Amusement devices: games – Including means for processing electronic data – Data storage or retrieval
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-27
2001-11-20
Harrison, Jessica J. (Department: 3713)
Amusement devices: games
Including means for processing electronic data
Data storage or retrieval
C463S035000, C434S30700R, C434S30700R
Reexamination Certificate
active
06319130
ABSTRACT:
DESCRIPTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a display control technique for, for example, growing a figure expression ability of a character image-displayed on a display unit of a game apparatus or a display unit of a personal computer, based on music or the like selected by a game player.
2. Background Art
In recent years, various character growing games have been developed wherein characters are expressed by three-dimensional CG (computer graphic) images so that a game is played in a more realistic fashion.
Presently, in the character growing games, those games have been dominant wherein a game player breeds a designated character for multiplication, or an initial character is transfigured to a different character according to environment where it is bred. As the environment where a character is bred, i.e. as a growth factor of a character, a parameter digitizing the amount of feed or water, for example, is used. The game player enjoys while watching the growth process of a character, i.e. a manner in which a character image changes, by giving feed, water or the like to the character at given time intervals as if a human being bred a pet.
On the other hand, in the foregoing character growing games, the growth factor for growing a character is set in advance explicitly or secretly at the game designer side so that a game player can not voluntarily change the contents thereof. Therefore, a character growing manner by the game player and an expression manner of the character on a display unit are limited to within a range of the set growth factor so that it is not possible to create a more diversified expression manner or suitably reflect taste of the game player on the expression manner.
The present invention provides a character display control apparatus and method which can diversify an expression manner of a character image and reflect taste of a game player on the expression manner so as to enhance attractiveness.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a storage medium for realizing the foregoing display control apparatus on a computer.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
For solving the foregoing problem, a first display control apparatus of the present invention is a display control apparatus which image-displays on a given display unit a growth process of a character which grows according to a sound characteristic such as a sound type, sound magnitude, rhythm or tune, the display control apparatus characterized by comprising a data holding means for holding growth factor data quantitatively representing a growth degree of a figure expression ability peculiar to the character; a data input means for inputting sound source data; a detection means for detecting a sound characteristic of the sound source data every time the sound source data is inputted; a data updating means for, according to the detected sound characteristic, cumulatively updating the growth factor data of the character being displayed on the display unit; and a control means for, based on the updated growth factor data, continuously changing an expression figure of the character being displayed.
The character to be displayed is, for example, one of a plurality of characters which are selectable based on identification information peculiar thereto. The data holding means is capable of identifying, when one of the characters is selected, growth factor data peculiar to the selected character. When wishing to manage the growth factor data for each of the plurality of characters, the data holding means includes an exchangeable memory storing the growth factor data per character and is capable of identifying the corresponding growth factor data from the memory.
The data input means may input sound source data from the exterior or may be capable of selectively inputting one of plural kinds of sound source data recorded in advance in the apparatus.
The detection means detects the sound characteristic by identifying a peak portion of a signal waveform of the sound source data, sampling it and applying a given arithmetic process to the sampled waveform. Alternatively, the sound characteristic is detected based on the frequency characteristic obtained by the arithmetic process.
When, for example, the detected sound characteristic is the same as one already held, the data updating means accumulates a continued time of the sound characteristic and changes the growth factor data in sequence according to the continued time or an accumulated time thereof.
The sound characteristic and the growth factor data can be composed of plural kinds of data distinguishable from each other. In this case, the data updating means changes in sequence growth factor data of a kind corresponding to a kind of a detected sound characteristic.
When wishing to change, in addition to the character, an image of background environment thereof, the first display control apparatus further comprises a background environment image managing means for relating background data for changing the background environment to the growth factor data and for displaying on the display unit the background environment based on the background data corresponding to the growth factor data upon expressing the figure of the character based on the growth factor data.
A second display control apparatus of the present invention is characterized by comprising an animation data storage means for storing animation data for image-expressing at least one of motion and expression of each of a plurality of characters which are selectively displayed on a given display unit, the animation data classified into a plurality of ranks; an allocating means for allocating a parameter to each of the plurality of characters, the parameter peculiar to each character and relating to a sound characteristic; a data input means for inputting sound source data; a detection means for detecting a sound characteristic of the sound source data every time the sound source data is inputted; a character selecting means for selecting one of the plurality of characters based on a given command; a data reading means for determining a rank corresponding to a degree of agreement between the parameter allocated to the selected character and the detected sound characteristic and for calling the animation data corresponding to the rank from the animation storage means; and a control means for controlling an expression manner of an image of the character displayed on the display unit based on the read animation data, wherein the motion or expression of the displayed character is changed according to the sound characteristic.
The animation data storage means stores a plurality of animation data per rank, and the data reading means reads, for example, the animation data of each rank at random.
The allocating means sets as the parameter one of a sound reproduction time based on the sound source data, a rhythm band of the sound source data and a tune which changes with a lapse of the sound reproduction time, or a combination of them, and includes a ranking factor for determining the rank. In this case, the data reading means determines the rank based on the ranking factor.
A third display control apparatus of the present invention is characterized by comprising an effect expression module for adding a given effect expression to a display manner of a character displayed on a given display unit: and a control means for displaying on the display unit an item of the effect expression module upon matching of a condition which enables startup of the effect expression module, for allocating startup data for starting the effect expression module to an input device designated upon the displaying, and for starting the effect expression module at a voluntary time point when a command is inputted via the input device.
The present invention further provides first to third display control methods and first to third storage media suitable for causing a computer to implement those display control methods.
The first display control method of the present invention is a method implemented in an apparatus w
Honda Kenichiro
Ooseki Nobuhito
Yamane Kiyohiko
Bachman & LaPointe P.C.
Harrison Jessica J.
Konami Co. Ltd.
Rada, II Alex F. R. P.
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