30 results about "Video game design" patented technology

A system making use of video games and data communications external to video games is used to provide advertisements, prizes and other benefits to gamers. The prizes relate to either of real world products and services as well as content for use within the video game environment. During a video game session an advertisement is provided to the gamer. When the gamer interacts with the advertisement the video game software acts to facilitate a transaction between the gamer and the advertiser.

A method and system for improving the effectiveness of coaches and video game designers for games like soccer, American football, basketball, lacrosse or ice hockey by using RF technology and software. A base station is equipped with a computer programmed with algorithms to track the players and game equipment and thereby produce data of interest to a coach or game designer.

A video game device allows a game player to set a degree of difficulty of a technique to be performed by a play character by continuously hitting a pair of buttons in a controller. A command guiding unit guides the input of a command which causes the play character to perform a technique corresponding to the set degree of difficulty, and a stick-shaped controller allows the game player to input commands in accordance with the guide given by the command guiding unit. Upon completion of the performance of the technique by the play character, an evaluating unit evaluates the technique performed in accordance with the commands inputted by the game player.

A video game device comprises: a monitor; a display unit for displaying an event place where a specific event is performed on the monitor; a sound output unit for outputting a background sound relating to the event; a memory for storing a background sound data relating to the event; an event place determining unit for determining types of event places; and a background sound controller for reading out the background sound data from the memory, outputting it as a background sound and performing an echo process on the background sound in response to the type of the event place determined by the event place determining unit.

A video game device in which a game screen displayed on a monitor is controlled by operating an operation unit, the video game device comprises a character display control unit for displaying a player character in such a manner as to be rotatable together with a throwing object character and making such a display that the throwing object character is thrown in a specified direction by the player character when the operation unit is operated at a specified timing, and a guide display control unit for setting a guide display area in a partial area of the game screens, displaying a throwing mark in the guide display area which mark moves in response to a rotation of the throwing object character, and displaying an area mark specifying a throwing area of the throwing object character in association with the guide display area.

The player gives a change in the input through a touch operation to a character pattern P2 displayed on a second display screen 12a covered by a touch panel. The character pattern P2 is associated with a player character P1 displayed on a first display screen 11a, and is displayed on a larger scale than the player character P1. The player character P1 is moved according to the change in the input. Thus, a video game is provided that is played on a dual-screen video game device with a novel operation in which the player can accurately specify an intended position.

A moving character and a background image are displayed on a display screen with a touch panel thereon. When the player operates the touch panel to draw a line in an intended path extending between a start point and an end point along which the player wishes to guide the moving character, an operation trace image having the shape of the line drawn is displayed on the display screen. Then, the moving character moves along or in parallel to the operation trace image. The operation trace image is gradually erased after a predetermined amount of time elapses. Thus, it is possible to provide a video game device and a video game program in which the player can influence the moving path or the moving direction of the player (moving) character based on the shape and / or the direction of the line drawn by the player.

A game progress control program, game progress control method, and video game device, which reflect the player strategy in the video game and have excellent game properties, are provided. A procedure storage unit 51 stores a plurality of operation procedures of a controller 19; an operation reception unit 401 receives operations from the controller 19 performed within a prescribed time interval; an operation decision unit 402 selects one operation procedure from among operation procedures stored in the procedure storage unit 51 as an operation procedure equivalent to operations from the controller 19; a time calculation unit 404 calculates the holding time over which the final operation performed in the operation procedure selected by the operation decision unit 402 is held; and a point-awarding unit 406 awards points based on the decision result of the operation decision unit 402 and the holding time.

A game progress control program, game progress control method, and video game device, which reflect the player strategy in the video game and have excellent game properties, are provided. A procedure storage unit 51 stores a plurality of operation procedures of a controller 19; an operation reception unit 401 receives operations from the controller 19 performed within a prescribed time interval; an operation decision unit 402 selects one operation procedure from among operation procedures stored in the procedure storage unit 51 as an operation procedure equivalent to operations from the controller 19; a time calculation unit 404 calculates the holding time over which the final operation performed in the operation procedure selected by the operation decision unit 402 is held; and a point-awarding unit 406 awards points based on the decision result of the operation decision unit 402 and the holding time.

Displayed on a first LCD 11 are a “fire” planet 40a, a “wood” planet 40b; an “earth” planet 40c, a “wind” planet 40d and a “water” planet 40e, each traveling along an orbit by a unique orbital period. While an attribute symbol is traveling through an active zone that is associated with the attribute symbol, the status of the attribute represented by the attribute symbol is active. An attribute being active affects the space attribute, which is the attribute of a particular space in the game world. The space attribute affects the ability parameters of characters of the same attribute. Thus, it is possible to enrich the strategic aspect of a video game using characters' attributes.

To reflect a player's degree of skill in a battle between a player character and an enemy character, and increase a strategic element. In the event that a player selects magic as an action of a player character in a battle between a player character and an enemy character, a puzzle battle is started. In the puzzle battle, a magic army (a block frame) is displayed on a display device in accordance with a kind of magic selected, the player moves or rotates a block falling from above the display device by operating an input device, stops it in a desired position, and fills the magic army. In the event that all squares of the magic army are filled with the blocks before a time elapsing from a start of the puzzle battle, displayed on an elapsed time gauge, reaches a prescribed time, the magic selected by the player is unleashed, and inflicts damage on the enemy character. An effectiveness of the magic depends on an overlapping, and a protrusion from the magic army, of the blocks.

A video game player can control the movement of a moving object in a video game during a moving object dispatch operation by a character, thereby allowing the video game player to experience nervousness and a sense of realism when causing the character to dispatch the moving object. This video game program includes a first request receiving function, a operation display function, a second request receiving function, a moving object control function, and a moving object display function. In the video game implemented with this program, a dispatch request for dispatching the moving object is received from the controller in the second request receiving function when the dispatch operation of the character is displayed on the monitor. According to the timing at which the second request receiving function received the dispatch request, the movement of the moving object is controlled in the moving object control function.

A video game device calculates a difference vector extending from a predetermined reference position on the screen to an input position. Moreover, the video game device calculates movement parameter data used for moving, with respect to a fixed point in the virtual space uniquely determined based on a position of the controlled object, the point of sight to a position that is determined by a direction in the virtual space based on a direction of the difference vector and a distance in the virtual space based on a magnitude of the difference vector. The point of sight is moved based on the movement parameter data. The video game device produces an image based on a virtual camera, which has been moved according to the movement of the point of sight, and displays the image on the screen of a display device.

A racing game in which a player moving object controlled by a human player and a plurality of non-player moving objects automatically controlled based on a predetermined algorithm race together on a course in a virtual space is provided, wherein: different target places are set for the plurality of non-player moving objects; a driving performance value preset for each non-player moving object is changed according to the target place thereof; and each non-player moving object is automatically controlled according to the changed driving performance value thereof. Thus, it is possible to provide a thrilling racing game.

A video game device calculates an angle of an object 71, etc., with respect to a reference direction in a three-dimensional space. Then, the video game device defines a virtual cylindrical model for each of a plurality of objects so that a bottom surface of each cylindrical model is perpendicular to the reference direction. The video game device defines a plurality of cylindrical models for a predetermined object if the inclination of the predetermined object with respect to the reference direction is greater than a predetermined angle. Then, the video game device determines whether or not the defined cylindrical models have an overlap therebetween. Then, if two cylindrical models are determined to be overlapping with each other, the video game device gives a predetermined change to the two objects in response to the collision.

A video game program includes a terminology storing function, a first running commentary function, a running commentary interrupting function, a second running commentary function, a running commentary returning function, and a running commentary continuing function. In the video game implemented with this program, if specific events occur while the video game is in progress and the play-by-play or commentary is interrupted, the system returns from the play-by-play or commentary related to the specific events to the interrupted play-by-play or commentary, after the play-by-play or commentary has been provided for the specific events, and the interrupted play-by-play or commentary is continued.

Embodiments of the present invention include methods for providing a simulated disc jockey experience in a video game. Embodiments are provided for playing video games on portable electronic devices such as mobile phones and / or portable music players and on conventional video game clients, such as video game consoles, personal computers, and / or handheld video game devices.

A video game device successively obtains game data, which changes according to the state of the input device and is used in the game process. The video game device stores game data obtained at a point in time when the game process is paused. The video game device successively compares current game data with the stored game data, after starting to accept cancellation of the pause. The pause is canceled to resume the game process when a difference between a value of the current game data and a value of the game data stored in the storage means becomes smaller than a predetermined reference.