Amusement devices: games – Including means for processing electronic data – Perceptible output or display
Patent
1997-03-18
2000-08-15
Sager, Mark A.
Amusement devices: games
Including means for processing electronic data
Perceptible output or display
463 3, A63F 924
Patent
active
061028010
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a picture processing device and a method thereof. More particularly, this invention relates to a picture processing device and a method thereof which enable characters to move smoothly in response to a ball in video games which imitate ball games such as baseball or soccer.
BACKGROUND ART
With the progress of computer technology, video game machines (picture processing devices) utilizing computer graphic technique have come to be widely used. Particularly, popularity of video game machines which imitate ball games such as baseball or soccer has been firmly established, and a considerable amount of this type of video game machines have been devised.
However, conventional video game machines have many problems as described below.
First, it is difficult to display a fielder's ball-catching movement smoothly.
A conventional video game machine generally comprises: a display which displays batters, fielders and other characters; an operation stick which operates batters, fielders and other characters on a screen; and a picture processing circuit which displays a desirable image on the screen in accordance with the operation of the operation stick. Such a video game machine is provided with a plane picture called "sprite" for each movement posture of each fielder, and the sprite is displayed according to the progress of a game on the screen. A virtual area called the "collision area" for determination of collision is provided in the vicinity of a fielder. When a ball enters the collision area, the fielder moves to catch the ball.
For example, when a game player operates the stick, the fielder on the screen chases the batted ball in accordance with the operation of the stick. The collision area, then, also moves together with the fielder. If the fielder catches up with the ball and the ball enters the collision area near the fielder, the fielder moves to catch the ball. Namely, the video game machine determines that the ball in the screen has reached close to the fielder, and displays the sprite which shows the ball-catching movement. Therefore, the fielder never begins the ball-catching movement unless the ball enters the collision area on the screen.
However, since the time spent after the ball enters the collision area until the fielder catches the ball is very short, the fielder needs to perform the ball-catching movement in a very short period of time after the ball enters the collision area. Accordingly, the fielder's ball-catching movement turns out to be awkward and it is then difficult to provide a realistic game. As a means for solving this problem, it is possible to enlarge the collision area near the fielder. In other words, it is possible to lengthen the time spent after the ball enters the collision area until the fielder catches the ball. However, if the collision area is enlarged, a problem arises that the fielder begins moving to catch a ball even when the ball is too far away to catch.
Secondarily, a considerable amount of operation is required for a processing which determines the collision between a batted ball and a fence, which subsequently hinders high speed processing.
When a batted ball flies beyond an outfielder in a video game machine, whether or not a collision will take place between the batted ball and the fence is determined. For example, when the fence is displayed with a plurality of polygons, it is determined whether or not coordinates of the ball are located on the polygons. If it is determined that the ball will collide with the polygons which compose the fence, a processing for bounding the ball back from the fence is performed.
Namely, the conventional baseball game determines whether the ball collides with the fence by confirming whether coordinates of the ball are positioned on the polygons which compose the fence. However, since coordinates of the ball and the polygons are expressed by three-dimensional data, a considerable amount of processing is required to determine the position relationship between the ball and the po
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European Search Report dated Dec. 2, 1997, 4 Pages.
Foley et al., "Computer Graphics Principles and Practice", Second Edition, Section 15--Visible-Surface Determination, 1990, pp. 649-717.
Kabushiki Kaisha Sega Enterprises
Sager Mark A.
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