Game program

• US 20050197186A1
• Filed: 03/01/2005
• Published: 09/08/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Ohta, Keizo
• Granted Patent: US 7,811,169 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/30
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/2145 the surface being also a display device, e.g. touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/42 by mapping the input signals into game commands, e.g. mapping the displacement of a stylus on a touch screen to the steering angle of a virtual vehicle
• 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 13/5375 for graphically or textually suggesting an action, e.g. by displaying an arrow indicating a turn in a driving game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/573 using trajectories of game objects, e.g. of a golf ball according to the point of impact
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/577 using determination of contact between game characters or objects, e.g. to avoid collision between virtual racing cars
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/92 Video game devices specially adapted to be hand-held while playing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1075 using a touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/204 the platform being a handheld device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/305 for providing a graphical or textual hint to the player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/643 by determining the impact between objects, e.g. collision detection

Abstract

An object OB1 displayed on a second display screen 12a is allowed to move according to input coordinates on a touch panel. When a control target object collides with an obstacle, the control target object is allowed to stop immediately before the obstacle. Thereafter, when the distance between the display coordinates of the control target object and the current input coordinates is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, a straight line connecting between the control target object and the finger is displayed on the second display screen 12a. By this, in a game in which an object displayed on a display screen is moved by a player sliding his/her finger across a touch panel, even if the finger has unexpectedly deviated from the object during the course of the game, the player does not feel a sense of uncertainty.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a game program which allows a computer being electrically connected to a display screen for displaying a game image and a touch panel covering the display screen, to function as:

game image display control means for displaying on the display screen a game image including an object image movable by a player;

input coordinate detection means for detecting, at a predetermined interval, input coordinates outputted from the touch panel when an input is applied to the touch panel by the player;

control-target setting means for setting, when the input coordinates at an initial stage of detection by the input coordinate detection means and display coordinates of the object image on the display screen satisfy a certain relationship, the object image as a control target object of the player while input coordinates are continued to be detected from the touch panel by the input coordinate detection means;

display-coordinate update means for sequentially updating the display coordinates of the control target object according to input coordinates sequentially detected by the input coordinate detection means; and

display state change means for changing, when current input coordinates and the display coordinates of the control target object are spaced apart by a predetermined distance, a display state of the game image so as to indicate that the control target object is set as a control target of the player.

2. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the game program further allows the computer to function as update stopping means for stopping an update of the display coordinates of the control target object when the display coordinates of the control target object satisfy a predetermined condition.

3. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the display state change means displays a line connecting between a position corresponding to the current input coordinates and the control target object.

4. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the display state change means displays a predetermined image on a straight line connecting between a position corresponding to the current input coordinates and the control target object.

5. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the display state change means changes a display mode of the control target object.

6. The computer-readable storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the display state change means changes a display state of the game image according to a distance between the current input coordinates and the display coordinates of the control target object.