Message output device, wherein the message has a life duration

• US 8,167,694 B2
• Filed: 01/13/2005
• Issued: 05/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konami Digital Entertainment Company Limited (Konami Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Konami Digital Entertainment Company Limited (Konami Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Ihori, Satoshi, Fujimatsu, Shinya
• Primary Examiner(s): Bumgarner, Melba
• Assistant Examiner(s): LIM, SENG HENG
• Application Number:
  US10/585,706
• Publication Number:
  US 20070111771A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,665 Days
• Field of Search: 463/8
• US Class Current: 463/8
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/44 involving timing of operations, e.g. performing an action within a time slot
• 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 13/54 involving acoustic signals, e.g. for simulating revolutions per minute [RPM] dependent engine sounds in a driving game or reverberation against a virtual wall
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/837 Shooting of targets
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/537 for exchanging game data using a messaging service, e.g. e-mail, SMS, MMS
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6063 for sound processing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6081 generating an output signal, e.g. under timing constraints, for spatialization
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/63 for controlling the execution of the game in time
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8029 Fighting without shooting

Abstract

A battle situation detection unit (205) detects progress status of a battle controlled by a battle control unit (204) and winning and losing statuses of friend and enemy sides. An audio data acquisition unit (209) acquires audio data specified based on the progress status of the battle. The audio data acquisition unit (209) detects winning and losing statuses of the friend and enemy sides at each predetermined timing, and acquires arbitrary matching audio data based on the detected winning and losing statuses. The audio data acquisition unit 209 sends the acquired audio data together with priority orders to a queue buffer (210). An audio output unit (212) reads out the audio data from the queue buffer (210) according to the priority orders, synthesizes an audio signal from the read-out audio data, and outputs audios from a predetermined speaker.

Claims

1. A message output device, comprising:

a battle control unit which controls a battle between characters belonging to opposing friend and enemy sides in a virtual space based on a predetermined instruction input;

a message storage unit which stores a plurality of main messages matching progress statuses of the battle, and a plurality of sub messages matching winning and losing statuses of the friend and enemy sides;

a main message acquisition unit which acquires a main message specified in accordance with a progress status of the battle;

a sub message acquisition unit which detects winning and losing statuses of the friend and the enemy sides which change in accordance with a progress status of the battle at each predetermined timing, and acquires a sub message matching the winning and losing statuses that are detected;

a message output unit which outputs, based on a predetermined condition, the main message acquired by the main message acquisition unit and the sub message acquired by the sub message acquisition unit; and

a retaining unit that at least temporarily retains the sub message acquired by the sub message acquisition unit;

wherein a life duration time is set at least for each sub message retained in the retaining unit;

a message deletion unit that deletes, from among the sub messages retained in the retaining unit, a sub message whose life duration time has expired without outputting the sub message,

a priority order is set for each main message and each sub message; and

the message output unit outputs, in an order based on the priority order, the acquired main message and the sub message having been retained in the retaining unit.

2. The message output device according to claim 1, wherein in a case where the main message and the sub message are acquired at a same time, the message output unit outputs the main message preferentially.

3. A message output device comprising:

a battle control unit which controls a battle between characters belonging to opposing friend and enemy sides in a virtual space based on a predetermined instruction input;

a message storage unit which stores a plurality of main messages matching progress statuses of the battle, and a plurality of sub messages matching winning and losing statuses of the friend and enemy sides;

a main message acquisition unit which acquires a main message specified in accordance with progress of the battle controlled;

a sub message acquisition unit which detects winning and losing statuses of the friend and enemy sides which change in accordance with the progress of the battle controlled at each predetermined timing, and acquires an arbitrary sub message matching the winning and losing statuses that are detected;

a retaining unit which temporarily retains the main message acquired by the main message acquisition unit and the sub message acquired by the sub message acquisition unit; and

a message output unit which outputs, based on a predetermined condition, the main message and the sub message having been retained in the retaining unit,

wherein a life duration time is set for each main message and each sub message, and

a message deletion unit which deletes, from among the sub messages retained in the retaining unit, a sub message whose life duration time has expired without outputting the sub message, is further provided.

4. A message control method utilizing a message storage unit and a retaining unit, where the message storage unit stores a plurality of main messages matching progress statuses of a battle, and a plurality of sub messages matching winning and losing statuses of friend and enemy sides, the method comprising:

a battle controlling step of controlling a battle between characters belonging to friend and enemy sides in a virtual space based on a predetermined instruction input;

a main message acquiring step of acquiring a main message specified in accordance with progress of the battle controlled;

a sub message acquiring step of detecting winning and losing statuses of the battle which change in accordance with the progress of the battle controlled at each predetermined timing, and acquiring an arbitrary sub message matching the winning and losing statuses that are detected;

a message outputting step of outputting, based on a predetermined condition, the main message acquired in the main message acquiring step and the sub message acquired in the main message acquiring step; and

a storing step of temporarily storing in the retaining unit the sub message acquired in the sub message acquisition step;

wherein a life duration time is set at least for each sub message retained in the retaining unit,

a message deleting step of deleting, from among the sub messages retained in the retaining unit, a sub message whose life duration time has expired without outputting the sub message,

a priority order is set for each main message and each sub messages; and

the message output step outputs, in an order based on priority orders, the acquired main message and the sub message having been retained in the retaining unit.

5. A non-transitory computer-readable information recording medium storing a program for controlling a computer to function as:

a battle control unit which controls a battle between characters belonging to opposing friend and enemy sides in a virtual space based on a predetermined instruction input;

a message storage unit which stores a plurality of main messages matching progress statuses of the battle, and a plurality of sub messages matching winning and losing statuses of the friend and enemy sides;

a main message acquisition unit which acquires a main message specified in accordance with progress of the battle controlled;

a sub message acquisition unit which detects winning and losing statuses of the friend and enemy sides which change in accordance with the progress of the battle controlled at each predetermined timing, and acquires an arbitrary sub message the winning and losing statuses that are detected;

a message output unit which outputs, based on a predetermined condition, the main message acquired by the main message acquisition unit and the sub message acquired by the sub message acquisition unit; and

a retaining unit that at least temporarily retains the sub message acquired by the sub message acquisition unit,

wherein a life duration time is set at least for each sub message retained in the retaining unit,

a message deletion unit that deletes, from among the sub messages retained in the retaining unit, a sub message whose life duration time has expired without outputting the sub message,

a priority order is set for each main message and each sub message; and

the message output unit outputs, in an order based on the priority order, the acquired main message and the sub message having been retained in the retaining unit.