JPH07163751A - Video game device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To assist a player to select games by identification of the shape of his body through the device itself, in a video game device through which a required game is selected from among a plurality of built-in games. CONSTITUTION:Sensors 10a, 10b, 10c detecting the shape of a player's body are arranged in front of the frame body of a video game device to detect the shape of his body from the output of the sensors. And classes of player's age are identified on the basis of the information. And the device itself provides games suitable for the player's age, on the basis of the results.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video game device, and more particularly to a video game device suitable for business use installed in a game center or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a storage device for storing a game in one housing and a video game device for enjoying a game while sequentially displaying images of characters and the like on an externally provided display by an operation signal from the outside. Is known. This type of game machine usually has a display, such as a color CRT or a liquid crystal panel, an audio / video output device including a sound generator, a switch for operating the game machine, an operating stick, a keyboard, and various other devices in one housing. A memory that stores a video signal and various data related to the game, rules for progressing the game, programs, and the like, as well as an operation unit that includes buttons and the like, and a calculation that processes the signal according to an input signal from the operation unit Processing unit (CPU),
It is provided with an electronic control circuit for generating an audio / video signal to be output to a display or the like. Normally, not only one type of game is stored in the memory but also several types of games are built-in, and even if only one type, there are several levels of difficulty depending on the skill level of the player. The contents of the game are changed by, for example, preparing separate items.

By the way, in recent years, the performance of microcomputers has been dramatically improved, and the capacity of memory has been further increased. With the progress of these electronic control devices, even one video in the above-mentioned video game device is used. As the types of games that can be enjoyed by game devices have increased, it has become possible to give various changes to the types of images and sounds related to the games. Therefore, when this type of video game device is installed in a game center or the like and is used for business purposes, a single device is installed with a variety of game software with a wide range of age groups for game players. This tends to increase the operation rate of the device and allow the user to enjoy a fresh game.

Conventionally, the selection of a game is usually entrusted to the selection of the player, and the selection of the type of game and the difficulty level of the game becomes complicated as the number of built-in software increases. However, there is also a drawback in that the player's motivation to use is diminished.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in a video game device for selecting and using a desired game from a plurality of types of built-in game software, the age group of the player Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a video game device capable of reducing the complexity of the game selection by the device itself by selecting the game suitable for the age group of the player. Another object of the present invention is to provide a video game device capable of changing the color and / or the sound of the game display according to the age group of the player.

[0006]

A video game device according to the present invention is a video game device in which a desired game can be selected and played from a plurality of games stored in a storage device. A sensor for determining the body type of the person is provided on the front surface of the housing to accommodate, and the game to be displayed is selected based on the body type information determined by the output of the sensor. Further, there is provided means for changing only the display color and / or sound of the game selected by the player based on the body type information.

[0007]

According to the present invention, when approaching a video game device,
The body type of the person standing in front of the person is discriminated, the age group of the person is estimated based on the discrimination result, and the device itself selects and provides a game suitable for the age group. Further, even when the player selects a specific game by himself / herself, it is possible to change the sound display, the color display, or both of them in the game of the same content according to the age group of the player. .

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a video game device according to the present invention, in which a housing 1 is provided with a display 2 for displaying a video of a game and a speaker 3 for outputting audio information of the game. An operation panel 4 is provided in front of the front, and various operation means and input means operated by a player are provided on the operation panel 4. For example, a switch 5 for turning the device on and off, a coin insertion slot 6 inserted by a player, a control stick (joystick) 7, a keyboard 8 for inputting various data, other various operation buttons 9 and the like are provided. It is what is done.

In this video game device, a player normally inserts a coin into the coin slot 6 and turns on the switch 5, and then selects a desired game with the keyboard 8 or the selection button 9. ing. After the game starts, the player enjoys the game by operating the control stick 7 or the operation buttons 9 to control the movement of the characters of the game displayed on the display.

Inside the housing 1, there is provided an electronic control circuit for performing control for generating a game display or sound in accordance with the operation of various input means from the operation panel.
Shows the basic unit that constitutes the control system.

Reference numeral 20 denotes an arithmetic processing unit (CPU),
Controls every action in the game. The memory 24 stores rules, programs, data, etc. relating to the game, and is called by a command input from the operation unit 21 or the like via the input / output unit 23 to be processed. Reference numeral 26 denotes a video signal generator, which is a display 27 such as a liquid crystal panel or a color CRT according to the contents shown in the video RAM 25.
It is composed of a circuit for generating a video signal to be displayed above. Reference numeral 28 is an audio signal generator, which generates an audio signal to be output to the speaker 29 at the same time as the image. Although the above configuration is basically the same as that of the conventional video game device, in the present invention, the casing 1 of the video game device is used.
Sensors 10a, 10b, 10c for detecting the body type of the player approaching the game device are attached to the front surface of the player. Each sensor is attached to the frame of the display 2 of the housing 1 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2a.
0a, 10b, 10c are mounted in this order by changing the height from the floor. As the sensor used, an infrared sensor is used, which can detect the infrared rays emitted by the player's body approaching the game device at a certain distance.
An infrared sensor using a focusing element having a relatively narrow field of view is used. Each sensor, as shown in Figure 2b,
When the player stands in front of the game device, it is attached so as to aim in the direction of the body.

By mounting each sensor while changing the height position as described above, it becomes possible to determine the height of the player approaching the game device by the output from each sensor. That is, as shown in FIG.
If the detection signal is output from only 0a, the height level of the player is a, and if there is output from only the sensors 10a and 10b, the height level is b, and the sensor 10a,
If there is output from all of 10b and 10c, the height level is c
Can be determined. In the present embodiment, the age group of the player is estimated based on the obtained height level, and the data of this estimation result is used for the selection of the game or the control of the video or audio signal. I am trying to add it to. For example, if the height level of the player is a based on the sensor output, the determination unit 22 determines that the player is a child based on the height level, and the information is input to the arithmetic processing unit 20 through the input / output unit 23. It is loaded and the game for children is automatically called from the memory 24. If the height level is c, the player determines that he is an adult and calls a game for adults. Similarly, if the height level is b, it is determined that the player is in the middle age group and a program is prepared so as to select a game suitable for the age group. Further, even when the player himself selects a specific game by using the keyboard 8 or the operation buttons 9 on the operation panel, only the color of the image displayed on the display based on the information of the determined age group is displayed by the adult,
A control signal is sent to the video signal generation unit 26 so that the child and each age group are colored appropriately. Similarly, with regard to voice, a program for changing voice such as music suitable for each age group is incorporated.

Although the above description is for the player to insert a coin and turn on the switch, the video game device of this type installed in the game center is usually used. When there is not, it is in a demonstration state, so that the game contents are guided, and even in such a demonstration state, the age group of the person approaching the video game device is determined by the above means, It is also possible to set the demonstration game to a game in which the age group of the person is interested, or to display a guide of the types of games that can be provided.

In the above embodiment, the infrared sensor is used to detect the infrared rays emitted from the human body in order to detect the body type of the player, but the sensor is not limited to this. A sensor including a light source and a light receiver may be used, and instead of using a plurality of sensors, it is possible to use a single image pickup tube and detect the body type of a person from the video signal.

[0016]

As described above, according to the video game device of the present invention, based on the body type of the player who is approaching the game device and playing a game, the plurality of games contained in the video game device are Since the game device itself selects a game suitable for the estimated age group of the player, it is possible to reduce complexity when the player selects a game. In addition, it is possible to provide the player with images and sounds suitable for the age group, and it is possible to make the game surprising.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view (a) and a plan view (b) of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a control system diagram of the device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 case 2 display 3 speaker 7 control stick 8 keyboard 10a, 10b, 10c infrared sensor 20 arithmetic processing unit 23 input / output unit 22 body type determination unit 27 display

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a video game device in which a desired game can be selected from a plurality of games stored in a storage device and played, a figure of a person is determined on a front surface of a housing housing the video game device. A sensor for
A video game device, wherein a game to be displayed is selected based on body type information determined by the output of the sensor.