Image-display game system and information storage medium used therefor

• US 20030008714A1
• Filed: 01/23/2002
• Published: 01/09/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Ishihara, Tsunekazu, Tajiri, Satoshi
• Granted Patent: US 6,764,402 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/43
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/235 using a wireless connection, e.g. infrared or piconet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/34 using peer-to-peer connections
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/58 by computing conditions of game characters, e.g. stamina, strength, motivation or energy level
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/79 involving player-related data, e.g. identities, accounts, preferences or play histories
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/92 Video game devices specially adapted to be hand-held while playing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/95 Storage media specially adapted for storing game information, e.g. video game cartridges
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1012 involving biosensors worn by the player, e.g. for measuring heart beat, limb activity
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/204 the platform being a handheld device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/408 Peer to peer connection
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/65 for computing the condition of a game character
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8029 Fighting without shooting
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8058 Virtual breeding, e.g. tamagotchi
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/807 Role playing or strategy games

Abstract

An image-display game system which can attract players for a long time to play a game can be implemented by presenting helping data of a0 to a63, and b1 to b5 beneficial in the course of a game to friends, and accordingly communications accompanying therewith can be stimulated and activated there among, and the game can be effectively utilized as a communications tool. Such image-display game system is so structured that the players'"'"' ID data IDn is communicable or exchangeable therein. With the other player'"'"'s ID received, items beneficial in the course of the game or the helping data of 10 to 163, and b1 to b5 is generated based on the ID data, and is presented to the player. As a result, exchanging of the ID data IDn is activated among the players. The items presented based on the ID data IDn are determined by operating the ID data using an equation in FIG. 17 which is based on a predetermined rule, or in an operation processing by combining the ID data IDn and a random number R.

Claims

1. An image-display game system in which at least two image-display game devices are structured such that data communications is possible therebetween,

the image-display game devices each comprise:

program storage means in which a game program is stored;

temporal storage means including, at least, a property data storage region where property data varied in type is stored for every character captured in the course of a game, a helping data storage region where data for helping the game process is stored, and an ID data storage region where ID data for identifying a player is stored, and each of the storage regions is writable with data or readable data therefrom;

actuation means actuated by the player for, at least, an operation of capturing the characters and an operation of performing data communications with another player;

communications means for performing the data communications with the another player'"'"'s image-display game device;

processing means for carrying out, with said program carried out, image processing to change an image on display in response to said actuation means, and changing said property data responding to the game process made based on the state of said actuation means to write the data in the storage region corresponding to said temporal storage means; and

display means for displaying a result obtained through the processing carried out by said processing means, wherein,

said game program storage means

generates, when one of said image-display game devices and the other of said image-display game devices are made data communicable by said communications means, and when data communications is selected by said actuation means, in response to said ID data transferred from one image-display game device to the other image-display game device, the helping data processed by said processing means of the other image-display game device based on the transferred ID data, and stores a program for writing the helping data to said helping data storage region.

2. The image-display game system as described in claim 1, wherein said image-display game device further comprises clock means for at least counting time, and

said game program storage means stores

a program of writing time data indicated by said clock means to the storage region of said temporal storage means in relation to the helping data processed based on said ID data,

a program of determining whether or not a predetermined length of time has passed based on the time data and a time currently indicated by said clock means, and

a program of prohibiting, when said determination program determines that the predetermined length of time has not yet passed, to execute a processing of generating said helping data based on another ID data different from the one which has been transmitted.

3. The image-display game system as described in claim 1, wherein said image-display game device further comprises clock means for at least counting time, and

said game program storage means stores

a program of writing time data indicated by said clock means to the storage region of said temporal storage means in relation to the helping data processed based on said ID data,

a first determination program of determining whether or not the ID data stored in said ID data storage region is identical to ID data transmitted through said communications means,

a second determination program of determining whether or not a predetermined length of time has passed based on the time data and a time currently indicated by said clock means, and

a program of prohibiting, when said first determination program determines that the ID data is identical, and said second determination program determines that the predetermined length of time has not yet passed, a processing to be executed by said helping data generation program based on the transmitted ID data.

4. The image-display game system as described in claim 1, wherein said image-display game device further comprises clock means for at least counting time, and

said game program storage means stores

a writing program of writing time data indicated by said clock means to the storage region of said temporal storage means in relation to the helping data processed based on said ID data,

a first determination program of determining whether or not the ID data stored in said ID data storage region is identical to ID data transmitted through said communications means,

a second determination program of determining whether or not a predetermined length of time has passed based on the time data and a time currently indicated by said clock means, and

a program of limiting, when said first determination program determines that the ID data is identical, and said second determination program determines that the predetermined length of time has not yet passed, a processing by said helping data generation program based on the transmitted ID data to be operated for a predetermined number of times or less.

5. The image-display game system as described in claim 1, wherein said communications means is an infrared transmitter/receiver which performs communications by infrared radiation.

6. The image-display game system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the helping data generation program included in said game program storage means generates, based on the transferred ID data, item data of an item beneficial for the game process.

7. The image-display game system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the helping data generation program included in said game program storage mess generates, based on the transferred ID data, item data of an item beneficial for the game process and not obtainable in the normal game play.

8. An image-display game system comprising at least two sets of an information storage medium having a game program stored and an image-display game device detachable with the information storage medium, and further comprising communications means provided to both of the information storage medium and the image-display game device in relation to either one of those two, wherein

said information storage medium comprises:

program storage means in which a game program is unalterably stored;

temporal storage means including, at least, a property data storage region where property data varied in type is stored for every character captured in the game process, a helping data storage region where data for helping the game process is stored, and an ID data storage region where ID data for identifying a player is stored, and each of the storage regions is writable with data or readable data therefrom; and

a housing in which said program storage means and said temporal storage means are housed, and

said image-display game device comprises;

actuation means actuated by the player for, at least, an operation of capturing the characters and an operation of performing data communications with another player;

actuation means actuated by the player;

processing means for carrying out information processing in response to said actuation means and based on the program; and

image-display means for displaying an image obtained through processing carried-out by said processing means, wherein,

with said program stored in said program storage means carried out, said processing means carries out an image processing to change an image on display in response to said actuation means and based on the program, and changing the property data to be written into said temporal storage means responding to the game process made based on the state of said actuation means to change the characters'"'"' images based on the property data, and

said game program storage means further generates, in response to one of said image-display game devices and the other of said image-display game devices are made data communicable by said communications means, and said ID data transferred from one image-display game device to the other image-display game device, the helping data processed by said processing means of the other image-display game device based on the transferred ID data, and stores a program for writing the helping data to said helping data storage region.

9. The image-display game system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said image-display game device is a portable game machine, and

said communications means is an infrared transmitter/receiver integrally provided to the housing of said information storage medium.

10. The image-display game system as described in claim 8, wherein said image-display game device is a portable game machine, and

said communications means is an infrared transmitter/receiver integrally provided to said image-display game device.

11. An information storage medium used in an image-display game system where at least two image-display game devices are structured for data communications, wherein

said image-display game devices each comprises:

temporal storage means;

actuation means actuated by a player for, at least, an operation of capturing a character and an operation of performing data communications with another player;

communications means for performing the data communications with said image-display game device possessed by the another player;

processing means; and

display means for displaying a result processed by the processing means, and the temporal storage means includes a property data storage region where property data varied in type is stored for every character captured in the course of a game, a helping data storage region where data for helping the game process is stored, and an ID data storage region where ID data for identifying a player is stored, and each of the storage regions is writable with data or readable data therefrom, wherein the information storage medium is processed by said processing means, and whereby stores

a program of carrying out an image processing for changing an image on display in response to said actuation means, and changing said property data responding to the game process made based on the state of said actuation means to write the data into the storage region corresponding to said temporal storage means, and

a program of generating, when one of said image-display game devices and the other of said image-display game devices are made data communicable by said communications means, and when data communications is selected by said actuation means, in response to said ID data transferred from one image-display game device to the other image-display game device, the helping data processed by said processing means of the other image-display game device based on the transferred ID data, and stores a program for writing the helping data to said helping data storage region.