Amusement devices: games – Including means for processing electronic data – Perceptible output or display
Utility Patent
1998-09-28
2001-01-02
O'Neill, Michael (Department: 3713)
Amusement devices: games
Including means for processing electronic data
Perceptible output or display
C463S044000, C463S042000, C273S14800B
Utility Patent
active
06168524
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a video game system for implementing a role-playing game (RPG) in which a player character standing in for the player aims at achieving a certain goal in terms of a story on a video screen, wherein the game is made to proceed by manipulating the character displayed on the screen. The invention further relates to a method of controlling the system and to a memory cartridge for the video game.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a role-playing game, the player aims at achieving a certain goal in a story (searching for a sweetheart who has gone missing because of an accident, searching for a companion who will cooperate with the player, rescuing a city dweller from a disaster, etc.), and the player plays the game by manipulating the player character displayed on the screen.
A role-playing game is characterized in that greater emphasis is placed upon the story than is the case with games of other genre, and that the player plays the role of the hero or heroine (or heroes or heroines) in the story. A background screen of the kind which visually expresses a mythical world is displayed. In the latest examples of such role-playing games, mountains, cities and buildings are displayed, as well as city dwellers walking among them. Besides the player character, a plurality of other characters who become the friend or enemy of the player character appear.
Another characterizing feature of a role-playing game is that the internal data relating to the hero whose role is played by the player has a growth element. The player plays the game by freely making a variety of choices, such as conversing with people, buying and using objects, fighting with an enemy, etc. The choices made are evaluated and the data is internally modified accordingly (mainly in a direction that tends to advance the game).
In a conventional role-playing game, the conduct of the player character is controlled and evaluated by a single predetermined program. These leads to the following problems:
First, the story lacks a sense of surprise. Specifically, while the player is moving the player character, which is the player's own character, the other characters are at rest on the screen or merely perform fixed actions (such as moving back and forth) in accordance with a simple display processing routine or actions that are based upon random numbers.
Second, the program is made complicated by a diversity of conditional branch statements. When, in order to provide a story with a greater sense of surprise, it is attempted to cause the other characters to perform meaningful actions while the player character is being moved, a variety of conditional branch statements (e.g., an “if~else” statement or “switch~case~case” statement in C language) must be used in the program (an account of all possible cases must be described in the program). This results in a complex game program.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to arrange it so that a plurality of characters, inclusive of the player character, that appear on a screen can be moved independently of one another thereby making it possible to enjoy a more realistic game, without significantly complicating the program.
Another of the present invention is to arrange it so that a plurality of characters interact with and influence one another, thereby making it possible to enhance the sense of surprise.
According to the present invention, the foregoing objects are attained by providing a video game apparatus for displaying a plurality of characters, inclusive of a player character, on a display screen of a display device and controlling the actions of the characters in response to a signal from an input operation unit, comprising program storage means for storing codes of a plurality of mutually independent program statements created with regard to respective ones of the plurality of characters and describing commands relating to actions of the characters, a plurality of program counters for storing, with regard to respective ones of the plurality of programs, a position of a program statement to be executed with regard to each character, and program control means for performing control so as to read, and execute, one or a plurality of statements, designated by corresponding ones of the program counters of the programs of the characters, out of the program storage means in regular order, and, at execution of a process, incrementing the corresponding program counter.
Further, according to the present invention, the foregoing objects are attained by providing a method of controlling a video game system for displaying a plurality of characters, inclusive of a player character, on a display screen of a display device and controlling the actions of the characters in response to a signal from an input operation unit, comprising the steps of previously creating and storing, in a memory device, a plurality of mutually independent programs, which describe commands relating to actions of the characters, with regard to respective ones of a plurality of programs, providing a plurality of program counters for storing, with regard to respective ones of the plurality of programs, a position of a program to be executed with regard to each character, and reading one or a plurality of consecutive program statements, designated by the corresponding program counters of the programs of the characters, out of the memory device in regular order, executing the program statements and, at execution of a process, incrementing the corresponding program counter.
In accordance with this invention, each of a plurality of characters that appear on a display screen acts in accordance with an independent program. This means that it is possible to make the characters perform independent actions simultaneously and to cause other characters to act independently while the player character is moving. This provides for greater game diversity. Moreover, it is not necessarily required to use many conditional branch statements that hypothesize all possible cases.
Since characters act in accordance with their own independent programs, record data indicative of the behavior of each character can be obtained in a time and space specific to the character (namely along the character's own time axis and in relation to the character's own circumstances and environment). As a result, a character can be evaluated independently and in real time. A change in the nature and attributes of a character can also be performed character by character.
A window which displays text such as the message of a character can also be defined for each character. As a result, the window can be scrolled independently of the actions of the other characters and a window display can be presented for each of the plurality of characters.
It is preferred that the program execution speed be decided for each character. The cycle of execution of the character program is changed in accordance with this decision.
For example, such processing can be implemented by incorporating a code representing the program execution speed in the program of each character.
Further, by way of example, it will suffice to adopt an arrangement in which whether a program is to be executed or not is decided with regard to each character at each cycle of execution, and execute the program only with regard to a character for which execution has been decided.
Such control makes it possible to set fast- and slow-acting characters so that an interesting game will develop. For example, an arrangement can be adopted in which the player character is allow to be moved rapidly preferentially with respect to the other characters.
Furthermore, an arrangement can be adopted in which the order of characters whose programs are to be executed is decided and the execution sequence of the character programs is changed in accordance with this decision.
By arranging it so that characters acting independently of one another communicate with one another, the development of the game is made m
Aoki Kazuhiko
Kokubo Keizo
McDermott & Will & Emery
O'Neill Michael
Square Co., Ltd.
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