GAME DEVICE, GAME PROCESSING METHOD, INFORMATION RECORDING MEDIUM, AND PROGRAM

• US 20100292008A1
• Filed: 12/17/2008
• Published: 11/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konami Digital Entertainment Company Limited (Konami Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Konami Digital Entertainment Company Limited (Konami Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Matsumura, Kazuaki
• Granted Patent: US 8,360,891 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/36
• 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 13/56 Computing the motion of game characters with respect to other game characters, game objects or elements of the game scene, e.g. for simulating the behaviour of a group of virtual soldiers or for path finding
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/67 adaptively or by learning from player actions, e.g. skill level adjustment or by storing successful combat sequences for re-use
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/822 Strategy games; Role-playing games A63F13/825, A63F13/828 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6027 using adaptive systems learning from user actions, e.g. for skill level adjustment
• 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 2300/807 Role playing or strategy games
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8076 Shooting

Abstract

In a game device (200), a memory unit (201) stores a position of a player character, a position of an enemy character, an elapsed time up to a present time after the enemy character has appeared, and candidates of a position where a new enemy character is to appear. A measuring unit (202) measures an elapsed time up to a present time after the enemy character has appeared, and stores the measured elapsed time in the memory unit (201). A calculating unit (203) calculates a reference distance which becomes a determination criterion for a position where a new enemy character appears based on the stored elapsed time. The reference distance monotonically increases relative to the increasing of the elapsed time. An appearance setting unit (204) selects a candidate having a distance to the player character closest to the reference distance among the candidates stored in the memory unit (201), and causes a new enemy character to appear at the selected candidate position.

Claims

1. A game device (200) comprising:

a memory unit (201) which stores a position of a player character moving in a virtual space in accordance with an instruction from a player, a position of an enemy character, an elapsed time up to a present time after the enemy character has appeared in the virtual space, and candidates of a position where a new enemy character is to appear in the virtual space;

a measuring unit (202) which measures the elapsed time and stores the measured elapsed time in the memory unit (201);

a calculating unit (203) which calculates a distance monotonically increasing relative to the stored elapsed time;

an appearance determining unit (209) which determines whether to cause a new enemy character to appear in the virtual space; and

an appearance setting unit (204) which, when the appearance determining unit (209) determines to cause the new enemy character to appear, stores, as a position where an enemy character newly appears, a candidate having a distance to the player character closest to the calculated distance in the memory unit (201) among the stored candidates of a position where an enemy character is to newly appear and causes the new enemy character to appear.

2. The game device (200) according to claim 1, wherein the calculating unit (203) calculates an average elapsed time associated with respective enemy characters present in the virtual space, and calculates a distance that monotonically increases relative to the calculated average.

3. The game device (200) according to claim 1, wherein the calculating unit (203) calculates a distance that monotonically increases relative to a longest elapsed time among elapsed times associated with respective enemy characters present in the virtual space.

4. The game device (200) according to claim 1, wherein the calculating unit (203) calculates a distance which monotonically increases relative to a shortest elapsed time among elapsed times associated with respective enemy characters present in the virtual space.

5. The game device (200) according to claim 1, further comprising:

a state setting unit (212) which causes the player character to be in a battling state when a position of an enemy character is within a predetermined distance range from a position of the player character, and causes the player character to be in a non-battling state in other cases;

a disappearance determining unit (210) which determines whether to cause the enemy character to disappear based on an instruction input from the player when the player character is in a battling state; and

a disappearance setting unit (211) which causes the enemy character to disappear from the virtual space when the disappearance determining unit (210) determines to cause the enemy character to disappear.

6. The game device (200) according to claim 5, wherein the appearance determining unit (209) determines to cause a new enemy character to appear when the disappearance setting unit (211) causes an enemy character to disappear.

7. The game device (200) according to claim 5, wherein the appearance determining unit (209) determines whether to cause a new enemy character to appear using a random number.

8. The game device (200) according to claim 5, wherein the appearance determining unit (209) determines to cause a new enemy character to appear when a total number of enemy characters present in the virtual space is less than a predetermined upper limit.

9. The game device (200) according to claim 8, wherein the appearance determining unit (209) changes the upper limit in accordance with an elapsed time in a game executed by the game device.

10. The game device (200) according to claim 8, wherein the appearance determining unit (209) changes the upper limit in accordance with a number of enemy characters caused to disappear by the disappearance setting unit (211).

11. The game device (200) according to claim 5, wherein the memory unit (201) stores an elapsed time until the disappearance setting unit (211) causes an enemy character to disappear after the state setting unit (212) causes the enemy character to be in a battling state, instead of storing an elapsed time up to a present time after the enemy character has appeared in the virtual space.

12. The game device (200) according to claim 1, further comprising a moving unit (206) which, when a distance between the position of the player character and the position of the enemy character is equal to or less than a predetermined value, moves a position of an enemy character so that the enemy character comes closer to a position of the player character and updates the position of the enemy character stored in the memory unit (201).

13. The game device (200) according to claim 1, further comprising a moving unit (206) which moves a position of an enemy character at random, and updates the position of the enemy character stored in the memory unit (201), while at the same time,

(a) sets a probability that the enemy character moves toward a direction of a position of the player character from the position of the enemy character to be relatively larger than a probability that the enemy character moves in other directions when a distance between the position of the player character and the position of the enemy character is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and

(b) sets the probability that the enemy character moves toward the direction of the position of the player character from the position of the enemy character to be equal to the probability that the enemy character moves in other directions when the distance between the position of the player character and the position of the enemy character is greater than the predetermined value.

14. The game device (200) according to claim 12, wherein the moving unit (206) moves an enemy character at a speed equal to or slower than a predetermined maximum moving speed.

15. The game device (200) according to claim 12, wherein the moving unit (206) moves an enemy character at a speed equal to or faster than a predetermined minimum moving speed.

16. A game processing method executed by a game device (200) including a memory unit (201), the memory unit (201) storing a position of a player character moving in a virtual space in accordance with an instruction from a player, a position of an enemy character, an elapsed time up to a present time after the enemy character has appeared in the virtual space, and candidates of a position where a new enemy character is to appear in the virtual space, the method comprising:

a measuring step of measuring the elapsed time and storing the measured elapsed time in the memory unit (201);

a calculating step of calculating a distance monotonically increasing relative to the stored elapsed time;

an appearance determining step of determining whether to cause a new enemy character to appear in the virtual space; and

an appearance setting step of, when it is determined in the appearance determining step to cause the new enemy character to appear, storing, as a position where an enemy character newly appears, a candidate having a distance to the player character closest to the calculated distance in the memory unit (201) among the stored candidates of a position where an enemy character is to newly appear and causing the new enemy character to appear.

17. A computer-readable information recording medium storing a program that allows a computer to function as:

a memory unit (201) which stores a position of a player character moving in a virtual space in accordance with an instruction from a player, a position of an enemy character, an elapsed time up to a present time after the enemy character has appeared in the virtual space, and candidates of a position where a new enemy character is to appear in the virtual space;

a measuring unit (202) which measures the elapsed time and stores the measured elapsed time in the memory unit (201);

a calculating unit (203) which calculates a distance monotonically increasing relative to the stored elapsed time;

an appearance determining unit (209) which determines whether to cause a new enemy character to appear in the virtual space; and

an appearance setting unit (204) which, when the appearance determining unit (209) determines to cause the new enemy character to appear, stores, as a position where an enemy character newly appears, a candidate having a distance to the player character closest to the calculated distance in the memory unit (201) among the stored candidates of a position where an enemy character is to newly appear and causes the new enemy character to appear.

18. A program that allows a computer to function as:

a memory unit (201) which stores a position of a player character moving in a virtual space in accordance with an instruction from a player, a position of an enemy character, an elapsed time up to a present time after the enemy character has appeared in the virtual space, and candidates of a position where a new enemy character is to appear in the virtual space;

a measuring unit (202) which measures the elapsed time and stores the measured elapsed time in the memory unit (201);

a calculating unit (203) which calculates a distance monotonically increasing relative to the stored elapsed time;

an appearance determining unit (209) which determines whether to cause a new enemy character to appear in the virtual space; and

an appearance setting unit (204) which, when the appearance determining unit (209) determines to cause the new enemy character to appear, stores, as a position where an enemy character newly appears, a candidate having a distance to the player character closest to the calculated distance in the memory unit (201) among the stored candidates of a position where an enemy character is to newly appear which causes the new enemy character to appear.