Storage medium having game program stored thereon and game apparatus

• US 20060252531A1
• Filed: 01/09/2006
• Published: 11/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Hiramuki, Yutaka, Kando, Yuuji
• Granted Patent: US 7,762,893 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 13/26 having at least one additional display device, e.g. on the game controller or outside a game booth
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/335 using Internet
• 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 13/53 involving additional visual information provided to the game scene, e.g. by overlay to simulate a head-up display [HUD] or displaying a laser sight in a shooting game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/56 Computing the motion of game characters with respect to other game characters, game objects or elements of the game scene, e.g. for simulating the behaviour of a group of virtual soldiers or for path finding
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1075 using a touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/301 using an additional display connected to the game console, e.g. on the controller
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/303 for displaying additional data, e.g. simulating a Head Up Display
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/63 for controlling the execution of the game in time
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 345/95 Sprite processing

Abstract

When a player is controlling a first object with a pointing device, an in-operation flag indicating that the player is controlling the first object with the pointing device is set as “ON”. When the in-operation flag is set as “ON” and a second object is within a predetermined distance from an input position of the pointing device, the second object is selected. When the in-operation flag is set as “OFF”, that is, when the player stops controlling the first object, the first object is caused to perform a process for exerting an effect on the second object having been selected.

Claims

1. A storage medium having stored thereon a game program to be executed by a computer in a game apparatus comprising a display screen for displaying a game image and a pointing device associated with the display screen, wherein

the computer is operable to execute:

a coordinate detection step for detecting, at regular time intervals, a coordinate value which is inputted through the pointing device and indicates a position on the display screen, based on an output signal from the pointing device;

an operation state determination step for determining whether or not a player is controlling a first object with the pointing device, based on the output signal from the pointing device;

a movement control step for moving, when the operation state determination step determines that the player is controlling the first object, the first object based on the coordinate value detected in the coordinate detection step;

a positional relationship determination step for determining, when the operation state determination step determines that the player has stopped controlling the first object, a positional relationship on the display screen between a second object and a final input position based on positional information of the second object and positional information of the final input position, the final input position corresponding to a position associated with a final input operation performed through the pointing device by the player; and

an effect operation process step for causing either one of the first object and the second object to perform an operation for exerting an effect on the other when the positional relationship determination step determines that a predetermined positional relationship is satisfied.

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

the positional relationship determination step determines, when the operation state determination step determines that the player has stopped controlling the first object, a positional relationship between a final position of the second object and a position on the display screen, and

the position on the display screen is represented by the coordinate value finally detected in the coordinate detection step.

3. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

the positional relationship determination step determines, when the operation state determination step determines that the player has stopped controlling the first object, a positional relationship between a final position of the first object and a final position of the second object.

4. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

the positional relationship determination step determines whether or not a distance between the second object and an input position has a value smaller than a predetermined value, based on positional information of the second object and positional information of the input position, the input position corresponding to a position associated with the input operation performed through the pointing device by the player, and

when a plurality of the second objects are away from the input position by a distance having a value smaller than the predetermined value, the effect operation process step performs the operation for exerting an effect on a second object closest to the input position on the display screen among the plurality of the second objects.

5. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

the effect operation process step causes the first object having been controlled by the player to perform the operation for exerting an effect.

6. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

the predetermined positional relationship indicates that the distance between the second object and the input position on the display screen has a value smaller than a predetermined value.

7. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

the operation for exerting an effect changes either one of a parameter value of the first object and a parameter value of the second object.

8. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

the computer is operable to further execute a marking step for indicating on the screen, when the positional relationship determination step determines that the predetermined positional relationship is satisfied, that the predetermined positional relationship is satisfied.

9. The storage medium according to claim 8, wherein

the positional relationship determination step determines whether or not the distance between the second object and the input position has a value smaller than the predetermined value, based on the positional information of the second object and the positional information of the input position, and

the marking step indicates, when a plurality of the second objects are away from the input position by a distance having a value smaller than the predetermined value, only a second object closest to the input position on the display screen among the plurality of the second objects.

10. The storage medium according to claim 9, wherein

after the marking step indicates on the screen the second object closest to the input position, the marking step continues to indicate, even when the distance between the second object and the input position is changed, the second object on the screen until the operation for exerting an effect is started.

11. The storage medium according to claim 8, wherein

the computer is operable to further execute a type determination step for determining, when the positional relationship determination step determines that the predetermined positional relationship is satisfied, a type of the second object which satisfies the predetermined positional relationship, and

the marking step indicates on the screen that the predetermined positional relationship is satisfied by using at least one of a predetermined shape and a predetermined color according to the object type determined in the type determination step.

12. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

the pointing device is a touch panel provided on the display screen,

in a case where a first input coordinate value is obtained when the touch panel is touched initially after a player has stopped touching the touch panel, and the first input coordinate value is followed by a series of second input coordinate values being sequentially inputted, the movement control step moves the first object to a destination having the final second input coordinates in accordance with a predetermined algorithm, and

the effect operation process step causes the first object to perform a different operation depending on a type of the second object which is at a position corresponding to the second input coordinates which are detected finally before the player stops touching the touch panel.

14. The storage medium according to claim 12, wherein

only when the operation state determination step determines that the player has stopped controlling the first object and a speed at which the player makes an input of the vector data has a value greater than a predetermined value, the destination object determination step determines whether or not the second object is in the direction of a vector represented by the vector data.

13. A storage medium having stored thereon a game program to be executed by a computer in a game apparatus comprising a display screen for displaying a game image and a pointing device associated with the display screen, wherein

the computer is operable to execute:

a coordinate detection step for detecting, at regular time intervals, a coordinate value which is inputted through the pointing device and indicates a position on the display screen based on an output signal from the pointing device;

an operation state determination step for determining whether or not a player is controlling a first object with the pointing device based on the output signal from the pointing device;

a vector data calculation step for calculating, based on coordinate values detected in the coordinate detection step, vector data indicating a direction of a destination to move the first object being controlled by the player toward;

a destination object determination step for determining, when the operation state determination step determines that the player has stopped controlling the first object, whether or not the second object is in the direction of the destination to move the first object toward, the direction indicated by the vector data; and

an effect operation process step for causing either one of the first object being controlled by the player and the second object to perform an operation for exerting an effect on the other when the destination object determination step determines that the second object is in the direction of the destination to move the first object toward.

15. A game apparatus comprising a display screen for displaying a game image and a pointing device associated with the display screen, comprising:

a coordinate detection section for detecting, at regular time intervals, a coordinate value which is inputted through the pointing device and indicates a position on the display screen based on an output signal from the pointing device;

an operation state determination section for determining whether or not a player is controlling a first object with the pointing device based on the output signal from the pointing device;

a movement control section for moving, when the operation state determination section determines that the player is controlling the first object, the first object based on the coordinate value detected by the coordinate detection section;

a positional relationship determination section for determining, when the operation state determination section determines that the player has stopped controlling the first object, a positional relationship on the display screen between a second object and a final input position, based on positional information of the second object and positional information of the final input position, the final input position corresponding to a position associated with a final input operation performed through the pointing device by the player; and

an effect operation process section for causing either one of the first object and the second object to perform an operation for exerting an effect on the other when the positional relationship determination section determines that a predetermined positional relationship is satisfied.