Image-display game system and information storage medium used therefor

• US 6,482,092 B1
• Filed: 05/30/2000
• Issued: 11/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Creatures, Inc., Game Freak, Inc., Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Creatures, Inc., Game Freak, Inc., Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Ishihara, Tsunekazu, Tajiri, Satoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Harrison, Jessica J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHERUBIN, YVESTE GILBERTE
• Application Number:
  US09/580,548
• Time in Patent Office: 903 Days
• Field of Search: 463/42, 463/23, 463/7, 463/8, 463/40, 463/31, 463/43
• US Class Current: 463/43
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/235 using a wireless connection, e.g. infrared or piconet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/34 using peer-to-peer connections
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/58 by computing conditions of game characters, e.g. stamina, strength, motivation or energy level
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/79 involving player-related data, e.g. identities, accounts, preferences or play histories
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/92 Video game devices specially adapted to be hand-held while playing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/95 Storage media specially adapted for storing game information, e.g. video game cartridges
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1012 involving biosensors worn by the player, e.g. for measuring heart beat, limb activity
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/204 the platform being a handheld device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/408 Peer to peer connection
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/65 for computing the condition of a game character
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8029 Fighting without shooting
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8058 Virtual breeding, e.g. tamagotchi
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/807 Role playing or strategy games

Abstract

An image-display game system which can attract players to play a game for a long time can be implemented by presenting helping data of a0 to a63, and b1 to b5 beneficial in the course of a game to friends, and accordingly communications accompanying therewith can be stimulated and activated thereamong, and the game can be effectively utilized as a communications tool. Such image-display game system is structured such that the player'"'"' ID data IDn is communicable or exchangeable therein. With the other player'"'"'s ID received, items beneficial in the course of the game or helping data of 10 to 163, and b1 to b5 is generated based on the ID data, and is presented to the player. As a result, exchanging of the ID data IDn is activated among the players. The items presented based on the ID data IDn are determined by operating the ID data using an equation in FIG. 17, which is based on a predetermined rule or in an operation processing by combining the ID data IDn and a random number R.

Claims

1. An image-display game system in which at least two image-display game devices are structured for data communications therebetween,

the image-display game devices each comprise:

a program store in which a game program involving characters captured during the course of the game is stored;

a temporary store including, at least, a property data storage region where property data varied in type is stored for characters captured during the course of said game, a help data storage region where data for helping the player during game play is stored, and an ID data storage region where ID data for identifying a player is stored;

at least one control member actuated by the player for controlling, at least, an operation of capturing characters and an operation of performing data communications with another player;

a communications link for communicating with another player'"'"'s image-display game device;

a processor for carrying out, under the control of said program, image processing to change a displayed image in response to said at least one control member, and changing said property data based on the state of said at least one control member to write the data in the storage region corresponding to said temporary store; and

a display for displaying a result obtained through the processing carried out by said processor, wherein,

said game program

generates, when one of said image-display game devices and the other of said image-display game devices are made data communicable by said communications link, and when data communications is selected by said at least one control member, in response to said ID data transferred from one image-display game device to the other image-display game device, the help data processed by said processor of the other image-display game device based on the transferred ID data.

2. The image-display game system as described in claim 1, wherein said image-display game device further comprises a clock for at least counting time, and wherein

said game program store stores

a program for writing time data indicated by said clock to the storage region of said temporary store in relation to the help data processed based on said ID data,

a program for determining whether a predetermined length of time has passed based on the time data and a time currently indicated by said clock, and

a program for prohibiting, when said determination program determines that the predetermined length of time has not yet passed, to perform a process for generating said help data based on other ID data different from the one which has been transmitted.

3. The image-display game system as described in claim 1, wherein said image-display game device further comprises a clock for at least counting time, and

said game program store stores

a program for writing time data indicated by said clock to the storage region of said temporary store in relation to the help data processed based on said ID data,

a first determination program for determining whether the ID data stored in said ID data storage region is identical to ID data transmitted through said communications link,

a second determination program for determining whether a predetermined length of time has passed based on the time data and a time currently indicated by said clock, and

a program for prohibiting, when said first determination program determines that the ID data is identical, and said second determination program determines that the predetermined length of time has not yet passed.

4. The image-display game system as described in claim 1, wherein said image-display game device further comprises a clock for at least counting time, and

said game program store stores

a writing program for writing time data indicated by said clock to the storage region of said temporary store in relation to the help data processed based on said ID data,

a first determination program for determining whether the ID data stored in said ID data storage region is identical to ID data transmitted through said communications link,

a second determination program for determining whether a predetermined length of time has passed based on the time data and a time currently indicated by said clock, and

a program for limiting, when said first determination program determines that the ID data is identical, and said second determination program determines that the predetermined length of time has not yet passed.

5. The image-display game system as described in claim 1, wherein said communications link is an infrared transmitter/receiver which performs communications using infrared radiation.

6. The image-display game system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the help data generation program included in said game program store generates, based on the transfer-red ID data, item data of an item beneficial to the player for helping the player during game play.

7. The image-display game system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the help data generation program included in said game program store generates, based on the transferred ID data, item data of an item beneficial to the player for helping the player during game play and in a way which is not otherwise obtainable during game play.

8. An image-display game system comprising at least two sets of an information storage medium having a game program store and an image-display game device detachable to the information storage medium, and further comprising a communications link provided to permit communication between the image-display game devices

said information storage medium comprises:

a program store in which a game program is unalterably stored;

a temporary store including, at least, a property data storage region where property data is stored for characters captured by a player during the game process, a help data storage region where data for helping a player during game play is stored, and an ID data storage region where ID data for identifying a player is stored; and

a housing in which said program store and said temporary store are housed, and wherein

said image-display game device comprises;

at least one control member actuated by the player for controlling, at least, an operation of capturing characters and an operation of performing data communications with another player;

a processor for performing information processing in response to said at least one control member and based on the stored program; and

a display for displaying an image obtained through processing performed by said processor, wherein,

using said program stored in said program store, said processor carries out image processing to change a displayed image in response to said at least one control member, and changing the property data to be written into said temporary store based on the state of said at least one control member to change the character'"'"' images based on the property data, and wherein

said game program store further generates, when one of said image-display game devices and the other of said image display devices are permitted to communicate by said communications link, and said ID data transferred from one image-display game device to the other image-display game device, the help data processed by said processor of the other image-display game device based on the transferred ID data, and writes the help data to said help data storage region.

9. The image-display game system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said image-display game device is a portable game machine, and

said communications link is an infrared transmitter/receiver integrally provided to the housing of said information storage medium.

10. The image-display game system as described in claim 8, wherein said image-display game device is a portable game machine, and

said communications link is an infrared transmitter/receiver integrally provided to said image-display game device.

11. An information storage medium for use in an image-display game system where at least two image-display game devices communicate with each other, wherein

said image-display game devices each comprise:

a temporary store, at least one control member actuated by a player for controlling at least an operation of capturing a character and an operation of performing data communications with another player;

a communications link for performing the data communications with said image-display game device possessed by another player;

a processor; and

display for displaying a result processed by the processor, and wherein the temporary store includes a property data storage region where property data is stored for characters captured during the course of a game, a help data storage region where data for helping a player during the game process is stored, and an ID data storage region where ID data for identifying a player is stored, wherein the information storage medium includes information processed by said processor, and including

a program for carrying out an image processing routine for changing an image on said display in response to said at least one control member, and changing said property data responding to the game process based on the state of said at least one control member to write the data into the storage region corresponding to said temporary store, and

a program for generating, when one of said image-display game devices and the other of said image-display game devices are made data communicable via said communications link, and when data communications is selected by said at least one control member, in response to said ID data transferred from one image-display game device to the other image-display game device, the help data processed by said processor of the other image-display game device based on the transferred ID data.