Game apparatus, game method, and program

• US 7,601,055 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2004
• Issued: 10/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Konami Digital Entertainment Company Limited (Konami Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Konami Digital Entertainment Company Limited (Konami Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Eika, Takuro
• Primary Examiner(s): Suhol; Dmitry
• Assistant Examiner(s): PINHEIRO, JASON PAUL
• Application Number:
  US10/813,211
• Publication Number:
  US 20040235543A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,024 Days
• Field of Search: 463/6, 463/30, 463/31, 463/37, 463/38, 463/43, 463/44
• US Class Current: 463/6
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/42 by mapping the input signals into game commands, e.g. mapping the displacement of a stylus on a touch screen to the steering angle of a virtual vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/57 Simulating properties, behaviour or motion of objects in the game world, e.g. computing tyre load in a car race game A63F13/56 takes precedence
• 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 2300/8017 Driving on land or water; Flying

Abstract

There is provided a game apparatus for moving a moving object on a road in a virtual world and changing influence received by the moving object from the road based on movement history, wherein an input reception unit receives operational input from a player, a storage unit stores position and velocity of the moving object and road condition, a calculation unit calculates the acceleration of the moving object based on the received operational input, a stored current position of the moving object, and the road condition at this position, an update unit updates the stored position and velocity of the moving object in accordance with the calculated acceleration and updates the stored road condition in accordance with a change in at least one of position, velocity, and acceleration of the moving object, and a display unit displays at least one of the stored position and velocity of the moving object.

Claims

1. A game apparatus for moving a moving object on a road in a virtual world, wherein line segments extend between the edges of the road and each of the line segments is divided into line segment regions, and for each neighboring pair of the line segments, the end points of the regions of the first line segment of the pair and the end points of the regions of the second line segment of the pair are connected sequentially from both the edges of the pair and the quadrilateral areas or triangular areas are formed, said game apparatus comprising:

an input reception unit which receives an operational input from a player;

a storage unit which stores a position and a velocity of the moving object and passage numbers, each of which represents a number of times the moving object passed through each of the regions;

a calculation unit which checks in which quadrilateral area or triangular area the moving object is included, estimates a passage number representing a number of times the moving object passed at the stored position of the moving object from the stored passage numbers of the one or two regions of the area including the moving object, and calculates an influence on the moving object based on the received operational input from the player, the stored position of the moving object, and the estimated passage number; and

an update unit which updates the stored position and the stored velocity of the moving object in accordance with the calculated influence, and increments the passage number that was stored of the region which is intersected by a line connecting the previous position and the updated position of the moving object, and

wherein, said calculation unit;

(a) estimates the passage number for each triangular area having one line segment region for which passage number L has been stored, as L; and

(b) divides each quadrilateral area bounded by two line segment regions for one of which passage number M has been stored and for the other of which passage number N (where M is less than N) has been stored so that N−

M+1 number of small quadrilateral areas are arrayed in a row and one end of the row is defined by the line segment region with the stored passage number M and other end of the row is defined by the line segment region with the stored passage number N, and estimates respective passage numbers of the arrayed small quadrilateral areas, ranging from the stored passage number M to the stored passage number N, incrementing by 1, respectively in order from one small quadrilateral area at said one end of the row to another small quadrilateral area at the other end of the row.

2. The game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

said calculation unit calculates an acceleration of the moving object as the influence on the moving object; and

said update unit updates the stored position and velocity of the moving object in accordance with the calculated acceleration.

3. The game apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

said storage unit stores a reference frictional force at each position on the road and

said calculation unit calculates the acceleration of the moving object by obtaining a frictional force given on the moving object utilizing the stored reference frictional force at the stored position of the moving object.

4. The game apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a display unit, wherein

said display unit displays at least one of the stored position and velocity of the moving object.

5. The game apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

said calculation unit calculates the acceleration of the moving object by obtaining a frictional force given on the moving object in accordance with the estimated passage number.

6. The game apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

said calculation unit calculates the acceleration of the moving object in a manner that the acceleration increases as the estimated passage number increases.

7. The game apparatus according to claim 6, wherein:

said storage unit further stores an objective route within the road;

said update unit updates the objective route that was stored in accordance with the passage number that was stored of the moving object; and

a display unit displays objective route that was stored.

8. A game method for a processing apparatus including an input reception unit, a calculation unit and an update unit for moving a moving object on a road in a virtual world, wherein line segments extend between the edges of the road and each of the line segments is divided into line segment regions, and for each neighboring pair of the line segments, the end points of the regions of the first line segment of the pair and the end points of the regions of the second line segment of the pair are connected sequentially from both the edges of the pair and quadrilateral areas or triangular areas are formed, by using a storage unit for storing a position and a velocity of the moving object passage numbers, each of which represents a number of times the moving object passed through each of the regions, said method comprising:

an input receiving step of receiving an operational input from a player on the input reception unit;

a calculating step performed by the calculation unit of checking in which quadrilateral area or triangular area the moving object is included, estimating a passage number representing a number of times the moving object passed at the stored position of the moving object from the stored passage numbers of the one or two regions of the area including the moving object, and calculating an influence on the moving object, based on the received operational input from the player, the stored position of the moving object, and the estimated passage number; and

an updating step performed by the updating unit of updating the stored position and the stored velocity of the moving object in accordance with the calculated influence and incrementing the stored passage number of the region which is intersected by a line connecting the previous position and the updated position of the moving object, and wherein,

(a) the passage number for each triangular area having one line segment region for which passage number L has been stored is estimated as L by the calculation unit; and

(b) each quadrilateral area bounded by two line segment regions for one of which passage number M has been stored and for the other of which passage number N (where M is less than N) has been stored is divided in the calculation unit so that N−

M+1 number of small quadrilateral areas are arrayed in a row and one end of the row is defined by the line segment region with the stored passage number M and other end of the row is defined by the line segment region with the stored passage number N, and estimates respective passage numbers of the arrayed small quadrilateral areas, ranging from the stored passage number M to the stored passage number N, incrementing by 1, respectively in order from one small quadrilateral area at said one end of the row to another small quadrilateral area at the other end of the row.

9. A computer-readable information recording medium storing a program, in order to move a moving object on a road in a virtual world, wherein line segments extend between the edges of the road and each of the line segments is divided into line segment regions for each neighboring pair of the line segments, the end points of the regions of the first line segment of the pair and the end points of the regions of the second line segment of the pair are connected sequentially from both the edges of the pair and quadrilateral areas or triangular areas are formed, said program controlling a computer to function as:

an input reception unit which receives an operational input from a player;

a storage unit which stores a position and a velocity of a moving object and passage numbers, each of which represents a number of times the moving object passed through each of the regions;

a calculation unit which checks in which quadrilateral area or triangular area the moving object is included, estimates a passage number representing a number of times the moving object passed at the stored position of the moving object from the stored passage number of the one or two regions of the area including the moving object, and calculates an influence on the moving object based on the received operational input from the player, the stored position of the moving object, and the estimated passage number; and

an update unit which updates the stored position and the stored velocity of the moving object in accordance with the calculated influence, and increments the stored passage number of the region which is intersected by a line connecting the previous position and the updated position of the moving object, and

wherein, said calculation unit

(a) estimates the passage number for each triangular area having one line segment region for which passage number L has been stored, as L; and

(b) divides each quadrilateral area bounded by two line segment regions for one of which passage number M has been stored and for the other of which passage number N (where M is less than N) has been stored so that N−

M+1 number of small quadrilateral areas are arrayed in a row and one end of the row is defined by the line segment region with the stored passage number M and other end of the row is defined by the line segment region with the stored passage number N, and estimates respective passage numbers of the arrayed small quadrilateral areas, ranging from the stored passage number M to the stored passage number N, incrementing by 1, respectively in order from one small quadrilateral area at said one end of the row to another small quadrilateral area at the other end of the row.