Storage medium storing video game program

• US 20070060384A1
• Filed: 05/08/2006
• 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 9,561,441 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 13/22 Setup operations, e.g. calibration, key configuration or button assignment
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/235 using a wireless connection, e.g. infrared or piconet
• 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 2300/1006 having additional degrees of freedom
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1018 Calibration; Key and button assignment
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1031 using a wireless connection, e.g. Bluetooth, infrared connections
• 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: G06F 3/0325 using a plurality of light emitters or reflectors or a plurality of detectors forming a reference frame from which to derive the orientation of the object, e.g. by triangulation or on the basis of reference deformation in the picked up image

Abstract

A game process is performed by obtaining control data from a game controller. Distance data associated with the distance between the game controller and a predetermined measured reference provided in a real space is calculated by using the control data obtained from the game controller. Then, a predetermined game process is performed on a virtual game world through an operation based on the value of the distance data. Then, the virtual game world after the game process is displayed on a display device.

Claims

1. A storage medium storing a video game program to be executed by a computer of a video game device for performing a game process by obtaining control data from a game controller, the video game program instructing the computer to perform:

a distance data calculation step, of calculating distance data associated with a distance between the game controller and a predetermined measured reference provided in a real space, by using the control data obtained from the game controller;

a game process step of performing a predetermined game process on a virtual game world through an operation based on a value of the distance data; and

a display process step of displaying, on a display device, the virtual game world after the game process.

2. The storage medium storing a video game program according to claim 1, wherein:

the game controller includes an image-capturing section for capturing an image of an imaging target;

the control data includes a captured image itself captured by the image-capturing section and a result of performing a predetermined operation on the captured image; and

the distance data calculation step calculates the distance data associated with the distance between the game controller and the imaging target, by using the captured image itself or the result of performing a predetermined operation on the captured image included in the control data.

3. The storage medium storing a video game program according to claim 1, wherein the video game program instructs the computer to further perform:

an effective range defining step of defining an effective range as a range from a first value to a second value; and

a position data calculation step of calculating effective range position data representing a position of the value of the distance data in the effective range,

wherein the game process step performs a predetermined game process on the virtual game world through an operation based on the value calculated in the position data calculation step.

4. The storage medium storing a video game program according to claim 3, wherein the video game program instructs the computer to further perform a first effective range updating step of, when the value of the distance data is outside the effective range, updating the first value and the second value so that one of the first value and the second value that is closer to the value of the distance data becomes equal to the value of the distance data.

5. The storage medium storing a video game program according to claim 3, wherein the video game program instructs the computer to further perform a second effective range updating step of, when the value of the distance data is outside the effective range, updating the first value and the second value so that one of the first value and the second value that is closer to the value of the distance data approaches the value of the distance data at a predetermined rate.

6. The storage medium storing a video game program according to claim 3, wherein the position data calculation step calculates the effective range position data so that the effective range position data takes a maximum value when the value of the distance data is equal to the first value and a minimum value when the value of the distance data is equal to the second value.

7. The storage medium storing a video game program according to claim 3, wherein:

the effective range defining step includes a step of further defining a play range having a predetermined length at a front end of the effective range and a rear end thereof; and

the video game program instructs the computer to further perform an effective range updating step of, when the distance data takes a value outside a combined range including the effective range and the play ranges, updating the first value and the second value so that one of the first value and the second value that is closer to the value of the distance data becomes equal to the value of the distance data.

8. The storage medium storing a video game program according to claim 7, wherein the position data calculation step calculates the effective range position data so that:

the effective range position data takes a maximum value when the value of the distance data is equal to the first value or exceeds the effective range in a direction of the first value; and

the effective range position data takes a minimum value when the value of the distance data is equal to the second value or exceeds the effective range in a direction of the second value.

9. The storage medium storing a video game program according to claim 1, wherein:

a first value, a second value smaller than the first value, a third value larger than the first value, and a fourth value smaller than the second value are defined;

the video game program instructs the computer to further perform;

an effective range defining step of defining an upper limit value variable from the first value to the third value and a lower limit value variable from the second value to the fourth value, and defining an effective range as a range from the variable upper limit value and the variable lower limit value;

a step of, when the value of the distance data is within the variable range of the upper limit value/lower limit value, updating the upper limit value/lower limit value so that the upper limit value/lower limit value approaches the value of the distance data at a predetermined rate and updating the lower limit value/upper limit value so that the lower limit value/upper limit value approaches the second value/first value at a predetermined rate;

a step of, when the value of the distance data is within a range between the first value and the second value, updating the upper limit value/lower limit value so that the upper limit value/lower limit value approaches the first value/second value at a predetermined rate;

a step of, when the value of the distance data is larger than the third value, moving the first value, the second value, the third value, the fourth value and the lower limit value so that the third value approaches the value of the distance data at a predetermined rate and updating the upper limit value to the new second value;

a step of, when the value of the distance data is smaller than the fourth value, moving the first value, the second value, the third value, the fourth value and the upper limit value so that the fourth value approaches the value of the distance data at a predetermined rate and updating the lower limit value to the new fourth value; and

a position data calculation step of calculating effective range position data representing a position of the value of the distance data in the effective range,

wherein the game process step performs a predetermined game process on the virtual game world through an operation based on the value of the effective range position data calculated in the position data calculation step.

10. The storage medium storing a video game program according to claim 9, wherein the position data calculation step calculates the effective range position data so that:

the effective range position data takes a maximum value when the value of the distance data is equal to the first value or exceeds the effective range in a direction of the first value; and

the effective range position data takes a minimum value when the value of the distance data is equal to the second value or exceeds the effective range in a direction of the second value.

11. The storage medium storing a video game program according to claim 9, wherein the game process step includes:

a step of obtaining a depth direction position in a three-dimensional virtual game space corresponding to the effective range position data; and

a step of performing a game process including an operation using the depth direction position,

and wherein the display process step includes a step of displaying, in a display area of the display device, a three-dimensional virtual game space that has undergone a game process in the game process step.

12. The storage medium storing a video game program according to claim 2, wherein the distance data calculation step includes a step of calculating the distance data based on an interval between at least two points that are indicated by the imaging target in the captured image.

13. The storage medium storing a video game program according to claim 3, wherein the game process step includes:

a step of obtaining a depth direction position in a three-dimensional virtual game space corresponding to the effective range position data; and

a step of performing a game process including an operation using the depth direction position,

and wherein the display process step includes a step of displaying, in a display area of the display device, a three-dimensional virtual game space that has undergone a game process in the game process step.

14. The storage medium storing a video game program according to claim 2, wherein:

the video game program instructs the computer to further perform a pointed position determination step of determining, as a pointed position, a position in a display area of the display device based on a position of the imaging target in the captured image; and

the game process step further includes a step of performing a predetermined game process on the virtual game world based on the pointed position.