Game apparatus and storage medium having game program stored therein

• US 20050176486A1
• Filed: 02/08/2005
• Published: 08/11/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Tomizawa, Toshikazu, Nakata, Masayasu, Niwa, Noriyuki, Hatayama, Yosuke, Ohta, Keizo, Nishimura, Kentaro
• Granted Patent: US 8,337,284 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/4
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• 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 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/52 involving aspects of the displayed game scene
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/537 using indicators, e.g. showing the condition of a game character on screen
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/812 Ball games, e.g. soccer or baseball
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/92 Video game devices specially adapted to be hand-held while playing
• 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 2300/301 using an additional display connected to the game console, e.g. on the controller
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/303 for displaying additional data, e.g. simulating a Head Up Display
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/307 for displaying an additional window with a view from the top of the game field, e.g. radar screen
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8011 Ball

Abstract

A touch panel 13 is mounted on a second LCD 12. If the player touch-operates the touch panel 13 so as to touch on an offense button OB, the symbolized representation of any offense athlete among a plurality of player objects composing the player'"'"'s team becomes relatively large. Thus, in a game where the action or settings of a game object image is changed by touch-operating the game object image, the image of a game object that is highly frequently operated in situations similar to the current situation is enlarged, thereby facilitating touch-operation.

Claims

1. A game apparatus for displaying a game image in which a plurality of game objects appear in a game field, the apparatus comprising:

a display section;

a touch panel provided on a surface of the display section;

display control means for displaying on the display section a game field image representing the game field, and game object images each representing a game object, the game object images being displayed at display positions in accordance with an arrangement of the game objects in the game field;

parameter storage means for storing a parameter pertaining to each of the game objects;

first condition determination means for determining, during game progression, whether at least one of the game objects displayed on the display section satisfies a first condition for increasing a display size of a game object image of the at least one of the game objects;

second condition definition means for defining, as a second condition, a parameter pertaining to a game object whose display size is to be increased, in association with the first condition;

selection means for, if the first determination means determines during the game progression that the first condition is satisfied, selecting a game object having a parameter which satisfies the second condition associated with the first condition;

display size change means for changing a display size of a game object image of the game object selected by the selection means so as to be larger than in a case where the game object is unselected;

determination means for determining whether a judgment region on the touch panel is touched, the judgment region having a predetermined size in accordance with a position at which a game object image is displayed and a display size of the game object image; and

changing means for changing data related to a game object corresponding to the game object image targeted for determination by the determination means.

2. The game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the parameter includes attribute data corresponding to an attribute selected from among a plurality of attributes, and

the second definition means defines the second condition so as to correspond to a specific attribute.

3. The game apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

button image display control means for displaying a button image on the display section; and

button touch detection means for detecting whether the button image on the display section is selected by performing a touch-operation on the touch panel,

wherein the first condition is detection by the button touch detection means.

4. The game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first condition is that a predetermined game situation occurs during the game progression.

5. The game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the game object selected by the selection means is located at a predetermined position in the game field, the game object image display control means makes the game object image of the game object selected by the selection means larger on the display section.

6. A storage medium storing a game program to be executed by a computer in a game apparatus including:

a display section for displaying a game image in which a plurality of game objects appear in a game field;

a touch panel provided on a surface of the display section; and

a storage section,

the game program causing the computer to function as;

display control means for displaying on the display section a game field image representing the game field, and game object images each representing a game object, the game object images being displayed at display positions in accordance with an arrangement of the game objects in the game field;

parameter storage means for storing a parameter pertaining to each of the game objects;

first condition determination means for determining, during game progression, whether at least one of the game objects displayed on the display section satisfies a first condition for increasing a display size of a game object image of the at least one of the game objects;

second condition definition means for defining, as a second condition, a parameter pertaining to a game object whose display size is to be increased, in association with the first condition;

selection means for, if the first determination means determines during the game progression that the first condition is satisfied, selecting a game object having a parameter which satisfies the second condition associated with the first condition;

display size change means for changing a display size of a game object image of the game object selected by the selection means so as to be larger than in a case where the game object is unselected;

determination means for determining whether a judgment region on the touch panel is touched, the judgment region having a predetermined size in accordance with a position at which a game object image is displayed and a display size of the game object image; and

changing means for changing data related to a game object corresponding to the game object image targeted for determination by the determination means.

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

the parameter includes attribute data corresponding to an attribute selected from among a plurality of attributes, and

the second definition means defines the second condition so as to correspond to a specific attribute.

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

the game program causes the computer to function further as:

button image display control means for displaying a button image on the display section; and

button touch detection means for detecting whether the button image on the display section is selected by performing a touch-operation on the touch panel, and

the first condition is detection by the button touch detection means.

9. The storage medium storing the game program according to claim 6, wherein the first condition is that a predetermined game situation occurs during the game progression.

10. The storage medium storing the game program according to claim 6, when the game object selected by the selection means is located at a predetermined position in the game field, the game object image display control means makes the game object image of the game object selected by the selection means larger on the display section.