...obstacle, D...competitor's bike, E...street light, O
...Motorcycle to be controlled.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Equipped with a main body that imitates the cockpit of a vehicle, and
It is provided with an image display means for forming image information and displaying the image toward a player sitting on the main body, further controlling the formation of the image information based on a preset game progress program, In a video display game machine equipped with a game progress control means for managing the progress of the game, a support is swingably erected on the base of the video display game machine, and the main body is attached to the upper end of the support. In addition to fixing the support, a biasing means for returning the support to the original position is provided between the support and the base, and the main body, which resembles a cockpit, is moved back and forth with respect to the image display means. A moving image display game machine, characterized in that it is swingable, and the movement of the player's body can be incorporated as part of the operation information when displaying the moving image.