GAME APPARATUS, GAME PROGRESSING METHOD, PROGRAM, AND RECORDING MEDIUM

• US 20070191096A1
• Filed: 01/26/2007
• Published: 08/16/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Square Enix
• Original Assignee: Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Tanaka, Motoharu
• Granted Patent: US 7,628,697 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/31
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/00 Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions gaming systems which provide a financial reward G07F17/32
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/5375 for graphically or textually suggesting an action, e.g. by displaying an arrow indicating a turn in a driving game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/577 using determination of contact between game characters or objects, e.g. to avoid collision between virtual racing cars
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/10 characterized by input arrangements for converting player-generated signals into game device control signals
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/30 characterized by output arrangements for receiving control signals generated by the game device

Abstract

A game apparatus executes a game in which a player character is moved between different fields through a given traveling route according to an instruction input from a player. When the player character moves to a first area close to a door, a symbol “!” is displayed. When the character moves to a second area, a symbol set “!!” is displayed. In the second area, if unlocking conditions for the door are satisfied, a method of manipulation for opening the door is displayed. If the conditions are not satisfied, a method of manipulation for displaying a hint for opening the door is displayed. If the conditions for unlocking the door are satisfied, when the player performs the manipulation for opening the door, an action of the player character to open the door is displayed. Map data of the destination room is loaded into a temporary storage from a recording medium and then the player character moves to the opposite room through the door.

Claims

1. A game apparatus for executing a game that is advanced by moving a player character in a virtual space, including a first field and a second field, the second field opening into the first field via a predetermined traveling route, and for displaying an image representing a status of the game being executed on a display, the game apparatus comprising:

a normal movement input unit operable to input an instruction for moving the player character in the virtual space, including the first and second fields, in accordance with a first manipulation;

a cross-field movement input unit operable to input an instruction for moving the player character from the first field to the second field through the traveling route in accordance with a second manipulation;

a normal mover operable to move the player character in any one of the first and second fields in which the player character is present in accordance with the instruction input from the normal movement input unit;

a movement restriction switching unit operable to switch a status of the game between a cross-field movement disabled state, in which the player character is not allowed to move from the first field to the second field, and a cross-field movement enabled state, in which the player character is allowed to move from the first field to the second field, in accordance with conditions established during progress of the game;

a cross-field movement enable/disable determiner operable to determine whether the status has been switched to the cross-field movement enabled state by the movement restriction switching unit when the player character is moved by the normal mover to a certain region set based on a position of the traveling route within the first field;

a cross-field movement enable/disable display unit operable to display cross-field movement enable/disable information, indicating whether the player character is allowed to move from the first field to the second field on the display based upon the determination made by the cross-field movement enable/disable determiner;

a cross-field mover operable to move the player character from the first field to the second field when an instruction for moving the player character from the first field to the second field is input from the cross-field movement input unit, and when the cross-field movement enable/disable determiner determines that the status has been switched to the cross-field movement enabled state; and

a cross-field movement prohibiting unit operable to keep the player character within the first field without moving the player character to the second field when an instruction for moving the player character from the first field to the second field is input from the cross-field movement input unit, and when the cross-field movement enable/disable determiner determines that the status has been switched to the cross-field movement disabled state.

2. The game apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the cross-field movement enable/disable display unit comprises a cross-field movement permission display unit operable to display cross-field movement permission information indicating that the player character is allowed to move from the first field to the second field as the cross-field movement enable/disable information when the cross-field movement enable/disable determiner determines that the status has been switched to the cross-field movement enabled state.

3. The game apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the cross-field movement enable/disable display unit comprises a cross-field movement disability display unit operable to display cross-field movement disability information indicating that the player character is not allowed to move from the first field to the second field on the display as the cross-field movement enable/disable information when the cross-field movement enable/disable determiner determines that the status has been switched to the cross-field movement disabled state.

4. The game apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein the cross-field movement disability display unit comprises a cross-field movement enablement display unit operable to display information indicating conditions to be established for switching the status from the cross-field movement disabled state to the cross-field movement enabled state by the movement restriction switching unit as the cross-field movement disability information.

5. The game apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a cross-field movement enablement display unit operable to display information indicating conditions to be established for switching the status from the cross-field movement disabled state to the cross-field movement enabled state by the movement restriction switching unit when the cross-field movement enable/disable determiner determines that the status has been switched to the cross-field movement disabled state and when an instruction for moving the player character from the first field to the second field is input from the cross-field movement input unit.

6. The game apparatus as set forth in claim 1,

wherein the normal mover comprises a direction switching unit that switches a direction of the player character in accordance with an instruction input from the normal mover,

the game apparatus further comprising:

a direction determiner operable to determine whether the direction of the player character faces in a given direction relative to the position of the traveling route between the first and second fields when the player character has been moved into the certain region by the normal mover;

the cross-field movement enable/disable display unit being operable to display the cross-field movement enable/disable information on the display when the determiner determines that the player character faces in the given direction;

the cross-field mover being operable to move the player character from the first field to the second field when the direction determiner determines that the player character faces in the given direction and the cross-field movement enable/disable determiner determines that the status has been switched to the cross-field movement enabled state and, at the same time or substantially the same time, an instruction for moving the player character from the first field to the second field is input from the cross-field movement input unit, and

the cross-field movement prohibiting unit being operable to keep the player character within the first field, without moving the character to the second field, when the direction determiner determines that the character does not face in the given direction, even if the cross-field movement enable/disable determiner determines that the status has been switched to the cross-field movement disabled state, when an instruction for moving the player character from the first field to the second field is input from the cross-field movement input unit.

7. The game apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a traveling route display unit operable to display traveling route information indicating a presence of a traveling route leading from the first field to the second field when the player character has been moved by the normal mover from the certain region to a second certain region, the second certain region being larger than the certain region, based on the position of the traveling route within the first field.

8. The game apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a movement information storage operable to store field movement information indicating whether the player character has been moved to the second field by the normal mover;

a movement information determiner operable to determine whether the field movement information stored in the movement information storage indicates that the character has been moved to the second field when the cross-field movement enable/disable determiner determines that the status has been switched to the cross-field movement enabled state; and

a movement history display unit operable to display movement history information indicating whether the player character has been moved to the second field on the display based upon the determination made by the movement information determiner.

9. The game apparatus as set forth in claim 1,

wherein a movement restriction object is provided in the traveling route between the first and second fields in a virtual space, the movement restriction object comprising two states, including, under the cross-field movement enabled state, an open state, in which the player character is allowed to move from the first field to the second field, and a closed state, in which the player character is not allowed to move from the first field to the second field, the movement restriction object further comprising a state of the closed state under the cross-field movement disabled state;

and

wherein the game apparatus further comprises an object state switching unit operable to switch the cross-field movement restriction object from the closed state to the open state prior to the cross-field mover moving the player character from the first field to the second field, the object state switching unit being further operable to switch the cross-field movement restriction object back to the closed state after the player character has moved to the second field.

10. The game apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a map data read-only storage operable to store first map data made up of graphics data of the first field, including the traveling route, and second map data made up of graphics of the second field, including the traveling route, respectively;

a high-speed storage having a data readout rate higher than the data readout rate of the map data read-only storage, and having a character data area for storing character data made up of graphics data of the player character and a map data area for storing map data for any one data set of the first and second map data corresponding to the field in which the player character has moved; and

a map data load unit operable to, when the player character moves between the first and second fields, read map data corresponding to the field to which the player character has moved from the map data read-only storage, and store the map data read out into the map data area.

11. The game apparatus as set forth in claim 9,

wherein three or more fields, including the first and second fields, are provided in the virtual space, the fields neighboring with an other one or more fields via a predetermined traveling route, and

wherein the cross-field movement input unit is further operable to input an instruction for moving the player character from an arbitrary one of the fields, other than the first field, to another one of the fields adjacent to the arbitrary field via the traveling route in which the movement restriction object is provided, in accordance with said second manipulation.

12. A game progressing method executed on a computer system by moving a player character in a virtual space, including a first field and a second field, the second field opening into the first field via a predetermined traveling route, the computer system comprising

a storage including a character position storage area operable to store positions of the player character in the virtual space;

a normal movement input device operable to input an instruction for moving the player character in the virtual space, including the first and second fields, in accordance with a first manipulation;

a cross-field movement input device operable to input an instruction for moving the player character from the first field to the second field through the traveling route in accordance with a second manipulation; and

a display device operable to display game images representing a status of the game being executed,

the game progressing method comprising;

moving the player character in any one of the first and second fields, in which the player character is present, in accordance with an instruction input from the normal movement input device, and storing the position of the moved player character in the character position storage area;

switching the status between a cross-field movement disabled state, in which the player character cannot move from the first field to the second field, and a cross-field movement enabled state, in which the player character can move from the first field to the second field, according to conditions established during progress of the game, and storing information indicating to which of the cross-field movement disabled state and cross-field movement enabled state has the status been switched in a cross-field enable/disable storage area contained in the storage;

determining which of the cross-field movement disabled state and cross-field movement enabled state has the status been switched by referring to the cross-field movement enable/disable storage area when the player character moves into a certain region set based on a position in a traveling route in the first field;

displaying cross-field movement enable/disable information, indicating whether the player character can be moved from the first field to the second field depending on a determination to which of the cross-field movement enabled state and cross-field movement disabled state has the status been switched on the display, together with the game images;

moving the player character from the first field to the second field when it is determined that the status has been switched to the cross-field movement enabled state and, at the same time or substantially the same time, an instruction for moving the player character from the first field to the second field is input from the cross-field movement input device, and storing the position of the moved player character in the character position storage area; and

causing the position stored in the character position storage area to be retained within the first field without moving the player character to the second field when it is determined that the status has been switched to the cross-field movement disabled state and, at the same time or substantially the same time, an instruction for moving the player character from the first field to the second field is input from the cross-field movement input device.

13. A computer-readable recording medium in which a program executable on a computer system is recorded, the computer system being connected with a display device for displaying an image representing a status of a game being executed, the game being advanced by moving a player character in a virtual space, including a first field and a second field, the second field opening into the first field via a predetermined traveling route, the recording medium comprising:

a normal movement input section executable to input an instruction for moving the player character in the virtual space, including the first and second fields, in accordance with a first manipulation;

a cross-field movement input section executable to input an instruction for moving the player character from the first field to the second field through the traveling route in accordance with a second manipulation;

a normal mover section executable to move the player character in any one of the first and second fields in which the player character is present in accordance with the instruction input from the normal movement input section;

a movement restriction switching section executable to switch a status of the game between a cross-field movement disabled state, in which the player character is not allowed to move from the first field to the second field, and a cross-field movement enabled state, in which the player character is allowed to move from the first field to the second field, in accordance with conditions established during progress of the game;

a cross-field movement enable/disable determiner section executable to determine whether the status has been switched to the cross-field movement enabled state by the movement restriction switching section when the player character is moved by the normal mover to a certain region set based on a position of the traveling route within the first field;

a cross-field movement enable/disable display section executable to display cross-field movement enable/disable information indicating whether the player character is allowed to move from the first field to the second field on the display based upon the determination made by the cross-field movement enable/disable determiner section;

a cross-field mover section executable to move the player character from the first field to the second field when an instruction for moving the player character from the first field to the second field is input from the cross-field movement input section and when the cross-field movement enable/disable determiner section determines that the status has been switched to the cross-field movement enabled state; and

a cross-field movement prohibiting section executable to keep the player character within the first field without moving the player character to the second field when an instruction for moving the player character from the first field to the second field is input from the cross-field movement input section and when the cross-field movement enable/disable determiner section determines that the status has been switched to the cross-field movement disabled state.