Storage medium having game program stored thereon, game apparatus and input device

• US 7,824,266 B2
• Filed: 06/21/2005
• Issued: 11/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Ohta, Keizo
• Primary Examiner(s): Lewis; David L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jones; Marcus D
• Application Number:
  US11/156,493
• Publication Number:
  US 20060019752A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,960 Days
• Field of Search: 463/37, 463/36, 463/38, 345/173, 345/169, 345/179
• US Class Current: 463/37
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/2145 the surface being also a display device, e.g. touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/426 involving on-screen location information, e.g. screen coordinates of an area at which the player is aiming with a light gun
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/92 Video game devices specially adapted to be hand-held while playing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1018 Calibration; Key and button assignment
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1043 being characterized by constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1075 using a touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/204 the platform being a handheld device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/301 using an additional display connected to the game console, e.g. on the controller
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

An origin which is set by a pointing device is drawn and moved according to a player'"'"'s operation in order to carry out an operation in which a joystick is emulated, and therefore the operation in which the pointing device is used can be carried out in accordance with the player'"'"'s controllability, and further a distance between the origin and a point at which the player operates the pointing device does not become longer than is necessary, and therefore the response to the operation can be improved.

Claims

1. A storage medium having stored thereon a game program executed by a computer in a game apparatus which is operated using a pointing device for outputting coordinate information being based on a given coordinate system and being designated according to an operation of a player, wherein

the computer is operable to execute:

reference coordinate setting for setting reference coordinates in the coordinate system;

designated coordinate setting for repeatedly obtaining coordinate information which is outputted from the pointing device and repeatedly updating designated coordinates in the coordinate system based on the coordinate information which has been repeatedly obtained from the pointing device;

reference coordinate changing for repeatedly updating a position of the reference coordinates so as to approach latest coordinates among the designated coordinates which have been repeatedly updated; and

game control for controlling the game based on at least one of an input direction which is a direction from the reference coordinates to the designated coordinates and an input distance which is a distance between the reference coordinates and the designated coordinates, wherein

in the reference coordinate changing, the position of the reference coordinates is changed so as to approach the designated coordinates when a predetermined condition is satisfied, wherein

the predetermined condition which is used in the reference coordinate changing is a condition that the designated coordinates are outside a predetermined area based on the reference coordinates, wherein

in the game control, the game is controlled based on at least the input distance, and when the designated coordinates are outside the predetermined area based on the reference coordinates, the input distance is set as a predetermined distance from the reference coordinates to the boundary of the predetermined area, and

in the reference coordinate changing, the position of the reference coordinates is changed so as to approach the designated coordinates when the designated coordinates are outside the predetermined area based on the reference coordinates.

2. The storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 1, wherein

the predetermined area is formed as a circular area having the reference coordinates at the center thereof.

3. The storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 2, wherein

in the reference coordinate changing, the position of the reference coordinates is changed so as to approach the designated coordinates such that the distance between the designated coordinates and the reference coordinates has a same value as a predetermined distance.

4. The storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 1, wherein

in the reference coordinate changing, the position of the reference coordinates is changed so as to approach the designated coordinates along a line segment connecting the designated coordinates with the reference coordinates.

5. The storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 1, wherein

in the reference coordinate changing, the position of the reference coordinates is changed so as to be in the area which is surrounded by:

a first arc of a circle having the designated coordinates at the center thereof and having a radius of a predetermined distance;

a second arc of a circle having the designated coordinates at the center thereof and having a radius of a length between the designated coordinates and the reference coordinates;

a line segment connecting the designated coordinates with the reference coordinates; and

a straight line passing through designated coordinates which is currently set and the designated coordinates having been previously set in the designated coordinate setting.

6. The storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 5, wherein

in the reference coordinate changing, the position of the reference coordinates is changed so as to be on the first arc which is interposed between the line segment and the straight line.

7. The storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 5, wherein

in the reference coordinate changing, the position of the reference coordinates is changed so as to be at a position other than points on the line segment.

8. The storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 5, wherein

in the reference coordinate changing, the position of the reference coordinates is changed such that the larger the movement distance between the designated coordinates being currently set and the designated coordinates having been previously set is, the closer to the straight line the reference coordinates are.

9. The storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 1, wherein

the computer is further operable to execute adjacent area setting for setting an adjacent area around the designated coordinates which is set based on the coordinate information outputted from the pointing device, and

in the designated coordinate setting, when a position indicated by the coordinate information which is newly outputted from the pointing device is within the adjacent area, the designated coordinates are not changed, and when a position indicated by the coordinate information which is newly outputted is outside the adjacent area, the designated coordinates are changed based on the position indicated by the coordinate information.

10. The storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 1, wherein

the computer is further operable to execute positional relationship storage for storing, when an output of the coordinate information from the pointing device is stopped, a relative positional relationship between the designated coordinates and the reference coordinates which are set before the output is stopped,

in the designated coordinate setting, a position indicated by the earliest coordinate information which is outputted from the pointing device after the output is stopped is set as designated coordinates in the coordinate system, and

in the reference coordinate setting, reference coordinates are set in the coordinate system based on the relative positional relationship having been stored in the positional relationship storage using as a reference a position indicated by the earliest coordinate information.

11. The storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 1, wherein

in the game control, when the output of the coordinate information from the pointing device is stopped, the game is continuously controlled based on at least one of the input direction and the input distance obtained according to the designated coordinates and the reference coordinates, which are set before the output is stopped.

12. The storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 1, wherein

the game apparatus comprises a display which is covered by the pointing device, and

the computer is further operable to execute reference coordinate position display for displaying an image indicating the position of the reference coordinates on the display.

13. A game apparatus which is operated using a pointing device for outputting coordinate information being based on a given coordinate system and being designated according to an operation of a player, comprising:

reference coordinate setting programmed logic circuitry for setting reference coordinates in the coordinate system;

designated coordinate setting programmed logic circuitry for repeatedly obtaining coordinate information which is outputted from the pointing device and repeatedly updating designated coordinates in the coordinate system based on the coordinate information which has been repeatedly obtained from the pointing device;

reference coordinate changing programmed logic circuitry for repeatedly updating a position of the reference coordinates so as to approach latest coordinates among the designated coordinates which have been repeatedly updated; and

game control programmed logic circuitry for controlling the game based on at least one of an input direction which is a direction from the reference coordinates to the designated coordinates and an input distance which is a distance between the reference coordinates and the designated coordinates, wherein

in the reference coordinate changing programmed logic circuitry, the position of the reference coordinates is changed so as to approach the designated coordinates when a predetermined condition is satisfied, wherein

the predetermined condition which is used in the reference coordinate changing programmed logic circuitry is a condition that the designated coordinates are outside a predetermined area based on the reference coordinates, wherein

in the game control programmed logic circuitry, the game is controlled based on at least the input distance, and when the designated coordinates are outside the predetermined area based on the reference coordinates, the input distance is set as a predetermined distance from the reference coordinates to the boundary of the predetermined area, and

in the reference coordinate changing programmed logic circuitry, the position of the reference coordinates is changed so as to approach the designated coordinates when the designated coordinates are outside the predetermined area based on the reference coordinates.

14. An input device for inputting information to a game apparatus according to an operation of a player, comprising:

coordinate information output programmed logic circuitry for outputting coordinate information being based on a given coordinate system and being designated according to the operation of the player;

reference coordinate setting programmed logic circuitry for setting reference coordinates in the coordinate system;

designated coordinate setting programmed logic circuitry for repeatedly obtaining coordinate information which is outputted from the coordinate information output programmed logic circuitry and repeatedly updating designated coordinates in the coordinate system based on the coordinate information which has been repeatedly obtained from the coordinate information output programmed logic circuitry; and

reference coordinate changing programmed logic circuitry for repeatedly updating a position of the reference coordinates so as to approach latest coordinates among the designated coordinates which have been repeatedly updated, wherein

the game apparatus controls the game based on at least one of an input direction which is a direction from the reference coordinates to the designated coordinates and an input distance which is a distance between the reference coordinates and the designated coordinates, wherein

in the reference coordinate changing programmed logic circuitry, the position of the reference coordinates is changed so as to approach the designated coordinates when a predetermined condition is satisfied, wherein

the predetermined condition which is used in the reference coordinate changing is a condition that the designated coordinates are outside a predetermined area based on the reference coordinates, wherein

the game is controlled based on at least the input distance, and when the designated coordinates are outside the predetermined area based on the reference coordinates, the input distance is set as a predetermined distance from the reference coordinates to the boundary of the predetermined area, and

in the reference coordinate changing programmed logic circuitry, the position of the reference coordinates is changed so as to approach the designated coordinates when the designated coordinates are outside the predetermined area based on the reference coordinates.

15. A storage medium having stored thereon a program executed by a computer in an information processing apparatus which is operated using a pointing device for outputting coordinate information being based on a given coordinate system and being designated according to an operation of a user, wherein

the computer is operable to execute:

reference coordinate setting for setting reference coordinates in the coordinate system;

designated coordinate setting for repeatedly obtaining coordinate information which is outputted from the pointing device and repeatedly updating designated coordinates in the coordinate system based on the coordinate information which has been repeatedly obtained from the pointing device;

reference coordinate changing for repeatedly updating a position of the reference coordinates so as to approach latest coordinates among the designated coordinates which have been repeatedly updated; and

operation processing for processing an operation based on at least one of an input direction which is a direction from the reference coordinates to the designated coordinates and an input distance which is a distance between the reference coordinates and the designated coordinates, wherein

in the reference coordinate changing, the position of the reference coordinates is changed so as to approach the designated coordinates when a predetermined condition is satisfied, wherein

the predetermined condition which is used in the reference coordinate changing is a condition that the designated coordinates are outside a predetermined area based on the reference coordinates, wherein

in the operation processing, the operation is processed based on at least the input distance, and when the designated coordinates are outside the predetermined area based on the reference coordinates, the input distance is set as a predetermined distance from the reference coordinates to the boundary of the predetermined area, and

in the reference coordinate changing, the position of the reference coordinates is changed so as to approach the designated coordinates when the designated coordinates are outside the predetermined area based on the reference coordinates.