MXPA99011084A - Portable electronic device and entertainment system and method for its operation - Google Patents

Abstract

Un dispositivo electrónico portátil y un sistema de entretenimiento que pueden dar al usuario un sentido de familiaridad al generar un personaje apropiado utilizando un número de identificación y exhibiéndolo, por ejemplo, en medios exhibidores, que incluye una sección de contención de número de identificación, que contiene un número de identificación apropiado por medio de un colector, que estáconectado a una interfaz para conectarse a un cuerpo principal de máquina de legos que tiene una función de ejecución de programa;se efectúa una operación de entrada, por un jugador, en una sección de operación de entrada;en una sección de generación de información de operación, se genera información de operación en respuesta a la operación de entrada en la sección de operación de entrada. La RAM provista para usarla para almacenar la información de operación, almacena la información de operación recibida desde la sección de generación de la información de operación. Una sección de generación de la información de personaje, genera información apropiada de personaje, de conformidad con la información de operación y la información genética, cuando estaúltima es recibida por medio del cuerpo principal de la máqina de juegos;la información genética determina el factor de transmisión de personaje del personaje que corresponde al número de identificación apropiado.

Description

PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE. ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD TO OPERATE IT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an entertainment system that includes portable electronic devices, such as portable gaming terminals and memory cards, and a host machine that is connected to the aforementioned portable electronic devices.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREVIOUS TECHNIQUE Portable electronic devices, or subordinate machines, such as traditional memory cards that are used, inserted into a master information system, such as a video game machine, are composed of an interface for connecting to the main body (host machine). ) of the information apparatus and with the non-volatile storage cells for storing data. Recently, consideration has been given to equip subordinate machines that are connected to a host machine, such as a video game machine, using memory card slots, with a function to execute a program, such as a game. Since said subordinate machines can be used as portable gaming terminals, as such, their applied field is dilated and leads to a greater number of new demands. Conventional portable electronic devices, such as the portable game terminals noted above, receive special or appropriate identification numbers, which include identifying characters and symbols. While these are convenient for manufacturers to distinguish them from each other, they do not have much use for users. Even if they can be used to distinguish them from other electronic devices that are at hand, it is not of much interest.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to avoid the actual situation noted above. It is another object of the present invention to provide a portable electronic device and entertainment system that generates appropriate characters using identification numbers, and that gives users a sense of familiarity, for example, by displaying them in the display means. These and other objects of the present invention are obtained by means of a portable electronic device having an interface for connecting to a host machine having a program execution function, comprising a means of containing identification number, for containing numbers of appropriate identification; an input operation means for executing an input operation; a means of generating operation information for generating operation information, according to the input operation, from said input operation means; means for storing the operation information, for storing the operation information from the information generation means; and means of generating character information to generate appropriate character information according to the operation information and gene information, by receiving, through the host machine, gene information that determines the character's character transmission factor that corresponds to the appropriate identification number. In order to solve the problem noted above, of conventional entertainment systems, an entertainment system of this invention comprises a host machine having a program execution function and subordinate machines, equipped with an interface to connect to this host machine; wherein said host machine transfers information accompanying the execution of a program to the subordinate machines, and the subordinate machines include means of containing the identification number, to contain appropriate identification numbers; input operation means for executing an input operation; means for generating the operation information, for generating operation information in accordance with the input operation from the input operation means; means for storing the operation information for storing the operation information from the means for generating the operation information; and means of generating the character information, to generate appropriate character information, in accordance with the operation information and the gene information when receiving, through the host machine, gene information that determines the character transmission factor of the character which corresponds to the appropriate identification number. In this entertainment system, the host machine reads, as the program is running, the gene information corresponding to the appropriate identification number, from the registration means and transfers it to the subordinate machine. In addition, the slave machine may be equipped with means for generating time information, for continuously generating time information, and the character information generation means generate appropriate character information in accordance with the time information, the gene information and the operation information. In the entertainment system a plurality of those subordinate machines can be provided. In that case, multiple subordinate machines generate appropriate character information and display multiple character images in their display media that are connected to the host machine, based on the respective appropriate character information.

Even more: in the entertainment system, the two specified subordinate machines, connected to the host machine, generate character information related to an imaginary subordinate machine, according to the respective genes information and operation information, upon receipt, through the host machine, gene information corresponding to the appropriate identification number. And the two specified subordinate machines are equipped with means for storing the character information, for storing the character information and storing, using at least one of the character storage means, the character information related to the imaginary slave machine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the portable electronic device of the present invention, by means of a BUS collector. Fig. 2 is a function of the block diagram of the portable electronic device of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows a table of conversions between the identification numbers and the gene information. Figure 4 shows the relationship between the portable electronic device of the present invention and the main body of the gaming machine.

Figure 5 is a schematic view of a videogame system, in which a monitor device is connected to the main body of the gaming machine. Figure 6 is a perspective view of the main body of the gaming machine, when a portable electronic device is connected to it. Figure 7 is a plan view of the main body of the gaming machine, shown in Figure 6, when an input operation device is connected to it. Figure 8 is a front view of the main body of the gaming machine. Figure 9 is a plan view of the portable electronic device. Figure 10 is a perspective view of the portable electronic device of Figure 9. Figure 11 is another perspective view of the portable electronic device.

Figure 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main body of the gaming machine. Fig. 13 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the portable electronic device. Figure 14 shows a specific example of the gene information. Figure 15 shows an external appearance of a videogame system, in which two portable gaming terminals are mounted on the main body of the gaming machine.

Figure 16 shows an external appearance of another videogame system in which two portable gaming terminals are mounted on the main body of the gaming machine. Figure 17 shows a specific example of an expression of a personality, through the information of genes. Figure 18 is a view to explain how a new imaginary life originates through pairing between two different portable gaming terminals. Figure 19 shows how the information of the genes is expressed, through a one-dimensional arrangement. Figure 20 is a flowchart for explaining the procedures by which an individual C is originated by matching between an individual A and an individual B; and Figure 21 is a flow diagram showing the flow of the procedures when playing a mating or exchange game, using characters from two game terminals obtained by means of the procedures shown in the flow chart of Figure 13. .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES With reference to the drawings, an explanation is given below of how the portable electronic device of the present invention is obtained. It is implemented in the form of a portable electronic device that can be connected to the main body of a gaming machine, which becomes the host machine, or a portable electronic device that can be used as a single body, such as a portable gaming terminal, of small size. Figure 1 and Figure 2 show the configuration of a portable electronic device 1, in the form in which they are implemented. Figure 1 is an electrical block diagram, showing the configuration via the BUS 3 collector, within the portable electronic device 1. Figure 2 is a block diagram of operation, showing the manner in which each functional part of the portable electronic device. This portable electronic device 1 is equipped with the interface (L / F) 2 to connect it to the main body of the gaming machine having a program execution function; an identification number containing section 4, containing the appropriate identification numbers, by means of the BUS 3 collector, which is connected to this I / F 2; a section 5 of entry operation in which the entry operation is performed by the player; a section 6 for generating the operation information, for generating the operation information in response to the input operation in this input operation section in this input operation section 5; a random access memory RAM 7 for use for operation information, which stores the operation information from that section 6 for generating the operation information; the section 8 generation of the character information, which generates the appropriate character information, according to the operation information and the gene information when receiving, through the main body of the game machine, corresponding gene information to the appropriate identification number. Additionally, this gene information determines the character transmission factor of the character. Also provided is the portable electronic device 1, with the RAM 9 for use to load the information of identification numbers-genes to load a conversion table between the information of identification numbers-genes, of the means of storage of the main body of the gaming machine, which will be described later; the search section 10 to obtain the gene information of this portable electronic device 1, from the conversion table loaded in this RAM 9, to use it to load the information identifying numbers-genes, using the identification number maintained in the section 4 containment of the identification number; the time controller 11 for continuously generating time information; and the display section 12, which exhibits a character image, based on the character information generated in section 8 of character information generation. The section 6 for generating the operation information, the section 8 for generating the character information and the search section 10 mentioned here, constitute the control section 13, which is constituted, for example, by a central processing unit ( CPU).

The identification number maintained in section 4 of identification number, is an appropriate identification number for this portable electronic device 1, and the same number does not exist in any other. Because of this, if it is determined that the gene information corresponds to that identification number, one can have access, when desired, to the appropriate gene information. The same identification number (equal to that identification number) and the gene information are recorded in a recording medium, such as an optical disc, for example. They are read in the main body of the gaming machine, which is the host machine, and are stored in RAM 9 for use to load the ID-gene information information through the L / F 2. Information is retrieved of genes, in each section 10 of the control section 13, referring to a conversion table, such as the conversion table 15 shown in figure 3, loaded into RAM 9, for use for identification number information -genes. The gene information, obtained by the search in the search section 10, is sent to the generation section 6 of the character information. The section 6 of generating the operation information generates operation information that can be referred to as an experience value, in response to the entry operation, by the player, using the input operation section 5. You arrive at an experience value by converting your own experience, (such as, for example, one has had many happy experiences or many strong experiences, or has studied a lot, or has done a lot of exercise), to a numerical value. This experience value is stored in RAM 7 to use it for the operation information. A person who grew up with many happy experiences has a smiling face. A person who grew up with many strong experiences has an impassive face. If you have studied a lot, you end up wearing glasses. If a lot of exercise has been done a lot, the face may look tanned. The parameters such as study, exercise, hardness, are assigned to the keys or buttons arranged in the input operation section 5. The player can determine the experience value by pressing those keys or buttons a desired number of times. The section 6 for determining the information operation has the RAM 7 for use in the operation information, to store that experience value. The operation information, such as the previous experience value, from this RAM 7 for use for the operation information, is supplied to the character information generation section 8. The character information generation section 8 is fed, in addition to the operation information, such as the experience value noted above, with the gene information from the search section 10, and the time information (age ) from the time controller 11. After that, the character information generation section 8 generates character information for the portable electronic device 1, at that point of time, using the information of genes, the time information ( age) and the operation information, and exhibits it in section 12 of exhibition, as an imaginary living being. Figure 4 shows the relationship between the portable electronic device 1, the main body 20 of the gaming machine and the CD-ROM 100. If the portable electronic device 1 is connected to the main body 20 of the gaming machine, a videogame apparatus which is a specific example of an entertainment system of the present invention. The character images are displayed in the display section 12 of the portable electronic device 1. Also, as for the video game apparatus, a monitor device 200 may be connected, such as, for example, a television image receiving device., to the main body 20 of the game machine, as shown in Figure 5. In that case, the character information generated in the character information generating section 18, is sent to the main body 20 of the machine of games, through L / F 2, passes through a specific processing and is displayed on the monitor device 200, as a character image. The state in which the portable electronic device 1 is connected to the main body 20 of the gaming machine is shown in Figure 6, as a video game apparatus. The main body 20 of the gaming machine is housed in an approximately square box. In its central section is located the disk mounting section 23, where an optical disk is installed, such as a CD-ROM, which is a recording medium for supplying application programs, such as a video game; a reset switch 24 to reset a game when desired; a power switch 25; a disk operation switch 26, and two slot sections 27A and 27B, for example. As shown in Figure 7, the portable electronic device 1 is inserted into each of the slot sections 27A and 27B. An input operation device 40 can also be connected, as shown in Figure 7, to each of the portable electronic devices, thereby allowing two users to participate in a winner-loser game. Further, while Figure 6 shows, as an example, a structure in which the two-channel slot sections 27A and 27B are arranged, the number of channels is not limited to two. The operating device 40 has the first and second operating sections, 41 and 42, the left button 43L, the right button 43R, the start button 44 and the selection button 45. Additionally, it has the operation sections 51 and 52 , which can be operated analogically; a mode selection switch 53, which makes it possible to select the mode of operation of these operation sections 51 and 52, and a display section 54 to display the selected mode of operation. Additionally, a vibration imparting mechanism, which is not shown in the drawings, is disposed within the operation device 40.

Figure 8 shows the slot sections 27A and 27B, which are arranged on the front panel of the main body 20 of the gaming machine. In the main body 20 of the gaming machine, each of the slot sections 27A and 27B is formed in two stages. In the upper stage, the insertion sections 28A and 28B are provided, into which the portable electronic device 1 is to be inserted; and in the lower stage are provided the connection sections (female connectors) of controller 29A and 29B, in which the terminal connection section (male connector) 46 of controller 40 is connected. Also in figures 9 to 11 is shown the appearance of the portable electronic device 1. Figure 9 is a plan view of the portable electronic device 1; Figure 10 is a perspective view of the device with its cover section part 110 closed, to protect the connector section; Figure 11 is a perspective view of the device with its cover section part 110 open. As shown in Figs. 9 to 11, the portable electronic device 1 has the housing 101 in which an input operation section 5 having one or more of an operating elements 121 and 122 is arranged to effect the introduction of event or to form various selections; an exhibition section 12, made of a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a window section 140, for effecting wireless communication by infrared rays, for example, using wireless communication means, which will be described later.

The housing 101 includes an upper housing 101a and a lower housing 101b, and contains a substrate on which memory elements are mounted. The housing 101 can be inserted into the slot sections 27A and 27B of the main body 20 of the gaming machine. On the side face of one end there is provided a connector section 150, in which a rectangular window is formed. The window section 140 is disposed in the other end section of the housing 101, which is formed approximately in a semicircular shape. The display section 12 is located on the upper face of the housing 101; occupies about half of the upper face section and is disposed near the window section 140. The input operation section 5 is also located in the upper face section of the housing 101; it occupies approximately half of this upper face area, and is disposed in a section that is opposite the window section 140. The input operation section 5 is formed approximately square and is supported in a shape that can be moved with respect to the housing 101. It is composed of lid section part 110 having multiple operator elements 121 and 122, and push button sections 102 and 103, which are disposed in a position that is capped or uncovered by section portion 110 of top. The operator elements 121 and 122 are installed through the lid section part 110, from its upper face side to its lower face side. The operator elements 121 and 122 are supported by the lid section part 110 in such a way that they can move in the up and down direction with respect to the upper face section of the lid section. The pushbutton sections 102 and 103 have pushbuttons that are supported by the housing 101 in such a way that they can move in an upward and downward direction with respect to the upper face section of the housing 101. These pushbuttons, when depressed or depressed from above, in turn push the push switches, such as, for example, the diaphragm switches, which are arranged in the substrate, into the housing 101. The button sections 102 and 103 are arranged in positions corresponding to the positions of operator elements 121 and 122, respectively, when the material 110 of the lid section is in the closed state. In other words, when the lid section part 110 is in the closed state, if you press the operator elements 121 and 122 from above, in a direction that causes them to sink within the upper face section of this part 110 of the section of cover, these operator elements 121 and 122 push down, in turn, the corresponding push switches, inside the housing 101, by means of the push buttons of the corresponding push button sections 102 and 103. It is shown below in 12 shows a diagram of the circuit configuration of the main part of the main body 20 of the gaming machine. The circuit configuration is shown in a state in which the portable electronic device 1 and the input operation device 40 are connected. This main body 20 of the gaming machine is composed of a control system 50, constituted by a central processing unit (CPU) 51, and its peripheral equipment; a graphics system 60, formed of a graphics processing unit (GPU) 62, which draws images in a frame compensator-accumulator 63; a sound system 70, constituted by a sound processing unit (SPU), which produces musical sounds and effects; an optical disk control section 80, which controls the optical disk in which the application programs are stored; an input operation device 40, with which a user enters his instructions; a communication control section 90, for controlling the input / output of data from the portable electronic device 1, and a collector (BUS) to which each of the previous parts is connected. Said control system 50 is equipped with a main memory 53, [formed by a CPU 51, a peripheral control unit control section 52, which performs interruption control and direct access transfer control to the 8DMA memory), and a memory random access (RAM)] and a read-only memory (ROM) 54, in which programs are stored, such as the so-called operating system, which handles the main memory 53, the graphics system and the sound system 70. Additionally, the main memory mentioned herein refers to a memory in which a program can be executed.

Said CPU 51 controls the entire videogame device 1, when executing the operating system stored in ROM 54 and is constituted, for example, by a 32-bit reduced instruction establishment computer (RISC-CPU) CPU. Once power is supplied to this main body 20 of the gaming machine, the CPU 51 of the control system 50, by executing the operating system stored in the ROM 54, controls said graphics system 60 and said sound system 70. Also upon running the operating system, the CPU 51, after starting the entire main body 20 of the gaming machine, such as checking operation, controls the optical disk control section 80 and executes the application programs, such as the games that are stored on the optical disc. When running a program, such as a game, the CPU 51, in response to input by a user, controls the graphics system 60 and the sound system 70, and controls the display of images and the generation of musical effects or sounds . Also said graphics system 60 has a geometry transfer machine (GTE) 61, the GPU 62 that draws images according to the drawing instructions of the CPU 51, the frame compensator accumulator 63, which stores the images drawn by this GPU 62, and the image decoder 64, which decodes the image data that was compressed by the cross conversion, such as the discrete cosine conversion, and which were encoded.

The GTE 61 is provided, for example, with a parallel operation mechanism that can perform multiple operations in parallel. In response to an operation demand from the CPU 51, it can perform various operations at high speed, such as the transformation of the coordinate system, the calculation of the light source or the matrix or the vector. In concrete terms, in the case of an operation to perform a flat shading, when drawing images of a polygon of triangular shape, with the same color, for example, this GTE 61 can make an approximate maximum of 1.5 million computations per second of the coordinates of the polygon. By this the load on the CPU 51 is reduced, while, at the same time, high-speed counting of the coordinates is possible in this videogame device. The GPU 62 also draws polygon images for the frame compensator-compensator 63, according to an image draw command of the CPU 51. This GPU 62 can perform a maximum of about 360,000 polygon patterns per second. Additionally, the frame buffer-accumulator 63 is made of a dual-port RAM and can handle image drawings by the GPU 62 or transfer from the main memory and read the display at the same time. The frame buffer-accumulator 63 has a capacity of 1 Mbytes, for example. Each is treated as a 16-bit array, made of 1024 image elements horizontally and 512 image elements vertically. Also in this box accumulator-compensator 63, in addition to a display area output, as a video output, there is arranged a CLUT area (color look-up table), where a color look-up table is stored, a which is referenced when the GPU draws images of polygons, etc .; and a texture area, where the textures that are mapped in the polygons drawn by the GPU 62 are stored, after executing the coordinate conversion. The CLUT area and the texture area are programmed to change dynamically according to changes in the display area. Additionally, the GPU 62 is able to perform, in addition to the flat shading noted above, bright shading, by which the color is determined within a polygon, by supplementing the color of the apex of the polygon and mapping the texture when patching in the polygon a texture stored in the texture area. When the bright shading or texture mapping is performed, said GTE 61 can perform a maximum of around 500,000 computations per second of the coordinates of the polygon. Additionally, the image decoder 64 decodes the image data of still or animated images stored in the main memory 53, under the control of said CPU 51, and again they are stored in the main memory 53. In addition, these reproduced image data, stored in the frame controller 63 by means of the GPU 62, they can be used as background for the images drawn by the GPU 62.

The sound system 70 includes a SPU 71, which generates musical or effect sounds, based on the instructions received from the CPU 51, the sound buffer accumulator 72, which records the waveform data generated by the SPU 71 , and the loudspeaker 73, which outputs the musical or effect sounds generated by the SPU 71. The SPU 71 has an ADPCM (PCM adaptive difference) that decodes the function to reproduce voice data (16 bit data) that has encoded by means of an ADPCM process, such as 4-bit differential signals, a sound reproducing function to generate effect sounds by reading the waveform data stored in the sound accumulator-compensator 72, and a modulation function for reproducing the waveform data stored in the sound compensator-accumulator 72, after its modulation. Due to the above functions, the sound system 70 can be used as a so-called sampling sound source, which generates musical or effect sounds based on the waveform data stored in the sound accumulator-compensator 72, of according to the instructions of the CPU 51. The optical disc control section 80 is equipped with an optical disc device 81, for reproducing programs or data stored on an optical disc; a decoder 82 for decoding programs and data to which error correction codes (ECC) have been added before being stored; and an accumulator-compensator 83 that allows high-speed reading of the data from an optical disk, temporarily storing the data from the optical disk device 81. A subordinate CPU 84 is connected to the decoder 82. Furthermore, as voice data stored on an optical disk, which is read by the optical disk device 81, there is, in addition to the ADPCM data described above, the so-called PCM data, which are obtained by analog / digital conversion of voice signals. The voice data stored as ADPCM data, which encode 16-bit digital data as 4-bit differential signals, is decoded by the decoder 82. They are then supplied to the SPU 71, where they pass through a digital conversion process. to analog. After this, they are used to drive the loudspeaker 73. The stored voice data is also decoded as 16-bit digital data, such as PCM data, by means of the decoder 82 and then used to drive the loudspeaker 73. In addition, it is provides the communication control section 90 with a communication controller 91 to control communication with the CPU 51 via the BUS collector. In the communication controller 91, the connection section 90 to the controller, to which the input operation device 40 is connected, is provided for entering instructions from a user; and the insertion section 28A to which the portable electronic device 1 is connected.

The input operation device 40, connected to the controller connection section 92, for example has 16 instruction keys for entering user instructions. The state of these instruction keys is transmitted about 60 times per second to the communication controller 91, by synchronous communication, and the communication controller 91 sends the state of the instruction keys of the input operation device 40, to the CPU 51. By this, the instructions of a user are entered into the CPU 51, and the CPU 51 performs the processing according to the instructions of a user, based on the game program that is being executed. Among the various elements described above, such as the main memory 53, the GPU 62, the image decoder 64 and the decoder 82, etc., it is necessary to transfer a large amount of image data at high speed, when images or images are displayed. he is drawing pictures. Therefore, in this main machine body 20, it is possible to effect what is called DMA transfer, to directly transfer data between the main memory 53, the GPU 62, the image decoder 64 and the decoder 82, under the control of the control section 52 of peripheral devices, without passing through the CPU 51, as described further back. This makes it possible to reduce the load imposed on the CPU 51 by the data transfer and to perform a data transfer at a high speed.

Also the CPU 51, when it is necessary to store the establishment data of a game, which is being executed, sends the data to be stored, to the communication controller 91. After that, the communication controller 91 writes the data coming from the CPU 51, in a memory card (not shown in the drawings) or in the portable electronic device 1, which is inserted in the insertion sections 28A or 28B. The communication controller 91 contains inside it a protective circuit to prevent electrical damage. Both the memory card and the portable electronic device 1 are separated from the BUS collector and can be connected or disconnected, while the main body of the device is connected to the power supply. Accordingly, in case there is not enough memory capacity left in the memory card or in the electronic device 1, a new memory card can be inserted, without interrupting the power supply to the main body. Due to this, the game data that is necessary to maintain in a backup system is not lost. You can insert a new memory card and write in it the necessary data. Also the parallel input / output interface (PIÓ) 96 and the serial input / output interface (SIO) 97 are interfaces for connecting said memory card or portable electronic device 1, to the main body 20 of the machine. of games.

Due to this, if the main body 20 of the gaming machine, inside which the portable electronic device 1 and the monitor device 200 are inserted, as shown in Fig. 5, is connected and the control section 13 is made. of the portable electronic device 1 perform a process like the one shown in figure 13, the monitor device 200 can be made to display an image of the character treating the portable electronic device 1, at that point, as an imaginary living being. Also in Figure 13 is noted the portable electronic device 1, as the "portable game terminal". First of all, the player connects in the step S1 the portable game terminal 1 in the main body 20 of the gaming machine. This is accomplished by inserting the connector section 150 of the portable game terminal 1 into the insert sections 28A or 28B of the slot sections 27A or 27B. Next, in step S2, the identification number of the portable game terminal is sent to the main body 20 of the gaming machine. In step S3, the table of conversion of identification numbers-gene information is sent from the CD-ROM. It is loaded into RAM 9 for use to load the identification-information numbers of genes. Then the CPU 51 of the main body of the gaming machine has to check the identification number, which is sent from the game terminal 1, and has to decide whether this number is handled or not in the conversion table stored in the CD ROM. In step S4 the search section 10 retrieves from RAM 9, to load the information of gene-identification numbers, the gene information corresponding to the portable game terminal 1. This gene information is sent to section 8 of Generation of character information. On the one hand, in step S5, the operation information, such as an experience value (recorded in the drawing as experience information) and the age information, is sent to the character information generation section 8. , from RAM 7, for use for the operation information, which is a memory contained within the portable game terminal 1. After that, in step S6, the character information generation section 8 obtains, by calculation , the character information that refers to the face and the expression that the portable game terminal 1 has, at that point of time. In step S7 this character information is sent to the CPU 51 of the main body 20 of the gaming machine. After making it go through a specified graphic generation process, is displayed on the monitor device 200. Additionally, when a character image is displayed in the display section 12, located on the portable game terminal 1, it is sufficient to send the character information to the display section 12, in the Step S7. The gene information noted above will now be explained. Although, as shown, it uses alphabetic characters A, B, C, D, E, F ..., in the conversion table of Figure 3, it is actually expressed with hexadecimal numbers (0 - f) as shown in Figure 14. As a concrete example, it is noted in Figure 14 as "8b37 ... a83b". Here, the number to the left ("8" in the concrete example) expresses the roundness of the face. If this value is small, it indicates a narrow face; if the value is large, it indicates a round face. The next letter ("b" in the concrete example) indicates the size of the eyes. A small value indicates small, narrow eyes; and a large value indicates large, round eyes. The next number ("3" in the concrete example) indicates the distance between the eyes. If the value is small, this area is narrow; and if the value is large, it is wide. The next number "7" in the concrete example) indicates the length of the tabs. A small value indicates short tabs, and a large value indicates long tabs. Additionally, although concrete examples of an entertainment system (a videogame apparatus) in which only one portable game terminal is mounted in the main body 20 of the gaming machine are shown in Figures 4 and 5, one can also think in a videogame device in which two of them are mounted (the portable game terminals 1A and 1B), as shown in figure 15. In accordance with the videogame device shown in figure 15, section 8 of Generation of character information synthesizes the character's information (the face) from the obtained age information, integrating the identification numbers of 1A and 1B of the portable game terminals, and the time of the time controller and (this face) it is displayed on the monitor 200, as a metaphor expressing each of the terminals. In this way, it becomes possible to have an expression that personifies each of the terminals.

Naturally, as shown in Figure 16, it can also be shown in the display sections 12A and 12B of the portable game terminals 1A and 1B, as metaphors expressing each of the terminals. You can also express the individual character by filling each line of the information of genes with the maximum value of the latent capacity that individual has. Figure 17 shows a concrete example of an expression of an individual character, through the information of genes. In the clause in which T is written, the maximum value for age is written; in other words, the interval of life. In the clause where "b" is written, the maximum value for the ability to fly is written. In the clause where "9" is written, the maximum value for the fighting capacity is written. Also in the clause where the second "9" is written, the maximum value for communication capacity is written. Hexadecimal notation is used for each clause. Also by putting information that indicates the affinity between individuals in genetic information, it is possible to express the relationship between individuals; Whether those individuals cooperate with each other or are mutually hostile during a game. Also two portable game terminals 1A and 1B (Figure 18) which are connected to the main body 20 of the game machine, generate character information, related to an imaginary subordinate machine, according to their respective genetic information and information of operation, upon receiving the genetic information corresponding to the appropriate identification number, by means of the main body 20 of the gaming machine. In other words, as shown in Figure 18, you can have a new imaginary life form that acquires life through a way of mating between two possible portable gaming terminals, 1 A and 1B. In this case, using new genetic information C, obtained from the genetic information A and the genetic information B of the two portable game terminals 1A and 1B, a new identification number is obtained by inverse reference to the conversion table, between the identification numbers and the gene information noted above. Thus, the identification number obtained is considered as an imaginary identification number C of that portable game terminal, and is stored in one of the portable gaming terminals 1A and 1 D. Said two portable gaming terminals 1A and 1B they are equipped with a RAM for use in storing character information, for storing character information previously annotated for that purpose. The genetic information, in this case, is expressed through a one-dimensional formation. The nth genetic information of an individual "a" is annotated as Sa (n). In that case, according to the genetic information shown in Figure 19, Sa (k + 1) is b. Assuming that an individual C is originated by a mating (crossing) between the individual A and the individual B, it is shown in figure 20 how to process this mating. First, in step S11, the search section 10 prepares the genetic information from the portable game terminals 1A and 1 B. Then, in step S12, the character information generation section 8, takes the gene No. k of the individual A (Sa (i) and the gene k of the individual B (Sb (i)) executes a mating calculation in step S13, and obtains a gene Sc (k) of a new individual C. As a mating calculation in this step S13, we can think of the following three algorithms: According to the first algorithm, when the value to be entered in column "k" is determined for the gene of individual C, it is used a random number to randomly select the "k" column of individual A, or the "k" column of individual B. According to the second algorithm, the average value of column "k" of individual A and the average value of the "k" column of the individual B, to determine the value to be entered in the "k" column of the gene of the individual C. According to the third algorithm the linear interpolation of the column "k" of the individual A and the interpolation A of the column "k" is used of the individual B to determine the value to be introduced in the "k" column of the gene of the individual C. As for the coefficient of the third interpolation, it is determined using a random number. After repeating the processes described above in step S12 and in step S13 until "k" reaches "n", a mutation process is executed in step S15. As for this mutation procedure, the amount of variation for certain columns after mating is determined by random numbers. In that case a lower limit is set and those columns are corrected only when the random numbers exceed the minimum value. This step S15 can be omitted. In step S16, the table is referenced between the identification numbers and the gene information, and an imaginary identification number is obtained for the individual C. This imaginary identification number for the individual C is stored either in the game terminal 1A or in game terminal 1B. In addition, the flow of the procedures is shown in Figure 21, when a mating or exchange game is played using the characters of the game terminals 1A and 1B, obtained by the procedure shown in the flowchart of Figure 13 previously described. The explanation of step S1 to step S7 is omitted, since it was given in the description of figure 13. By processing up to this point, two characters, a man and a woman, are displayed on the monitor device 200, shown in figure 15. In step S21 of figure 21 the player decides whether to execute a pairing or an exchange. If you choose to execute the pairing, proceed to step S22 and execute pairing through a process shown in figure 20 above. In step S23, the identification number is referenced in reverse, using the gene information conversion table, and an imaginary identification number is obtained. Then proceed to step S25 and store in the RAM of one of the portable game terminals the experience values, the imaginary identification number and the display data for the face after the conversion, etc. On the other hand, if the player decides to select the exchange in step S21, he goes to step S24 and executes an exchange of the two living beings, which are the two characters. As explained above, the characters that are displayed by connecting the portable gaming terminals to the main body 20 of the gaming machine, may be those that are related to the game or those that are not. By displaying such characters, portable gaming terminals are personified and the user can be entertained. In accordance with the present invention, the user can be given a sense of familiarity, for example, by generating a character of his own by the use of an identification number, and displaying it in the display medium.

Claims (21)

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION CLAIMS

1. - A portable electronic device having an interface for connecting the portable electronic device to a host machine having a program execution function, characterized in that it comprises: identification number container means, for containing an appropriate identification number; input operation means, to execute an input operation; operational information generating means for generating the operation information in response to said input operation, from the input operation means; means for storing the operation information for storing the operation information from the means for generating the operation information; means of generating the character information to generate the appropriate information of the character, according to the operation information and the genetic information, when receiving through the host machine, said genetic information that determines a character transmission factor of a character corresponding to that appropriate identification number.

2. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, further characterized in that it further comprises means for generating time information to continuously generate time information; wherein said means of generating the character information generate the appropriate character information according to the time information, the gene information and the operation information.

3. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, further characterized in that it additionally comprises storage means for the character information, for storing said character information.

4. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, further characterized in that it additionally comprises display means for displaying a character image based on the character information.

5. An entertainment system comprising a host machine having a program execution function, and a subordinate machine having an interface for connecting to said host machine; transferring the host machine a program execution information to the subordinate machine; characterized said system because the subordinate machine comprises: identification number containment means, to contain an appropriate identification number; input operation means for executing an input operation; means for generating operation information, for generating operation information in response to the input operation from the input operation means; storage means for the operation information, for storing the operation information from the means for generating the operation information; means of generating character information, 3 to generate appropriate character information, in accordance with the operation information and the gene information, upon receiving, through the host machine, the gene information that determines a character transmission factor corresponding to the appropriate identification number.

6. The entertainment system according to claim 5, further characterized in that the host machine reads from a recording medium the genetic information corresponding to the appropriate identification number when said program is being executed, and transfers the genetic information to the subordinate machine.

7. The entertainment system according to claim 5, further characterized in that the subordinate machine additionally comprises means for generating the time information continuously generating time information; and the means of generating the character information generate appropriate information of the character, according to the time information, the genetic information and the operation information.

8. The entertainment system according to claim 5, further characterized in that the subordinate machine additionally comprises storage means for character information, to store the character information.

9. The entertainment system according to claim 5, further characterized in that the subordinate machine additionally comprises display means for displaying an image based on the character information.

10. The entertainment system according to claim 5, further characterized in that the display means are connected to the host machine. 1.

The entertainment system according to claim 5, further characterized in that it comprises a plurality of subordinate machines.

12. The entertainment system according to claim 1, further characterized in that the plurality of subordinate machines generate appropriate, respective, character information, and that include display means connected to the host machine to display a plurality of images of the host. character, based on the respective appropriate character information.

13. The entertainment system according to claim 12, further characterized in that the plurality of subordinate machines includes two specified subordinate machines, connected to the host machine to generate character information related to an imaginary slave machine, according to the information respective genetics and the operation information, upon receiving the genetic information corresponding to the appropriate identification number, by means of the host machine. 7

14. - The entertainment system according to claim 13, further characterized in that the two specified subordinate machines each include storage means for the character information to store the character information; at least one of the storage means for the character information stores said character information related to an imaginary slave machine.

15. A method for operating an entertainment system consisting of a host machine that has a program execution function and subordinate machines, made of portable electronic devices that have an interface to connect to the host machine; characterized in said method for operating an entertainment system because it comprises the steps of: (a) supplying the subordinate machines with appropriate identification numbers, and supplying the host machine with genetic information corresponding to said identification numbers; (b) connecting the subordinate machines to the host machine, and sending the appropriate identification numbers from the subordinate machines to the host machine; (c) loading the subordinate machines with genetic information through the host machine, by confirming the identification numbers sent from the subordinate machines; (d) generate by the subordinate machines character information, based on the genetic information and exhibit the appropriate characters in their means of exhibition.

16. - The method for operating an entertainment system of claim 15, further characterized by additionally comprising the steps of, after step (d): (e) sending, through the subordinate machines, additionally, the character information, to the machine hostess; and (f) displaying on a monitor of the host machine, after processing, character information, through a process of generating graphics.

17. The method for operating an entertainment system according to claim 15, further characterized in that step (d) comprises the steps of: generating character information, based on the operation information, in accordance with a given entry by a player, in addition to the genetic information; and display the result on the appropriate character, in the media exhibiting the subordinate machine.

18. The method for operating an entertainment system according to claim 17, further characterized in that the operation information expresses an experience value that has been achieved by giving a numerical value to the experience of a character.

19. The method for operating an entertainment system according to claim 15, further characterized in that step (d) comprises the steps of: generating character information based on the time information corresponding to a time controller, in addition to genetic information; and exhibit the appropriate character in the display media of the subordinate machine.

20. - The method for operating an entertainment system according to claim 15, further characterized in that the entertainment system has a plurality of subordinate machines, and wherein each subordinate machine exhibits an appropriate character in a respective display means thereof.

21. The method for operating an entertainment system according to claim 15, further characterized in that the entertainment system has a plurality of subordinate machines; and where each subordinate machine generates its own appropriate character in a respective display means thereof; and each machine generates a new separate character, based on a respective genetic information of the same.