Game system, program, and information storage medium

• US 7,722,450 B2
• Filed: 09/09/2004
• Issued: 05/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. (BANDAI NAMCO Holdings Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Namco Bandai Games Inc. (BANDAI NAMCO Holdings Inc.), Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Endo, Hiroumi, Takamoto, Junji, Onoda, Hiroyuki, Nagareda, Takeshi, Igarashi, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo; Peter DungBa
• Assistant Examiner(s): DEODHAR, OMKAR A
• Application Number:
  US10/936,589
• Publication Number:
  US 20050085284A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,084 Days
• Field of Search: 463/7, 463/1, 463/23, 463/35, 463/43
• US Class Current: 463/7
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• 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 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/5375 for graphically or textually suggesting an action, e.g. by displaying an arrow indicating a turn in a driving game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/814 Musical performances, e.g. by evaluating the player's ability to follow a notation
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/303 for displaying additional data, e.g. simulating a Head Up Display
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/305 for providing a graphical or textual hint to the player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6036 for offering a minigame in combination with a main game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/638 according to the timing of operation or a time limit
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8047 Music games

Abstract

A game system including: a music reproduction section which reproduces given music data stored in a storage section; a display control section which performs display control of changing a relative positional relationship among a direction mark which directs an operation to be performed by a player using an operation section, a special direction mark for the second game and a reference mark for timing judgment of the operation in association with a reproduction state of the music data to cause the direction mark and the reference mark to come closer; a timing acquisition section which acquires operation timing when the player operates the operation section for the direction mark; and a game calculation section which performs calculation processing of a first game of comparing the acquired operation timing with timing criteria and calculation processing of a second game differing from the first game based on operation information of the operation section for the special direction mark.

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium having a computer-executable program stored thereon for a game in which a player plays by operating an operation section, the program causing a computer to function as:

a music reproduction section which reproduces given music data stored in a storage section;

a display control section which performs display control of changing a relative positional relationship between a direction mark which directs an operation to be performed by a player using an operation section and a reference mark for timing judgment of the operation in association with a reproduction state of the music data to cause the direction mark and the reference mark to come closer;

a timing acquisition section which acquires operation timing when the player operates the operation section for the direction mark; and

a game calculation section which performs calculation processing of a first game of comparing the acquired operation timing with timing criteria and calculation processing of a second game, the timing criteria of the first game being different from the timing criteria of the second game,

wherein the display control section performs control of displaying a special direction mark for the second game as at least one of the direction marks, and

wherein, when an operation of the operation section has been performed within a period in which the special direction mark overlaps the reference mark, the game calculation section performs the calculation processing of the second game based on operation information of the operation section for the special direction mark.

2. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1,

wherein the game calculation section performs the calculation processing of the second game based on the operation timing of the operation section as the operation information of the operation section for the special direction mark.

3. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1,

wherein the game calculation section performs the calculation processing of the first game by comparing the operation timing of the operation section for the special direction mark with the timing criteria.

4. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 3,

wherein the game calculation section performs the calculation processing of the first game by comparing the operation timing of the operation section for the special direction mark with first timing criteria, and performs the calculation processing of the second game by comparing the operation timing with second timing criteria differing from the first timing criteria.

5. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1,

wherein the game calculation section performs processing of causing a result of the calculation processing of the second game to be reflected in the first game by performing special production corresponding to the result of the second game for the first game.

6. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1,

wherein the game calculation section performs the calculation processing of the second game based on the operation information of the operation section for the special direction mark, and

wherein the operation information is a number of operations, an operation period, or an operation strength of the operation section.

7. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1,

wherein the display control section performs control of displaying a game content of the second game on the special direction mark.

8. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 7,

wherein, when the game calculation section has performed the calculation processing of the second game based on the operation timing of the operation section, the display control section performs control of displaying a result of the calculation processing of the second game on the special direction mark.

9. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1,

wherein, when the operation section has been operated for all of a plurality of the special direction marks, the game calculation section performs processing of causing a result of the calculation processing of the second game to be reflected in the first game.

10. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1,

wherein the display control section performs control of displaying the special direction mark corresponding to a progress state of the first game.

11. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1,

wherein the display control section performs control of displaying a game start direction mark for allowing the second game to be performed by causing the special direction mark to appear as at least one of the direction marks.

12. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1,

wherein the game calculation section causes an acceptance period for an operation input for the second game to be started on condition that a predetermined operation using the operation section has been performed within a period in which the special direction mark overlaps the reference mark, and performs the calculation processing of the second game based on the operation information of the operation section within the acceptance period.

13. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1,

wherein the first game is a competition game in which a plurality of players compete for a comparison result between the operation timing of the operation section and the timing criteria;

and

wherein, when a given player has performed an operation of the operation section for the special direction mark, the game calculation section performs processing of causing a result of the calculation processing of the second game based on the operation information performed by the player to be reflected in the first game performed by another player.

14. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1,

wherein the first game is a competition game in which a plurality of players compete for a comparison result between the operation timing of the operation section and the timing criteria;

wherein the computer is caused to function as a monitoring section which monitors a competition state of the first game between or among the plurality of players; and

wherein, when the monitoring section judges that a given player is in a disadvantageous competition state in comparison with another player, the display control section performs control of displaying the special direction mark for the player in the disadvantageous competition state.

15. The computer-readable medium as defined in claim 1,

wherein the first game is a competition game in which a plurality of players compete for a comparison result between the operation timing of the operation section and the timing criteria;

wherein the computer is caused to function as a condition judgment section which judges whether the operation information of the operation section for the special direction mark satisfies a predetermined condition of the second game; and

wherein, when the condition judgment section has judged that the operation information of the operation section of a given player for the special direction mark does not satisfy the predetermined condition of the second game, the display control section performs control of displaying the special direction mark for another player.

16. A computer-readable medium having a computer-executable program stored thereon for a percussion instrument game in which a player plays by performing an operation of beating a percussion instrument type controller, the program causing a computer to function as:

a music reproduction section which reproduces music data for playing a percussion instrument which is stored in a storage section;

a display control section which performs display control of changing a relative positional relationship between a direction mark which directs a beat operation to be performed by a player using a percussion instrument type controller and a reference mark for timing judgment of the beat operation in association with a reproduction state of the music data to cause the direction mark and the reference mark to come closer;

a timing acquisition section which acquires beat timing when the player performs the beat operation of the percussion instrument type controller for the direction mark; and

a game calculation section which performs calculation processing of a first game of comparing the acquired beat timing with timing criteria and evaluating the beat operation of the player, and calculation processing of a second game, the timing criteria of the first game being different from the timing criteria of the second game,

wherein the display control section performs control of displaying a special direction mark for the second game as at least one of the direction marks,

wherein, when an operation of the percussion instrument type controller has been performed within a period in which the special direction mark overlaps the reference mark, the game calculation section performs the calculation processing of the second game based on the beat timing of the percussion instrument type controller for the special direction mark, and

wherein the game calculation section performs processing of causing a result of the calculation processing of the second game to be reflected in the first game by performing special production for the first game.

17. A game method for a game in which a player plays by operating an operation section, the method comprising:

reproducing given music data stored in a storage section;

performing display control of changing a relative positional relationship between a direction mark which directs an operation to be performed by a player using an operation section and a reference mark for timing judgment of the operation in association with a reproduction state of the music data to cause the direction mark and the reference mark to come closer;

acquiring operation timing when the player operates the operation section for the direction mark;

performing calculation processing of a first game of comparing the acquired operation timing with timing criteria and calculation processing of a second game, the timing criteria of the first game being different from the timing criteria of the second game;

performing control of displaying a special direction mark for the second game as at least one of the direction marks; and

performing the calculation processing of the second game based on operation information of the operation section for the special direction mark, when an operation of the operation section has been performed within a period in which the special direction mark overlaps the reference mark.

18. A game method for a percussion instrument game in which a player plays by performing an operation of beating a percussion instrument type controller, the method comprising:

reproducing music data for playing a percussion instrument which is stored in a storage section;

performing display control of changing a relative positional relationship between a direction mark which directs a beat operation to be performed by a player using a percussion instrument type controller and a reference mark for timing judgment of the beat operation in association with a reproduction state of the music data to cause the direction mark and the reference mark to come closer;

acquiring beat timing when the player performs the beat operation of the percussion instrument type controller for the direction mark;

performing calculation processing of a first game of comparing the acquired beat timing with timing criteria and evaluating the beat operation of the player, and calculation processing of a second game, the timing criteria of the first game being different from the timing criteria of the second game;

performing control of displaying a special direction mark for the second game as at least one of the direction marks;

performing the calculation processing of the second game based on the beat timing of the percussion instrument type controller for the special direction mark, when an operation of the percussion instrument type controller has been performed within a period in which the special direction mark overlaps the reference mark; and

performing processing of causing a result of the calculation processing of the second game to be reflected in the first game by performing special production for the first game.