Entertainment apparatus, storage medium and object display method

• US 20020021298A1
• Filed: 01/19/2001
• Published: 02/21/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Fukuda, Izumi
• Granted Patent: US 6,670,957 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/427
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/5258 by dynamically adapting the position of the virtual camera to keep a game object or game character in its viewing frustum, e.g. for tracking a character or a ball
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/803 Driving vehicles or craft, e.g. cars, airplanes, ships, robots or tanks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/64 for computing dynamical parameters of game objects, e.g. motion determination or computation of frictional forces for a virtual car
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6661 for changing the position of the virtual camera
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8017 Driving on land or water; Flying

Abstract

When a moving picture obtained by photographing a controlled object moving in a virtual three dimensional field by a virtual camera is displayed, an entertainment apparatus is designed so that a desired feeling of speed can be acquired from the moving picture displayed on a display screen. A positional relation in the three dimensional field between the controlled object and the virtual camera is determined so that the virtual camera moves farther from the controlled object according to a moving speed of the controlled object in the three dimensional field.

Claims

1. An entertainment apparatus which displays a moving picture on a display screen of a display device, the moving picture being obtained by photographing an object moving in a virtual three dimensional field, according to manipulation contents of a manipulator received via a controller, by the use of a virtual camera, comprising:

camera setup means for determining a positional relation in said three dimensional field between said object and said virtual camera while taking a moving speed of said object in said three dimensional field into consideration.

2. The entertainment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,

said camera setup means determines the positional relation in said three dimensional field between said object and said virtual camera so that said virtual camera moves far behind said object in a moving direction of said object as the moving speed of said object is increased.

3. The entertainment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,

said camera setup means settles a sight line direction of said virtual camera so that said virtual camera is pointed at a camera reference point that is a virtual point in said three dimensional filed, said camera reference point being settled in front of said object in the moving direction of said object.

4. The entertainment apparatus according to claim 3, wherein,

said camera setup means settles said camera reference point so that said camera reference point moves farther ahead in the moving direction of said object as the moving speed of said object becomes faster.

5. The entertainment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,

said camera setup means rotates said virtual camera around a sight line direction of said virtual camera as an axis in response to a rotation of said object around the moving direction as an axis.

6. A storage medium storing a program which is read out and executed by a computer,

said program being read out and executed by said computer to realize means on said computer, said means displaying a moving picture on a display screen of a display device, said moving picture being obtained in such a manner that an object moving in a virtual three dimensional field according to manipulation contents of a player, which are received by said computer via a controller connected to said computer, is photographed by a virtual camera, and

said means has a camera setup means for determining a positional relation in said three dimensional field between said object and said virtual camera while taking a moving speed of said object in said three dimensional field into consideration.

7. The storage medium storing the program according to claim 6, wherein,

said camera setup means determines the positional relation in said three dimensional field between said object and said virtual camera so that said virtual camera moves far behind said object in a moving direction of said object as the moving speed of said object is increased.

8. The storage medium storing the program according to claim 6, wherein,

said camera setup means settles a sight line direction of said virtual camera so that said virtual camera is pointed at a camera reference point that is a virtual point in said three dimensional field, said camera reference point being settled in front of said object in the moving direction of said object.

9. The storage medium storing the program according to claim 8, wherein,

said camera setup means settles said camera reference point so that said camera reference point moves farther ahead in the moving direction of said object as the moving speed of said object becomes faster.

10. The storage medium storing the program according to claim 6, wherein,

said camera setup means rotates said virtual camera around a sight line direction of said virtual camera as an axis in response to a rotation of said object around the moving direction as an axis.

11. A program product which is read out and executed by a computer,

said program product being executed by said computer to realize means on said computer, said means displaying a moving picture on a display screen of a display device, said moving picture being obtained in such a manner that an object moving in a virtual three dimensional field according to manipulation contents of a player, which are received by said computer via a controller connected to said computer, is photographed by a virtual camera, and

said means has a camera setup means for determining a positional relation in said three dimensional field between said object and said virtual camera while taking a moving speed of said object in said three dimensional field into consideration.

12. An object display method in which a moving picture is obtained by photographing an object moving in a virtual three dimensional field by the use of a virtual camera, and displayed on a display screen of a display device, wherein,

a positional relation in said three dimensional field between said object and said virtual camera is determined while taking a moving speed of said object in said three dimensional field into consideration.