Amusement devices: games – Including means for processing electronic data – Perceptible output or display
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-28
2003-08-26
Harrison, Jessica (Department: 3714)
Amusement devices: games
Including means for processing electronic data
Perceptible output or display
C463S030000, C463S023000, C463S001000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06609976
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of executing processing for displaying hints to a character and a program product and game system for the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a game control method of a video game and a computer readable program product storing a program and a video game system for the same. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a game control method of a video game having characters able to be operated by a player and enabling those characters to engage in various types of actions by operation by the player, such as a role playing game (RPG), and a computer readable program product storing a program and video game system for the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are many types of video games played by video game systems. As one of these, there is the type of video game called a role playing game. In a role playing game, along with progress in the game, various types of events such as fights, encounters, and conversations with enemy characters and discoveries of the same occur in accordance with actions performed by the player character operated by the player in the virtual space during the game. Note that an “enemy character” is a character controlled by the computer in accordance with an action control algorithm in the game.
In a video game of this type, in addition to fights with enemy characters etc., there are special actions which can be executed in the process of progress of the game only when the player character is near a specific location in the game virtual space, for example, a location with a wood box (hereinafter referred to as “special actions”). A special action is an action other than walking or another ordinary action. For example, it is an action of the player character jumping onto a wood box by jumping high by depression by the player of an assigned action button on the input device of the video game system, that is, the keypad.
As explained above, at the specific location, the player character engages in a special action such as jumping onto a wood box by jumping high by an operation of the player. Displaying this on the screen enables the interest of the game to be improved. Further, it is possible to have a new event generated by the player character jumping onto the wood box and thereby give greater diversity to the game.
Even when the player character is able to engage in a special action at a specific location, however, the player sometimes will not notice this and therefore the special action will not be performed. If the player does not notice the various tricks and events provided during the game, the player will not be able to sufficiently experience the various events set in the game.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a game control method of a video game, and a computer readable program product storing a program and a video game system for the same, enabling even a player not familiar with the game to easily execute special actions.
To achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of executing a game program displaying a hint on a screen about a character provided with an ability for action, comprising setting an event point in advance in a range of action of a character, which is the virtual space in which the character can move. The method also includes providing corresponding navigation information and hint information for each event point, judging if a character in a party including a plurality of characters has reached a set event point, and, when judging that the character has reached the set event point, judging if a character belonging to the party has the ability for action and selecting navigation information or hint information linked with that set event point in accordance with the judged ability for action and, when the corresponding navigation information has been selected, performing navigation based on the navigation information on the screen, while when the corresponding hint information has been selected, providing a hint based on the hint information on the screen.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable program product storing a game program displaying a hint on a screen about a character provided with an ability for action, the program setting an event point in advance in an area of action of a character, providing corresponding navigation information and hint information for each event point, and making the computer judge if a character in a party including a plurality of characters has reached a set event point, and, when judging that the character has reached the set event point, judge if a character belonging to the party has the ability for action and selecting navigation information or hint information linked with that set event point in accordance with the judged ability for action and, when the corresponding navigation information has been selected, perform navigation based on the navigation information on the screen, while when the corresponding hint information has been selected, provide a hint based on the hint information on the screen.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a game system provided with a unit for execution of a game in accordance with a game program displaying a hint on a screen about a character provided with an ability for action, a memory for storing all or part of the program, and a display screen for displaying the game being executed by the unit. The unit in accordance with a program stored in the memory, sets an event point in advance in an area of action of a character, provides corresponding navigation information and hint information for each event point, and judges if a character in a party including a plurality of characters has reached a set event point. When judging that the character has reached the set event point, the unit judges if a character belonging to the party has the ability for action and selects navigation information or hint information linked with that set event point in accordance with the judged ability for action. When the corresponding navigation information has been selected, the unit performs navigation based on the navigation information on the screen, while when the corresponding hint information has been selected, the unit provides a hint based on the hint information on the screen.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5377997 (1995-01-01), Wilden et al.
patent: 5682469 (1997-10-01), Linnett et al.
patent: 6296570 (2001-10-01), Miyamoto et al.
Okaniwa Shinichiro
Yamagishi Nozomu
Greenblum & Bernstein P.L.C.
Harrison Jessica
Kabushiki Kaisha Square Enix
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