Game apparatus and computer-readable storage medium

• US 8,986,119 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2012
• Issued: 03/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Shimamura, Takayuki, Miyamoto, Takeshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Ahmed, Masud
• Application Number:
  US13/668,655
• Publication Number:
  US 20130059658A1
• Time in Patent Office: 869 Days
• Field of Search: 463 31- 38
• US Class Current: 463/36
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/211 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/422 automatically for the purpose of assisting the player, e.g. automatic braking in a driving game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/428 involving motion or position input signals, e.g. signals representing the rotation of an input controller or a player's arm motions sensed by accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/67 adaptively or by learning from player actions, e.g. skill level adjustment or by storing successful combat sequences for re-use
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/812 Ball games, e.g. soccer or baseball
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/105 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6027 using adaptive systems learning from user actions, e.g. for skill level adjustment
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6054 by generating automatically game commands to assist the player, e.g. automatic braking in a driving game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8011 Ball

Abstract

A twist amount is calculated based on an angular velocity around a Z-axis of an input device when a player performs a shoot operation. Based on a value of a difficulty level stored in an external main memory, a minimum successful twist amount and a maximum successful twist amount are determined. As a result, the higher the difficulty level is, the narrower a successful range of the twist amount becomes. Further, the twist amount of the input device, which is obtained when the player performs the shoot operation for a first to a fourth shots, is stored in the external main memory. When the player performs the shoot operation for a fifth shot or thereafter, the twist amount of the input device at the time of the shoot operation for the fifth shot and thereafter is corrected with the use of the twist amount of the first to fourth shots.

Claims

1. A game apparatus configured to perform a game process based on operation data including angular velocity data obtained from an angular velocity sensor provided to a controller, the game apparatus comprising at least one processor configured to perform operations comprising:

executing a game in which a predetermined object is caused to move in a virtual game space in accordance with the angular velocity data;

setting a difficulty level of the game; and

automatically correcting, in accordance with the set difficulty level a movement control parameter of the object, the movement control parameter being utilized by the executing game, so as to be approximated to a target value or a target range of the movement control parameter, the target value or the target range being required in the game,

wherein the at least one processor controls movement of the object by using the corrected movement control parameter.

2. The game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the higher the set difficulty level is, the lesser a degree of correction is performed on the movement control parameter by the automatically correcting.

3. The game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor controls the movement of the object based on the angular velocity data when the angular velocity data satisfies a predetermined condition.

4. The game apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the at least one processor controls the movement of the object when the magnitude of an angular velocity indicated by the angular velocity data reaches a local maximum and when a local maximum value of the angular velocity is greater than a predetermined threshold.

5. The game apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising

a memory for sequentially storing the angular velocity data obtained from the angular velocity sensor,

wherein, when the magnitude of an angular velocity indicated by the angular velocity data reaches a local maximum, and when a local maximum value of the angular velocity is greater than the predetermined threshold, the at least one processor reads, from the memory, pieces of angular velocity data obtained for a predetermined period of time before the angular velocity reaches the local maximum, and determines a moving direction of the object in accordance with the pieces of angular velocity data, and

wherein the automatically correcting further includes correcting the determined moving direction of the object so as to be approximated to a target moving direction of the object, the target moving direction being required in the game, to a degree corresponding to the set difficulty level.

6. The game apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein, when the magnitude of an angular velocity indicated by the angular velocity data reaches a local maximum, and when a local maximum value of the angular velocity is greater than the predetermined threshold, the at least one processor determines a moving velocity and/or a reached distance of the object in accordance with the local maximum value, and

wherein the automatically correcting includes correcting the determined moving velocity and/or the reached distance of the object so as to be approximated to a target moving velocity and/or a target reached distance of the object, the target moving velocity and/or a target reached distance being required in the game, to a degree corresponding to the set difficulty level.

7. The game apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the setting a difficulty level includes changing the difficulty level of the game in accordance with the target reached distance of the object required in the game.

8. The game apparatus according to claim 7,

wherein the at least one processor executes, multiple times, the game based on the angular velocity data, and determines success or failure of the game in each of the multiple times, and

wherein the setting a difficulty level includes determining a reference difficulty level for a subsequent game in accordance with the success or failure of the game in each of the multiple times, and determines the difficulty level of the subsequent game by adding a difficulty level offset, which corresponds to the target reached distance of the object required in the game, to the reference difficulty level.

9. The game apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein, when the magnitude of an angular velocity indicated by the angular velocity data reaches a local maximum, and when a local maximum value of the angular velocity is greater than the predetermined threshold, the at least one processor sets a moving direction of the object in accordance with an orientation of the controller detected based on the angular velocity data obtained from the angular velocity sensor, and

wherein the automatically correcting includes correcting the determined moving direction of the object so as to be approximated to a target moving direction of the object, the target moving direction being required in the game, to a degree corresponding to the set difficulty level.

10. The game apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the at least one processor executes, multiple times, the game based on the angular velocity data, and determines the success or failure of the game in each of the multiple times, and wherein the setting a difficulty level includes,

when a result of the game in a certain numberth time is determined to be successful, setting the difficulty level of a subsequent game to be higher than the difficulty level of the game in the certain numberth time.

11. The game apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the at least one processor executes, multiple times, the game based on the angular velocity data, and determines the success or failure of the game in each of the multiple times, and wherein the setting a difficulty level includes,

when a result of a game in a certain numberth time is determined to have failed, setting the difficulty level of a subsequent game to be lower than the difficulty level of the game in the certain numberth time.

12. The game apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein, based on first angular velocity data obtained from a first angular velocity sensor provided to a first controller operated by a first player, and on second angular velocity data obtained from a second angular velocity sensor provided to a second controller operated by a second player, the at least one processor executes a game in which the first player and the second player play a match, and determines success or failure of a first game operation by the first player and success or failure of a second game operation by the second player in accordance with values of the first angular velocity data and the second angular velocity data, respectively,

wherein setting a difficulty level includes setting a difficulty level of the first game operation, and a difficulty level of the second game operation, individually, and

wherein the automatically controlling includes changing, in accordance with the set difficulty level of the first game operation, a successful range of the first angular velocity data, in which the first game operation is determined to be successful by the at least one processor, and also changes, in accordance with the set difficulty level of the second game operation, a successful range of the second angular velocity data, in which the second game operation is determined to be successful by the at least one processor.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a game program causing a computer of a game apparatus, which executes a game process based on operation data including angular velocity data obtained from an angular velocity sensor provided to a controller, to perform operations comprising:

executing a game in which a predetermined object is caused to move in a virtual game space in accordance with the angular velocity data;

setting a difficulty level of the game; and

automatically correcting, in accordance with the set difficulty level a movement control parameter of the object, the movement control parameter being utilized by the computer, so as to be approximated to a target value or a target range of the movement control parameter, the target value or the target range being required in the game,

wherein the computer controls movement of the object by using the corrected movement control parameter.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 13, wherein the higher the set difficulty level is, the lesser a degree of correction is performed on the movement control parameter by the automatically correcting.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 13, wherein the computer controls the movement of the object based on the angular velocity data when the angular velocity data satisfies a predetermined condition.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 15, wherein the computer controls the movement of the object when the magnitude of an angular velocity indicated by the angular velocity data reaches a local maximum and when a local maximum value of the angular velocity is greater than a predetermined threshold.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 16, further causing the computer to perform operations:

sequentially storing the angular velocity data obtained from the angular velocity sensor in a memory,

wherein, when the magnitude of an angular velocity indicated by the angular velocity data reaches a local maximum, and when a local maximum value of the angular velocity is greater than the predetermined threshold, the computer reads, from the memory, pieces of angular velocity data obtained for a predetermined period of time before the angular velocity reaches the local maximum, and determines a moving direction of the object in accordance with the pieces of angular velocity data, and

wherein the automatically correcting includes correcting the determined moving direction of the object so as to be approximated to a target moving direction of the object, the target moving direction being required in the game, to a degree corresponding to the set difficulty level.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 16,

wherein, when the magnitude of an angular velocity indicated by the angular velocity data reaches a local maximum, and when a local maximum value of the angular velocity is greater than the predetermined threshold, the computer determines a moving velocity and/or a reached distance of the object in accordance with the local maximum value, and

wherein the automatically correcting includes correcting the determined moving velocity and/or the reached distance of the object so as to be approximated to a target moving velocity and/or a target reached distance of the object, the target moving velocity and/or a target reached distance being required in the game, to a degree corresponding to the set difficulty level.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 18, wherein the setting a difficulty level includes changing the difficulty level of the game in accordance with the target reached distance of the object required in the game.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 19,

wherein the computer executes, multiple times, the game based on the angular velocity data, and determines success or failure of the game in each of the multiple times, and

wherein the setting a difficulty level includes determining a reference difficulty level for a subsequent game in accordance with the success or failure of the game in each of the multiple times, and determining the difficulty level of the subsequent game by adding a difficulty level offset, which corresponds to the target reached distance of the object required in the game, to the reference difficulty level.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 16,

wherein, when the magnitude of an angular velocity indicated by the angular velocity data reaches a local maximum, and when a local maximum value of the angular velocity is greater than the predetermined threshold, the computer sets a moving direction of the object in accordance with an orientation of the controller detected based on the angular velocity data obtained from the angular velocity sensor, and

wherein the automatically correcting includes correcting the moving direction of the object determined by the computer so as to be approximated to a target moving direction of the object, the target moving direction being required in the game, to a degree corresponding to the set difficulty level.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 13,

wherein the computer executes, multiple times, the game based on the angular velocity data, and determines the success or failure of the game in each of the multiple times, and wherein the setting a difficulty level includes,

when a result of the game in a certain numberth time is determined to be successful, setting the difficulty level of a subsequent game to be higher than the difficulty level of the game in the certain numberth time.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 13,

wherein the computer executes, multiple times, the game based on the angular velocity data, and determines the success or failure of the game in each of the multiple times, and wherein the setting a difficulty level includes,

when a result of a game in a certain numberth time is determined to have failed, setting the difficulty level of a subsequent game to be lower than the difficulty level of the game in the certain numberth time.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, according to claim 13,

wherein, based on first angular velocity data obtained from a first angular velocity sensor provided to a first controller operated by a first player, and on second angular velocity data obtained from a second angular velocity sensor provided to a second controller operated by a second player, the computer executes a game in which the first player and the second player play a match, and determines success or failure of a first game operation by the first player and success or failure of a second game operation by the second player in accordance with values of the first angular velocity data and the second angular velocity data, respectively,

wherein the setting a difficulty level includes setting a difficulty level of the first game operation, and a difficulty level of the second game operation, individually, and

wherein the automatically controlling includes changing, in accordance with the set difficulty level of the first game operation, a successful range of the first angular velocity data, in which the first game operation is determined to be successful by the computer, and also changes, in accordance with the set difficulty level of the second game operation, a successful range of the second angular velocity data, in which the second game operation is determined to be successful by the computer.

25. A game apparatus for performing a game process based on operation data including angular velocity data obtained from an angular velocity sensor provided to a controller, the game apparatus comprising at least one processor configured to perform operations comprising:

executing a game in which an object is caused to move in a virtual game space in accordance with the angular velocity data;

setting a difficulty level of the game; and

automatically correcting, in accordance with the set difficulty level, a movement control parameter of the object, the movement control parameter being utilized by the executing game, so as to be approximated to a target value or a target range of the movement control parameter, the target value or the target range being required in the game,

wherein the at least one processor controls the movement of the object caused to move in the virtual space based upon the corrected movement control parameter.