Game apparatus and storage medium storing game program

• US 8,016,671 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2008
• Issued: 09/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Masao, Kawanobe, Naoya
• Primary Examiner(s): D'Agostino; Paul A.
• Application Number:
  US12/292,464
• Publication Number:
  US 20100041474A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,028 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 463/30
• 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 13/26 having at least one additional display device, e.g. on the game controller or outside a game booth
• 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 13/63 by the player, e.g. authoring using a level editor
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/92 Video game devices specially adapted to be hand-held while playing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1075 using a touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/301 using an additional display connected to the game console, e.g. on the controller

Abstract

A game apparatus includes two LCDs, and a touch panel is provided in relation to the one LCD. When an action game is started, a game screen is displayed on the other LCD, and a still image (capture screen) obtained by copying the game screen according to a capture operation by a player is displayed on the one LCD. When an enemy object on the capture screen is directed, stroked, and so forth by use of the touch panel, the enemy object on the game screen is frozen or erased.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus, comprising:

a first display portion configured to display a game image;

a second display portion;

an input device configured to point to an arbitrary position on said second display portion;

image displaying programmed logic circuitry configured to display the image being displayed on said first display portion in response to an operation by a user;

image controlling programmed logic circuitry configured to control a display of the image being displayed on said first display portion according to a position designated by said input device after said image was displayed on said second display portion; and

capture counting programmed logic circuitry configured to determine a count of a number of times the user can initiate a capture operation,

wherein the image displayed on said first display portion is a moving image, and an image to be displayed on said second display portion is a captured image obtained by capturing, via a capture operation, said moving image being displayed on said first display portion in response to the operation by the user and in dependence on whether the count is positive, and

wherein the capture counting programmed logic circuitry is further configured to decrement the count each time the user initiates a capture operation unless the count is 0.

2. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said image controlling programmed logic circuitry includes determining programmed logic circuitry that determines whether or not an object is being displayed at the position designated by said input device, and object controlling programmed logic circuitry that controls the display of the object being displayed when it is determined that the object is being displayed at said position by said determining programmed logic circuitry.

3. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an operating device by which the user can input at least one of a button operation and a direction designating operation, wherein

said image displaying programmed logic circuitry copies the image being displayed on said first display portion and displays the same according to an operation of said operating device by the user.

4. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an alarm message is displayed and/or an audible alarm is sounded if the user attempts to initiate a capture operation when the count is 0.

5. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium tangibly storing an image processing program, said image processing program being programmed to cause a computer of an image processing apparatus including a first display portion that displays a game image, a second display portion, and an input device configured to point to an arbitrary position on said second display portion, to perform method steps comprising:

displaying the image being displayed on said first display portion in response to an operation by a user;

controlling a display of the image being displayed on said first display portion according to a position designated by said input device after said image was displayed on said second display portion; and

determining a count of a number of times the user can initiate a capture operation,

wherein the image displayed on said first display portion is a moving image, and an image to be displayed on said second display portion is a captured image obtained by capturing, via a capture operation, said moving image being displayed on said first display portion in response to the operation by the user,

and further comprising decrementing the count each time the user initiates a capture operation unless the count is 0.

6. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 5, wherein said image processing program is further programmed to cause the computer to determine whether or not an object is being displayed at the position designated by said input device, and control the display of the object being displayed when it is determined that the object is being displayed at said position.

7. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 5, wherein:

the image processing apparatus further comprises an operating device by which the user can input at least one of a button operation and a direction designating operation, and

said image processing program is further programmed to cause the computer to copy the image being displayed on said first display portion and display the same according to an operation of said operating device by the user.

8. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 5, further comprising displaying an alarm message and/or sounding an audible alarm if the user attempts to initiate a capture operation when the count is 0.

9. A method for image processing through an image processing apparatus including a first display portion that displays a game image, a second display portion, and an input device configured to point to an arbitrary position on said second display portion, said method comprising:

displaying the image being displayed on said first display portion in response to an operation by a user;

controlling a display of the image being displayed on said first display portion according to a position designated by said input device after said image was displayed on said second display portion; and

determining a count of a number of times the user can initiate a capture operation,

wherein the image displayed on said first display portion is a moving image, and an image to be displayed on said second display portion is a captured image obtained by capturing, via a capture operation, said moving image being displayed on said first display portion in response to the operation by the user,

and further comprising decrementing the count each time the user initiates a capture operation unless the count is 0.

10. A method according to claim 9, further comprising:

determining whether or not an object is being displayed at the position designated by said input device; and

controlling the display of the object being displayed when it is determined that the object is being displayed at said position by said determining programmed logic circuitry.

11. A method according to claim 9, wherein the image processing apparatus further comprises an operating device by which the user can input at least one of a button operation and a direction designating operation, and further comprising:

copying the image being displayed on said first display portion and displaying the same according to an operation of said operating device by the user.

12. A method according to claim 9, further comprising displaying an alarm message and/or sounding an audible alarm if the user attempts to initiate a capture operation when the count is 0.

13. An image processing system, comprising:

a first display portion configured to display a game image;

a second display portion;

an input device configured to point to an arbitrary position on said second display portion;

image displaying programmed logic circuitry configured to display the image being displayed on said first display portion in response to an operation by a user;

image controlling programmed logic circuitry configured to control a display of the image being displayed on said first display portion according to a position designated by said input device after said image was displayed on said second display portion; and

capture counting programmed logic circuitry configured to determing a count of a number of times the user can initiate a capture operation,

wherein the image displayed on said first display portion is a moving image, and an image to be displayed on said second display portion is a captured image obtained by capturing, via a capture operation, said moving image being displayed on said first display portion in response to the operation by the user and in dependence on whether the count is positive, and

wherein the capture counting programmed logic circuitry is further configured to decrement the count each time the user initiates a capture operation unless the count is 0.

14. An image processing system according to claim 13, wherein said image controlling programmed logic circuitry includes determining programmed logic circuitry that determines whether or not an object is being displayed at the position designated by said input device, and object controlling programmed logic circuitry that controls the display of the object being displayed when it is determined that the object is being displayed at said position by said determining programmed logic circuitry.

15. An image processing system according to claim 13, further comprising an operating device by which the user can input at least one of a button operation and a direction designating operation, wherein

said image displaying programmed logic circuitry copies the image being displayed on said first display portion and displays the same according to an operation of said operating device by the user.

16. An image processing system according to claim 13, wherein an alarm message is displayed and/or an audible alarm is sounded if the user attempts to initiate a capture operation when the count is 0.