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

• US 8,574,077 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2005
• Issued: 11/05/2013
• 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): LIM, SENG HENG
• Application Number:
  US11/182,737
• Publication Number:
  US 20060019753A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,032 Days
• Field of Search: 463/43
• 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 13/26 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 13/92 Video game devices specially adapted to be hand-held while playing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/95 Storage media specially adapted for storing game information, e.g. video game cartridges
• 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

Abstract

Designated coordinates in a coordinate system are set based on coordinate information outputted from a pointing device, and a drag direction from the designated coordinates having been previously set toward the designated coordinates being currently set is set, and an input direction is updated, based on both an input direction being currently stored and the drag direction, to be stored, and a game is controlled based on the input direction being currently stored.

Claims

1. A non-transitory 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 game program upon execution of the computer provides execution comprising:

initializing an input direction vector indicating a direction which is used for controlling a game in the coordinate system of the pointing device to store the initialized input direction vector;

repeatedly setting designated coordinates in the coordinate system of the pointing device based on the coordinate information which is repeatedly outputted from the pointing device;

repeatedly setting, as a drag direction vector a direction in the coordinate system of the pointing device from the designated coordinates having been previously set toward the designated coordinates being set at a current time;

repeatedly updating the input direction vector based on both the input direction vector being currently stored and the drag direction vector being set at the current time in said drag direction vector setting, and storing the updated input direction vector; and

controlling the game based on the input direction vector being currently stored, wherein

in said input direction vector updating, the input direction vector is updated such that the input direction vector being currently stored approaches the drag direction vector, being set at the current time, at a predetermined non-instantaneous rate, wherein

the input direction vector is updated, so that the input direction being currently stored is incrementally changed in a predetermined fashion by amounts proportional to a calculated angular difference between the input direction vector being currently stored and the drag direction vector being set at the current time.

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

the input direction vector updating comprises:

calculating an angular difference between the input direction vector being currently stored and the drag direction vector; and

input direction calculating for multiplying the angular difference by a predetermined numerical value and adding the angular difference obtained from the multiplication to the input direction being currently stored, thereby to calculate an input direction to be updated and stored.

3. The non-transitory storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 1, wherein

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

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

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

the computer is further operable to execute storing, when an output of the coordinate information from the pointing device is stopped, the input direction which has been set before the output is stopped, wherein

in said input direction updating, when the output of the coordinate information from the pointing device is restarted, the input direction having been stored in the input direction storage step is used to update the input direction.

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

in said game controlling, when the output of the coordinate information from the pointing device is stopped, the game is continually controlled based on the input direction having been set before the output is stopped.

9. The non-transitory storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 2, wherein

the predetermined numerical value for use in the input direction calculating is a numerical value which is greater than 0 and smaller than 1.

6. 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

an initial input direction vector setting unit for initializing an input direction vector indicating a direction which is used for controlling a game in the coordinate system of the pointing device to store the initialized input direction vector;

a designated coordinate setting unit for repeatedly setting designated coordinates in the coordinate system of the pointing device based on the coordinate information which is repeatedly outputted from the pointing device;

a drag direction vector setting unit for repeatedly setting, as a drag direction vector a direction in the coordinate system of the pointing device from the designated coordinates having been previously set toward the designated coordinates being set at a current time;

an input direction vector update unit for repeatedly updating the input direction vector based on both the input direction vector being currently stored and the drag direction vector being set at the current time in the drag direction vector setting unit, and storing the updated input direction vector; and

a game control unit, including a computer processor, for controlling the game based on the input direction vector being currently stored, wherein

in said input direction vector updating, the input direction vector is updated such that the input direction vector being currently stored approaches the drag direction vector, being set at the current time, at a predetermined non-instantaneous rate, wherein

the input direction vector is updated, so that the input direction being currently stored is incrementally changed in a predetermined fashion by amounts proportional to a calculated angular difference between the input direction vector being currently stored and the drag direction vector being set at the current time.

10. The game apparatus according to claim 6, wherein

the input direction vector updating comprises:

calculating an angular difference between the input direction vector being currently stored and the drag direction vector; and

input direction calculating for multiplying the angular difference by a predetermined numerical value and adding the angular difference obtained from the multiplication to the input direction being currently stored, thereby to calculate an input direction to be updated and stored.

7. A touch screen input device for inputting information to a game apparatus for controlling a game based on an input direction indicating a direction in a given coordinate system, comprising:

a coordinate information output unit for outputting coordinate information being based on the said given coordinate system and being designated according to an operation of a player,

an initial input direction vector setting unit for initializing the input direction vector to store the initialized input direction vector in the said given coordinate system;

a designated coordinate setting unit for repeatedly setting designated coordinates in the said given coordinate system based on the coordinate information which is repeatedly outputted from the coordinate information output unit;

a drag direction vector setting unit for repeatedly setting, as a drag direction vector a direction in the said given coordinate system from the designated coordinates having been previously set toward the designated coordinates being set at a current time; and

an input direction vector update unit for repeatedly updating the input direction vector based on both the input direction vector being currently stored and the drag direction vector being set at the current time in the drag direction vector setting unit, and storing the updated input direction vector, wherein

in said input direction vector updating, the input direction vector is updated such that the input direction vector being currently stored approaches the drag direction vector, being set at the current time, at a predetermined non-instantaneous rate, wherein

the input direction vector is updated, so that the input direction being currently stored is incrementally changed in a predetermined fashion by amounts proportional to a calculated angular difference between the input direction vector being currently stored and the drag direction vector being set at the current time.

11. The input device according to claim 7, wherein

the input direction vector updating comprises:

calculating an angular difference between the input direction vector being currently stored and the drag direction vector; and

input direction calculating for multiplying the angular difference by a predetermined numerical value and adding the angular difference obtained from the multiplication to the input direction being currently stored, thereby to calculate an input direction to be updated and stored.

8. A non-transitory 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 program, upon execution by the computer provides execution comprising:

initializing an input direction vector indicating a direction which is used for operation processing in the coordinate system of the pointing device to store the initialized input direction vector;

repeatedly setting designated coordinates in the coordinate system of the pointing device based on the coordinate information which is repeatedly outputted from the pointing device;

repeatedly setting, as a drag direction vector a direction in the coordinate system of the pointing device from the designated coordinates having been previously set toward the designated coordinates being set at a current time;

repeatedly updating the input direction vector based on both the input direction vector being currently stored and the drag direction vector being set at the current time in said drag direction vector setting, and storing the updated input direction vector; and

performing operation processing based on the input direction vector being currently stored, wherein

in said input direction vector updating, the input direction vector is updated such that the input direction vector being currently stored approaches the drag direction vector, being set at the current time, at a predetermined non-instantaneous rate, wherein

the input direction vector is updated, so that the input direction being currently stored is incrementally changed in a predetermined fashion by amounts proportional to a calculated angular difference between the input direction vector being currently stored and the drag direction vector being set at the current time.

12. The non-transitory storage medium having the program stored thereon according to claim 8, wherein

the input direction vector updating comprises:

calculating an angular difference between the input direction vector being currently stored and the drag direction vector; and

input direction calculating for multiplying the angular difference by a predetermined numerical value and adding the angular difference obtained from the multiplication to the input direction being currently stored, thereby to calculate an input direction to be updated and stored.