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

• US 6,017,272 A
• Filed: 05/21/1998
• Issued: 01/25/2000
• 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:
  US09/082,443
• Time in Patent Office: 614 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:

a player image data generator that generates player character image data;

a background image data generator that generates image data of a background defining a floor and walls partitioning a virtual three-dimensional space seen from a bird'"'"'s-eye view;

a player character position finder that determines a position of a player character in the virtual three-dimensional space in accordance with an operation made by a game player;

an image synthesizer that synthesizes the player character image data generated by the player image data generator with the background image data generated by the background image data generator in accordance with the position determined by the player character position finder;

an image data processor that processes the image data synthesized by the image synthesizer, if the position of the player character in the virtual three-dimensional space determined by the player character position finder is a position hidden behind either the floor or one of the walls, the floor or the wall concealing the player character is transparently displayed and image data behind the transparently displayed wall and the transparently displayed floor is allowed to be displayed; and

an antagonist and item generator that generates antagonist image data and item image data, wherein the antagonist image data and the item image data are displayed if the position of the antagonist or the item in the virtual three-dimensional space is behind the transparently displayed floor or the transparently displayed wall and, if the position of the antagonist item in the virtual three-dimensional space is not hidden by either the floor or one of the walls.

2. A video game apparatus comprising:

a player image data generator that generates player character image data;

a background image data generator that generates image data of a background defining a floor and walls partitioning a virtual three-dimensional space seen from a bird'"'"'s-eye view;

a player character position finder that determines a position of a player character in the virtual three-dimensional space in accordance with an operation made by a game player;

an image synthesizer that synthesizes the player character image data generated by the player image data generator with the background image data generated by the background image data generator in accordance with the position determined by the player character position finder;

an image data processor that processes the image data synthesized by the image synthesizer, if the position of the player character in the virtual three-dimensional space determined by the player character position finder is a position hidden behind either the floor or one of the walls, the floor or the wall concealing the player character is transparently displayed and image data behind the transparently displayed wall and the transparently displayed floor is allowed to be displayed; and

a map data reader that reads map data corresponding to a room containing the player character and all other rooms accessible via an openable door.

3. The video game apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a map data holder that holds the map data read from the map data reader and disposes of map data defining an area far from the present position of the player character each time the map data reader reads new map data.

4. The video game apparatus of claim 2, in which the background image data generator generates image data in accordance with the map data held by the map data holder.

5. A method of displaying player image data and background image data of a video game, the method comprising:

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

generating player character image data;

generating background image data which defines at least one of a floor and a wall partitioning a virtual three-dimensional space;

generating antagonist image data and item image data;

synthesizing the image data of the player character with the background image data, the antagonist image data and item image data;

processing the synthesized image data so that the at least one of the floor and the wall concealing the player character is displayed transparently and allowing image data behind the transparent wall or the transparent floor to be displayed, if the position of the player character in the virtual three-dimensional space is a position hidden behind either the floor or one of the walls, and displaying the antagonist image data and item image data when it is positioned behind the transparently displayed wall or the transparently displayed floor; and

displaying the processed image data.