Amusement devices: games – Including means for processing electronic data – Data storage or retrieval
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-23
2001-09-04
O'Neill, Michael (Department: 3713)
Amusement devices: games
Including means for processing electronic data
Data storage or retrieval
C463S008000, C463S032000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06283861
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a video game, and more particularly to a video game which can let a player visually know the effective ranges of various tools (items) for use in a game.
2. Description of the Related Art
At the initial stage of the popularization of video game machines, most video games were 2-Dimensional (2D) games in which the images of objects like game characters and buildings were displayed two-dimensionally. In recent years, however, most video games have become 3-Dimensional (3D) games in which the images of the objects are displayed three-dimensionally, due to improvements in the performances of image processors.
Of 3D games, role-playing games (RPGs) are especially popular because a player can experience the game story, while acting as if he were the player character (the main character).
In general, an element of character development has been introduced in RPGs. For example, an RPG is designed so that the player gains a predetermined experience level as a result of winning fights with enemy characters. To facilitate player character development, many fighting scenes are presented during the progress of the game in RPGs.
Generally speaking, in a fight in an RPG, the player character and an enemy character (non-player character) alternately attack each other, and the first character to cause the other's Hit Points (HP; life force) to be zero wins. There are two types of attacks: one is an attack by the player character itself and the other is an attack using items (which affect an opponent) such as weapons and magic.
In conventional video games, the effects of the items such as weapons and magic vary according to their kinds. However, little consideration is given to their effective ranges (such as the shooting ranges). Due to this, when attacking the enemy character using an arrow, for example, if the arrow flies toward the enemy character, then the arrow hits the enemy character in most cases, regardless of the distance between the characters.
Making the effects of the items different from each other depending on the distance between the attacking character and the opponent character has also been brought into practice. In conventional video games, however, since a player is not notified of the effective ranges of the items, he is not able to correctly judge whether an item which he intends to use will be effective to do damage to the enemy.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a video game which permits a player to recognize the effective ranges of items such as weapons and magic at the time when the player chooses an item for a battle with an enemy character.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a video game device, which executes a game wherein a first character, whose actions are controlled by input instructions from a player, fights with a second character with an item, the device comprises:
effective range setting means for setting a three-dimensional effective range which has its center at a predetermined reference point and where the item to be used by the first character for fighting with the second character is effective;
three-dimensional image processing means for causing a display device to display a three-dimensional reference range corresponding to the effective range set by said effective range setting means;
attack instruction means for giving attack instructions to the first character; and
attack result control means for causing the first character to attack the second character with the item in accordance with the instructions from said attack instruction means.
According to this structure, when the first character (normally the player character or main character), which is operated by the player, attacks the second character with an item such as a weapon, magic or supernatural power, a three-dimensional reference range which directly or indirectly represents the effective range (where an attack is effective; for example, the shooting range of a bow) of the item such as a weapon, is shown. Therefore, the player can recognize the effective range of the item at a glance from the three-dimensional reference range, and can appropriately determine the player's strategies, enhancing the reality of the game and making the game more entertaining.
When the item is a weapon, the reference range can be selected as desired in accordance with the effective range of the item. For example, a range in which the hitting probability is 100% or a range in which the hitting probability is higher than 0% can be selected as the reference range.
The three-dimensional image processing means can cause the display device to display the three-dimensional reference range, corresponding to the effective range set by the effective range setting means, in the form of a polyhedron defined by a wire frame. A display-processing load in the case of displaying the reference range in the form of a polyhedron defined by the wire frame is small, and accordingly does not cause a delay in the elemental processes required for the game.
It is preferred that, of polygons defining the wire frame, the three-dimensional image processing means draw sides of a foreground polygon in order that the sides will not overlap with sides of adjacent polygons, and draw a ground based side of a background polygon.
The three-dimensional image processing means can cause the display device to display the three-dimensional reference range corresponding to the effective range set by the effective range setting means in a substantially spherical form.
It is preferred that the three-dimensional image processing means cause the display device to display the three-dimensional reference range while gradually expanding the reference range. By gradually expanding the effective range while positioning its center at a reference point, the reality of the game is further enhanced.
This reference point is, for example, the position of the first character which attacks the second character.
For example, the item used to hit an enemy is a weapon such as a pistol, a bow, fire, etc. In this case, it is preferred that the attack result control means control the result of the attack so that the chance of hitting the second character in the case where the second character is located inside the reference range will be higher than in the case where the second character is outside the reference range. Similarly, it is also preferred that the attack result control means control the result of the attack so that the attack on the second character inside the reference range will damage to the second character more seriously than an attack on the second character outside the reference range.
The video game device may further comprise selection means by which the player selects an arbitrary item from a plurality of items, and the effective range setting means may set the effective range of the item selected by the selection means.
The video game device may further comprise storage means for storing effective ranges which have been predetermined one for each of the plurality of items, and the effective range setting means may set an effective range of a size according to the effective range of the item selected by the selection means.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a video game device comprising:
an input device for inputting instructions; and
a processing circuit for executing a game program for a game in which items are prepared, in accordance with the instructions input from said input device, and for executing the game in accordance with the instructions input from said input device and outputting an image signal representing images used in the game;
wherein the item is designated in accordance with the input instruction from said input device, and
the processing circuit sets a three-dimensional reference range corresponding to an effective range of the designated item, and outputs, to a display device, an image signal representing the
Kawai Hiroshi
Niwa Takayuki
Jones Scott E.
O'Neill Michael
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
Square Co., Ltd.
LandOfFree
Video game device and video game method does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Video game device and video game method, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Video game device and video game method will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2525060