Storage medium having game program stored thereon and game apparatus

• US 20060252540A1
• Filed: 02/08/2006
• Published: 11/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Hiramuki, Yutaka, Kando, Yuuji
• Granted Patent: US 7,828,660 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 13/426 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 13/56 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 2300/204 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
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6623 for animating a group of characters
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8029 Fighting without shooting

Abstract

In a coordinate detection step, a series of coordinate values each of which indicates a position which is on a display screen and is inputted through a pointing device, are detected at intervals of a unit time. Further, an operation state determination step determines whether or not a player is controlling a first object with the pointing device. When the operation state determination step determines that the player is controlling the first object, the selection determination step determines whether or not an input track of the pointing device forms an enclosed area for enclosing a second object based on the series of coordinate values. When the enclosed area has been formed, the first object and the second object are caused to perform predetermined actions.

Claims

1. A storage medium having stored thereon a game program which causes a computer, in a game apparatus comprising a display screen for displaying a game image and a pointing device associated with the display screen, to execute:

a coordinate detection step of detecting, at regular time intervals, a series of coordinate values each of 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 of 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 selection determination step of determining, when the operation state determination step determines that the player is controlling the first object, whether or not a second object is selected based on the series of coordinate values detected in the coordinate detection step; and

an effect action process step of causing either one of the first object and the second object to perform an action for exerting an effect on the other when the selection determination step determines that the second object is selected.

2. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

the selection determination step

determines whether or not an input track made by the player forms a track for enclosing the second object based on the series of coordinate values detected in the coordinate detection step, and

determines that the second object is selected when the track for enclosing the second object is determined to have been formed.

3. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

the game program causes the computer to further execute:

a line segment calculation step of calculating, based on the series of coordinate values detected in the coordinate detection step, a plurality of line segments each of which connects two consecutive coordinate points;

an intersection determination step of determining whether or not an input track formed of the plurality of line segments intersects a final line segment among the plurality of line segments; and

a presence determination step of determining, when the intersection determination step determines that the input track intersects the final line segment, whether or not the second object is present in an area which is on the display screen and is enclosed by the input track, and

the selection determination step determines that the second object is selected when the presence determination step determines that the second object is present in the area which is on the display screen and is enclosed by the input track.

4. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

the selection determination step

determines whether or not an input track made by the player passes through the second object based on the series of coordinate values detected in the coordinate detection step, and

determines that the second object is selected when the input track made by the player is determined to have passed through the second object.

5. A storage medium having stored thereon a game program which causes a computer, in a game apparatus comprising a display screen for displaying a game image and a pointing device associated with the display screen, to execute:

a coordinate detection step of detecting, at intervals of a unit time, a series of coordinate values each of which is inputted through the pointing device and indicates a position on the display screen, based on an output signal from the pointing device;

a line segment calculation step of calculating, based on the series of coordinate values detected in the coordinate detection step, a plurality of line segments each of which connects two consecutive coordinate points;

an enclosure determination step of determining whether or not an input track formed of the plurality of line segments encloses at least one object on the display screen;

a selection step of selecting, when the enclosure determination step determines that the at least one object is enclosed, the at least one object, and

an action process step of causing, when the selection step selects the at least one object, the selected object to perform a predetermined action.

6. The storage medium according to claim 5, wherein

the game program causes the computer to further execute:

an intersection determination step of determining whether or not the input track formed of the plurality of line segments intersects a final line segment among the plurality of line segments; and

a presence determination step of determining, when the intersection determination step determines that the input track intersects the final line segment, whether or not the at least one object is present in an area which is on the display screen and is enclosed by the input track, and

the selection step selects the at least one object which is determined, in the presence determination step, to be present in the area which is on the display screen and is enclosed by the input track.

7. A storage medium having stored thereon a game program which causes a computer, in a game apparatus comprising a display screen for displaying a game image and a pointing device associated with the display screen, to execute:

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

a line segment calculation step of calculating, based on the series of coordinate values detected in the coordinate detection step, a plurality of line segments each of which indicates a distance and a direction between two consecutive coordinate points;

a compensated track calculation step of calculating a compensated input track by subjecting, to a predetermined calculation, the plurality of line segments having been calculated;

a compensated track storage step of storing, in a memory, the compensated input track having been calculated; and

a game process step of performing a predetermined game process based on the stored compensated input track.

8. The storage medium according to claim 7, wherein

the game program causes the computer to further execute a compensating line segment generation step of storing, in the memory, a line segment obtained by subjecting a final line segment among the plurality of line segments to a predetermined calculation as a compensating line segment, and

the compensated track calculation step calculates the compensated input track by adding the compensating line segment to the plurality of line segments.

9. The storage medium according to claim 7, wherein

the game program causes the computer to further execute:

an operation state determination step of 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 presence determination step of determining, when the operation state determination step determines that the player is controlling the first object, whether or not a second object is present in an area which is on the display screen and is enclosed by the compensated input track; and

an effect action process step of causing either one of the first object and the second object to perform an action for exerting an effect on the other when the presence determination step determines that the second object is present in the area which is on the display screen and is enclosed by the compensated input track.

10. The storage medium according to claim 7, wherein

the game program causes the computer to further execute:

a presence determination step of determining whether or not an object is present in an area which is on the display screen and is enclosed by the compensated input track; and

a selection step of selecting the object which is determined, in the presence determination step, to be present in the area which is on the display screen and is enclosed by the compensated input track.