STORAGE MEDIUM STORING VIDEO GAME PROGRAM FOR CALCULATING A DISTANCE BETWEEN A GAME CONTROLLER AND A REFERENCE

• US 20080318692A1
• Filed: 08/27/2008
• Published: 12/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: DOHTA, Takuhiro
• Application Number:
  US12/199,363
• Publication Number:
  US 20080318692A1
• 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 computer-readable storage medium storing a program to be executed by a computer of an apparatus for obtaining, from a controller including an image-capturing section for capturing an image of an imaging target, control data including the image captured by the image-capturing section and a result of performing a predetermined operation on the captured image, the program causing the computer to perform:

an interval distance calculation step of calculating, using the control data obtained from the controller, an interval distance between at least two points which are indicated by the imaging target within the captured image;

a distance data calculation step of calculating distance data associated with a distance between the controller and the imaging target, by using a ratio of the interval distance calculated at the interval distance calculation step and a real interval distance between the at least two points, which real interval distance is indicated by the imaging target in a real space; and

an information process step of performing a predetermined information process through an operation based on a value of the distance data.

2. The computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 1, wherein:

the distance data calculation step includes an image-capturing area calculation step of calculating, by using the ratio and width of the captured image, a width of an image-capturing area of the image-capturing section in relation to a position of the imaging target in the real space, and

at the distance data calculation step, the distance data associated with the distance between the controller and the imaging target is calculated using the width of the image-capturing area and a viewing angle at which the image-capturing section has captured the image.

3. The computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 2, wherein:

two imaging targets are provided in the real space,

the integral distance calculation step calculates, as the interval distance, a distance mi between the two imaging targets within the captured image,

the image-capturing area calculation step uses the interval distance mi, a real interval distance m between the two imaging targets in the real space and a width wi of the captured image, thereby calculating a width w of the image-capturing area of the image-capturing section in accordance with a relational equation of w=wi×

m/mi, and

the distance data calculation step uses a relational equation of tan(θ

/2)=(w/2)/d for the width w of the image-capturing area and a viewing angle θ

at which the image-capturing section has captured the image, thereby calculating the distance data associated with a distance d between the controller and the imaging targets.

4. The computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 1, wherein the information process step performs a predetermined game process on a virtual game world through the predetermined operation based on the value of the distance data, the program further causing the computer to perform a display process step of displaying, on a display device, the virtual game world after the game process.

5. An information processing apparatus comprising:

a controller, including an image-capturing section for capturing an image of an imaging target, for outputting control data including the image captured by the image-capturing section and a result of performing a predetermined operation on the captured image;

control data obtaining program logic for obtaining the control data outputted form the controller;

interval distance calculation program logic for calculating, using the control data obtained from the controller, an interval distance between at least two points which are indicated by the imaging target within the captured image;

distance data calculation program logic for calculating distance data associated with a distance between the controller and the imaging target, by using a ratio of the interval distance calculated by the interval distance calculation program logic and a real interval distance between the at least two points, which real interval distance is indicated by the imaging target in a real space; and

information process program logic for performing a predetermined information process through an operation based on a value of the distance data.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein:

the distance data calculation program logic includes image-capturing area calculation program logic for calculating, by using the ratio and a width of the captured image, a width of an image-capturing area of the image-capturing section in relation to a position of the imaging target in the real space, and

the distance data calculating program logic calculates the distance data associated with the distance between the controller and the imaging target, by using the width of the image-capturing area and a viewing angle at which the image-capturing section has captured the image.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein:

two imaging targets are provided in the real space,

the interval distance calculation program logic calculates, as the interval distance, a distance mi between the two imaging targets within the captured image,

the image-capturing area calculation program logic uses an interval distance mi, a real interval distance m between the two imaging targets in the real space and a width wi of the captured image, thereby calculating a width w of the image-capturing area of the image-capturing section in accordance with a relational equation of w=wi×

m/mi, and

the distance data calculation program logic uses a relational equation of tan(θ

/2)=(w/2)/d for the width w of the image-capturing area and a viewing angle θ

at which the image-capturing section has captured the image, thereby calculating the distance data associated with a distance d between the controller and the imaging targets

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the information process program logic performs a predetermined game process on a virtual game world through the operation based on the value of the distance data, the information processing apparatus further comprising:

display process program logic for displaying, on a display device, the virtual game world after the game process.