USER INTERFACE PROCESSING APPARATUS, METHOD OF PROCESSING USER INTERFACE, AND PROGRAM FOR PROCESSING USER INTERFACE

• US 20110172013A1
• Filed: 12/30/2010
• Published: 07/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: YASUTA, Okinori, SHIRASAKA, Kouichi, SUZUKI, Takao, AOYAGI, Hidetoshi, ANDO, Takehiro
• Granted Patent: US 9,174,131 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/37
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/214 for locating contacts on a surface, e.g. floor mats or touch pads
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/2145 the surface being also a display device, e.g. touch screens
• 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 13/533 for prompting the player, e.g. by displaying a game menu
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/822 Strategy games; Role-playing games A63F13/825, A63F13/828 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/92 Video game devices specially adapted to be hand-held while playing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

A user interface processing apparatus for controlling an application is provided. In the user interface processing apparatus, a touch on a display screen by means of a contact operation by a user on a touch panel is received. A touched position on the touch panel is detected when the touch on the display screen is received. The touched position is a position touched by the player on the display screen. A virtual controller is displayed at a predetermined position on the display screen corresponding to the detected touched position in a case where the touch on the display screen is received. An operation of the virtual controller displayed on the display screen is received from the player. The application is controlled in accordance with the operation received from the player.

Claims

1. A user interface processing apparatus for controlling an application, the user interface processing apparatus comprising:

a touch receiver that receives a touch on a display screen by means of an operation by a user for contacting a touch panel;

a touched position detector that detects a touched position on the display screen when the touch receiver receives the touch on the display screen;

a virtual controller display controller that displays a virtual controller at a predetermined position on the display screen corresponding to the touched position detected by the touched position detector in a case where the touch receiver receives the touch on the display screen;

an operation receiver that receives an operation of the virtual controller displayed on the display screen by the user; and

an application controller that controls the application in accordance with the operation received by the operation receiver.

2. The user interface processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a touch termination determiner that determines, after the touch receiver receives the touch on the display screen, whether a touched state on the display screen is terminated or not,

wherein the virtual controller display controller terminates displaying the virtual controller when the touch termination determiner determines that the touched state is terminated.

3. The user interface processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the touched position detector continuously detects the touched position until the touched state is terminated after the touch receiver receives the touch on the display screen,

wherein the operation receiver receives a moving direction instruction operation specified by a direction from an initial touched position to a current touched position, the initial touched position being a position detected by the touched position detector when the touch receiver first receives the touch on the display screen, the current touched position being a position on the display screen currently detected by the touched position detector after the initial touched position is detected, and

wherein the application controller moves an object in the application in a direction from the initial touched position to the current touched position in accordance with the moving direction instruction operation received by the operation receiver.

4. The user interface processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the virtual controller includes a controller body formed in a substantially circular shape and an operating section capable of moving in an arbitrary direction from a center position of the controller body, and wherein the virtual controller display controller fixedly displays the controller body at the predetermined position corresponding to the initial touched position, and displays the operating section movably in a direction from the initial touched position to the current touched position using a center position of the controller body as a base point.

5. The user interface processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the operation receiver receives a movement speed instruction operation that is specified based upon a distance between the initial touched position and the current touched position, and wherein the application controller moves the object at a speed according to the distance between the initial touched position and the current touched position in accordance with the movement speed instruction operation received by the operation receiver.

6. The user interface processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the virtual controller includes a controller body formed in a substantially circular shape and an operating section capable of moving in an arbitrary direction from a center position of the controller body, and wherein the virtual controller display controller fixedly displays the controller body at the predetermined position corresponding to the initial touched position, and displays the operating section so as to move away from the initial touched position in a stepwise manner in accordance with the distance between the initial touched position and the current touched position in a direction from the initial touched position to the current touched position using a center position of the controller body as a base point.

7. The user interface processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the virtual controller display controller increases or decreases transparency of the virtual controller in accordance with the distance between the initial touched position and the current touched position.

8. The user interface processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the virtual controller display controller displays the virtual controller in a case where the touched state on the display screen continues for a predetermined period of time after the touch receiver first receives the touch on the display screen.

9. The user interface processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the user interface processing apparatus is a video game processing apparatus for controlling a progress of a video game as the application.

10. A user interface processing method of controlling an application, the user interface processing method comprising:

receiving a touch on a display screen by means of an operation by a user for contacting a touch panel;

detecting a touched position on the display screen when the touch on the display screen is received;

displaying a virtual controller at a predetermined position on the display screen corresponding to the detected touched position in a case where the touch on the display screen is received;

receiving an operation of the virtual controller displayed on the display screen by the user; and

controlling the application in accordance with the received operation.

11. A computer program product for processing a user interface so as to control an application, the computer program product causing a computer to execute:

receiving a touch on a display screen by means of an operation by a user for contacting a touch panel;

detecting a touched position on the display screen when the touch on the display screen is received;

displaying a virtual controller at a predetermined position on the display screen corresponding to the detected touched position in a case where the touch on the display screen is received;

receiving an operation of the virtual controller displayed on the display screen by the user; and

controlling the application in accordance with the received operation.