Storage medium, information processing system, and information processing method for adjusting images based on movement information

• US 9,751,013 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2010
• Issued: 09/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Yoshikawa, Kazuhiro, Yamagami, Hitoshi, Noguchi, Toshio
• Primary Examiner(s): WANG, JIN CHENG
• Application Number:
  US12/827,172
• Publication Number:
  US 20110169866A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,624 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-158, 463 30- 37
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/211 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers or gyroscopes
• 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 13/44 involving timing of operations, e.g. performing an action within a time slot
• 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 13/5375 for graphically or textually suggesting an action, e.g. by displaying an arrow indicating a turn in a driving game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/837 Shooting of targets
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/306 for displaying a marker associated to an object or location in the game field
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6676 by dedicated player input
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0261 in the context of movement of objects on the screen or movement of the observer relative to the screen
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/391 Resolution modifying circuits, e.g. variable screen formats

Abstract

First, movement information that allows calculation of a movement of a first input device is sequentially obtained. During a time period in which at least one operation key is in a predetermined input state, a display image is enlarged or reduced in accordance with a change of the movement information. When it is determined that the predetermined input state is canceled, the enlarged or reduced display image is caused to return to its original magnification and an action of at least one first object in the display image is controlled.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein an information processing program to be executed by a computer of an information processing apparatus that comprises a first input device having at least one operation key, the information processing program comprising instructions that cause the computer to:

display an image on a display device at a first magnification;

determine an input state of the at least one operation key;

obtain movement information of the first input device;

enlarge or reduce the displayed image from the first magnification to a second magnification that is different from the first magnification in accordance with a change of the obtained movement information during a time period in which the at least one operation key is determined to be in a predetermined input state;

cause the enlarged or reduced displayed image that is being displayed at the second magnification to return to the first magnification in accordance with cancelation of the predetermined input state of the at least one operation key;

measure the time period in which the at least one operation key is determined to continuously be in the predetermined input state;

determine whether or not the time period is equal to or greater than a first threshold value, and

when it is determined that the predetermined input state is canceled and when it is determined that the time period is equal to or greater than the first threshold value, cause the enlarged or reduced displayed image to return to the first magnification and

control an action of at least one first object that is included in the displayed image.

2. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein an information processing program to be executed by a computer of an information processing apparatus that comprises a first input device having at least one operation key, the information processing program comprising instructions that cause the computer to:

display an image on a display device at a first magnification;

determine an input state of the at least one operation key;

obtain movement information of the first input device;

enlarge or reduce the displayed image from the first magnification to a second magnification that is different from the first magnification in accordance with a change of the obtained movement information during a time period in which the at least one operation key is determined to be in a predetermined input state;

cause the enlarged or reduced displayed image that is being displayed at the second magnification to return to the first magnification in accordance with cancelation of the predetermined input state of the at least one operation key;

control an action of at least one first object that is included in the displayed image; and

measure the time period in which the at least one operation key is determined to continuously be in the predetermined input state, the displayed image is enlarged or reduced to the second magnification at a rate in accordance with the time period.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 2, wherein the information processing program further causes the computer to:

calculate, based on the movement information, a moving amount at least in a predetermined direction of a movement of the first input device since a time point when the at least one operation key has entered the predetermined input state, the time period has an upper limit value, the upper limit value is determined so as to increase in accordance with an increase of the moving amount, and

when the time period exceeds the upper limit value, the time period is set at the upper limit value.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 3, wherein when the moving amount is reduced and the time period has exceeded the upper limit value corresponding to the reduced moving amount, the time period is set at the upper limit value corresponding to the reduced moving amount.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 2, wherein the information processing program further causes the computer to:

determine, based on the time period, a moving speed of the at least one first object, and

control, at the moving speed, a movement of the at least one first object.

6. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein an information processing program to be executed by a computer of an information processing apparatus that comprises a first input device having at least one operation key, the information processing program comprising instructions that cause the computer to:

display an image on a display device at a first magnification;

determine an input state of the at least one operation key;

obtain movement information of the first input device;

enlarge or reduce the displayed image from the first magnification to a second magnification that is different from the first magnification in accordance with a change of the obtained movement information during a time period in which the at least one operation key is determined to be in a predetermined input state;

cause the enlarged or reduced displayed image that is being displayed at the second magnification to return to the first magnification in accordance with cancelation of the predetermined input state of the at least one operation key;

calculate, based on the movement information, a moving amount at least in a predetermined direction of a movement of the first input device since a time point when the at least one operation key has entered the predetermined input state;

determine whether or not the moving amount is equal to or greater than a second threshold value, and

when it is determined that the predetermined input state is canceled and when it is determined that the moving amount is equal to or greater than the second threshold value, cause the enlarged or reduced displayed image to return to the first magnification and

control an action of at least one first object that is included in the displayed image.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein an information processing program to be executed by a processing system of a game apparatus that comprises a first input device having at least one operation key and that

generates a game image, the information processing program including instructions that are, when executed by the processing system, configured to cause the game apparatus to:

display the game image at a first magnification;

determine an input state of the at least one operation key;

obtain movement information of the first input device;

enlarge or reduce the game image from the first magnification to a second and different magnification in accordance with a change of the movement information during a time period in which the at least one operation key is determined to be in a predetermined input state;

cause the enlarged or reduced game image that is displayed at the second magnification to return to the first magnification of the game image in accordance with cancelation of the predetermined input state of the at least one operation key;

control a shooting of at least one arrow object in the game image;

measure the time period in which the at least one operation key is determined to continuously be in a predetermined input state; and

determine whether or not the time period is equal to or greater than a first threshold value, and

cause the enlarged or reduced game image to return to the first magnification of in accordance with determination that the predetermined input state is canceled and when the time period is equal to or greater than the first threshold value.