Shooting game and external storage used therefor

• US 5,310,192 A
• Filed: 07/27/1992
• Issued: 05/10/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Miyake, Masahito
• Primary Examiner(s): HARRISON, JESSICA
• Application Number:
  US07/918,708
• Time in Patent Office: 652 Days
• Field of Search: 273/310, 273/311, 273/312, 273/313, 273/314, 273/315, 273/316, 273/433, 273/434, 273/438, 273/85 G, 273/DIG. 28, 434/16, 434/19, 434/20, 434/21, 434/22
• US Class Current: 463/5
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/219 for aiming at specific areas on the display, e.g. light-guns
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/245 specially adapted to a particular type of game, e.g. steering wheels
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/422 automatically for the purpose of assisting the player, e.g. automatic braking in a driving game
• 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 13/837 Shooting of targets
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1062 being specially adapted to a type of game, e.g. steering wheel
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6054 by generating automatically game commands to assist the player, e.g. automatic braking in a driving game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8076 Shooting
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 9/0291 with a simulated projectile, e.g. an image on a screen
• CPC Class Codes: F41G 3/2638 giving hit coordinates by means of raster control signals, e.g. standard light pen

Abstract

A video game set (1) displays a sighting mark on a television receiver (4). A player shoots this sighting mark by a shooting scope (5). At this time, the shift between a coordinate position of the sighting mark and a coordinate position which is shot is operated by the video game set (1) and is stored as a correction value. When the player shoots a target in a game mode, the coordinate position which is shot is corrected on the basis of the correction value stored in the video game set (1).

Claims

1. A shooting game system for shooting a target displayed on a raster scan type display in a position spaced apart from the display to play a shooting game, comprising:

game processing apparatus being connected to said display for performing processing for the shooting game;

a shooting scope, having a light receiving axis, used in a position spaced apart from said display for shooting the target displayed on said display; and

a sight attached on said shooting scope and defining a sighting axis having a predetermined angle with respect to the light receiving axis of said shooting scope, whereby said sighting axis intersects the light receiving axis of said shooting scope on said display when the distance between said shooting scope and said display is a predetermined distance;

said shooting scope comprising;

a trigger signal generator for generating a trigger signal in response to an operation performed by a player,

a photoelectric converter for converting light from a position which is shot on said display into an electric signal which is synchronized with raster scanning of said display, and

a control signal transmitter for transmitting by optical space communication a control signal based on the electric signal outputted from said photoelectric converting means to said game processing apparatus in response to said trigger signal from said trigger signal generator,

said game processing apparatus comprising

a control signal receiver for receiving the control signal transmitted from said control signal transmitter,

shot coordinate position determining means for detecting a coordinate position which is shot by said shooting scope on said display on the basis of a raster coordinate position on said display at the time of receiving of said control signal by said control signal receiver,

reference mark display controlling means for displaying a reference mark in a predetermined fixed position on said display before starting the game,

an error detector for operating, when said reference mark is shot by said shooting scope, to detect an error between the coordinate position detected by said shot coordinate position detecting means and a coordinate position of said reference mark,

an error storing device for storing the error detected by said error detector,

a target display controller for displaying the target on said display while the game is played,

correcting means for correcting, when the target on said display is shot by said shooting scope, the relative positional relationship between a coordinate position of the target and the coordinate position detected by said shot coordinate position detecting means on the basis of the error stored in said error storing device, and

hit judging means for making a hit determination in a case where said target is shot by said shooting scope on the basis of said relative positional relationship after being corrected by said correcting means.

2. The shooting game system according to claim 1, wherein

said correcting means corrects the coordinate position detected by said shot coordinate position detecting means on the basis of the error stored in said error storing device, and

said hit judging means makes said hit determination by comparing the coordinate position corrected by said correcting means.

3. The shooting game system according to claim 1, wherein

the control signal transmitted by said control signal transmitter includes a plurality of pulse signals which are synchronized with raster scanning of said display,

said game processing apparatus further comprises control signal extracting means for extracting only the control signal transmitted by said control signal transmitter from a received signal of said control signal receiver on the basis of the periodicity of a plurality of pulse signals included in the received signal, and

said shot coordinate position detecting means detects the coordinate position which is shot by said shooting scope on said display on the basis of the control signal extracted by said control signal extracting means.

4. The shooting game system according to claim 3, wherein said control signal extracting means extracts a n-th (where n is a predetermined integer) pulse signal out of the plurality of pulse signals included in the received signal of said control signal receiver as a pulse signal corresponding to raster scan light from the coordinate position which is shot by said shooting scope on said display, and

said shot coordinate position detecting means detects the coordinate position which is shot by said shooting scope on said display on the basis of the n-th pulse signal extracted by said control signal extracting means.

5. The shooting game system according to claim 4, wherein

said control signal extracting means comprises

period detecting means for sequentially detecting the respective periods of the plurality of pulse signals included in the received signal of said control signal receiver,

a coincidence detector for detecting the coincidence of the period detected by said period detecting means with the raster scanning period of said display,

a counter for counting the number of times of detection of the coincidence of the periods by said coincidence detector, and

pulse signal applying means for applying the n-th (where n is a predetermined integer) pulse signal included in the received signal of said control signal receiver to said shot coordinate position detecting means in response to the count of said counting means reaching a predetermined value.

6. The shooting game system according to claim 5, wherein,

said control signal extracting means further comprises inhibiting means for inhibiting the pulse signal from being applied to said shot coordinate position detecting means in response to detection of the noncoincidence of the periods by said coincidence detector before the counted value of said counter reaches a predetermined value.

7. The shooting game system according to claim 1, wherein,

said game processing apparatus includes image processing apparatus being connected to said display for displaying an image for the shooting game on said display and wherein said control signal receiver is connected to said image processing apparatus, and

said shot coordinate position detecting means, said reference mark display controlling means, said error detector, said error storing device, said target display controlling means, said correcting means, and said hit judging means being contained in said image processing apparatus.

8. An external storage for use with a shooting game system comprising a game processing apparatus connected to a raster scan type display and a shooting scope used in a position spaced apart from said display and having a light receiving axis, for shooting a target displayed in said display and connected to said game processing apparatus, and wherein said shooting scope includes

a sight attached on said shooting scope and defining a sighting axis having a predetermined angle with respect to the light receiving axis of said shooting scope, whereby said sighting axis intersects the light receiving axis of said shooting scope on said display when the distance between said shooting scope and said display is a predetermined distance;

said shooting scope comprising a trigger signal generator for generating a trigger signal in response to an operation performed by a player, a photoelectric converter for converting light from a position which is shot on said display into an electric signal which is synchronized with raster scanning of said display, and a control signal transmitter for transmitting by optical space communication a control signal based on the electric signal outputted from said photoelectric converter to said game processing apparatus in response to said trigger signal from said trigger signal generator,

said game processing apparatus comprises information processing means for performing predetermined processing for the shooting game in accordance with program data applied from said external storage, and a control signal receiver for receiving the control signal transmitted from said control signal transmitter,

said external storage comprising;

first program storing means storing first program data for detecting a coordinate position which is shot by said shooting scope on said display on the basis of said control signal received by said control signal receiver;

second program storing means storing second program data for displaying a reference mark at a predetermined fixed position on said display before starting a game;

third program storing means storing third program data for operating, when said reference mark is shot by said shooting scope, to detect an error between the coordinate position detected in accordance with said first program data and a coordinate position of said reference mark and for storing data indicative of said error in an error data storing means;

fourth program storing means storing fourth program data for displaying the target on said display while the game is played;

fifth program storing means storing fifth program data for correcting, when the target on said display is shot by said shooting scope, the relative positional relationship between a coordinate position of the target and the coordinate position detected in accordance with said first program data on the basis of the error stored in said error data storing means; and

sixth program storing means storing sixth program data for making a hit determination in a case where said target is shot by said shooting scope on the basis of said relative positional relationship after being corrected in accordance with said fifth program data.

9. The external storage according to claim 8, wherein

the fifth program data comprises program data for correcting the coordinate position detected in accordance with said first program data on the basis of the coordinate position stored in said error data storing means, and

said sixth program data comprises program data for making said hit determination by comparing the coordinate position of said target with the coordinate position corrected in accordance with said fifth program data.

10. The external storage according to claim 8, wherein

the control signal transmitted by said control signal transmitter comprising a plurality of pulse signals which are synchronized with the raster scanning of said display,

said game processing apparatus further comprising control signal extracting means for extracting only the control signal transmitted by said control signal transmitter from a receiver on the basis of the periodicity of a plurality of pulse signals included in the receiver signal, and

said first program data comprises program data for detecting the coordinate position which is shot by said shooting scope on said display on the basis of the control signal extracted by said control signal extracting means.

11. The external storage according to claim 10, wherein said control signal extracting means extracts a n-th (where n is a predetermined integer) pulse signal out of the plurality of pulse signals included in the received signal of said control signal receiver as a pulse signal corresponding to raster scan light from the coordinate position which is shot by said shooting scope on said display, and

said first program data comprises program data for detecting the coordinate position which is shot by said shooting scope on said display on the basis of the n-th pulse signal extracted by said control signal extracting means.

12. The external storage according to claim 11, wherein

said control signal extracting means comprises

period detecting means for sequentially detecting the respective periods of the plurality of pulse signals included in the received signal of said control signal receiving means,

a coincidence detector for detecting the coincidence of the period detected by said period detecting means with the raster scanning period of said display,

a counter for counting the number of times of detection of the coincidence of the periods by said coincidence detector, and

pulse signal applying means for applying the n-th (where n is a predetermined integer) pulse signal included in the received signal of said control signal receiver to said information processing means in response to the count of said counting means reaching a predetermined value.

13. The external storage according to claim 12, wherein

said control signal extracting means further comprises inhibiting means for inhibiting the pulse signal from being applied to said information processing means in response to detection of the noncoincidence of the periods by said coincidence detector before the counted value of said counter reaches the predetermined value.

14. A shooting game system for shooting a target displayed on a raster scan type display in a position spaced apart from the display to play a shooting game, comprising:

game processing apparatus being connected to said display for performing processing for the shooting game;

a shooting scope used in a position spaced apart from said display for shooting the target displayed on said display;

said shooting scope comprising;

a trigger signal generator for generating a trigger signal in response to an operation performed by a player,

a photoelectric converter for converting light from a position which is shot on said display into an electric signal which is synchronized with raster scanning of said display, and

a control signal transmitter for transmitting a control signal based on the electric signal output from said photoelectric converter to said game processing apparatus in response to said trigger signal from said trigger signal generator,

said game processing apparatus comprising

a control signal receiver for receiving the control signal transmitted from said control signal transmitter,

shot coordinate position determining means for detecting a coordinate position which is shot by said shooting scope on said display on the basis of said control signal received by said control signal receiver,

reference mark display controlling means for displaying a reference mark in a predetermined fixed position on said display before starting the game,

an error detector for operating, when said reference mark is shot by said shooting scope, to detect an error between the coordinate position detected by said shot coordinate position detecting means and a coordinate position of said reference mark,

error storing means for storing the error detected by said error detector,

target display controlling means for displaying the target on said display while the game is played,

correcting means for correcting, when the target on said display is shot by said shooting scope, the relative positional relationship between a coordinate position of the target and the coordinate position detected by said shot coordinate position detecting means on the basis of the error stored in said error storing means, and

hit judging means for making a hit determination in a case where said target is shot by said shooting scope on the basis of said relative positional relationship after being corrected by said correcting means;

wherein

the control signal transmitted by said control signal transmitter includes a plurality of pulse signals which are synchronized with raster scanning of said display,

said game processing apparatus further comprises control signal extracting means for extracting only the control signal transmitted by said control signal transmitter from a received signal of said control signal receiver on the basis of the periodicity of a plurality of pulse signals included in the received signal, and

said shot coordinate position detecting means detects the coordinate position which is shot by said shooting scope on said display on the basis of the control signal extracted by said control signal extracting means.

15. The shooting game system according to claim 14, wherein said control signal extracting means extracts a n-th (where n is a predetermined integer) pulse signal out of the plurality of pulse signals included in the received signal of said control signal receiver as a pulse signal corresponding to raster scan light from the coordinate position which is shot by said shooting scope on said display, and

said shot coordinate position detecting means detects the coordinate position which is shot by said shooting scope on said display on the basis of the n-th pulse signal extracted by said control signal extracting means.

16. The shooting game system according to claim 15, wherein

said control signal extracting means comprises

period detecting means for sequentially detecting the respective periods of the plurality of pulse signals included in the received signal of said control signal receiver

a coincidence detector for detecting the coincidence of the period detected by said period detecting means with the raster scanning period of said display,

a counter for counting the number of times of detection of the coincidence of the periods by said coincidence detector, and

pulse signal applying means for applying the n-th (where n is a predetermined integer) pulse signal included in the received signal of said control signal receiver to said shot coordinate position detecting means in response to the count of said counting means reaching a predetermined value.

17. The shooting game system according to claim 16, wherein,

said control signal extracting means further comprises inhibiting means for inhibiting the pulse signal from being applied to said shot coordinate position detecting means in response to detection of the noncoincidence of the periods by said coincidence detector before the counted value of said counter reaches a predetermined value.

18. An external storage for use with a shooting game system comprising a game processing apparatus connected to a raster scan type display and a shooting scope used in a position spaced apart from said display for shooting a target displayed in said display and connected to said game processing apparatus, wherein

said shooting scope comprising a trigger signal generator for generating a trigger signal in response to an operation performed by a player, a photoelectric converter for converting light from a position which is shot on said display into an electric signal which is synchronized with raster scanning of said display, and a control signal transmitter for transmitting by optical space communication a control signal based on the electric signal outputted from said photoelectric converter to said game processing apparatus in response to said trigger signal from said trigger signal generator, said game processing apparatus comprises information processing means for performing predetermined processing for the shooting game in accordance with program data applied from said external storage, and a control signal receiver for receiving the control signal transmitted from said control signal transmitter,

said external storage comprising:

first program storing means storing first program data for detecting a coordinate position which is shot by said shooting scope on said display on the basis of said control signal received by said control signal receiver;

second program storing means storing second program data for displaying a reference mark at a predetermined fixed position on said display before starting a game;

third program storing means storing third program data for operating, when said reference mark is shot by said shooting scope, to detect an error between the coordinate position detected in accordance with said first program data and a coordinate position of said reference mark and for storing data indicative of said error in an error data storing means;

fourth program storing means storing fourth program data for displaying the target on said display while the game is played;

fifth program storing means storing fifth program data for correcting, when the target on said display is shot by said shooting scope, the relative positional relationship between a coordinate position of the target and the coordinate position detected in accordance with said first program data on the basis of the error stored in said error data storing means; and

sixth program storing means storing sixth program data for making a hit determination in a case where said target is shot by said shooting scope on the basis of said relative positional relationship after being corrected in accordance with said fifth program data;

wherein

the control signal transmitted by said control signal transmitter comprising a plurality of pulse signals which are synchronized with raster scanning of said display,

said game processing apparatus further comprising control signal extracting means for extracting only the control signal transmitted by said control signal transmitting means from a receiver on the basis of the periodicity of a plurality of pulse signals included in the receiver signal, and

said first program data comprises program data for detecting the coordinate position which is shot by said shooting scope on said display on the basis of the control signal extracted by said control signal extracting means.

19. A shooting game system for shooting a target displayed on a raster type display for playing a shooting game comprising;

a shooting scope having a light receiving axis for shooting a target displayed on said display, said shooting scope including a sight having a sighting axis at a predetermined angle with respect to the light receiving axis, whereby said sighting axis intersects the light receiving axis of said shooting scope on said display when the distance between the shooting scope and said display is a predetermined distance;

game processing apparatus, coupled to said display, including;

means for displaying a reference mark on said display,

means for detecting said reference mark and for determining a sighting correction value which varies as a function of the distance between said shooting scope and said display, and

means for determining a target hit using said sight correction value.

20. A shooting game system according to claim 19, wherein said shooting scope includes a control signal transmitter for transmitting a control signal having a plurality of pulses in response to a trigger operation by a player, said shooting game system further including a control signal receiver for receiving said control signal and for detecting a predetermined one of said plurality of pulses.

21. A shooting game system for shooting a target displayed on a raster type display for playing a shooting game comprising:

a shooting scope having a trigger switch and including a trigger signal generator for generating a trigger signal in response to actuation of said trigger switch, a photoelectric converter for converting a light signal from a displayed image from the portion of the display screen at which the shooting scope is aimed into an electrical signal synchronized with the raster scanning of said display, and a control signal transmitter for receiving said electrical signal from said photoelectric converter for transmitting a control signal including a trigger code and a plurality of raster timing pulses in response to said trigger signal;

a control signal receiver for receiving said control signal, said receiver including a decoder for decoding said trigger code and raster analyzer circuitry for receiving said plurality of raster timing pulses and for generating a raster output signal indicative of at least one of said plurality of raster timing pulses;

video game processing apparatus for receiving said raster output signal and for determining the coordinate position which is shot by said shooting scope in part in response to said raster output signal.

22. A shooting game system according to claim 21, wherein said game processing apparatus includes shot coordinate position detecting means for detecting a coordinate position shot by said shooting scope based on a raster coordinate position on said display at the time of receiving said at least one of said plurality of raster timing pulses.

23. A shooting game system according to claim 22, wherein said video game processing apparatus includes means for determining a shooting scope sighting correction value in part in response to said raster output signal, said means for determining a shooting scope sighting correction value including reference mark display means for displaying a reference mark, error detecting means for detecting an error between the coordinate position detected by said shot coordinate position detecting means and a detected position of said reference mark, and correcting means for correcting the relative positional relationship between a coordinate position of the target and the coordinate position detected by said shot coordinate position detector means based on said detected error.

24. A shooting game system according to claim 21, wherein said video game processing apparatus includes means for determining a shooting scope sighting correction value in part in response to said raster output signal.