Video game program and video game system

• US 20070060383A1
• Filed: 04/24/2006
• Published: 03/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Dohta, Takuhiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,833,100 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/43
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/211 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/213 comprising photodetecting means, e.g. cameras, photodiodes or infrared cells A63F13/219, A63F13/655 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/24 Constructional details thereof, e.g. game controllers with detachable joystick handles
• 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 13/52 involving aspects of the displayed game scene
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/818 Fishing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1006 having additional degrees of freedom
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/105 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1087 comprising photodetecting means, e.g. a camera
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/66 for rendering three dimensional images
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8035 Virtual fishing

Abstract

A video game device displays a reference image (an image of a fishing rod 54) at a predetermined position on the screen of a display device. The video game device displays a pointer image (a cursor 55) at a position on the screen being pointed at by a control device. The pointer image is erased when the pointer image reaches within a predetermined area defined based on the position of the reference image. The video game device controls the controlled object to act according to a position of a marker object in a captured image based on control data, after the pointer image reaches inside the predetermined area defined based on the position of the reference image.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage medium storing a video game program to be executed by a computer of a video game device for obtaining control data from a control device including image capturing means for capturing an image of a marker object, the control data being captured image data obtained by the image capturing means or data obtained by performing a predetermined operation on the captured image data, and for displaying a game image on a display device, the game image being an image of a virtual game space in which a controlled object is moved by a game process using the control data, the video game program instructing the computer to perform:

a reference image display step of displaying a reference image at a predetermined position on a screen of the display device;

a pointer image display step of displaying a pointer image at a position on the screen pointed at by the control device; and

an object control step of controlling the controlled object to act according to a position of the marker object in the captured image based on the control data, after the pointer image reaches inside a predetermined area including at least a portion of the reference image.

2. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the video game program instructs the computer to further perform an image erasing step of erasing the pointer image when the pointer image reaches inside a predetermined area defined based on a position of the reference image.

3. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein:

the video game program instructs the computer to further perform a detection determination step of determining whether or not it is possible to detect a position of the marker object in the captured image; and

the reference image display step and the pointer image display step are performed when it is determined that the marker position cannot be detected.

4. The storage medium according to claim 3, wherein it is determined in the detection determination step that the marker position cannot be detected when a part or whole of an image of the marker object is not included in the captured image.

5. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein:

the controlled object is displayed as the reference image in the reference image display step; and

in the object control step, a position of the controlled object is controlled so that the controlled object is displayed at the predetermined position when it is determined that the marker position cannot be detected.

6. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein in the pointer image display step, the position on the screen pointed at by the control device is calculated based on a position of the marker object in the captured image.

7. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the object control step includes:

a position determination step of determining whether or not the pointer image has reached within a predetermined area defined based on a position of the reference image by comparing a position of the pointer image on the screen with the position of the reference image on the screen; and

a control start step of starting to control the controlled object when it is determined in the position determination step that the pointer image has reached within the predetermined area defined based on the position of the reference image.

8. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein:

the controlled object is displayed as the reference image in the reference image display step; and

the controlled object displayed in the reference image display step is controlled in the object control step.

9. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the controlled object is controlled to be moved in a three-dimensional virtual game space in the object control step.

10. The storage medium according to claim 9, wherein:

the video game program instructs the computer to further perform a distance calculation step of calculating a distance between two predetermined points in an image of the marker object included in a captured image obtained by the image capturing means; and

in the object control step, a movement of the controlled object in the three-dimensional virtual game space with respect to a depth direction of the screen is controlled based on the marker position and the distance.

11. A video game system including a control device including image capturing means for capturing an image of a marker object, and a video game device for displaying a game image on a display device, the game image being an image of a virtual game space in which a controlled object is moved by a game process using control data, the control data being captured image data obtained by the image capturing means or data obtained by performing a predetermined operation on the captured image data, the video game system comprising:

reference image display control means for displaying a reference image at a predetermined position on a screen of the display device;

pointer image display means for displaying a pointer image at a position on the screen pointed at by the control device;

image erasing means for erasing the pointer image when the pointer image reaches inside a predetermined area defined based on a position of the reference image; and

object control means for controlling the controlled object to act according to a position of the marker object in the captured image based on the control data, after the pointer image reaches inside a predetermined area defined based on a position of the reference image.