Storage medium having game program stored thereon and game apparatus

• US 20060121985A1
• Filed: 11/04/2005
• Published: 06/08/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Matsunaga, Hiroshi, Ikematsu, Shinichi, Nakanishi, Keigo
• Granted Patent: US 7,392,154 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/36
• 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 13/26 having at least one additional display device, e.g. on the game controller or outside a game booth
• 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 13/92 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 2300/1075 using a touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/204 the platform being a handheld device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/301 using an additional display connected to the game console, e.g. on the controller
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands

Abstract

Reference coordinates in a coordinate system and designated coordinates in the coordinate system based on coordinate information outputted by a pointing device are set. A distance and direction between the reference coordinates and the designated coordinates are calculated. When the distance has a value smaller than a predetermined threshold value, the distance is converted into a game parameter using a first conversion function is determined. On the other hand, when the distance has a value greater than the predetermined threshold value, the distance is converted into a game parameter using a second conversion function for converting the distance into a value greater than a value into which the distance is converted using the first conversion function. The game is processed using the direction and the game parameter.

Claims

1. A storage medium having stored thereon a game program executed by a computer in a game apparatus which is operated using a pointing device for outputting coordinate information based on a given coordinate system according to an operation of a player, wherein

the game program causes the computer to execute:

a reference coordinate setting step for setting reference coordinates in the coordinate system;

a reference coordinate storage step for storing the reference coordinates;

a designated coordinate setting step for setting designated coordinates in the coordinate system based on the coordinate information outputted by the pointing device;

a calculation step for calculating a distance and a direction from the reference coordinates to the designated coordinates;

a first game parameter determination step for converting, when the distance calculated in the calculation step has a value smaller than a predetermined threshold value, the distance into a game parameter using a first conversion function;

a second game parameter determination step for converting, when the distance calculated in the calculation step has a value greater than the predetermined threshold value, the distance into a game parameter using a second conversion function for converting the distance into a value greater than a value into which the distance is converted using the first conversion function; and

a game process step for performing a game process using the direction calculated in the calculation step and one of the game parameter determined in the first game parameter determination step and the game parameter determined in the second game parameter determination step.

2. The storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 1, wherein

when the distance calculated in the calculation step has a value smaller than the predetermined threshold value, the first game parameter determination step converts the distance calculated in the calculation step into zero to determine the game parameter as zero.

3. The storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 2, wherein

the game process step performs the process using both the game parameter into which the distance is converted and the direction calculated in the calculation step when the distance calculated in the calculation step has a value greater than the predetermined threshold value, and

the game process step performs the process using only the direction calculated in the calculation step when the distance calculated in the calculation step has a value smaller than the predetermined threshold value.

4. The storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 1, wherein

the game parameter into which the distance calculated in the calculation step is converted using the second conversion function, has a greater rate of change per unit distance than the game parameter into which the distance calculated in the calculation step is converted using the first conversion function.

5. The storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 1, wherein

the first conversion function used in the first game parameter determination step is a function for multiplying the distance calculated in the calculation step by a first positive value, thereby converting the distance into the game parameter, and

the second conversion function used in the second game parameter determination step is a function for multiplying the distance calculated in the calculation step by a second positive value greater than the first positive value, thereby converting the distance in the game parameter.

6. The storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 1, wherein

the first conversion function used in the first game parameter determination step is a function for multiplying the distance calculated in the calculation step by a first positive value, thereby converting the distance into the game parameter, and

the second conversion function used in the second game parameter determination step is a function for adding a value obtained by multiplying the threshold value by the first positive value to a value obtained by multiplying the second positive value grater than the first positive value by a value obtained by subtracting the threshold value from the distance calculated in the calculation step, thereby converting the distance into the game parameter.

7. The storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 1, wherein

the game process step determines a movement speed of a game object appearing in a virtual game space according to the game parameter.

8. The storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 1, wherein

the game process step determines a direction of a game object appearing in a virtual game space according to the direction calculated in the calculation step.

9. The storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 1, wherein

the reference coordinate setting step sets, as the reference coordinates, designated coordinates which are initially set in the designated coordinate setting step.

10. A game apparatus which is operated using a pointing device for outputting coordinate information based on a given coordinate system according to an operation of a player, the game apparatus comprising:

a reference coordinate setting means for setting reference coordinates in the coordinate system;

a reference coordinate storage means for storing the reference coordinates;

a designated coordinate setting means for setting designated coordinates in the coordinate system based on the coordinate information outputted by the pointing device;

a calculation means for calculating a distance and a direction from the reference coordinates to the designated coordinates;

a first game parameter determination means for converting, when the distance calculated by the calculation means has a value smaller than a predetermined threshold value, the distance into a game parameter using a first conversion function;

a second game parameter determination means for converting, when the distance calculated by the calculation means has a value greater than the predetermined threshold value, the distance into a game parameter using a second conversion function for converting the distance into a value greater than a value into which the distance is converted using the first conversion function; and

a game process means for performing a game process using the direction calculated by the calculation means and one of the game parameter determined by the first game parameter determination means and the game parameter determined by the second game parameter determination means.

11. A storage medium having stored thereon a program executed by a computer in an information processing apparatus which is operated using a pointing device for outputting coordinate information based on a given coordinate system according to an operation of a user, wherein

the program causes the computer to execute:

a reference coordinate setting step for setting reference coordinates in the coordinate system;

a reference coordinate storage step for storing the reference coordinates;

a designated coordinate setting step for setting designated coordinates in the coordinate system based on the coordinate information outputted by the pointing device;

a calculation step for calculating a distance and a direction from the reference coordinates to the designated coordinates;

a first parameter determination step for converting, when the distance calculated in the calculation step has a value smaller than a predetermined threshold value, the distance into a parameter using a first conversion function;

a second parameter determination step for converting, when the distance calculated in the calculation step has a value greater than the predetermined threshold value, the distance into a parameter using a second conversion function for converting the distance into a value greater than a value into which the distance is converted using the first conversion function; and

an operation process step for processing an operation using the direction calculated in the calculation step and one of the parameter determined in the first parameter determination step and the parameter determined in the second parameter determination step.