Amusement devices: games – Including means for processing electronic data – In a game including a simulated projectile
Reexamination Certificate
1997-12-09
2001-06-26
Harrison, Jessica J. (Department: 3713)
Amusement devices: games
Including means for processing electronic data
In a game including a simulated projectile
C463S049000, C463S051000, C463S001000, C434S017000, C434S019000, C434S021000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06251011
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shooting video game machine which comprises a mock gun having a trigger and display means which presents characters on a monitor to form a game playing display while presenting a bullet travelling in a predetermined direction within the game playing display in synchronization with the pulling of the trigger. The present invention also relates to a shooting result presentation method of shooting video game for presenting a shooting result on the game playing display.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some of known video game machines are provided with a monitor screen serving as a game playing display for monitoring a character as a target and a mock gun having a trigger for shooting a pseudo-bullet to the monitor screen. When the trigger is pulled, the bullet travels in a predetermined direction within the game playing display. When the bullet hits the character, the display state of the character changes, for example, the character may be destroyed or disappear from the screen. The shooting video game machine such as this typically emits sound at the moment the bullet traveling in the screen hits the character to give presence under which a game player feels as if a real bullet hits a target.
The above conventional shooting video game machine changes the display state of the character, for example, with the character destroyed, only when the bullet shot from the mock gun hits the character as the target. The machine thus presents either a strike display or amiss display depending on the shooting result, and is monotonous and not so thrilling as a video game.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an exciting and thrilling shooting video game machine and shooting result presentation method.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, the shooting video game machine comprises a mock gun with a trigger, display means which presents characters on a monitor to form a game playing display while presenting a bullet travelling in a predetermined direction within the game playing display in synchronization with the pulling of the trigger, proximity determining means for determining that the bullet hits a proximity area of each character and shooting result display means for presenting a shooting result within the game playing display when the proximity determining means determines that the bullet hits the proximity area of the character.
With this arrangement, the characters are presented on the monitor to form the game playing display. The mock gun is positioned in front of the monitor screen and its trigger is pulled with the mock gun aimed at the monitor screen. When the trigger is pulled, the bullet is presented on the game playing display, and travels in the predetermined direction. The direction of travel of the bullet on the game playing display is predetermined depending on the point of impact on the monitor screen as the display means.
In order to determine the point of impact, an area sensor arranged in the vicinity of the muzzle of the gun picks up light from a point light source arranged at a predetermined position near the game playing display and the position on the monitor screen where the gun is aimed at is computed from the image position of the point light source in the image pickup area of the sensor. Alternatively, the point of impact may be determined by using a photosensitive device arranged at the muzzle of the gun to obtain the timing of a scanning line in raster scan. A proximity determination is made concerning the bullet traveling on the game playing display to determine whether the bullet hits the proximity area of the character within the game playing display. More particularly, when the game playing display is presented pseudo-three-dimensionally using polygons, a predetermined area surrounding the bullet formed of polygons and the character formed of polygons, namely the three-dimensional coordinates of the proximity area of the character and of the bullet are computed for a match to perform a proximity determination. When it is determined that the bullet hits the proximity area of the character, a predetermined shooting result such as a blast of the bullet is presented. In case of a two-dimensional presentation, a match is two-dimensionally determined.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the characters include flying characters and characters other than the flying characters, and the proximity determining means determines whether the bullet hits the proximity area of each flying character.
In the second aspect, the three-dimensional coordinates of the predetermined proximity area of the flying character and of the bullet are computed for a match to perform proximity determination. When it is determined that the bullet hits the proximity area of the character, a predetermined shooting result such as a blast of the bullet is presented.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the shooting video game machine comprises hit determining means for determining whether the bullet hits each of the characters on the game playing display, wherein the proximity determining means determines whether the bullet hits the proximity area of each flying character when the hit determining means determines that the bullet hits none of the characters, and wherein the shooting result display means causes a strike display to be presented when the hit determining means determines that the bullet hits any of characters and causes a smoke screen display to be presented when the proximity determining means determines that the bullet hits the proximity area of any of the flying characters.
In the third aspect, when the game playing display is presented pseudo-three-dimensionally using polygons, the three-dimensional coordinates of the faces of all on-screen polygons and the polygon of the bullet are computed for a match to determine a hit. When any polygons match, the character constituted by that polygon is subjected to a hit processing. When no polygons match, a determination is made of whether that polygon is of the flying character. When it is determined that the polygon is of the flying character, the three-dimensional coordinates of the predetermined proximity area of the flying character and the bullet are computed for a match to determine proximity. When it is determined that the bullet hits the proximity area of the flying character, the bullet blasts, causing a smoke screen display to be presented.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the shooting result display means causes the flying character to change to the strike display when the proximity determining means determines that a predetermined plural number of bullets hit the same flying character.
In the fourth aspect, when proximity hits to the same flying character exceed a predetermined count, the display process substantially identical to that for a flying character hit is performed to give a variation in the shooting result.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the characters other than the flying characters include characters fixed to the ground and characters moving on the ground, and the flying characters are the ones flying in the air.
In the fifth aspect, a proximity hit processing is performed to the flying character that flies in the air, and the characters other than the flying characters are subjected to standard hit processing only. This arrangement offers presence to a game player.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the bullet shooting is repeated by the mock gun at predetermined intervals while the trigger is continuously pulled.
With this arrangement, a gun, such as a repeating rifle, likely to cause a proximity hit is mocked.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the shooting result presentation method of a shooting video game machine which presents characters on a monitor to form a game playing display while presenting a bullet travelling in a predete
Clayton Sheila
Harrison Jessica J.
Jordan and Hamburg LLP
Konami Co. Ltd.
LandOfFree
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