Storage medium storing game program and game apparatus

• US 20080132339A1
• Filed: 01/24/2007
• Published: 06/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Taira, Masayuki
• Granted Patent: US 8,096,881 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/43
• 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 13/42 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 13/428 involving motion or position input signals, e.g. signals representing the rotation of an input controller or a player's arm motions sensed by accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1018 Calibration; Key and button assignment
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/105 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands

Abstract

Output data varying depending on a motion of an input device itself is obtained and stored into a memory. From the stored output data history, successive extremums of values indicated by the output data are detected. An interval between times when the output data indicating the successive extremums and an elapsed time from the detection of the extremum is measured. Thereafter, game input data is calculated by substituting into a predetermined function the measured elapsed time and the calculated time interval, and the game input data is used to execute a game process.

Claims

1. A storage medium storing a game program executed by a computer in a game apparatus for executing a game, the game program causing the computer to function as:

an output data obtaining means for obtaining output data varying depending on a motion of an input device itself;

an output data storing means for storing a history of the output data obtained by the output data obtaining means into a memory;

a peak value detecting means for detecting successive extremums of values from the output data history stored in the output data storing means;

a peak interval calculating means for calculating a time interval between times when the output data indicating the successive extremums have been obtained, based on the detection of the peak value detecting means;

a measurement means for measuring a time which has elapsed since the detection of the extremum by the peak value detecting means;

a game input data calculating means for calculating game input data by substituting into a predetermined function the elapsed time measured by the measurement means and the time interval calculated by the peak interval calculating means; and

a game processing means for executing a game process using the game input data calculated by the game input data calculating means.

2. The storage medium according to, claim 1, wherein

the peak value detecting means repeatedly detects the extremum,

the peak interval calculating means calculates a time interval between a latest extremum detected by the peak value detecting means and an extremum detected immediately previously to the latest extremum, every time the peak value detecting means detects the extremum,

the measurement means measures a time which has elapsed since a time point when the peak value detecting means detected the latest extremum, and

the game input data calculating means calculates the game input data using the latest time interval calculated by the peak interval calculating means.

3. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the game input data calculating means sets as the predetermined function a cyclic function simulating transition of values indicated by the output data history which vary while successively repeating the maximum value and the minimum value with cyclicality.

4. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

the predetermined function used by the game input data calculating means repeatedly takes an extremum every time a variable is changed by T where T is a cycle, and takes an extremum when a predetermined value is substituted, and

the game input data calculating means calculates the game input data by substituting into the predetermined function a value obtained by adding the predetermined value to a value obtained by multiplying T by a ratio of the elapsed time to the time interval.

5. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

the predetermined function used by the game input data calculating means is a function which repeatedly takes a maximum value and a minimum value alternately every time a variable is changed by T/2 where T is a cycle,

the peak value detecting means detects both the maximum value and the minimum value,

the peak interval calculating means calculates a time interval between the successive maximum value and minimum value,

the game input data calculating means calculates the game input data by substituting into the predetermined function a value obtained by adding a predetermined value to a value obtained by multiplying T/2 by a ratio of the elapsed time to the time interval.

6. The storage medium according to claim 5, wherein

the predetermined function of the game input data calculating means is a function which takes a maximum value or a minimum value when a predetermined value is substituted,

the peak value detecting means repeatedly detects the maximum value and the minimum value,

the peak interval calculating means calculates a time interval between a latest maximum value detected by the peak value detecting means and a minimum value detected immediately previously to the latest maximum value or between a latest minimum value detected by the peak value detecting means and a maximum value detected immediately previously to the latest minimum value, every time the peak value detecting means detects either the maximum value or the minimum value,

the measurement means measures a time which has elapsed since a time point at which the peak value detecting means detected the latest maximum or minimum value,

the game input data calculating means calculates the game input data using the latest time interval calculated by the peak interval calculating means, and when the latest extremum detected by the peak value detecting means is a minimum value, inverts the sign of the calculated game input data.

7. The storage medium according to claim 4, wherein

the predetermined function used by the game input data calculating means is a sine function,

the peak value detecting means detects either a maximum or a minimum value,

the peak interval calculating means calculates either a time interval between successive maximum values or a time interval between successive minimum values, and

the game input data calculating means calculates the game input data by substituting a value obtained by multiplying 360 degrees by the ratio into the sine function.

8. The storage medium according to claim 5, wherein

the predetermined function used by the game input data calculating means is a sine function, and

the game input data calculating means calculates the game input data by substituting a value obtained by multilplyng 180 degrees by the ratio into the sine function.

9. The storage medium according to claim 4, wherein

the predetermined function used by the game input data calculating means is a cosine function,

the peak value detecting means detects either a maximum or a minimum value,

the peak interval calculating means calculates either a time interval between successive maximum values or a time interval between successive minimum values, and

the game input data calculating means calculates the game input data by substituting into the cosine function a value obtained by adding or subtracting n*π

(n is a natural number) to or from a value obtained by multiplying 360 degrees by the ratio.

10. The storage medium according to claim 5, wherein

the predetermined function used by the game input data calculating means is a cosine function, and

the game input data calculating means calculates the game input data by substituting into the cosine function a value obtained by adding or subtracting n*180 degrees (n is a natural number) to or from a value obtained by multiplying π

by the ratio.

11. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

the input device includes an acceleration detecting section for detecting accelerations generated in at least two directions, and outputting a result of the detection as output data, and

the output data obtaining means obtains data indicating accelerations generated in two directions based on the output data output from the acceleration detecting section.

12. The storage medium according to claim 11, wherein

the game is a game in which a player performs an operation of reciprocatingly tilting the input device, and

one of the at least two directions in which accelerations are detected by the acceleration detecting section, is a direction in which, when the player performs the operation of reciprocatingly tilting the input device, an acceleration is generated due to an operational force of the operation.

13. The storage medium according to claim 11, wherein

the game is a game in which a player performs an operation of reciprocatingly tilting the input device, and

one of the at least two directions in which accelerations are detected by the acceleration detecting section, is a tangential direction of an arc which is a trajectory of movement of a predetermined portion of the input device by the operation of reciprocatingly tilting the input device performed by the player.

14. The storage medium according to claim 11, wherein

when the peak value detecting means has detected n (n is an integer of 2 or more) extremums, the game input data calculating means calculates the game input data by substituting into the predetermined function the elapsed time measured by the measurement means and the time interval calculated by the peak interval calculating means,

when the peak value detecting means has not detected n extremums, the game input data calculating means calculates angle data indicating an angle of the input device with respect to a direction of gravity acting on the input device based on the accelerations generated in the two directions indicated by the output data, and the angle data is the game input data.

15. The storage medium according to claim 14, wherein

the game is a game in which the input device is reciprocatingly tilted while the input device is disposed so that the two directions are present in a vertical plane in a real space.

16. The storage medium according to claim 11, wherein

the game program causes the computer to further function as:

a determination means for determining whether or not the elapsed time measured by the measurement means reaches a value larger than or equal to n (n>

1) times the time interval calculated by the peak interval calculating means, and

when a result of the determination by the determination means is positive, the game input data calculating means calculates angle data indicating an angle of the input device with respect to a direction of gravity acting on the input device based on the accelerations generated in the two directions indicated by the output data, and the angle data is the game input data.

17. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined function used by the game input data calculating means is a sine function or a cosine function having a cycle which is half of the time interval calculated by the peak interval calculating means.

18. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

the peak value detecting means detects both a maximum value and a minimum value,

the game program causes the computer to further function as:

a difference calculating means for calculating a difference between the maximum value and the minimum value detected by the peak value detecting means, and

the predetermined function used by the game input data calculating means is a cyclic function whose amplitude has a value based on the difference value calculated by the difference calculating means.

19. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

the game is a game in which a player performs an operation of reciprocatingly tilting the input device, and

the game program causes the computer to further function as:

an end determining means for determining that the operation of reciprocatingly tilting the input device has been ended, when the elapsed time measured by the measurement means reaches a predetermined value times the time interval calculated by the peak interval calculating means.

20. The storage medium according to claim 19, wherein

the game program causes the computer to further function as:

an attitude calculating means for calculating an attitude of the input device itself using a value indicated by latest output data obtained by the output data obtaining means when the end determining means determines that the operation of reciprocatingly tilting the input device has been ended, and

the game input data calculating means calculates the game input data using the attitude calculated by the attitude calculating means when the end determining means determines that the operation of reciprocatingly tilting the input device has been ended.

21. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

the game is a game in which a player performs an operation of reciprocatingly tilting the input device, and

the game program causes the computer to further function as:

a stop determining means for determining that the operation of reciprcatively tilting the input device is not being performed, when the peak value detecting means has detected one or less extremum.

22. The storage medium according to claim 21, wherein

the game program causes the computer to further function as:

an attitude calculating means for calculating an attitude of the input device itself using a value indicated by latest output data obtained by the output data obtaining means when the stop determining means determines that the operation of reciprocatingly tilting the input device is not being performed, and

the game input data calculating means calculates the game input data using the attitude calculated by the attitude calculating means when the stop determining means determines that the operation of reciprocatingly tilting the input device is not being performed.

23. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

the game processing means varies a tilt of an object in a virtual game world using the game input data, and

the game program causes the computer to further function as:

a display control means for tilting the object in the virtual game world, depending the tilt of the object varied by the game processing means, and displaying the tilted object on a display device.

24. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the game processing means changes an influential power on a surrounding environment, the influential power being generated by movement of an object in a virtual game world using the game input data, so as to provide a predetermined influence on another object in the virtual game world, depending on the influential power.

25. A game apparatus for executing a game, comprising:

an output data obtaining means for obtaining output data varying depending on a motion of an input device itself;

an output data storing means for storing a history of the output data obtained by the output data obtaining means into a memory;

a peak value detecting means for detecting successive extremums of values from the output data history stored in the output data storing means;

a peak interval calculating means for calculating a time interval between times when the output data indicating the successive extremums have been obtained, based on the detection of the peak value detecting means;

a measurement means for measuring a time which has elapsed since the detection of the extremum by the peak value detecting means;

a game input data calculating means for calculating game input data by substituting into a predetermined function the elapsed time measured by the measurement means and the time interval calculated by the peak interval calculating means; and

a game processing means for executing a game process using the game input data calculated by the game input data calculating means.