Game program and game apparatus for correcting player's route within a game space

• US 9,533,224 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2009
• Issued: 01/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Yamada, Yoichi, Iwamoto, Daiki, Mouri, Shirou
• Primary Examiner(s): YEN, JASON TAHAI
• Application Number:
  US12/563,359
• Publication Number:
  US 20100304871A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,661 Days
• Field of Search: 463 30- 32, 463 36- 37, 345173-174, 345473-475
• 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 13/26 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 13/525 Changing parameters of virtual cameras
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/5255 according to dedicated instructions from a player, e.g. using a secondary joystick to rotate the camera around a player's character
• 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 13/92 Video game devices specially adapted to be hand-held while playing
• 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 2300/643 by determining the impact between objects, e.g. collision detection
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/646 for calculating the trajectory of an object
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6684 by dynamically adapting its position to keep a game object in its viewing frustrum, e.g. for tracking a character or a ball

Abstract

A game apparatus displays game space on a display means, and the game space includes a first area and a second area which interrupts continuity of a movement of an object in the first area. A user sets a moving route within the game space by means of a touch pen. The collision, that is, the object moves along the route. Assuming that the object moves to a next point position on the route, when the next point position where the object will enter the second area is set, the computer corrects the next point position to a target position within the first area, and then moves the object thereto.

Claims

1. A non-transitory storage medium storing a program so as to be readable by a computer of a game apparatus, said program causes said computer to perform execution comprising:

displaying, on a display, a game space including a first area and a second area where continuity of a movement of an object within said first area is interrupted;

moving said object along a route that a user designates within said game space while sequentially taking a point position on said route as a target;

determining whether or not a predetermined area associated with said object moving along said route, in a case that said object enters a next point position on said route, enters said second area over a border between said first area and said second area;

setting said next point position as a target position when said predetermined area does not enter said second area at said next point position;

judging whether or not a distance of said next point position from said border is equal to or less than a threshold value when said predetermined area enters said second area over said border in said next point position;

correcting said next point position so as to become a target position within said first area when said distance is equal to or less than said threshold value; and

moving said object to said target position.

2. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 1, said next point position is set as a target position when said distance is not equal to or less than said threshold value.

3. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 1, wherein a virtual camera representing said game space is a parallel camera, and said threshold value is set to be a different value depending on where said next point position is, at an upper part, a lower part, a left part, or a right part of said game space.

4. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 3, wherein said threshold value is set to a first value at the upper part, is set to a second value at the lower part, and is set to a value between the first and second values at the right or left part, the second value being smaller than the first value.

5. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 1, wherein said program causes said computer to further perform execution comprising:

determining whether or not said object arrives at said target position within a predetermined time; and

suspending the movement of said object when said object does not arrive at said target position within the predetermined time.

6. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the route along which said object moves within said first area is corrected such that said object moves along said border within said first area when said predetermined area enters said second area over said border.

7. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 1, wherein said program causes said computer to further perform execution comprising:

displaying said route on said display in a first manner; and

displaying said route corresponding to a position within said game space of said moved object in a second manner out of the route displayed in the first manner, said route displayed in the second manner is displayed different from the manner of the route displayed in the first manner.

8. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 1, wherein said program causes said computer to further perform execution comprising:

detecting a position within said game space designated by the user; and

generating said route on the basis of a position detected until a previous time and a position currently detected when the position currently detected and the position previously detected are above a predetermined threshold value.

9. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 1, wherein an associated image being associated with said object is displayed together with said object on said display, and

said program causes said computer to further perform execution comprising for, in a case that a designation position designated by the user is on said associated image, generating said route on the basis of a designation position designated by the user subsequently to said designation.

10. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 9, wherein said program causes said computer to further perform execution comprising setting said predetermined area with reference to said associated image.

11. A game apparatus comprising at least one processor, said processor controlling the game apparatus to perform execution comprising:

display, on a display, a game space including a first area and a second area where continuity of a movement of an object within said first area interrupted;

move said object along a route that a user designates within said game space while sequentially taking a point position on said route as a target;

determine whether or not a predetermined area associated with said object moving along said route, in a case that said object enters a next point position on said route, enters said second area over a border between said first area and said second area;

set said next point position as a target position when said predetermined area does not enter said second area at said next point position;

judge whether or not a distance of said next point position from said border is equal to or less than a threshold value when said predetermined area enters said second area over said border in said next point position;

correct said next point position so as to become a target position within said first area when said distance is equal to or less than said threshold value; and

move said object to said target position.

12. A game controlling method executed by an information processing apparatus having one or more processors, the method comprising:

displaying, on a display, a game space including a first area and a second area where continuity of a movement of an object within said first area is interrupted;

moving said object along a route which a user designates within said game space while sequentially taking a point position on said route as a target;

determining whether or not a predetermined area associated with said object moving along said route, in a case that said object enters a next point position on said route, enters said second area over a border between said first area and said second area;

setting said next point position as a target position when said predetermined area does not enter said second area at said next point position;

judging whether or not a distance of said next point position from said border is equal to or less than a threshold value when said predetermined area enters said second area over said border in said next point position;

correcting said next point position so as to become a target position within said first area when said distance is equal to or less than said threshold value; and

moving said object to said target position.

13. A game system, comprising:

processing circuitry having at least one processor, the processing circuitry configured to;

display, on a display, a game space including a first area and a second area where continuity of a movement of an object within said first area is interrupted;

move said object along a route that a user designates within said game space while sequentially taking a point position on said route as a target

determine whether or not a predetermined area associated with said object moving along said route, in a case that said object enters a next point position on said route, enters said second area over a border between said first area and said second area

set said next point position as a target position when said predetermined area does not enter said second area at said next point position;

judge whether or not a distance of said next point position from said border is equal to or less than a threshold value when said predetermined area enters said second area over said border in said next point position;

correct said next point position so as to become a target position within said first area when said distance is equal to or less than said threshold value; and

move said object to said target position.