Storage medium having game program stored thereon and game apparatus

• US 7,828,660 B2
• Filed: 02/08/2006
• Issued: 11/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Hiramuki, Yutaka, Kando, Yuuji
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo; Peter DungBa
• Assistant Examiner(s): DEODHAR, OMKAR A
• Application Number:
  US11/349,251
• Publication Number:
  US 20060252540A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,735 Days
• Field of Search: 463/8, 463/37, 463/43, 345/427
• US Class Current: 463/37
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• 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 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/56 Computing the motion of game characters with respect to other game characters, game objects or elements of the game scene, e.g. for simulating the behaviour of a group of virtual soldiers or for path finding
• 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: A63F 2300/6623 for animating a group of characters
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8029 Fighting without shooting

Abstract

In a coordinate detection step, a series of coordinate values each of which indicates a position which is on a display screen and is inputted through a pointing device, are detected at intervals of a unit time. Further, an operation state determination step determines whether or not a player is controlling a first object with the pointing device. When the operation state determination step determines that the player is controlling the first object, the selection determination step determines whether or not an input track of the pointing device forms an enclosed area for enclosing a second object based on the series of coordinate values. When the enclosed area has been formed, the first object and the second object are caused to perform predetermined actions.

Claims

1. A non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon a game program which causes a computer, in a game apparatus comprising a pointing device for indicating a position on a display screen on which a game image is displayed, to execute:

a coordinate detection step of detecting, at regular time intervals, a series of coordinate values each of which is inputted through the pointing device and indicates a position on the display screen, based on an output signal from the pointing device;

an operation state determination step of determining whether or not a player is controlling at least one first object displayed on the display screen with the pointing device, based on the output signal from the pointing device;

a selection determination step of determining, based on a track indicated by the series of coordinate values detected in the coordinate detection step, whether or not a second object to be displayed on the display screen is selected to be displayed on the display screen; and

an action control step of controlling either one of the first object and the second object to perform a predetermined action on the other object when the selection determination step determines that the second object is selected.

2. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the selection determination step determines whether or not an input track made by the player forms a track for enclosing the second object based on the series of coordinate values detected in the coordinate detection step, and determines that the second object is selected when the track for enclosing the second object is determined to have been formed.

3. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the game program causes the computer to further execute:

a line segment calculation step of calculating, based on the series of coordinate values detected in the coordinate detection step, a plurality of line segments each of which connects two consecutive coordinate points;

an intersection determination step of determining whether or not an input track formed of the plurality of line segments intersects a final line segment among the plurality of line segments; and

a presence determination step of determining, when the intersection determination step determines that the input track intersects the final line segment, whether or not the second object is present in an area which is on the display screen and is enclosed by the input track, and

the selection determination step determines that the second object is selected when the presence determination step determines that the second object is present in the area which is on the display screen and is enclosed by the input track.

4. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the selection determination step determines whether or not an input track made by the player passes through the second object based on the series of coordinate values detected in the coordinate detection step, and determines that the second object is selected when the input track is determined to have passed through the second object.

5. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the selection determination step determines whether or not a plurality of second objects to be displayed on the display screen are selected and when the plurality of second objects are determined to have been selected, designates at least one of the plurality of second objects based on a predetermined priority, and

the action control step of controls either one of the first object and the at least one of the plurality of second objects selected in the selection determination step so as to perform a predetermined action on the other object or objects.

6. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the operation step controls the first object based on the series of coordinate values detected in the coordinate detection step.

7. A non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon a game program which causes a computer, in a game apparatus comprising a pointing device for indicating a position on a display screen on which a game image is displayed, to execute:

a coordinate detection step of detecting, at regular time intervals, a series of coordinate values each of which is inputted through the pointing device and indicates a position on the display screen, based on an output signal from the pointing device;

a line segment calculation step of calculating, based on the series of coordinate values detected in the coordinate detection step, a plurality of line segments each of which connects two consecutive coordinate points;

an enclosure determination step of determining whether or not an input track formed of the plurality of line segments encloses at least one object on the display screen;

a selection step of selecting, when the enclosure determination step determines that the at least one object is enclosed, the at least one object, and

an action process step of causing, when the selection step selects the at least one object, the selected object to perform a predetermined action on at least one other object which is not selected in the selection step.

8. The storage medium according to claim 7, wherein the game program causes the computer to further execute:

an intersection determination step of determining whether or not the input track formed of the plurality of line segments intersects a final line segment among the plurality of line segments; and

a presence determination step of determining, when the intersection determination step determines that the input track intersects the final line segment, whether or not the at least one object is present in an area which is on the display screen and is enclosed by the input track, and

the selection step selects the at least one object which is determined, in the presence determination step, to be present in the area which is on the display screen and is enclosed by the input track.

9. A non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon a game program which causes a computer, in a game apparatus comprising a pointing device for indicating a position on a display screen on which a game image is displayed, to execute:

a coordinate detection step of detecting, at regular time intervals, a series of coordinate values each of which is inputted through the pointing device and indicates a position on the display screen, based on an output signal from the pointing device;

a line segment calculation step of calculating, based on the series of coordinate values detected in the coordinate detection step, a plurality of line segments each of which indicates a distance and a direction between two consecutive coordinate points;

a compensated track calculation step of calculating a compensated input track by subjecting, to a predetermined calculation, the plurality of line segments having been calculated;

a compensated track storage step of storing, in a memory, the compensated input track having been calculated;

selecting at least one object enclosed by a line formed by the plurality of line segments and the compensated input track, and

causing the selected at least one object to perform a game process step of a predetermined game process, wherein the predetermined game process includes at least one of the selected at least one object acting on another object not included in the selected at least one object or the other object acting on the selected at least one object.

10. The storage medium according to claim 9, wherein the game program causes the computer to further execute a compensating line segment generation step of storing, in the memory, a line segment obtained by subjecting a final line segment among the plurality of line segments to a predetermined calculation as a compensating line segment, and

the compensated track calculation step calculates the compensated input track by adding the compensating line segment to the plurality of line segments.

11. The storage medium according to claim 9, wherein the game program causes the computer to further execute:

an operation state determination step of determining whether or not a player is controlling the selected at least one object with the pointing device, based on the output signal from the pointing device; and

a presence determination step of determining, when the operation state determination step determines that the player is controlling the selected at least one object, whether or not the another object is present in an area which is on the display screen and is enclosed by the compensated input track.

12. A non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon a game program which causes a computer, in a game apparatus comprising a pointing device for indicating a position on a display screen on which a game image is displayed, to execute:

a first object selection step in which at least one first object is selected by determining that the at least one first object is at least partially within an area of the display defined by a set of coordinate values inputted through a pointing device applied to the display screen;

after the first operation selection step, a second object selection step in which at least one second object is selected based on whether the object is at least partially within a second area of the display defined by a track indicated by a set of coordinate values inputted through a pointing device applied to the display screen, wherein the at least one second object is distinct from the at least one first object during the second object selection step, and

after the second object selection step, an effect action process step that causes at least one of (a) the first object to exert an effect on the at least one second object, and (b) the at least one second object to exert an effect on the at least one first object.

13. The storage medium of claim 12 wherein the effect action process step includes the first object moving into an attack action with respect to the second object.

14. The storage medium of claim 12 wherein the area of the display defined in the first object selection step does not overlap with the second area of the display defined in the second object selection step.

15. A method preformed by a game apparatus executing a game program, wherein the game apparatus includes a pointing device for indicating a position on a display screen on which a game image is displayed, the method comprising:

selecting at least one first object based by determining that the at least one first object is at least partially within an area of the display defined by a set of coordinate values inputted through a pointing device applied to the display screen;

after selecting the at least one first object, selecting at least one second object by determining that the at least one second object is at least partially within an area of the display defined by a set of coordinate values inputted through a pointing device applied to the display screen, and the at least one second object is distinct from the at least one first object at least during the step of selecting the at least one second object, and

a second object selection step in which at least one second object is selected based on whether the object is at least partially within a track indicated by a set of coordinate values inputted through a pointing device applied to the display screen, wherein the at least one second object is distinct from the at least one first object during the second object selection step, and

effecting an effect action to be shown in the display that includes at least one of (a) the at least one first object exerting an effect on the at least one second object, and (b) the at least one second object to exerting an effect on the at least one first object.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the effect action step includes the first object moving into an attack action with respect to the second object.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the area of the display defined in the first object selection step does not overlap with the second area of the display defined in the second object selection step.

18. A non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon a game program which causes a computer, in a game apparatus comprising a pointing device for indicating a position on a display screen on which the game image is displayed, to execute:

a coordinate detection step of detecting, at regular time intervals, a series of coordinate values each of which is inputted through the pointing device and indicates a position on the display screen, based on an output signal from the pointing device;

a first selection determination step of determining, based on the series of coordinate values detected in the coordinate detection step, whether a first object displayed on the display screen is selected with the pointing device;

an operation state determination step of determining whether a player is controlling the first object displayed on the display screen with the pointing device, based on an output signal from the pointing device;

a second selection determination step of determining whether a second object displayed on the display screen is selected based on a track indicated by another series of coordinate values detected in the coordinate detection step and selected with the pointing device; and

an action control step of controlling at least one of the first object and the second object so as to perform a predetermined action on the other object when the selection determination step determines that the first object and second object are selected.