Game system with changing character control

• US 7,749,056 B2
• Filed: 09/27/2004
• Issued: 07/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Sega
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Sega
• Inventors: Takehara, Shiro, Ando, Hiroshi, Fujiwara, Akihito
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheng; Joe H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kim; Andrew
• Application Number:
  US10/573,598
• Publication Number:
  US 20070004482A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,108 Days
• Field of Search: 463/6, 463/32, 463/42
• 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 13/12 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 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/48 Starting a game, e.g. activating a game device or waiting for other players to join a multiplayer session
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/53 involving additional visual information provided to the game scene, e.g. by overlay to simulate a head-up display [HUD] or displaying a laser sight in a shooting game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/803 Driving vehicles or craft, e.g. cars, airplanes, ships, robots or tanks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/572 Communication between players during game play of non game information, e.g. e-mail, chat, file transfer, streaming of audio and streaming of video
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/636 involving process of starting or resuming a game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/66 for rendering three dimensional images
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8017 Driving on land or water; Flying

Abstract

To provide a game system in which each of the players in turn controls a common character (operation object) so as to enjoy a continuous electric game; and to provide a game system in which a previous player who has been replaced by another player still has willing to participate in the game.

There is provided a game system to which a plurality of players can access via respective operation terminals. According to input data from the operation terminals, a calculation processing device executes a game program, judges that a plurality of players are participating in the game, establishes teams, each consisting of a plurality of players, assigns a common character to each team, decides a reference point when the operation of the character is to be performed by another player belonging to the same team according to the program, judges whether the character has reached the reference point according to the parameter of the character, and, if the judgment is yes, offers the operation right of the character to another player, and controls the game system to continue the operation of the character addording to the signal from the operation terminal of the another player.

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium storing instructions for configuring a processor to perform a method for performing a relay race game in which a plurality of players input operation signals via respective operation means, the relay race game being performed within a game space by player characters which are operated based on the operation signals, and in which game images of the relay race game corresponding to each player are created and outputted as a game screen to display means corresponding to each player, wherein said method comprises:

a game setting process of, based on operation signals from the players, reading out from a recording medium data for player characters based on selection by the players, and acquiring information about division of the players into teams for said relay race game, and about an order of play within each team;

a game execution process of executing a start of said relay race game between the teams based on said team division information and the order-of-play information, and, based on the order-of-play information, performing a process of taking a player character of each team set as a current runner among said player characters, as a current runner character, to be moved within the game space;

a display process of, based on the order-of-play information, moving the player character of each team which is set as the current runner among the player characters within said game space as the current runner character, and displaying the situation of movement as a game screen on game screen display means of the players;

a decision process of acquiring position coordinates of said current runner character within the game space, taking a predetermined operation change over position as a reference point, and deciding whether or not said current runner character is positioned within a predetermined distance range from the reference point;

a notification process of, when decided that said current runner character is positioned within the predetermined distance range from the operation change over position, providing a display which notifies a change over of operation of said current runner character on the game screen of the player who operates a next runner character which is set as a next runner among the player characters based on the order-of-play information;

an operation change over process of, when said current runner character arrives at the operation change over position, along with displaying said next runner character at the position of said current runner character, also inhibiting operation signals from the operator of said current runner character, and making effective an operation signal from the operator of the next runner character;

a change over timing calculation process of, in said notification process, calculating timing at which operation change over is performed, based on the distance between said current runner character and said reference point; and

a change over timing display process of providing a display which shows timing of operation change over on the game screen of the operator of said next runner character, based on the change over timing information calculated by the change over timing calculation process.

2. The computer-readable medium according to claim 1, the method further comprising:

a process of, in said notification process, displaying said next runner character translucently overlapped on said current runner character which is being displayed on said game screen of the operator of said next runner character; and

a process of, based on the change over timing information which has been calculated by said change over timing calculation process, changing the transparency of the display of said current runner character and of said next runner character as the time for change over approaches, and, at the time point when the time for change over has arrived, displaying said next runner character normally along with canceling the display of said current runner character.

3. The computer-readable medium according to claim 1, the method further comprising:

a process of, in said notification process, deforming said current runner character which is being displayed on the game screen of the operator of said next runner character into said next runner character; and

a process of, based on the change over timing information which has been calculated by the change over timing calculation process, performing display so as to deform said current runner character into said next runner character as the time for change over approaches.

4. A computer device programmed according to a game program to execute a relay race game in which a plurality of players input operation signals via respective operation means, the relay race game being executed within a game space by player characters which are operated based on the operation signals, and in which game images of the relay race game corresponding to each player are created and outputted as a game screen to display means corresponding to each player, said game program causing the computer device to perform:

a game setting process of, based on operation signals from the players, reading out from a recording medium data for player characters based on selection by the players, and acquiring information about division of the players into teams for said relay race game, and about an order of play within each team;

a game execution process of executing a start of said relay race game between the teams based on said team division information and the order-of-play information, and, based on the order-of-play information, performing a process of taking a player character of each team set as a current runner among said player characters, as a current runner character, to be moved within the game space;

a display process of, based on the order-of-play information, moving the player character of each team which is set as the current runner among the player characters within said game space as the current runner character, and displaying the situation of movement as a game screen on game screen display means of the players;

a decision process of acquiring position coordinates of said current runner character within the game space, taking a predetermined operation change over position as a reference point, and deciding whether or not said current runner character is positioned within a predetermined distance range from the reference point;

a notification process of, when decided that said current runner character is positioned within the predetermined distance range from the operation change over position, providing a display which notifies a change over of operation of said current runner character on the game screen of the player who operates a next runner character which is set as a next runner among the player characters based on the order-of-play information;

an operation change over process of, when said current runner character arrives at the operation change over position, along with displaying said next runner character at the position of said current runner character, also inhibiting operation signals from the operator of said current runner character, and making effective an operation signal from the operator of the next runner character;

a change over timing calculation process of, in said notification process, calculating timing at which operation change over is performed, based on the distance between said current runner character and said reference point; and

a change over timing display process of providing a display which shows timing of operation change over on the game screen of the operator of said next runner character, based on the change over timing information calculated by the change over timing calculation process.

5. The computer device according to claim 4, the game program causing the computer device to further perform:

a process of, in said notification process, displaying said next runner character translucently overlapped on said current runner character which is being displayed on said game screen of the operator of said next runner character; and

a process of, based on the change over timing information which has been calculated by said change over timing calculation process, changing the transparency of the display of said current runner character and of said next runner character as the time for change over approaches, and, at the time point when the time for change over has arrived, displaying said next runner character normally along with canceling the display of said current runner character.

6. The computer device according to claim 4, the game program causing the computer device to further perform:

a process of, in said notification process, deforming said current runner character which is being displayed on the game screen of the operator of said next runner character into said next runner character; and

a process of, based on the change over timing information which has been calculated by the change over timing calculation process, performing display so as to deform said current runner character into said next runner character as the time for change over approaches.

7. A method, implemented by a processor, for performing a relay race game in which a plurality of players input operation signals via respective operation means, the relay race game being executed within a game space by player characters which are operated based on the operation signals, and in which game images of the relay race game corresponding to each player are created and outputted as a game screen to display means corresponding to each player, wherein said method comprises:

a game setting process, by the processor, of, based on operation signals from the players, reading out from a recording medium data for player characters based on selection by the players, and acquiring information about division of the players into teams for said relay race game, and about an order of play within each team;

a game execution process of executing a start of said relay race game between the teams based on said team division information and the order-of-play information, and, based on the order-of-play information, performing a process of taking a player character of each team set as a current runner among said player characters, as a current runner character, to be moved within the game space;

a display process of, based on the order-of-play information, moving the player character of each team which is set as the current runner among the player characters within said game space as the current runner character, and displaying the situation of movement as a game screen on game screen display means of the players;

a decision process of acquiring position coordinates of said current runner character within the game space, taking a predetermined operation change over position as a reference point, and deciding whether or not said current runner character is positioned within a predetermined distance range from the reference point;

a notification process of, when decided that said current runner character is positioned within the predetermined distance range from the operation change over position, providing a display which notifies a change over of operation of said current runner character on the game screen of the player who operates a next runner character which is set as a next runner among the player characters based on the order-of-play information;

an operation change over process of, when said current runner character arrives at the operation change over position, along with displaying said next runner character at the position of said current runner character, also inhibiting operation signals from the operator of said current runner character, and making effective an operation signal from the operator of the next runner character;

a change over timing calculation process of, in said notification process, calculating timing at which operation change over is performed, based on the distance between said current runner character and said reference point; and

a change over timing display process of providing a display which shows timing of operation change over on the game screen of the operator of said next runner character, based on the change over timing information calculated by the change over timing calculation process.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising:

a process of, in said notification process, displaying said next runner character translucently overlapped on said current runner character which is being displayed on said game screen of the operator of said next runner character; and

a process of, based on the change over timing information which has been calculated by said change over timing calculation process, changing the transparency of the display of said current runner character and of said next runner character as the time for change over approaches, and, at the time point when the time for change over has arrived, displaying said next runner character normally along with canceling the display of said current runner character.

9. The method according to claim 7, further comprising:

a process of, in said notification process, deforming said current runner character which is being displayed on the game screen of the operator of said next runner character into said next runner character; and

a process of, based on the change over timing information which has been calculated by the change over timing calculation process, performing display so as to deform said current runner character into said next runner character as the time for change over approaches.