Music game system, game control method for the game system, and computer-readable memory medium

• US 6,607,446 B1
• Filed: 02/22/2000
• Issued: 08/19/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Konami Digital Entertainment Company Limited (Konami Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Konami Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Takahashi, Masayuki, Shimomura, Satoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Hughes, S. Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): ASHBURN, STEVEN L
• Application Number:
  US09/510,761
• Time in Patent Office: 1,274 Days
• Field of Search: 463/1, 463/2, 463/23, 463/30, 463/31, 463/35-38, 463/43, 434/307.A, 434/307.V, 434/309, 434/327, 116/222, 369/83, 844/70.V, 846/01, 846/02, 846/09, 846/49
• US Class Current: 463/43
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/245 specially adapted to a particular type of game, e.g. steering wheels
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/44 involving timing of operations, e.g. performing an action within a time slot
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/54 involving acoustic signals, e.g. for simulating revolutions per minute [RPM] dependent engine sounds in a driving game or reverberation against a virtual wall
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/814 Musical performances, e.g. by evaluating the player's ability to follow a notation
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1062 being specially adapted to a type of game, e.g. steering wheel
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6081 generating an output signal, e.g. under timing constraints, for spatialization
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/638 according to the timing of operation or a time limit
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8047 Music games
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/125 Medley, i.e. linking parts of different musical pieces in one single piece, e.g. sound collage, DJ mix

Abstract

Disclosed is a music game system in which the attraction of a game is increased by effectively using limited music data. The music game system comprises an input device 4 for outputting signals in correspondence with the operation states of push-switches 5; a ROM 30a in which are stored music data for reproducing multiple tunes, and timing data of each tune defining a procedure for operating the push-switches 5 in correspondence with the tune reproduced based on music data; display devices 24,3 for displaying game screens; music reproduction devices for 26, 32 reproducing the music data; and a CPU for reproducing a predetermined tune by the music reproduction devices and for guiding the player in operation procedures of the input device 4 in correspondence with the reproduced tune, a medley tune comprising parts of the multiple tunes linked together being reproduced, and the operation procedure of the input device being guided in correspondence with the medley tune.

Claims

1. A music game system comprising:

an input device having a plurality of operation members, for outputting signals in correspondence with operation states of the operation members when operated by a player;

a memory device in which are stored music data for reproducing a plurality of tunes, and timing data of each tune defining an operation procedure for operating the operation members in correspondence with tunes reproduced based on the music data;

a display device for displaying a game screen;

a music reproduction device for reproducing music from the music data;

a game controller for controlling reproduction of a predetermined tune by the music reproduction device, and using the display device to guide the player in the operation procedure of the input device in correspondence with the reproduced tune;

the game controller comprising;

a medley tune control device for making the music reproduction device reproduce a medley tune comprising linked parts of at least two of the plurality of tunes, and guiding the operation procedure of the input device in correspondence with the medley tune, based on timing data corresponding to each part of the medley tune; and

an evaluation device for evaluating an operation performed by the player by comparing the player'"'"'s operation of the input device with an operation identified by the timing data;

the memory device storing;

first judgement information for judging;

types of a plurality of blocks selected from music data corresponding to the plurality of tunes as potential constituent elements of the medley tune wherein the types correspond a level of difficulty of an operation procedure guided based on timing data corresponding to blocks, and

addresses of the blocks in the memory device; and

a second judgement information for judging a relationship between a reproduction sequence of blocks forming the medley tune and the types of the blocks; and

the medley tune control device comprises;

a type identifying device for identifying types of the blocks forming the medley tune for each reproduction sequence based on the second judgement information and for identifying types of next blocks, subsequent to previous blocks, identified based on the first judgement information indicating a level of difficulty corresponding to the evaluation of the evaluation device based on the previous blocks identified;

a block extracting device for extracting blocks corresponding to the types identified by the type identifying device from the music data corresponding to the plurality of tunes based on the first judgement information relating the level of difficulty; and

a data reading device for reading the music data in the extracted blocks in compliance with the reproduction sequence and outputting the music data to the music reproduction device, and reading timing data corresponding to the output music data and guiding the player in an operation procedure based the timing data.

2. The music game system according to claim 1, wherein the first judgement information comprises information relating to musical characteristics of the blocks as the types.

3. The music game system according to claim 2, wherein the information relating to musical characteristics comprises information relating to performance codes of the blocks.

4. The music game system according to claim 1, wherein the block extracting device of the game controller comprises a re-extracting device for extracting one more block from a plurality of blocks, when the plurality of blocks have been extracted in relation to a common reproduction sequence of the medley tune.

5. The music game system according to claim 1, wherein:

the game controller further comprises an end judging device for judging whether the medley tune has been reproduced to a predetermined position before the end;

the first judgement information comprises information for judging whether each block of a plurality of blocks selected as potential constituent elements of the medley tune is suitable to an end of the medley tune; and

the block extracting device extracts an appropriate block as the end of the medley tune based on the first judgement information when the end judging device has judged that the medley tune has been reproduced to a predetermined position before the end.

6. The music game system according to claim 1, wherein the game controller further comprises an end control device for ending the reproduction of the medley tune and the guide of the operation procedure when an aggregation of evaluations, less than a predetermined reference, of the evaluation device has satisfied a predetermined condition.

7. The music game system according to claim 1 wherein the game controller gradually decreases the volume of a tune being reproduced at a linking portion of the medley tune, and gradually increasing the volume of the next tune.

8. The music game system according to claim 1, wherein the memory device comprises a semiconductor memory.

9. A game control method applied in a music game system comprising an input device having a plurality of operation members, for outputting signals in correspondence with operation states of the operation members;

a memory device in which are stored music data for reproducing a plurality of tunes, and timing data of each tune defining an operation procedure for operating the operation members in correspondence with tunes reproduced based on the music data;

a display device for displaying a game screen; and

a music reproduction device for reproducing music of the music data;

the game control method comprising the steps;

storing first judgement information for including;

data for judging types of a plurality of blocks to be extracted from the music data corresponding to the plurality of tunes as potential constituent elements of a medley tune, the first judgement information comprising type information relating to a level of difficulty of the operation procedure guided based on timing data corresponding to blocks, and

data for judging addresses of the blocks in the memory device;

storing a second judgement information for judging a relationship between a reproduction sequence of blocks forming the medley tune and the types relating a degree of difficulty of the blocks;

evaluating an operation performed by the player by comparing the player'"'"'s operation of the input device with an operation identified by the timing data during subsequent reproduction of a medley tune;

reproducing a medley tune comprising linked parts of at least two of the plurality of tunes, and guiding the operation procedure of the input device in correspondence with the medley tune, based on timing data corresponding to each part of the medley tune including;

identifying types of the blocks forming the medley tune for each reproduction sequence based on the second judgement information relating difficulty and identifying types of next blocks, subsequent to previous blocks identified, based on the first judgement information indicating a level of difficulty corresponding to the evaluation of the evaluation device based on the previous blocks identified;

extracting blocks corresponding to the types identified by the type identifying device from the music data corresponding to the plurality of tunes each, based on the first judgement information; and

reading the music data in the extracted blocks in compliance with the reproduction sequence, outputting music of the music data, and reading timing data corresponding to the output music data and guiding the player in an operation procedure according to the timing data.

10. A computer-readable memory medium applied in a game system comprising an input device having a plurality of operation members, for outputting signals in correspondence with operation states of the operation members, a display device for displaying a game screen, and a music reproduction device, the computer-readable memory medium storing music data for reproducing a plurality of tunes using the music reproduction device, timing data of each tune defining an operation procedure for controlling the operation members in correspondence with tunes reproduced based on the music data, and a program for executing a predetermined music game based on the music data and the timing data comprising the following steps:

storing first judgement information for including;

data for judging types of a plurality of blocks to be extracted from the music data corresponding to the plurality of tunes as potential constituent elements of a medley tune, the first judgement information comprising type information relating to a level of difficulty of the operation procedure guided based on timing data corresponding to blocks, and

data for judging addresses of the blocks in the memory device;

storing a second judgement information for judging a relationship between a reproduction sequence of blocks forming the medley tune and the types relating a degree of difficulty of the blocks;

evaluating an operation performed by the player by comparing the player'"'"'s operation of the input device with an operation identified by the timing data during subsequent reproduction of a medley tune;

reproducing a medley tune comprising linked parts of at least two of the plurality of tunes, and guiding the operation procedure of the input device in accordance with the medley tune, based on timing data corresponding to the parts of the medley tune including;

identifying types of the blocks forming the medley tune for each reproduction sequence based on the second judgement information relating difficulty and identifying types of next blocks, subsequent to previous blocks identified, based on the first judgement information indicating a level of difficulty corresponding to the evaluation of the evaluation device based on the previous blocks identified;

extracting blocks corresponding to the types identified by the type identifying device from the music data corresponding to the plurality of tunes each, based on the first judgement information; and

reading the music data in the extracted blocks in compliance with the reproduction sequence, outputting music of the music data using the reproduction device, and reading timing data corresponding to the output music data and guiding the player in an operation procedure according to the timing data.