Game device, computer-readable recording medium, and game control method

• US 9,089,769 B2
• Filed: 12/26/2011
• Issued: 07/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konami Digital Entertainment Company Limited (Konami Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Konami Digital Entertainment Company Limited (Konami Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Yamaoka, Masatoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Milap
• Application Number:
  US13/816,818
• Publication Number:
  US 20130143653A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,310 Days
• Field of Search: 463 2- 4, 463 30- 33, 463 36- 43
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/2145 the surface being also a display device, e.g. touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/22 Setup operations, e.g. calibration, key configuration or button assignment
• 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 13/44 involving timing of operations, e.g. performing an action within a time slot
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/573 using trajectories of game objects, e.g. of a golf ball according to the point of impact
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/812 Ball games, e.g. soccer or baseball
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1075 using a touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/308 Details of the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/646 for calculating the trajectory of an object
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8011 Ball

Abstract

An aiming cursor display unit 221 displays, in an aiming cursor display region DM1 on a display unit 211, an aiming cursor for determining a position where an action is to be applied to a ball object BL in a game space. A manipulation icon display unit 222 displays a manipulation icon CM for manipulating an aiming cursor K in a manipulation icon display region DM2 that is separate from the aiming cursor display region DM1 on the display unit 211. An aiming cursor linking control unit 224 moves and displays the aiming cursor K in the display unit 211 such that the aiming cursor K is linked with a movement of the manipulation icon CM that is moved and displayed by the manipulation icon display unit 222.

Claims

1. A mobile gaming device configured to control progress of a video game in which an action is virtually applied to a virtual mobile object that moves in a virtual game space, the mobile device comprising:

a single display device configured to display the virtual game space and comprising a touchscreen; and

a memory device storing thereon computer-executable instructions for the video game;

a processor, which upon executing the computer-executable instructions, is configured to;

accept a dominant hand setting, the dominant hand setting received by input from a game player, via the touchscreen, specifying that the game player is left-handed or right-handed;

display, on the display device, in an aiming cursors display region, an aiming cursor configured to determine a position where the action is to be applied to the virtual mobile object in the virtual game space;

display, on the display device, a manipulation icon display region entirely at (i) a left-end of the virtual game space when the dominant hand setting specifies that the game player is left-handed, or (ii) a right-end of the virtual game space when the dominant hand setting specifies that the game player is right-handed, the manipulation icon display region being separate from the aiming cursors display region;

display a manipulation icon, in the manipulation icon display region, configured to manipulate the aiming cursor, the manipulation icon moveable within the manipulation icon display region in response to a movement of an input received via the touchscreen;

accept a movement command by detecting contact, via the touch screen, between the game player and the manipulation icon;

accept a timing decision command based on a first timing when the game player released the contact of the manipulation icon after the movement of the manipulation icon is initiated by the game player, via the touchscreen;

move and display the aiming cursor, on the display device, such that the aiming cursor is linked with the movement of the manipulation icon by the first timing;

decide an action application timing at which the action is applied to the virtual mobile object based on a second timing of acceptance of the timing decision command; and

apply the action to the virtual mobile object in the virtual game space when at least a portion of the virtual mobile object and a portion of the aiming cursor overlap each other at the action application timing based on the movement of the manipulation icon.

2. The mobile game device according to claim 1, wherein

the processor, which upon executing the computer-executable instructions, is further configured to:

move and display the aiming cursor, on the display device, in the aiming cursor display region by setting a movement velocity of the aiming cursor at a predetermined ratio against a movement velocity of the manipulation icon, the predetermined ratio being set to a value that causes the aiming cursor to move from an initial position to an end of the aiming cursor display region when the manipulation icon moves from an initial position in the manipulation icon display region to an end of the manipulation icon display region.

3. The mobile game device according to claim 1, wherein

when the timing decision command is accepted, the manipulation icon is hidden.

4. The mobile game device according to claim 1, wherein

the processor, which upon executing the computer-executable instructions, is further configured to:

move the virtual mobile object from a predetermined movement start position to a predetermined movement end position in the virtual game space; and

when the timing decision command is not inputted by the game player before the virtual mobile object reaches the movement end position, hide the manipulation icon when the mobile object reaches the movement end position.

5. The mobile game device of claim 4, wherein

the video game is a baseball video game,

the mobile object is a ball object that is thrown by a pitcher character which first performs a windup motion and then performs a throwing motion, and

the processor, which upon executing the computer-executable instructions, is further configured to display an estimated arrival position of the ball object in a hitting zone set between the movement start position and the movement end position, on the display device, when the pitcher character performs the windup motion, and hide the estimated arrival position when the ball object reaches the movement end position.

6. The mobile game device according to claim 1, wherein

the manipulation icon is a circle whose surface area is greater by a predetermined size than a surface area of a region in which the dominant hand of the game player and the display device come into contact with each other.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-readable instructions to control progress of a video game in which an action is virtually applied to a virtual mobile object that moves in a virtual game space, the video game playable on a mobile game device having a single display device comprising a touchscreen, the computer-readable instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

accept a dominant hand setting, the dominant hand setting received by input from a game player, via the touchscreen, specifying that the game player is left-handed or right-handed;

display, on the display device, in an aiming cursors display region, an aiming cursor configured to determine a position where the action is to be applied to the virtual mobile object in the virtual game space;

display, on the display device, a manipulation icon display region entirely at (i) a left-end of the virtual game space when the dominant hand setting specifies that the game player is left-handed, or (ii) a right-end of the virtual game space when the dominant hand setting specifies that the game player is right-handed, the manipulation icon display region being separate from the aiming cursors display region;

display a manipulation icon, in the manipulation icon display region, configured to manipulate the aiming cursor, the manipulation icon moveable within the manipulation icon display region in response to a movement of an input received via the touchscreen;

accept a movement command by detecting contact, via the touch screen, between the game player and the manipulation icon;

accept a timing decision command based on a first timing when the game player released the contact of the manipulation icon after the movement of the manipulation icon is initiated by the game player, via the touchscreen;

move and display the aiming cursor, on the display device, such that the aiming cursor is linked with the movement of the manipulation icon by the first timing;

decide an action application timing at which the action is applied to the virtual mobile object based on a second timing of acceptance of the timing decision command; and

apply the action to the virtual mobile object in the virtual game space when at least a portion of the virtual mobile object and a portion of the aiming cursor overlap each other at the action application timing based on the movement of the manipulation icon.