Game system using touch panel input

• US 20050159223A1
• Filed: 06/30/2004
• Published: 07/21/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Sato, Kenta, Tahara, Kouzou
• Granted Patent: US 7,374,490 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 13/2145 the surface being also a display device, e.g. touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/426 involving on-screen location information, e.g. screen coordinates of an area at which the player is aiming with a light gun
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/537 using indicators, e.g. showing the condition of a game character on screen
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/58 by computing conditions of game characters, e.g. stamina, strength, motivation or energy level
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1075 using a touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/65 for computing the condition of a game character
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8029 Fighting without shooting

Abstract

A player performs an input operation so as to draw a predetermined graphic on a touch panel. A type of attack against an enemy character is determined based on a graphical shape of an input trajectory. An effectiveness of attack against the enemy character is determined based on the size of the graphical shape of the input trajectory. Damage caused by attack to the enemy character is determined based on the style and effectiveness of attack.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage medium having a game program stored therein, the game program causing a computer of a game apparatus, which includes a display screen for displaying a game image and a touch panel provided on the display screen, to implement a method comprising:

a game image display control step for allowing a game image containing one or more game characters to be displayed on the display screen;

a coordinate detection step for detecting a coordinate value at predetermined time intervals, the coordinate value indicating a position on the touch panel where a player'"'"'s input is provided;

a shape identification step for identifying a graphical shape of an input trajectory represented by a coordinate value group detected by the coordinate detection step;

a size calculation step for calculating a size of the graphical shape of the input trajectory represented by the coordinate value group detected by the coordinate detection step;

a basic condition determination step for determining a basic condition for changing a characteristic parameter, which indicates a characteristic of a game character, based on the graphical shape identified by the shape identification step;

an effectiveness determination step for determining an effectiveness of the basic condition for the game character based on the size calculated by the size calculating step; and

a characteristic parameter change step for changing the characteristic parameter of the game character based on the basic condition determined by the condition determination step and the effectiveness determined by the effectiveness determination step.

2. The storage medium according to claim 1,

wherein the method further comprises a character selection step for selecting at least one game character having a character parameter to be changed, from among the one or more game characters contained in the game image, and

wherein the characteristic parameter change step changes only the characteristic parameter of the at least one game character selected by the character selection step.

3. The storage medium according to claim 2, wherein the characteristic parameter change step changes a degree of change in the characteristic parameter in accordance with a number of the at least one game character selected by the character selection step.

4. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises a change representation addition step for, after the graphical shape of the input trajectory is identified by the shape identification step, changing the game image in a different manner in accordance with a type of the basic condition determined by the graphical shape of the input trajectory.

5. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises a trajectory display control step for displaying the input trajectory in a position on the display screen which corresponds to the coordinate value detected by the coordinate detection step.

6. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein from among a plurality of pieces of reference graphics data stored in the game apparatus and indicating a type of the basic condition, the shape identification step selects a piece of reference graphics data, which indicates a shape most analogous to a shape represented by the coordinate value group, and the shape identification step determines the shape represented by the selected piece of reference graphics data as the graphical shape of the input trajectory.

7. The storage medium according to claim 6,

wherein the method further comprises:

a vector data group calculation step for calculating a vector data group indicating a distance and a direction between sequential coordinate values based on the coordinate value group detected by the coordinate detection step; and

a correction step for correcting a plurality of sequential pieces of vector data indicating a same direction and contained in the vector data group, so as to be represented as a piece of vector data, and

wherein the shape identification step selects a piece of reference graphics data indicating a shape most analogous to a shape of the vector data group corrected by the correction step.

8. A game apparatus comprising:

a storage medium of claim 1;

and

a program implementing section for implementing a game program stored in the storage medium.

9. A computer-readable storage medium having a game program stored therein, the game program causing a computer of a game apparatus, which includes a display screen for displaying a game image and a touch panel provided on the display screen, to implement a method comprising:

a game image display control step for allowing a game image containing game characters to be displayed on the display screen;

a coordinate detection step for detecting a coordinate value at predetermined time intervals, the coordinate value indicating a position on the touch panel where a player'"'"'s input is provided;

a shape identification step for identifying a graphical shape of an input trajectory represented by a coordinate value group detected by the coordinate detection step;

a character selection step for selecting at least one game character having a characteristic parameter, which indicates a characteristic of the game character and is required to be changed, from among the game characters contained in the game image based on an area on the display screen which is defined by the input trajectory;

a basic condition determination step for determining a basic condition for changing the characteristic parameter, which indicates the characteristic of the game character, based on the graphical shape identified by the shape identification step; and

a characteristic parameter change step for changing the characteristic parameter of the at least one game character selected by the character selection step, based on the basic condition determined by the condition determination step.

10. The storage medium according to claim 9,

wherein the method further comprises:

a size calculation step for calculating a size of the graphical shape of the input trajectory represented by the coordinate value group detected by the coordinate detection step; and

an effectiveness determination step for determining an effectiveness of the basic condition for the at least one game character based on the size calculated by the size calculating step, and

wherein the characteristic parameter change step changes the characteristic parameter of the at least one game character based on the effectiveness of the basic condition determined by the effectiveness determination step.

11. The storage medium according to claim 9, wherein the characteristic parameter change step changes a degree of change in the characteristic parameter in accordance with a number of the at least one game character selected by the character selection step.

12. The storage medium according to claim 9, wherein the method further comprises a change representation addition step for, after the graphical shape of the input trajectory is identified by the shape identification step, changing the game image in a different manner in accordance with a type of the basic condition determined by the graphical shape of the input trajectory.

13. The storage medium according to claim 9, wherein the method further comprises a trajectory display control step for displaying the input trajectory in a position on the display screen which corresponds to the coordinate value detected by the coordinate detection step.

14. The storage medium according to claim 9, wherein from among a plurality of pieces of reference graphics data stored in the game apparatus and indicating a type of the basic condition, the shape identification step selects a piece of reference graphics data, which indicates a shape most analogous to a shape represented by the coordinate value group, and the shape identification step determines the shape represented by the selected piece of reference graphics data as the graphical shape of the input trajectory.

15. The storage medium according to claim 14,

wherein the method further comprises:

a vector data group calculation step for calculating a vector data group indicating a distance and a direction between sequential coordinate values based on the coordinate value group detected by the coordinate detection step; and

a correction step for correcting a plurality of sequential pieces of vector data indicating a same direction and contained in the vector data group, so as to be represented as a piece of vector data, and

wherein the shape identification step selects a piece of reference graphics data indicating a shape most analogous to a shape of the vector data group corrected by the correction step.

16. A game apparatus comprising:

a storage medium of claim 9;

and

a program implementing section for implementing a game program stored in the storage medium.

17. A method for changing a game parameter, the method being implemented by a computer of a game apparatus, which includes a display screen for displaying a game image and a touch panel provided on the display screen, the method comprising:

a game image display control step for allowing a game image containing game characters to be displayed on the display screen;

a coordinate detection step for detecting a coordinate value at predetermined time intervals, the coordinate value indicating a position on the touch panel where a player'"'"'s input is provided;

a shape identification step for identifying a graphical shape of an input trajectory represented by a coordinate value group detected by the coordinate detection step;

a size calculation step for calculating a size of the graphical shape of the input trajectory represented by the coordinate value group detected by the coordinate detection step;

a basic condition determination step for determining a basic condition for changing the characteristic parameter, which indicates the characteristic of the game character, based on the graphical shape identified by the shape identification step;

an effectiveness determination step for determining an effectiveness of the basic condition for the game character based on the size calculated by the size calculating step; and

a characteristic parameter change step for changing the characteristic parameter of the game character based on the basic condition determined by the condition determination step and the effectiveness determined by the effectiveness determination step.

18. A method for changing a game parameter, the method being implemented by a computer of a game apparatus, which includes a display screen for displaying a game image and a touch panel provided on the display screen, the method comprising:

a game image display control step for allowing a game image containing game characters to be displayed on the display screen;

a coordinate detection step for detecting a coordinate value at predetermined time intervals, the coordinate value indicating a position on the touch panel where a player'"'"'s input is provided;

a shape identification step for identifying a graphical shape of an input trajectory represented by a coordinate value group detected by the coordinate detection step;

a character selection step for selecting at least one game character, which indicates a characteristic of the game character and is required to be changed, from among the game characters based on an area on the display screen which is defined by the input trajectory;

a basic condition determination step for determining a basic condition for changing the characteristic parameter, which indicates the characteristic of the game character, based on the graphical shape identified by the shape identification step; and

a characteristic parameter change step for changing the characteristic parameter of the game character selected by the character selection step, based on the basic condition determined by the condition determination step.