Video game program and video game system

• US 7,833,100 B2
• Filed: 04/24/2006
• Issued: 11/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Dohta, Takuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo; Peter DungBa
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ahmed; Masud
• Application Number:
  US11/408,964
• Publication Number:
  US 20070060383A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,667 Days
• Field of Search: 463/38, 463/20, 463 40- 42, 463/47, 705/27, 704/243, 340/425.5, 455/99, 709/217, 345/473, 345/619, 345/158, 715/839
• US Class Current: 463/38
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/211 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/213 comprising photodetecting means, e.g. cameras, photodiodes or infrared cells A63F13/219, A63F13/655 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/24 Constructional details thereof, e.g. game controllers with detachable joystick handles
• 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 13/52 involving aspects of the displayed game scene
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/818 Fishing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1006 having additional degrees of freedom
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/105 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1087 comprising photodetecting means, e.g. a camera
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/66 for rendering three dimensional images
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8035 Virtual fishing

Abstract

A video game device displays a reference image (an image of a fishing rod 54) at a predetermined position on the screen of a display device. The video game device displays a pointer image (a cursor 55) at a position on the screen being pointed at by a control device. The pointer image is erased when the pointer image reaches within a predetermined area defined based on the position of the reference image. The video game device controls the controlled object to act according to a position of a marker object in a captured image based on control data, after the pointer image reaches inside the predetermined area defined based on the position of the reference image.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable physical storage medium having tangibly recorded thereon a video game program to be executed by a computer of a video game device,

wherein the video game program obtains control data from a control device including an image capturing unit that captures an image of a marker object,

wherein the control data is captured image data obtained by the image capturing unit or data obtained by performing a predetermined operation on the captured image data,

wherein the video game program displays a game image on a display device, the game image being an image of a virtual game space in which a controlled object is moved by a game process using the control data, and

wherein the video game program instructs the computer to perform:

displaying a reference image at a predetermined position on a screen of the display device;

displaying a pointer image at a position on the screen pointed at by the control device;

not controlling the controlled object when the pointer image has not reached inside a predetermined area including at least a portion of the reference image, and controlling the controlled object to act according to a position of the marker object in the captured image based on the control data after the pointer image reaches inside the predetermined area, wherein;

the video game program instructs the computer to further perform detection determination for determining whether or not a position of at least one marker object is in the captured image; and

the displaying a reference image and the displaying a pointer image are performed when it is determined that at least one marker position is not detected in the captured image.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable physical storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the video game program instructs the computer to further perform erasing the pointer image when the pointer image reaches inside a predetermined area defined based on a position of the reference image.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable physical storage medium according to claim 1, wherein it is determined in the detection determination that the marker position is not detected when a part or whole of an image of the marker object is not included in the captured image.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable physical storage medium according to claim 1, wherein:

the controlled object is displayed as the reference image in the displaying a reference image; and

in the controlling the controlled object, a position of the controlled object is controlled so that the controlled object is displayed at the predetermined position when it is determined that at least one marker position is not detected.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable physical storage medium according to claim 1, wherein in the displaying a pointer image, the position on the screen pointed at by the control device is calculated based on a position of the marker object in the captured image.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable physical storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the controlling the controlled object includes:

position determination for determining whether or not the pointer image has reached within a predetermined area defined based on a position of the reference image by comparing a position of the pointer image on the screen with the position of the reference image on the screen; and

control start for starting to control the controlled object when it is determined in the position determination that the pointer image has reached within the predetermined area defined based on the position of the reference image.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable physical storage medium according to claim 1, wherein:

the controlled object is displayed as the reference image in the displaying a reference image; and

the controlled object displayed in the displaying a reference image is controlled in the controlling the controlled object.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable physical storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the controlled object is controlled to be moved in a three-dimensional virtual game space in the controlling the controlled object.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable physical storage medium according to claim 8, wherein:

the video game program instructs the computer to further perform calculating a distance between two predetermined points in an image of the marker object included in a captured image obtained by the image capturing unit; and

in the controlling the controlled object, a movement of the controlled object in the three-dimensional virtual game space with respect to a depth direction of the screen is controlled based on the marker position and the distance.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable physical storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

the control device is a handheld device.

11. A video game system, comprising:

a control device including an image capturing unit that captures an image of a marker object,

a video game device for displaying a game image on a display device, the game image being an image of a virtual game space in which a controlled object is moved by a game process using control data, the control data being captured image data obtained by the image capturing unit or data obtained by performing a predetermined operation on the captured image data,

the video game system further comprising;

reference image display control programmed logic circuitry for displaying a reference image at a predetermined position on a screen of the display device;

pointer image display programmed logic circuitry for displaying a pointer image at a position on the screen pointed at by the control device;

image erasing programmed logic circuitry for erasing the pointer image when the pointer image reaches inside a predetermined area defined based on a position of the reference image;

object control programmed logic circuitry for not controlling the controlled object when the pointer image has not reached inside a predetermined area including at least a portion of the reference image, and for controlling the controlled object to act according to a position of the marker object in the captured image based on the control data after the pointer image reaches inside the predetermined area;

detection determination programmed logic circuitry for determining whether or not a position of at least one marker object is in the captured image; and

the displaying a reference image and the displaying a pointer image are performed when it is determined that at least one marker position is not detected in the captured image.

12. The video game system according to claim 11, wherein

the control device is a handheld device.