Storage medium having game program stored thereon and game apparatus

• US 8,684,841 B2
• Filed: 02/13/2006
• Issued: 04/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HAL Laboratory, Inc., Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: HAL Laboratory, Inc., Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Kikkawa, Hitoshi, Nakamura, Kazuyuki, Sakoda, Katsuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): LIM, SENG HENG
• Application Number:
  US11/352,356
• Publication Number:
  US 20060217196A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,969 Days
• Field of Search: 463/30
• 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 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
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands

Abstract

A storage medium having stored thereon a game program executable by a computer 21 of a game apparatus 1 including touch coordinate pair input means for outputting coordinate information based on a predetermined coordinate system in accordance with a touch operation performed by a player. A first object P1 and a second object P2 are displayed on a display screen based on first object position data DC3 and second object position data DC5. While input coordinate pairs are being detected, the first object position data DC3 is updated based on the input coordinate pairs. The second object position data DC5 is updated based on the first object position data DC3.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a game program executable by a computer of a game-playing apparatus for displaying, on a display screen, a game image representing at least a part of a virtual space in which a first object is present, the game-playing apparatus including a touch coordinate pair input device for outputting coordinate information based on a predetermined coordinate system in accordance with a touch operation performed by a player, the game program causing the computer to at least execute:

storing first object position data for determining a display position of the first object on the display screen;

displaying the first object on the display screen based on the first object position data stored on the memory;

storing indication position data representing an indication position on the display screen;

detecting an input coordinate pair which is input by the touch coordinate pair input device;

when an input coordinate pair is detected, updating the indication position data stored on the memory by adding, to the indication position data, indication position data indicating a new indication portion based on the input coordinate pair;

updating the first object position data, regardless of whether or not input coordinate pairs are being detected;

causing the first object to move based on the updating; and

displaying a second object based on a trajectory, so as to target a position in the virtual space, represented by a history corresponding to the indication position data stored on the memory,

wherein the first object is controllable by the player.

2. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon the game program according to claim 1, wherein the second object is not directly controllable by the player.

3. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon the game program according to claim 1, wherein:

when the player guides the first object in a first direction, the second object accelerates, and

when the player guides the first object in a second direction, the second object decelerates.

4. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon the game program according to claim 3, wherein the first direction is substantially the same as the direction in which the second object is moving, and wherein the second direction is towards the second object.

5. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon the game program according to claim 4, wherein the second object accelerates/decelerates only when the player guides the first object within a guide display range, the guide display range being only a portion of the display screen.

6. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon the game program according to claim 1, wherein the first and second objects are at least initially spaced apart.

7. A game-playing apparatus for displaying, on a display screen, a game image representing at least a part of a virtual space in which a first object is present, the game-playing apparatus being operable by a touch coordinate pair input device for outputting coordinate information based on a predetermined coordinate system in accordance with a touch operation performed by a player, the game-playing apparatus comprising:

a storage location;

a first object position data storage controller configured to store, on the storage location, first object position data for determining a display position of the first object on the display screen;

a first object display controller configured to display the first object on the display screen based on the first object position data stored on the storage location;

an indication position data storage controller configured to store indication position data representing an indication position on the display screen;

a detector configured to detect an input coordinate pair that is input by the touch coordinate pair input device;

an indication position data update module that, when an input coordinate pair is detected by the detector, is configured to update the indication position data stored on the storage location by adding, to the indication position data, indication position data indicating a new indication portion based on the input coordinate pair; and

a first object position update module configured to update the first object position data, regardless of whether or not input coordinate pairs are being detected by the detector,

wherein the first object is caused to move based on the updates from the first object position update module;

wherein a second object is displayed based on a trajectory, so as to target a position in the virtual space, represented by a history corresponding to the indication position data stored on the storage location, and

wherein the first object is controllable by the player.

8. A game-playing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the second object is not directly controllable by the player.

9. A game-playing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein:

when the player guides the first object in a first direction, the second object accelerates, and

when the player guides the first object in a second direction, the second object decelerates.

10. A game-playing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the first direction is substantially the same as the direction in which the second object is moving, and wherein the second direction is towards the second object.

11. A game-playing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the second, object accelerates/decelerates only when the player guides the first object within a guide display range, the guide display range being only a portion of the display screen.

12. A game-playing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the first and second objects are at least initially spaced apart.