GAME PROGRAM AND GAME APPARATUS

• US 20100304871A1
• Filed: 09/21/2009
• Published: 12/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Yamada, Yoichi, Mouri, Shirou, Iwamoto, Daiki
• Granted Patent: US 9,533,224 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/43
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/2145 the surface being also a display device, e.g. touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/26 having at least one additional display device, e.g. on the game controller or outside a game booth
• 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 13/525 Changing parameters of virtual cameras
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/5255 according to dedicated instructions from a player, e.g. using a secondary joystick to rotate the camera around a player's character
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/573 using trajectories of game objects, e.g. of a golf ball according to the point of impact
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/92 Video game devices specially adapted to be hand-held while playing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/204 the platform being a handheld device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/301 using an additional display connected to the game console, e.g. on the controller
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/643 by determining the impact between objects, e.g. collision detection
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/646 for calculating the trajectory of an object
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6684 by dynamically adapting its position to keep a game object in its viewing frustrum, e.g. for tracking a character or a ball

Abstract

A game apparatus displays game space on a display means, and the game space includes a first area and a second area which interrupts continuity of a movement of an object in the first area. A user sets a moving route within the game space by means of a touch pen. The collision, that is, the object moves along the route. Assuming that the object moves to a next point position on the route, when the next point position where the object will enter the second area is set, the computer corrects the next point position to a target position within the first area, and then moves the object thereto.

Claims

1. A storage medium storing a program so as to be readable by a computer of a game apparatus, said program causes said computer to function as:

a display controlling means for displaying on a display a game space including a first area and a second area where continuity of a movement of an object within said first area is interrupted;

an object movement controlling means for moving said object along a route that a user designates within said game space;

an enter determining means for determining whether or not a predetermined area being associated with said object moving along said route enters said second area over a border between said first area and said second area; and

a route correcting means for correcting the route along which said object moves so as to become a route within said first area when said enter determining means determines that said predetermined area enters said second area.

2. A storage medium according to claim 1, wherein said object movement controlling means moves said object while sequentially taking a point position on said route as a target, and said enter determining means determines whether or not said predetermined area in a case that said object enters a next point position on said route enters said second area over the border between said first area and said second area.

3. A storage medium according to claim 2, wherein said route correcting means includes a target position setting means for setting said next point position as a target position when said enter determining means does not determine that said predetermined area enters said second area at said next point position, and correcting said next point position so as to become a target position within said first area when said enter determining means determines that said predetermined area enters said second area in said next point position, and said object movement controlling means moves said object to said target position.

4. A storage medium according to claim 3, wherein said route correcting means includes a judging means for judging whether or not a distance of said next point position from said border is equal to or less than a threshold value when said enter determining means determines that said predetermined area enters said second area over said border in said next point position, and when said judging means judges that said distance is equal to or less than said threshold value, said target position setting means corrects said next point position so as to become a target position within said first area.

5. A storage medium according to claim 4, wherein said target position setting means sets said next point position as a target position when said judging means does not judge that said distance is equal to or less than said threshold value.

6. A storage medium according to claim 4, wherein a virtual camera representing said game space is a parallel camera, and said threshold value is set to be a different value depending on where said next point position is, at an upper part, a lower part, a left part, or a right part of said game space.

7. A storage medium according to claim 6, wherein said threshold value is set to a relatively large value at the upper part, is set to a relatively small value at the lower part, and is set to a value between them at the right or left part.

8. A storage medium according to claim 3, wherein

said program causes said computer to further function as

an attainment determining means for determining whether or not said object arrives at said target position within a predetermined time, and

a suspending means for suspending the movement of said object by said object movement controlling means when said attainment determining means does not determine that said object arrives at said target position within the predetermined time.

9. A storage medium according to claim 1, wherein said route correcting means corrects the route along which said object moves within said first area such that said object moves along said border within said first area when said enter determining means determines that said predetermined area enters said second area over said border.

10. A storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

said program causes said computer to further function as,

a first display means for displaying said route on said display, and

a second display means for displaying said route corresponding to a position within said game space of said object moved by said moving means out of the route displayed by said first display means in a manner different from the manner of the route displayed by said first display means.

11. A storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

said program causes said computer to further function as

a position detecting means for detecting a position within said game space designated by the user, and

a route generating means for generating said route on the basis of a position detected until a previous time and a position currently detected when the position currently detected by said position detecting means and the position previously detected are above a predetermined threshold value.

12. A storage medium according to claim 1, wherein said display controlling means displays an associated image being associated with said object together with said object on said display, and

said program causes said computer to further function as a route generating means for, in a case that a designation position designated by the user is on said associated image, generating said route on the basis of a designation position designated by the user subsequently to said designation.

13. A storage medium according to claim 12, wherein said program causes said computer to further function as a predetermined area setting means for setting said predetermined area with reference to said associated image.

14. A game apparatus, comprising:

a display controller displaying a game space including a first area and a second area interrupting continuity of a movement of an object within said first area on a display;

an object movement controller moving said object along a route which a user designates within said game space;

an enter determiner determining whether or not a predetermined area being associated with said object moving along said route enters said second area over a border between said first area and said second area; and

a route corrector correcting the route along which said object moves so as to become within said first area when said enter determining means determines that said predetermined area enters said second area.

15. A game controlling method, including following steps of:

a display controlling step for displaying a game space including a first area and a second area interrupting continuity of a movement of an object within said first area on a display;

an object movement controlling step for moving said object along a route which a user designates within said game space;

an enter determining step for determining whether or not a predetermined area being associated with said object moving along said route enters said second area over a border between said first area and said second area; and

a route correcting step for correcting the route along which said object moves so as to become within said first area when said enter determining step determines that said predetermined area enters said second area.