KR100681278B1 - Image processing method, computer-readable recording medium and image processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention makes it a subject to move a camera suitably according to a game scene.

The apparatus for controlling a virtual viewpoint of the present invention measures the moving speed of the virtual viewpoint 28 according to the distance between the specific objects 31, 29, 30, and 35 located in the viewing area of the virtual viewpoint 28 and the virtual viewpoint 28. To control. The specific object refers to a predetermined object among various objects arranged in the virtual three-dimensional space as an object that influences the movement speed control of the virtual viewpoint 28.

Description

IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM AND IMAGE PROCESSING DEVICE}

1 (a) and (b) are front and rear views of the game device of the present invention.

2 is a side view of the game device of the present invention.

3 (a) and 3 (b) are a plan view and a rear view of the game device of the present invention.

4 is an external view of the controller of the present invention.

5 is a block diagram of a game device of the present invention.

6 is an explanatory diagram of a virtual viewpoint control of the present invention.

7 is a table in which a maximum value of a moving speed of a virtual viewpoint is registered for each predetermined section on the path of the virtual viewpoint.

8 is a flowchart of a virtual viewpoint control of the present invention.

9 is a flow chart defining the end of a game of the present invention.

10 (a) to 10 (c) are explanatory diagrams of a fire fighting game screen.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

1: game device

2: controller

3: outer cylinder                 

4: holding part

5: nozzle

6: hose

7: switch

8: eccentric cam

28: virtual viewpoint

36: route

The present invention relates to a technique for controlling a virtual viewpoint set in a virtual three-dimensional space, and more particularly, to a technique for controlling a moving speed of a virtual viewpoint in accordance with a situation in the virtual three-dimensional space. The present invention also relates to a game controller suitable for a business game device, and more particularly to a controller having a fire hose type appearance.

As games for home use or entertainment, for example, shooting games are known. A shooting game is a game in which a player competes for scoring by placing a cursor on an enemy character to be attacked, shooting a bullet through a button operation of a control pad, and attacking an enemy character. In a normal shooting game, the enemy character attacks the player character by moving back and forth and left and right within the screen. Also, once an enemy character disappeared from the screen, it will appear again and attack again. The player freely manipulates the player character by manipulating the control pad and opens a workshop with the enemy character in the virtual three-dimensional space.

In the conventional shooting game, since the movement path of the virtual viewpoint representing the player's viewpoint and the position, number, behavior pattern, game story, etc. of the enemy characters appearing in each game scene are set in advance in the game program, for example, When forcibly shifting to the next game stage due to the occurrence of a specific event, it is possible to move to the next stage even if all the enemy characters on the screen are not knocked down. In addition, even if the enemy character is not destroyed by an attack by the player, it can be erased on the screen of the game program (for example, forced movement of a virtual viewpoint, transition to the next stage, etc.).

Against this background, the inventors came up with a hint to the shooting game and came up with a "fire fighting game". This fire game is a game in which a player controls a player character similar to a fireman to move through a fire building to extinguish flames. In this case, the "fire hose" held by the player character corresponds to the "gun" in the shooting game, and the "flame" corresponds to the "enemy character". Therefore, the fire fighting game of the present invention has a similar point to the shooting game, and therefore, the shooting game algorithm can be used.

However, regarding the virtual viewpoint control (camera control) in the fire fighting game of this invention, virtual viewpoint control in a conventional shooting game cannot be used as it is. This is because the attack target in the firefighting game of the present invention is a "flame", so it gradually burns as time passes, but it does not move around as nimble and clever as the enemy character in the shooting game. Therefore, the flame displayed in the game scene continues to burn forever unless extinguished. Usually, in the virtual viewpoint control of a shooting game, since a virtual viewpoint moves on a predetermined path (movement path) under a predetermined movement speed, it was not considered to control a virtual viewpoint in consideration of the number, position, etc. of an enemy character. Therefore, when the virtual viewpoint control is applied to the virtual viewpoint control of the firefighting game of the present invention, a problem arises, for example, that if the flame displayed on the screen is not extinguished, it cannot be moved to the next stage. In this state, for the beginners, the same game screen remains forever, and the game progresses very late. The player is mentally stressed, and the game loses interest and realism. On the other hand, there is a demand for the creator of the game program to set a "flame" which cannot be moved to the next stage unless it is digested among the "flame" appearing in the game scene. And careless camera movement is unnatural.

In view of such a problem, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a virtual viewpoint control apparatus for appropriately moving a camera according to a game scene.

In addition, with the diversification of software for video games, various controllers connected to them are commercially available in accordance with game software used, such as conventional controllers having instruction buttons or cross keys, joystick controllers, and gun controllers. have. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2686675 discloses a gun controller in which a pistol is modeled for a gun game.

However, in the fire fighting game, the controller suitable for such a game, especially the controller which formed the shape of a fire hose type, is not proposed yet.

Then, this invention makes it a 2nd subject to provide the controller suitable for a firefighting game.

In the conventional shooting game, even if the player 1 is in the game, the player 2 can newly participate. In this case, since the game proceeds independently with respect to the player 1 and the player 2, for example, only the player 1 becomes a game over when only the player 1 receives damage exceeding a predetermined allowable amount, Player 2 can still play the game. However, in the fire fighting game, since "flame" does not attack the player character, when the player 1 and the player 2 advance the game at the same time, only the player 1 is game over. Unnatural

Therefore, a third object of the present invention is to provide a game device configured to have the same game end time for each player when a plurality of players play a game.

The virtual view control device of the present invention for solving the first problem, the virtual view movement speed limiting means for controlling the moving speed of the virtual view in accordance with the distance between the specific object located in the viewing area of the virtual view and the virtual view It includes.

Here, the virtual viewpoint refers to a viewpoint virtually set in the virtual three-dimensional space, and is the same as the viewpoint viewed from a so-called virtual camera. The virtual camera refers to the point of view and angle of view at the time of drawing a computer graphic. In the real camera, the optical point, the principal point, corresponds to the virtual viewpoint. The virtual camera is set by specifying the position, the optical axis direction (lens direction), angle of view (zoom to wide), twist (rotation angle around the optical axis), and the like. The virtual camera is understood as a virtual viewing direction determining means for determining the viewing direction of an image displayed on the display. Field of view determined by this virtual camera (such as the position and angle of this virtual camera) of an object modeled and converted from a body coordinate system, which is an object-specific coordinate system, to a world coordinate system that defines an arrangement of objects in three-dimensional space. The view is converted to the coordinate system and displayed on the screen.

The specific object is a predetermined object among various objects arranged in the virtual three-dimensional space as an object that affects the movement speed limit of the virtual viewpoint. For example, in the fire fighting game, it corresponds to a "flame" set in the virtual three-dimensional space.

The virtual viewpoint control technique of the present invention can also be realized by a computer readable information recording medium having recorded thereon a program for causing a computer to function as the virtual viewpoint control apparatus of the present invention. That is, in this specification, "..." Wealth, " Means ”is a concept realized in virtual viewpoint control, and does not necessarily correspond one-to-one to specific hardware or software routines. The same hardware element contains a plurality of... Wealth, " Means, in some cases, a single &quot; Wealth, " Means ”may be implemented.

Here, the information recording medium means that information, mainly digital data, programs, and the like are recorded by some physical means, and that the desired function can be realized in a computer, a dedicated processor, or the like. Therefore, what is necessary is just to download to a computer by some means, and to implement | achieve a desired function. For example, floppy disks (FD), hard disks (HD), CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, DVD-ROMs, DVD-RAMs, DVD-Rs, PD disks, MD disks, MO disks, and the like. This also includes a case where data transmission is received from a host computer via a wired or wireless communication line (public line, data leased line, satellite line, etc.). For example, this also includes a case where data is transmitted from a database of a server via the Internet.

The controller of the present invention, which solves the above-mentioned second problem, transmits a main body, a gripping portion which can rotate with respect to the main body, and a control signal for changing the shape of a specific image displayed on the screen in response to the rotation of the gripping portion to the image processing apparatus. And a signal processing unit. The main body (housing) of the controller is preferably composed of a rod-shaped member or a cylindrical member.

Such a controller is preferably in the shape of a fire hose. Moreover, in order to reproduce the state which water is sprayed from a fire hose, it is preferable to further provide the vibration generating mechanism which vibrates in response to rotation of a holding part. As an example of this vibration generating mechanism, for example, a rotating mechanism having an eccentric cam is suitable. Moreover, the form of the object which expresses "water" virtually sprayed from a fire hose in a virtual space can be changed corresponding to rotation of a holding part. On the other hand, the vibration generating mechanism may be configured to vibrate the controller in accordance with the state of the image representing the state in which water is being injected.

The game device of the present invention, which solves the third problem, measures a play time from the start of a game and ends the game when a predetermined play time has elapsed. Each time a player joins a game, a predetermined time is added to the play time, and when the added time elapses, the game of all players executing the game is simultaneously terminated.

With such a configuration, even if another player joins the game while one player is playing the game, the game can be ended for all players at the same time.

In particular, the length of the predetermined time is preferably set corresponding to the remaining time of the play time. For example, if another player joins the game when the play time is long (just after the game starts), the additional play time is set longer, and when the play time is short (playing the game) If another player joins (a considerable amount of time has elapsed since the start), shorten the extra play time. This configuration also has the effect of extending the play time just before the end of the game and preventing the play time from being longer than necessary.

Hereinafter, this embodiment is described with reference to each drawing. 1 (a) and (b) to 3 (a) and (b) show the external appearance of the game device, FIG. 1 (a) is a front view, and FIG. 1 (b) is a rear view. 2 is a right side view, FIG. 3A is a plan view, and FIG. 3B is a back view. The left side view is omitted because it is symmetric to the right side view.

The game device 1 is configured for entertainment, and a large monitor 50 is disposed on the front surface. The fire hose type controller 2 is connected to the game device 1, and the player operates the controller 2 to extinguish the virtual "flame" (object) displayed on the monitor 50. Ten light emitting elements 52a to 52j are disposed around the monitor 50. As described later, a light receiving element is attached to the front end side (nozzle side) of the controller 2, and the game device 1 adjusts the position, angle, and the like of the controller by the amount of light received from each of the light emitting elements 52a to 52j. The cursor is displayed on the monitor 50 by calculating. This cursor indicates the extinguishing position on the screen, and water is sprayed at the cursor position by the operation of the controller 2. Moreover, the operation panel 51 in which the start button etc. are arrange | positioned in front of the game device 1 is attached. The game device 1 can enjoy simultaneous play by two players. Even if the player 1 is in the game, the player 2 can participate in the game.

The external appearance of the controller 2 is shown in FIG. The controller 2 is mainly comprised by the outer cylinder 3, the holding part 4, the nozzle 5, and the hose 6. As shown in FIG. The outer cylinder 3 is processed by aluminum die-casting, and produces the same appearance and texture as a real fire hose. The hose 6 is made of a flexible material, and the other end is connected to the game device 1. The player controls the cursor displayed on the screen by holding the portion of the rear end side (hose side) and the gripper 4 slightly from the center of the outer cylinder 3 and directing the nozzle 5 toward the monitor 50. The light receiving element 9 is attached to the front end side of the nozzle 5, and receives the irradiation light from each light emitting element 52a-52j. The switch 7 is attached to the substantially center part of the outer cylinder 3, and a player controls the injection timing of the water sprayed virtually from the nozzle 5 by pressing this switch 7. As shown in FIG. Moreover, the holding | gripping part 4 is attached to the outer cylinder 3 so that rotation is possible, and it is a "switching switch" which switches the form of the water sprayed virtually from the nozzle 5 (for example, water column spray and mist spray). Plays the role of.

10A to 10C show an example of a game screen displayed on the monitor 50. For example, a cursor 37, a timer 38, a flame 39, and the like are displayed on FIG. 10A. It is. As described above, the cursor 37 indicates the extinguishing position, and the timer 38 indicates the remaining time of the game. The flame 39 is a flame that burns in the way that surrounds the room, and now the player intends to extinguish the flame 39. In the case where the flame 39 is to be extinguished by water column injection, water 40 is sprayed in a columnar shape at the position of the cursor 37 by pressing the switch 7 (Fig. 10 (b)). On the other hand, when the flame 39 is to be extinguished by mist spraying, the grip portion 4 is rotated, and the mist type water 41 is sprayed by turning the spraying mode switching switch of water "on" (Fig. 10). (C)]. As described above, according to the controller 2 of the present embodiment, the water injection timing, the spray shape, and the like can be arbitrarily controlled.

4, the eccentric cam 8 is attached in the substantially center inside of the outer cylinder 3 of the controller 2. As shown in FIG. Water is virtually sprayed from the controller 2 by pressing the switch 7, but in order to reproduce the situation in which water is sprayed from the hose more vividly, an eccentric cam ( By mounting 8) and driving this eccentric cam 8 at the same time as the switch 7 is pressed, vibration is generated in the controller 2, and the feeling as if water is being sprayed can be obtained. However, as long as the device is equipped with a mechanism for generating vibration, not only the eccentric cam but also various vibrators and the like can be applied.

5 is a block diagram of the game device 1. In this game device, two CPUs are provided to render a model generated from a plurality of polygons at a high speed and to move the model at a high speed. As shown in Fig. 5, the CPUs 10 and 11 are connected to the bus bridges 12 and 13 via the CPU buses 42 and 43, respectively, so that the image processing in the computer graphics, for example, the world coordinate system, is performed. Modeling transformation, visual field transformation to virtual viewpoint, three-dimensional clipping processing, sound ray processing, texture mapping processing, shading processing, display priority processing, and the like are executed at high speed.

RAMs 14 and 15 are connected to the CPU buses 42 and 43, respectively. The bus bridge 12 and the bus bridge 13 are connected in a vertical connection via a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus (or an Accelerated Graphics Interconnect (AGP) bus) 46. The bus bridge 12 is also connected with an expansion RAM 16 for extending the function of the game device. The video processing unit 17 is connected to the bus bridges 12 and 13 via the PCI buses (or AGP buses) 44 and 45, performs rendering processing of polygons, and the like, and the data is converted into the D / A converter 18. Output to The game screen is displayed on the monitor 50 based on the video signal from the D / A converter 18.

The unidirectional bus buffer 19 is connected to the bus bridge 13, and the address signal 21 and the like can be transmitted to the address decoder 21, the ROM board 22, the I / O unit 23, the communication board 24, and the sound board ( 25). The address decoder 21 supplies the device selection signal to the ROM board 22, the I / O unit 23, the communication board 24, and the sound board 25 in accordance with the supplied address signal. The bidirectional bus buffer 20 is connected to the bus bridge 13 by a portion of the PCI bus (or AGP bus) 45 (address data (AD) bus, command bit enable (CBE) bus) to address the data signal. Transmit and receive between the decoder 21, the ROM board 22, the I / O unit 23, the communication board 24, and the sound board 25.

The bus bridges 12 and 13 convert the address signals supplied from the CPUs 10 and 11, respectively, in accordance with a predetermined rule, and are configured to execute a boot program in the ROM board 22. In addition, the ROM board 22 stores game programs, polygon data, and the like in advance. In order to secure a storage area in the ROM board 22, a boot program may be stored in a dedicated boot ROM.

The I / O unit 23 inputs an operation signal from the controller 2 and supplies an interrupt signal of an external input to the CPUs 10 and 11. The CPUs 10 and 11 execute game programs on the basis of this operation signal. The communication board 24 is comprised so that connection with the host computer 26 is possible, for example, and can play a communication game between a some game device. The sound board 25 is connected to the speaker 27 and outputs various sound signals such as game sounds and BGM sounds.

In addition, in the game apparatus, it is also possible to connect a plurality of (three or more) CPUs in a vertical connection via a bus bridge so as to execute image processing by computer graphics at high speed. By such a configuration, image processing such as flame, smoke, water column, water fog, etc., which were difficult to express in the processing capability of a conventional computer, can be expressed with higher definition.

Next, the virtual viewpoint control technique of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 6 shows how the virtual viewpoint 28 proceeds along a path (virtual viewpoint movement path) 36 predetermined by the game program. In the vicinity of the path 36, various large and small fireworks 29 to 35 are set at predetermined positions. Among the fireworks set in the virtual three-dimensional space, the fireworks that do not proceed to the next unless the player extinguishes are particularly called "targets". Among the flames shown in FIG. 6, the targets are flames 29, 30, 31, 32, and 35. Since the flames 33 and 34 are relatively small flames, they do not become targets. The position of these flames, the speed of combustion, and whether the flames are targets are set in advance by the game program. The target flame is used for parameter calculation that affects the moving speed limit of the virtual viewpoint 28.

However, the virtual viewpoint 28 is programmed so that the movement speed may change along a predetermined pattern, corresponding to the shape of the path 36 or the game scene, regardless of the presence or absence of the target. For example, the maximum value of the moving speed of the virtual viewpoint 28 becomes large in the path | route on a straight line, and the maximum value of the moving speed of the virtual viewpoint 28 becomes small on the curve or its vicinity,. Is set to Point A, point B, point C, point D, point E, and point F shown in FIG. 6 represent speed change points virtually set on the path 36. 7 shows section AB, section BC,... The maximum value maxspd of the moving speed of the virtual viewpoint 28 corresponding to, etc. is described. As described above, in the present invention, in addition to controlling the moving speed of the virtual viewpoint 28 according to the shape of the path and the like, the virtual viewpoint 28 is used by using the above-described target for parameter calculation of the moving speed of the virtual viewpoint 28. Control the speed of movement.

The movement speed limitation of the virtual viewpoint 28 of this invention is demonstrated in detail, referring the flowchart of FIG. The series of steps shown in FIG. 8 is executed every frame (e.g., every sixtyths of a second). First, a camera matrix is set (step S1). As shown in FIG. 6, the camera matrix is configured by converting the body coordinate system of the object in the virtual three-dimensional space into the world coordinate system (scaling, rotation, parallel movement, etc. on the body coordinate system), and transforming the world coordinate system from the world coordinate system (world Parallel movement to the virtual viewpoint of the origin of the coordinate system, rotation of the Z-axis, and the like), sound ray processing of the object, clipping processing, and the like. The dashed-dotted line shown in FIG. 6 represents the visual field area of the virtual viewpoint 28 set to the angle of view (viewing angle) θ. The size of the angle of view θ is appropriately set in accordance with the zoom to the wide of the screen.

Next, a target existing in the viewing area is obtained and sorted in the order of distance from the virtual viewpoint 28 (step S2). Referring to FIG. 6, the targets 29, 30, 31, and 35 exist in the viewing area of the virtual viewpoint 28, but the target 32 does not exist in the viewing area. It does not become a process target in the process. The distances L ₁ , L ₂ , L _3, and L ₄ from the virtual viewpoint 28 are obtained for the targets 29, 30, 31, and 35. Since _{L 3 ≤L 1 ≤L 2 ≤L 4} , are sorted in order of the target (31, 29, 30 and 35).

Next, it is determined whether or not the number of targets present in the viewing area is equal to or more than a predetermined number of predetermined numbers (step S3). If more than the specified number is present,? Len / N is substituted into the parameter AveLen (step S4). The parameter AveLen is an average value of the distances between the virtual viewpoints 28 and each target sorted only by a predetermined number in the order of the shortest distances from the virtual viewpoints 28. In addition, Len represents the distance between the virtual viewpoint 28 and each target, and N represents the designated number. ? Len is the total value of N Len values.

In the case of this example, assuming that the designated number is 3,? Len / N = (L ₃ + L ₁ + L ₂ ) / 3. On the other hand, when the number of targets does not satisfy the designated number N, MinLen is substituted into the parameter AveLen (step S8). MinLen is the minimum distance between the virtual viewpoint 28 and the target present in the field of view, and in this example, corresponds to the value of L3.

Subsequently, a parameter rat indicating how far the maximum distance from the virtual viewpoint 28 and the average distance are from the target of the designated moisture existing in the viewing area is calculated (step S5). The parameter rat can be obtained by calculating the value of (MaxLen-AveLen) / MaxLen and assigning this value. MaxLen is the maximum distance from the virtual viewpoint 28 and, in this example, corresponds to the value of L ₂ .

Next, the moving speed camspd of the virtual viewpoint 28 is calculated | required (step S6). The moving speed camspdn of the virtual viewpoint 28 at the time n can be obtained by substituting the values of camspdn-1- (maxspd / rat-camspdn-1) .SPDCHG RATE. Here, maxspd is the maximum value of the moving speed of the virtual viewpoint 28 set for every predetermined section on the path 36 as mentioned above. SPDCHG RATE is an integer and represents the rate of change of the moving speed. As a value of this parameter, 0.0263 is set, for example. After the movement speed of the virtual viewpoint 28 is calculated | required by each above step, screen display is performed (step S7).

As described above, according to the present invention, the moving speed of the virtual viewpoint is adjusted in real time in consideration of the position (or distance), the number, and the like of the target "flame", and the virtual viewpoint regarding the "flame" which is not the target. Since it does not affect the movement speed of the camera, natural camera movement can be realized, and a state in which the progress of the game is delayed more than necessary can be avoided. Furthermore, the monotony of the game that occurs when the moving speed of the virtual viewpoint is fixed in advance, and the unnaturalness of moving forward despite the "flame" before the eyes can be avoided.

In the present invention, when calculating the above-described parameter AveLen, a value obtained by multiplying the distance between the virtual viewpoint and the target by the weighting coefficient previously assigned to the target may be used. For example, the value of (Len ₁ · C ₁ + Len ₂ · C ₂ + ... + Len _N · C _N ) / N is substituted into the parameter AveLen and used to limit the movement speed of the virtual viewpoint. Len _j is the distance between the jth target and the virtual viewpoint when the distance from the virtual viewpoint is sorted in the shortest order, and C _j is the weighting coefficient assigned to the target. In the game, by setting the weighting factor to a smaller value for the "flame" that must be extinguished (for example, a large flame or a flame near the exit), the moving speed of the virtual viewpoint slows down near the "flame". Camera movement can be realized.

In the fire fighting game of the present invention, a plurality of players can play at the same time. In the firefighting game of the present invention, unlike the shooting game, the game does not end because the player is damaged. Therefore, the play time (for example, 5 minutes) is set in advance, and the game is automatically over after such play time has elapsed. Here, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 9, the game end procedure when two players play a game is demonstrated. When the power supply of the game device is turned "on", the game device enters an input standby state (step T1). When the player 1 enters the game by button operation of the operation panel 5 (step T2: YES), the timer is operated to measure the play time (step T3). During the play of the player 1, if the player 2 participates in the game (step T4: YES), a predetermined time is added to the play time (step T5). This predetermined time may be a time of a predetermined length, but as described above, it may be set corresponding to the remaining time of the play time. Then, after the added play time has elapsed (step T6: YES), the game execution of the player 1 and the player 2 ends simultaneously. On the other hand, if the player 2 does not participate in the game during the play of the player 1 (step T4: NO), after the play time elapses (step T8: YES), the game of the player 1 ends ( Step T9). By applying such a game end procedure, even when one player is playing a game in the middle of a game, it is possible to simultaneously set a game end time for a plurality of players.

In the above description, the case where the game of two players is terminated at the same time has been described. However, the number of players is not limited to two people but can be applied to the number of people that can be played simultaneously.

According to the virtual viewpoint control apparatus of the present invention, the viewpoint movement can be controlled appropriately according to the distance between the specific object located in the virtual three-dimensional space and the virtual viewpoint.

According to the controller of the present invention, a controller suitable for a fire fighting game can be provided.

According to the game device of the present invention, with respect to a game device that is game-over due to a time limit, even if a player is playing a game while another player joins the game, the game can be ended simultaneously for all players.

Claims (13)

An image processing method configured to execute an image control step executed by an image control means based on a game program stored in a storage means, The image control step, Setting up a virtual view and a plurality of objects in the virtual three-dimensional space; Moving the virtual viewpoint in a virtual space; Obtaining a target set by the game program in advance among the plurality of objects existing in the viewing area of the virtual viewpoint; Capturing a plurality of objects arranged in the virtual space from the moving virtual viewpoint, and displaying this on the screen of the display means as a shape of a clock captured from the virtual viewpoint; Calculating a distance between the target and a virtual viewpoint; And determining a moving speed of the virtual viewpoint determined by the game program based on the distance. The method of claim 1, wherein the image control step, Determining whether the number of targets is greater than or equal to a predetermined predetermined number; Calculating a distance between the maximum distance and the average distance between the target and the virtual view point when the number of targets is greater than or equal to a predetermined number; And calculating a rate of change of the movement speed of the virtual viewpoint based on the result of the calculation. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the image control step, Assigning a weighting coefficient to each of the targets in advance; And calculating a moving speed of the virtual viewpoint based on a weighting coefficient previously assigned to the target. The processing method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the image processing method moves the virtual viewpoint on a predetermined path. Setting a plurality of change points of the speed of the virtual view point for each predetermined section of the path; Setting a maximum value of a moving speed of the virtual viewpoint for each section of the corresponding change point; And obtaining a speed of the virtual viewpoint from the maximum value. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon an image processing program for causing a computer to execute the image processing method according to claim 1. An image processing apparatus comprising image control means for executing image control based on a game program stored in a storage means, The image control means, Means for setting a virtual viewpoint and a plurality of objects in the virtual three-dimensional space; Means for moving the virtual viewpoint in a virtual space; Means for obtaining a target set by the game program in advance among the plurality of objects existing in the viewing area of the virtual viewpoint; Means for capturing a plurality of objects arranged in the virtual space from the moving virtual viewpoint, and displaying this on the screen of the display means as a shape of a clock captured from the virtual viewpoint; Means for calculating a distance between the target and a virtual viewpoint; Means for determining a moving speed of the virtual viewpoint determined by the game program based on the distance. delete delete delete delete delete delete delete

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