Game program product, game apparatus and game method

• US 20070265044A1
• Filed: 07/25/2006
• Published: 11/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Koganezawa, Tsutomu, Haga, Takayuki
• Granted Patent: US 8,012,006 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/7
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/537 using indicators, e.g. showing the condition of a game character on screen
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/57 Simulating properties, behaviour or motion of objects in the game world, e.g. computing tyre load in a car race game A63F13/56 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/803 Driving vehicles or craft, e.g. cars, airplanes, ships, robots or tanks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/64 for computing dynamical parameters of game objects, e.g. motion determination or computation of frictional forces for a virtual car
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/646 for calculating the trajectory of an object

Abstract

A game apparatus includes an LCD. An on-earth object existing in a virtual game space is reproduced on the LCD from a viewpoint of capturing ahead of a flying object moving in the virtual game space. A velocity parameter and a direction parameter which defines the movement parameter of the flying object are changed in response to a button operation by a player. An altitude where the flying object will reach after a lapse of a time T (T>0) is predicted on the basis of the movement parameter of the flying object. A height above the sea level of the on-earth object existing in the predicted point is detected with reference to map data. Difference information indicating a difference between the detected height above the sea level of the on-earth object and altitude of the flying object is output to the player through the LCD.

Claims

1. A game program product to be executed by a processor of a game apparatus which displays a virtual game space in which an on-earth object is arranged, and a moving object moving in said virtual game space on a screen, comprising:

a changing step for changing a movement parameter defining a movement of said moving object in response to a player'"'"'s operation;

a predicting step for predicting a reaching point where said moving object will reach after a lapse of a time T(T>

0) on the basis of said movement parameter;

a first detecting step for detecting at least any one of a current altitude of said moving object and an altitude of said moving object in the reaching point predicted by said predicting step;

a second detecting step for detecting a height of said on-earth object in the reaching point predicted by said predicting step; and

an output step for outputting to said player difference information indicating a difference between the altitude detected by said first detecting step and the height detected by said second detecting step.

2. A game program product according to claim 1, wherein said output step includes a first information output step for outputting height information indicating said height as a part of said difference information, and a second information output step for outputting altitude information indicating said altitude as another part of said difference information.

3. A game program product according to claim 2, wherein said height information includes a first bar character extending in a vertical direction of said screen with a length corresponding to said height, and said altitude information includes a second bar character extending in the vertical direction of said screen with a length corresponding to said altitude.

4. A game program product according to claim 3, wherein said first bar character has a bar main body extending upward from a lower side of said screen and an upper edge portion set at a position corresponding to said height, and said second bar character has a bar main body extending downward from an upper side of said screen and a lower edge portion set at a position corresponding to said altitude, and a space from said upper edge portion to said lower edge portion means a difference between said height and said altitude.

5. A game program product according to claim 3, wherein said first information output step determines the length of said first bar character by a logarithmic arithmetic.

6. A game program product according to claim 1, further comprising a warning step for outputting a different warning depending on a numerical range to which a subtracted value obtained by subtracting the height detected by said detecting step from the altitude predicted by said predicting step belongs.

7. A game program product according to claim 6, wherein said warning step includes a first warning output step for outputting said warning in a first manner when said subtracted value belongs to a first numerical range where numerical values above 0 are distributed, and a second warning output step for outputting said warning in a second manner when said subtracted value belongs to a second numerical range where numerical values below 0 are distributed.

8. A game program product according to claim 1, further comprising:

a setting step for setting each of a plurality of numerical values as said T;

a subtracting step for respectively subtracting a plurality of the heights detected by said second detecting step from a plurality of the altitudes detected by said first detecting step with respect to the plurality of reaching points predicted by said predicting step; and

a specifying step for specifying a minimum subtracted value out of the plurality of subtracted values calculated by said subtracting step, wherein said output step outputs the difference information corresponding to the minimum subtracted value specified by said specifying step.

9. A game program product according to claim 1, wherein said changing step includes a first change step for changing a direction parameter defining a moving direction of said moving object in response to a first operation by said player, and a second change step for changing a velocity parameter defining a moving velocity of said moving object in response to a second operation by said player.

10. A game apparatus which displays on a screen a virtual game space in which an on-earth object is arranged, and a moving object moving in said virtual game space, comprising:

a change means for changing a movement parameter defining a movement of said moving object in response to a player'"'"'s operation;

a predicting means for predicting a reaching point where said moving object will reach after a lapse of a time T(T>

0) on the basis of said movement parameter;

a first detecting means for detecting at least any one of a current altitude of said moving object and an altitude of said moving object in the reaching point predicted by said predicting means;

a second detecting means for detecting a height of said on-earth object in the reaching point predicted by said predicting means; and

an output means for outputting to said player difference information indicating a difference between the altitude detected by said first detecting means and the height detected by said second detecting means.

11. A game method to be executed by a game apparatus which displays on a screen a virtual game space in which an on-earth object is arranged, and a moving object moving in said virtual game space, comprising the steps of:

(a) changing a movement parameter defining a movement of said moving object in response to a player'"'"'s operation;

(b) predicting a reaching point where said moving object will reach after a lapse of a time T(T>

0) on the basis of said movement parameter;

(c) detecting at least any one of a current altitude of said moving object and an altitude of said moving object in the reaching point predicted by said step (b);

(d) detecting a height of said on-earth object in the reaching point predicted by said step (b); and

(e) outputting to said player difference information indicating a difference between the altitude detected by said step (c) and the height detected by said step (d).