Game device which recognizes and replaces a substitution object participating in a competition game in a virtual space

• US 9,089,776 B2
• Filed: 11/28/2011
• Issued: 07/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2010
• 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, Mori, Hironobu, Myogan, Shuichi, Hiruta, Yuichi
• Primary Examiner(s): MYHR, JUSTIN L
• Application Number:
  US13/883,649
• Publication Number:
  US 20130225292A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,338 Days
• Field of Search: 463 1- 3, 463 36- 37
• 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 13/42 by mapping the input signals into game commands, e.g. mapping the displacement of a stylus on a touch screen to the steering angle of a virtual vehicle
• 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 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/525 Changing parameters of virtual cameras
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/533 for prompting the player, e.g. by displaying a game menu
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/5372 for tagging characters, objects or locations in the game scene, e.g. displaying a circle under the character controlled by the player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/5378 for displaying an additional top view, e.g. radar screens or maps using two or more virtual cameras concurrently A63F13/5252
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/55 Controlling game characters or game objects based on the game progress
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/577 using determination of contact between game characters or objects, e.g. to avoid collision between virtual racing cars
• 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 2300/204 the platform being a handheld device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/308 Details of the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop

Abstract

A game device including: a substituted-for character recognizing unit which recognizes a character to become a substitution object by bringing a finger 107 into contact with the character; a substituted-for character determination unit which determines the recognized character to be a substituted-for character by causing the recognized character to be moved to a substituted-for character determination region (an edge of a monitor 3a); and a candidate character list display unit which displays a candidate character list 109 on an image display unit based on the determination of the substituted-for character, wherein after determining a character who enters the game by bringing the finger 107 into contact with a character on the candidate list, the entering character is displayed on the image display unit in place of the substituted-for character.

Claims

1. A game device which conducts a competition game in a virtual space by bringing indicating means into contact with a contact input-type image display unit, the game device comprising:

a touch input detection circuit which detects contact of the indicating means with the image display unit;

a substituted-for character recognizing unit which recognizes a single character among a plurality of characters participating in the competition dame and displayed on the image display unit as a substitution object, when the touch input detection circuit detects contact of the indicating means with the single character;

a substituted-for character determination unit which determines the character recognized by the substituted-for character recognizing unit to be a substituted-for character, when the touch input detection circuit detects a movement of the character recognized by the substituted-for character recognizing unit to a substituted-for character determination region displayed on the image display unit while maintaining the contact between the indicating means and the character recognized by the substituted-for character recognizing unit;

a candidate character storage unit which stores data of candidate characters who enter the game in place of the substituted-for character in advance;

a candidate character list display unit which (i) generates a list of candidate characters who enter the game in place of the substituted-for character based on the data of candidate characters stored in the candidate character storage unit, and (ii) displays the candidate list on the image display unit, when the substituted-for character determination unit determines the substituted-for character;

an entering character determination unit which determines a single character on the candidate list as an entering character who enters the game in place of the substituted-for character, when the touch input detection circuit detects the contact of the indicating means with the single character on the candidate list; and

a character substitution display unit which displays, on the image display unit, the entering character determined by the entering character determination unit in place of the substituted-for character, wherein

when the character is recognized as the substitution object by the substituted-for character recognizing unit and is moved to the substituted-for character determination region displayed on the image display unit, the character substitution display unit displays an afterimage of the character recognized as the substitution object at a position prior to the movement, and

when the entering character is determined by the entering character determination unit, the character substitution display unit erases the afterimage of the character and displays the entering character at the position prior to the movement.

2. The game device according to claim 1, wherein the substituted-for character determination region is an outer frame section of a game screen displayed on the image display unit.

3. The game device according to claim 1, wherein when a character is engaged in an action related to winning or losing the game, the substituted-for character recognizing unit prohibits the character from being recognized as a substitution object.

4. The game device according to claim 1, wherein

the competition game is a game in which two teams that are respectively made up of a plurality of players take turns on offense and defense, and

the substituted-for character recognizing unit sets only characters on the offensive team so as to be recognizable during offense and sets only characters on the defensive team so as to be recognizable during defense.

5. The game device according to claim 1, wherein the touch input detection circuit detects the contact of the indicating means with the single character based on contact made by the indicating means with a hidden contact recognizing region provided at an outer periphery of the single character.

6. The game device according to claim 5, wherein the hidden contact recognizing region is circular and has a diameter that is approximately 1.1 to 1.5 times a total length of the single character.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium which stores a game control program which causes a computer to execute a competition game in a virtual space by bringing indicating means into contact with a contact input-type image display unit, the computer including a touch input detection circuit which detects contact of the indicating means with the image display unit, the game control program causing the computer to function as:

a substituted-for character recognizing unit which recognizes a single character among a plurality of characters participating in the competition dame and displayed on the image display unit as a substitution object, when the touch input detection circuit detects contact of the indicating means with the single character;

a substituted-for character determination unit which determines the character recognized by the substituted-for character recognizing unit to be a substituted-for character, when the touch input detection circuit detects a movement of the character recognized by the substituted-for character recognizing unit to a substituted-for character determination region displayed on the image display unit while maintaining the contact between the indicating means and the character recognized by the substituted-for character recognizing unit;

a candidate character storage unit which stores data of candidate characters who enter the game in place of the substituted-for character in advance;

a candidate character list display unit which (i) generates a list of candidate characters who enter the game in place of the substituted-for character based on the data of candidate characters stored in the candidate character storage unit, and (ii) displays the candidate list on the image display unit, when the substituted-for character determination unit determines the substituted-for character;

an entering character determination unit which determines a single character on the candidate list as an entering character who enters the game in place of the substituted-for character, when the touch input detection circuit detects the contact of the indicating means with the single character on the candidate list; and

a character substitution display unit which displays, on the image display unit, the entering character determined by the entering character determination unit in place of the substituted-for character, wherein

when the character is recognized as the substitution object by the substituted-for character recognizing unit and is moved to the substituted-for character determination region displayed on the image display unit, the character substitution display unit displays an afterimage of the character recognized as the substitution object at a position prior to the movement, and

when the entering character is determined by the entering character determination unit, the character substitution display unit erases the afterimage of the character and displays the entering character at the position prior to the movement.

8. A game device which conducts a competition game in a virtual space by bringing indicating means into contact with a contact input-type image display unit, the game device comprising:

a touch input detection circuit which detects contact of the indicating means with the image display unit;

a substituted-for character recognizing unit which recognizes a single character among a plurality of characters participating in the competition dame and displayed on the image display unit as a substitution object, when the touch input detection circuit detects contact of the indicating means with the single character;

a substituted-for character determination unit which determines the character recognized by the substituted-for character recognizing unit to be a substituted-for character, when the touch input detection circuit detects a movement of the character recognized by the substituted-for character recognizing unit toward an outer frame section of a game screen displayed on the image display unit at a predetermined or higher speed which regulates an operation of flickering away the character from a state where the indicating means is in contact with the character recognized by the substituted-for character recognizing unit;

a candidate character storage unit which stores data of candidate characters who enter the game in place of the substituted-for character in advance;

a candidate character list display unit which (i) generates a list of candidate characters who enter the game in place of the substituted-for character based on the data of candidate characters stored in the candidate character storage unit, and (ii) displays the candidate list on the image display unit, when the substituted-for character determination unit determines the substituted-for character;

an entering character determination unit which determines a single character on the candidate list as an entering character who enters the game in place of the substituted-for character, when the touch input detection circuit detects the contact of the indicating means with the single character on the candidate list; and

a character substitution display unit which displays, on the image display unit, the entering character determined by the entering character determination unit in place of the substituted-for character.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium which stores a game control program which causes a computer to execute a competition game in a virtual space by bringing indicating means into contact with a contact input-type image display unit, the computer including a touch input detection circuit which detects contact of the indicating means with the image display unit, the game control program causing the computer to function as:

a substituted-for character recognizing unit which recognizes a single character among a plurality of characters participating in the competition game and displayed on the image display unit as a substitution object, when the touch input detection circuit detects contact of the indicating means with the single character;

a substituted-for character determination unit which determines the character recognized by the substituted-for character recognizing unit to be a substituted-for character, when the touch input detection circuit detects a movement of the character recognized by the substituted-for character recognizing unit toward an outer frame section of a game screen displayed on the image display unit at a predetermined or higher speed which regulates an operation of flickering away the character from a state where the indicating means is in contact with the character recognized by the substituted-for character recognizing unit;

a candidate character storage unit which stores data of candidate characters who enter the game in place of the substituted-for character in advance;

a candidate character list display unit which (i) generates a list of candidate characters who enter the game in place of the substituted-for character based on the data of candidate characters stored in the candidate character storage unit, and (ii) displays the candidate list on the image display unit, when the substituted-for character determined unit determines the substituted-for character;

an entering character determination unit which determines a single character on the candidate list as an entering character who enters the game in place of the substituted-for character, when the touch input detection circuit detects the contact of by bringing the indicating means with the single character on the candidate list; and

a character substitution display unit which displays, on the image display unit, the entering character determined by the entering character determination unit in place of the substituted-for character.