COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM HAVING INFORMATION PROCESSING PROGRAM STORED THEREIN, INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM, AND INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD

• US 20120001944A1
• Filed: 06/13/2011
• Published: 01/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Sakurai, Masahiro, Machino, Taichi, Ikeda, Teppei
• Granted Patent: US 9,878,245 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/671
• 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 13/2145 the surface being also a display device, e.g. touch screens
• 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 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 13/5258 by dynamically adapting the position of the virtual camera to keep a game object or game character in its viewing frustum, e.g. for tracking a character or a ball
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/537 using indicators, e.g. showing the condition of a game character on screen
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/5375 for graphically or textually suggesting an action, e.g. by displaying an arrow indicating a turn in a driving game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/837 Shooting of targets
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/92 Video game devices specially adapted to be hand-held while playing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/98 Accessories, i.e. detachable arrangements optional for the use of the video game device, e.g. grip supports of game controllers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/66 for rendering three dimensional images
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object

Abstract

In order to attain the object described above, a game apparatus is able to use coordinate input means and display means, and positions a virtual camera Ca in a three-dimensional virtual space. When a predetermined operation is performed at any position in a predetermined range on a touch panel (coordinate input means), the game apparatus performs zooming-in-on operation (changes an angle θ1 of view of the virtual camera) without changing an imaging direction of the virtual camera.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage medium having stored therein an information processing program which is executed by a computer of an information processing apparatus which can use coordinate input means and display means, the information processing program causing the computer to function as:

virtual camera positioning means for positioning a virtual camera in a virtual space;

virtual image generation means for taking an image of the virtual space by using the virtual camera, to generate a virtual image;

display process means for displaying, by using the display means, the virtual image generated by the virtual image generation means; and

zooming-in-on means for performing zooming-in-on operation without changing an imaging direction of the virtual camera when a predetermined operation is performed on any position in a predetermined range of the coordinate input means.

2. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 1, wherein the zooming-in-on means cancels the zooming-in-on operation when the coordinate input means enters a non-inputted state after the predetermined operation is performed.

3. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program. according to claim 1, wherein the computer is caused to further function as imaging direction change means for changing the imaging direction of the virtual camera, based on a change direction in which an input coordinate position is changed when coordinate input is continuously performed by the coordinate input means.

4. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 3, wherein

the computer is caused to further function as:

shooting means for virtually shooting from a predetermined shooting position in the virtual space;

aim display means for displaying, in the virtual image, an aim representing a shooting direction of the shooting means; and

aim moving means for moving the aim on the virtual image during the zooming-in-on operation, based on at least the change direction in which the input coordinate position is changed, without changing the imaging direction of the virtual camera, when the coordinate input is continuously performed subsequent to the predetermined operation.

5. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 4, wherein the computer is caused to further function as imaging direction change means for changing the imaging direction of the virtual camera based on at least a change direction in which an input coordinate position is changed, when coordinate input is continuously performed in a state where the predetermined operation is not performed.

6. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined operation is an operation of performing intermittent coordinate input at any position in the predetermined range a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time period.

7. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 1, wherein

the computer is caused to further function as item providing means for virtually providing a player object with an item in the virtual space, and

the zooming-in-on means changes a zooming-in-on rate according to the item provided to the player object by the item providing means.

8. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 1, wherein

the computer is caused to further function as player object positioning means for positioning a player object in the virtual space, and

the zooming-in-on means sets a position of the virtual camera to a position of the player object when the zooming-in-on operation is performed.

9. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 1, wherein

the computer is caused to further function as:

shooting means for virtually shooting from a predetermined shooting position in the virtual space; and

aim display means for displaying, in the virtual image, an aim representing a shooting direction of the shooting means,

the zooming-in-on means cancels the zooming-in-on operation when the coordinate input means receives, from a player, a cancel operation for cancelling the zooming-in-on operation, and

the aim display means changes a position of the aim according to change of an input coordinate position which is continuously inputted to the coordinate input means, during a zooming-in-on time period from when the predetermined operation is determined to be received, to when the cancel operation is determined to be received.

10. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 9, wherein

the predetermined operation is a first operation for intermittently performing coordinate input on the coordinate input means a predetermined number of times, and

the cancel operation is an operation for cancelling the coordinate input which is performed last time of the predetermined number of times in the first operation.

11. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 9, wherein the aim display means changes the position of the aim, during a time period other than the zooming-in-on time period, according to change of the input coordinate position which is continuously inputted to the coordinate input means.

12. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 11, wherein

the aim display means

moves the aim on the display means by a moving distance based on a change amount of the input coordinate position when the input coordinate position continuously inputted to the coordinate input means is changed, and

reduces, on the display means, the moving distance of the aim based on the change amount of the input coordinate position, during the zooming-in-on time period, so as to be smaller than a moving distance used during the time period other than the zooming-in-on time period.

13. The computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 9, wherein the aim display means moves the aim within a predetermined range of the display means, and enlarges the predetermined range, during the zooming-in-on time period, so as to be greater than a range used during the time period other than the zooming-in-on time period.

14. An information processing apparatus which can use coordinate input means and display means, the information processing apparatus comprising:

virtual camera positioning means for positioning a virtual camera in a virtual space;

virtual image generation means for taking an image of the virtual space by using the virtual camera, to generate a virtual image;

display process means for displaying, by using the display means, the virtual image generated by the virtual image generation means;

zooming-in-on means for performing zooming-in-on operation without changing an imaging direction of the virtual camera when a predetermined operation is performed on any position in a predetermined range of the coordinate input means.

15. An information processing system which can use coordinate input means and display means, the information processing system comprising:

virtual camera positioning means for positioning a virtual camera in a virtual space;

virtual image generation means for taking an image of the virtual space by using the virtual camera, to generate a virtual image;

display process means for displaying, by using the display means, the virtual image generated by the virtual image generation means;

zooming-in-on means for performing zooming-in-on operation without changing an imaging direction of the virtual camera when a predetermined operation is performed on any position in a predetermined range of the coordinate input means.

16. An information processing method comprising:

camera positioning step of positioning a virtual camera in a virtual space;

virtual image generation step, performed by virtual image generation means, of taking an image of the virtual space by using the virtual camera, to generate a virtual image;

display step, performed by display process means, of displaying, by using display means, the virtual image generated by the virtual image generation means;

zooming-in-on step, performed by zooming-in-on means, of performing zooming-in-on operation without changing an imaging direction of the virtual camera when a predetermined operation is performed on any position in a predetermined range of coordinate input means.