Entertainment apparatus, storage medium and object display method

• US 6,989,832 B2
• Filed: 01/19/2001
• Issued: 01/24/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Fukuda, Izumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Phu K.
• Application Number:
  US09/766,132
• Publication Number:
  US 20010035906A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,831 Days
• Field of Search: 345/418, 345/427, 345/428, 345/619, 463/30, 463/31, 463/32, 707/10
• US Class Current: 345/427
• 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 13/5258 by dynamically adapting the position of the virtual camera to keep a game object or game character in its viewing frustum, e.g. for tracking a character or a ball
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/803 Driving vehicles or craft, e.g. cars, airplanes, ships, robots or tanks
• 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 2300/6661 for changing the position of the virtual camera
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6684 by dynamically adapting its position to keep a game object in its viewing frustrum, e.g. for tracking a character or a ball
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8017 Driving on land or water; Flying

Abstract

In the case of displaying a moving picture obtained by photographing an object moving in a virtual three dimensional field by the use of a virtual camera, behavior of the object is made to be grasped more easily from the moving picture displayed on a display screen of a display device. A camera setup point 606, which is a setup point of the virtual camera 609, is settled so that the camera setup point 606 approaches a camera chasing point 604 settled to the rear of a position 602 on a line which passes through the position 602 of the object 601 and parallel with a moving direction of the object, from a camera setup point 606′ obtained at least in the last calculation.

Claims

1. An entertainment apparatus which displays a moving picture on a display screen of a display device, the moving picture being obtained by photographing an object moving in a virtual three dimensional field, according to manipulation contents of a manipulator received via a controller, by the use of a virtual camera, comprising:

object position calculating means for sequentially calculating a position and a moving direction of said object in said three dimensional field; and

camera setup means for determining a setup point of said virtual camera in said three dimensional field every time the position and moving direction of said object are calculated by said object position calculating means, while taking a setup point of the virtual camera obtained at least in the last calculation into consideration;

wherein,

said camera setup means includes means for settling a camera chasing point at a position higher by a predetermined value H than a position to the rear of said object from the position thereof by a distance K, the position being on a line which passes through a newly calculated position of said object by said object position calculating means and is parallel with a newly calculated moving direction of said object, and wherein said camera setup means settles a setup point of said virtual camera at a position approaching said camera chasing point from the setup point of said virtual camera obtained at least in the last calculation;

wherein said camera setup means settles the setup point of the virtual camera at a position approaching said camera chasing point from the setup point of said virtual camera obtained at least in the last calculation by a distance L/M, the distance L/M being obtained by dividing a distance L, which is between said camera chasing point and said virtual camera setup point, obtained at least in the last calculation, by a predetermined value M.

2. The entertainment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

said camera setup means sets said distance K so as to be shorter as a moving speed of said object in said three dimensional field is increased.

3. An entertainment apparatus which displays a moving picture on a display screen of a display device, the moving picture being obtained by photographing an object moving in a virtual three dimensional field, according to manipulation contents of a manipulator received via a controller, by the use of a virtual camera, comprising:

object position calculating means for sequentially calculating a position and a moving direction of said object in said three dimensional field; and

camera setup means for determining setup point of said virtual camera in said three dimensional field every time the position and moving direction of said object are calculated by said object position calculating means, while taking a setup point of the virtual camera obtained at least in the last calculation into consideration;

wherein, said camera setup means includes means for settling a camera reference point at a position in front of the position of the object by a distance J, the position being on a line passing through a newly calculated position of said object by said object position calculating means, and the line being parallel with a newly calculated moving direction of said object, and wherein said camera setup means settles a sight line direction of the virtual camera so that said virtual camera is pointed at said camera reference point;

wherein, said camera setup means sets said distance J so as to be longer as a moving speed of said object in said three dimensional field is increased.

4. A storage medium storing a program which is read out and executed by a computer,

said program being read out and executed by said computer to realize means on said computer, said means displaying a moving picture on a display screen of a display device connected to the computer, obtained in such a manner that an object moving in a virtual three dimensional field according to manipulation contents of a player, which are received by said computer via a controller connected to said computer, is photographed by a virtual camera, and

said means comprises:

object position calculating means for sequentially calculating a position and a moving direction of said object in said three dimensional field; and

camera setup means for determining a setup point of said virtual camera in said three dimensional field every time the position and the moving direction of said object are calculated by said object position calculating means, while taking the setup point of said virtual camera obtained at least in the last calculation into consideration;

wherein,

said camera setup means includes means for settling a camera chasing point at a position higher by a predetermined value H than a position to the rear of said object from the position thereof by a distance K, the position being on a line which passes through a newly calculated position of said object by said object position calculating means and is parallel with a newly calculated moving direction of said object, and wherein,

said camera setup means settles a setup point of the virtual camera at a position approaching said camera chasing point from the setup point of said virtual camera obtained at least in the last calculation;

wherein, said camera setup means settles the setup point of the virtual camera at a position approacing said camera chasing point from the setup point of said virtual camera obtained at least in the last calculation by a distance L/M, the distance L/M being obtained by dividing a distance L, which is between said camera chasing point and said virtual camera setup point obtained at least in the last calculation, by a predetermined value M.

5. The storage medium storing the program according to claim 4, wherein,

said camera setup means sets said distance K so as to be shorter as a moving speed of said object in said three dimensional field as increased.

6. A storage medium storing a program which is read out and executed by a computer,

said program being read out and executed by said computer to realize means on said computer, said means displaying a moving picture on a display screen of a display device connected to the computer, obtained in such a manner that an object moving in a virtual three dimensional field according to manipulation contents of a player, which are received by said computer via a controller connected to said computer, is photographed by a virtual camera, and

said means comprises:

object position calculating means for sequentially calculating a position and a moving direction of said object in said three dimensional field; and

camera setup means for determining a setup point of said virtual camera in said three dimensional field every time the position and the moving direction of said object are calculated by said object position calculating means, while taking the setup point of said virtual camera obtained at least in the last calculation into consideration;

wherein,

said camera setup means includes means for settling a camera reference point at a position in front of the position of the object by a distance J, the position being on a line passing through a newly calculated position of said object by said object position calculating means, and the line being parallel with a newly calculated moving direction of said object, and wherein,

said camera setup means settles a sight line direction of the virtual camera so that said virtual camera is pointed at said camera reference point;

wherein, said camera setup means sets said distance J so as to be longer as a moving speed of said object in said three dimensional field is increased.