Game system and game program

• US 20040092309A1
• Filed: 10/31/2003
• Published: 05/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Suzuki, Toshiaki
• Granted Patent: US 7,582,016 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/32
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/26 having at least one additional display device, e.g. on the game controller or outside a game booth
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/323 between game devices with different hardware characteristics, e.g. hand-held game devices connectable to game consoles or arcade machines
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/525 Changing parameters of virtual cameras
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/57 Simulating properties, behaviour or motion of objects in the game world, e.g. computing tyre load in a car race game A63F13/56 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/80 Special adaptations for executing a specific game genre or game mode
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/92 Video game devices specially adapted to be hand-held while playing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/204 the platform being a handheld device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/403 Connection between platform and handheld device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/64 for computing dynamical parameters of game objects, e.g. motion determination or computation of frictional forces for a virtual car
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/66 for rendering three dimensional images
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6661 for changing the position of the virtual camera
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/80 specially adapted for executing a specific type of game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/807 Role playing or strategy games

Abstract

In a game system in which two game spaces are separately displayed on first display means and second display means, first display control means which causes a first game space to be displayed on the first display means; and second display control means which causes a second game space which is different from the first game space to be displayed on the second display means are provided. Based on a virtual positional relationship between the first game space and the second game space, the second display control means causes a related image of an object located in the first game space to be displayed on the second display means.

Claims

1. A game system in which two game spaces are separately displayed on first display means and second display means, comprising:

first display control means which causes a first game space to be displayed on the first display means; and

second display control means which causes a second game space, which is different from the first game space, to be displayed on the second display means, wherein

based on a virtual positional relationship between the first game space and the second game space, the second display control means causes a related image of an object located in the first game space to be displayed on the second display means.

2. The game system according to claim 1, wherein

the first display control means causes only the first game space to be displayed on the first display means, and

the second display control means causes only the second game space to be displayed on the second display means.

3. The game system according to claim 1, wherein

the object is a player character operated by a player.

4. The game system according to claim 1, wherein

the object is a moving object.

5. The game system according to claim 1, further comprising:

judging means which judges whether predetermined conditions are satisfied; and

moving means which moves, when the determining means determines that the predetermined conditions are satisfied, a player character between the first game space and the second game space; and

determining means which determines which one of the first game space and the second game space the player character is located, wherein

when the determining means determines that the player character is located in the first game space, the first display control means causes the player character to be displayed on the first display means, and

when the determining means determines that the player character is located in the second game space, the second display control means causes the player character to be displayed on the second display means.

6. The game system according to claim 1, wherein

the second display control means causes a related image of an object which is located in the first game space but is not located in the second game space to be displayed on the second display means.

7. The game system according to claim 1, wherein

the first display control means includes a first storage section for storing data used for displaying the first game space,

the second display control means includes a second storage section for storing data used for displaying the second game space,

the first storage section stores object data for displaying an object which is located in the first game space but is not located in the second game space,

the second storage section stores related image display data for displaying a related image of the object which is located in the first game space but is not located in the second game space,

based on the related image display data, the second display control means causes the related image of the object which is located in the first game space but is not located in the second game space to be displayed on the second display means.

8. The game system according to claim 1, wherein

the related image is an image representing a shadow of the object.

9. The game system according to claim 1, wherein

the second game space is a two-dimensional game space,

the second display control means includes a shadow image storage section for storing a shadow image of the object located in the first game space, and based on a position in the first game space of the object located in the first game space and the virtual positional relationship, the second display control means causes the shadow image to be displayed at a position on which the object located in the first game space casts a shadow in the second game space.

10. The game system according to claim 1, wherein

the second game space is a three-dimensional game space,

based on a position in the first game space of the object located in the first game space and the virtual positional relationship, the second display control means causes the object located in the first game space to be virtually placed in the second game space, and based on the placed object, causes a shadow of the object to be displayed.

11. The game system according to claim 1, wherein

the second game space is a three-dimensional game space,

the second display control means includes a shadow volume storage section for storing a shadow volume of the object located in the first game space, causes the shadow volume to be placed in the second game space based on a position in the first game space of the object located in the first game space and the virtual positional relationship, and causes a shadow of the object by using the placed shadow volume.

12. The game system according to claim 1, wherein

the second display control means changes a size of the related image in accordance with a virtual relative positional relationship between the object located in the first game space and the second game space.

13. The game system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a first game machine for generating image data representing the first game space and outputting the image data to the first display means; and

a second game machine for generating image data representing the second game space and outputting the image data to the second display means.

14. The game system according to claim 13, wherein

the second game machine obtains a position in the first game space of the object located in the first game space from the first game machine and, based on the obtained position, causes the related image to be displayed on the second display means.

15. The game system according to claim 13, wherein

the second game machine includes predicting means which predicts a position in the first game space of the object located in the first game space and, based on the predicted position, causes the related image to be displayed on the second display means.

16. The game system according to claim 15, wherein

the second game machine stores a motion pattern of the object located in the first game space, and

based on the motion pattern, the predicting means predicts a position in the first game space of the object.

17. The game system according to claim 13, wherein

the second game machine stores in advance a position of a fixed object fixedly located in the first game space and, based on the position, causes the related image of the fixed object to be displayed.

18. The game system according to claim 13, wherein

the second game is a portable game machine including the second display means.

19. A recording medium having stored therein a game program for causing a computer to function as the first display control means and the second display control means according to claim 1.