Video game apparatus and medium readable by a computer stored with video game program

• US 5,769,718 A
• Filed: 05/15/1996
• Issued: 06/23/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: William R. Rieder
• Original Assignee: William R. Rieder
• Inventors: Rieder, William R.
• Primary Examiner(s): MANUEL, GEORGE C
• Application Number:
  US08/648,418
• Time in Patent Office: 769 Days
• Field of Search: 463/30, 463/31, 463/32, 463/33, 463/34, 364/578, 273/440, 472/62, 345/7, 345/9, 345/418, 345/429
• US Class Current: 463/31
• 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 13/52 involving aspects of the displayed game scene
• 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 2300/66 for rendering three dimensional images
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6653 for altering the visibility of an object, e.g. preventing the occlusion of an object, partially hiding an object
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/807 Role playing or strategy games
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8076 Shooting

Abstract

A game executing unit 31 instructs a player character'"'"'s image data generating unit 32 to display a display position of a player character. A background'"'"'s image data generating unit 37 generates background'"'"'s image data for displaying a background'"'"'s image of a game space consisting of a floor and walls as a bird'"'"'s-eye view: A player character'"'"'s position specifying unit 34 checks whether the display position of the player character is hidden behind the wall or the floor in the background'"'"'s image of the game space. An image synthesizing unit 38 synthesizes the image data of the player character with the background image of the game space. When the player character position specifying unit 34 determines that the display position of the player character is hidden behind the wall or the floor, the image synthesizing unit 38 modifies the image data so that the wall or the floor concealing the player character is made semitransparent and the rear thereof is displayed.

Claims

1. A video game apparatus comprising:

player image data generating means for generating image data of a player character;

background'"'"'s image data generating means for generating image data of a background that expresses a floor and walls partitioning a virtual three-dimensional space as a bird'"'"'s-eye view;

player character'"'"'s position determining means for determining a position of the player character in the virtual three-dimensional space in accordance with an operation made by a game player;

image synthesizing means for synthesizing the image data of the player character generated by said player image data generating means with the image data of the background generated by said background'"'"'s image data generating means in accordance with the position determined by said player character'"'"'s position determining means; and

image data processing means for processing, if the position of the player character in the virtual three-dimensional space that is determined by said player character'"'"'s position determining means is a position hidden behind by the floor or the wall, the image data synthesized by said image synthesizing means so that the floor or the wall concealing the player character is transparentized, thereby and the rear of the wall or the floor is displayed.

2. A medium readable by a computer stored with a video game program comprising:

a player character'"'"'s position determining step of determining a position of a player character in a virtual three-dimensional space in accordance with an operation made by a game player;

a player image data generating step of generating image data of the player character;

a background'"'"'s image data generating step of generating image data of a background which expresses a floor and walls partitioning a virtual three-dimensional space as a bird'"'"'s-eye view;

an image synthesizing step of synthesizing the image data of the player character generated in said player image data generating step with the image data of the background generated in said background'"'"'s image data generating step in accordance with the position determined in said player character'"'"'s position determining step;

an image data processing step of processing, if the position of the player character in the virtual three-dimensional space that is determined in said player character'"'"'s position determining step is a position hidden behind the floor or the wall, the image data synthesized in said image synthesizing step so that the floor or the wall concealing the player character is transparentized, thereby the rear of the wall or the floor is displayed; and

a displaying step of displaying the image data processed in said image data processing step.