JP7144931B2 - Program and game system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a program, a game system, and the like.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, game systems for players to play music games have been known. In this game system, music is output from the sound output section, and instruction marks (musical notes) for instructing the player's operation timing are displayed on the display section. The player enjoys the music game by performing operations according to the displayed instruction marks while listening to the output music. As a conventional technique of such a game system, there is a technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200001 discloses a method of generating a moving image in which a character object moves in time with music as a method of making a user enjoy listening to music.

JP 2008-61764 A WO2015/194509

In conventional music games, the player needs to perform appropriate operations in accordance with the timing of the sound, which is highly difficult. On the other hand, it is conceivable to combine the elements of action games, which have been widely known in the past, with music games. In this game system, a character is moved based on the player's operation, and the output of sounds such as music is controlled according to the character's motion. In this way, the player can feel as if he or she is playing a piece of music just by operating the character, and can obtain an exhilarating feeling.

Characteristic timings can be defined for character actions, such as landing and railroad crossings in a jumping action. If the characteristic timing and the timing of the sound are out of sync, it is difficult for the player to get the feeling that the music is being played, which is uninteresting. In addition, since the timing of the character's action and the content of the action are determined by the player's operation, it is difficult to prepare the character's action (animation) in accordance with the music in advance as in the technique of Patent Document 2. be.

According to some aspects of the present invention, it is possible to provide a highly entertaining program, game system, and the like by synchronizing the animation of the moving object based on the player's operation with the timing of the sound.

According to one aspect of the present invention, an animation processing unit performs animation processing of a moving object based on player operation information; a reference timing is determined based on the player operation information; and a timing processing unit that determines timing information of a sound to be output to the game system, wherein the animation processing unit performs the animation processing of the moving object in accordance with the timing information of the sound. The present invention also relates to a program that causes a computer to function as the above units, or a computer-readable information storage medium that stores the program.

In one aspect of the present invention, reference timing and sound timing information are determined, and animation processing of the moving body is performed so as to match the sound timing information. When animation processing is performed based on operation information, it is difficult to associate the animation of the moving object with the timing of the sound in advance. In this regard, according to one aspect of the present invention, by performing animation processing after appropriately determining the timing of sound, it is possible to realize animation of a moving object in sync with sound.

Further, in one aspect of the present invention, the animation processing unit may perform adjustment processing of the animation information of the moving body used in the animation processing, based on the timing information of the sound.

In this way, it is possible to realize the animation of the moving object in harmony with the sound by adjusting the animation information.

Further, in one aspect of the present invention, the animation processing unit may perform the adjustment processing so that the moving body moves in accordance with the timing information of the sound.

By doing so, it is possible to move the moving object in time with the timing of the sound by adjusting the animation information.

Further, in one aspect of the present invention, the animation information is associated with key frame information representing a key frame, and the animation processing unit processes the timing represented by the timing information of the sound and the key frame information. The adjustment processing may be performed so that the reproduction timing of the key frame represented by is matched.

In this way, adjustment processing can be performed based on key frame information.

Further, in one aspect of the present invention, the reference timing may be the reproduction timing of the key frame.

By doing so, it is possible to use the reproduction timing of the key frame as the reference timing.

Further, in one aspect of the present invention, the animation processing unit may perform a process of determining the animation information to be subjected to the animation process, and perform the adjustment process on the determined animation information.

By doing so, it is possible to select appropriate animation information from a plurality of pieces of animation information.

Further, in one aspect of the present invention, the animation processing section may perform the determination processing of the animation information based on the timing information of the sound.

This makes it possible to determine the animation information based on the sound timing information.

In one aspect of the present invention, a parameter may be associated with the sound timing information, and the animation processing section may perform the determination process of the animation information based on the parameter.

By doing so, it is possible to perform the process of determining the animation information based on the parameters of the music.

Further, in one aspect of the present invention, the sound reproduced in the game may be music represented by music information, and the parameter may be a parameter relating to at least one of volume, pitch, and timbre.

By doing so, it is possible to perform the determination process based on the parameters relating to the volume, pitch, and timbre of the music.

Further, in one aspect of the present invention, the sound reproduced in the game is a piece of music represented by music information, and the animation processing unit receives the music information, the player's operation information, and the movement of the moving object. The determination processing of the animation information may be performed based on at least one of field information and state information representing the state of the moving body.

By doing so, it is possible to perform animation information determination processing based on various kinds of information.

An example of the configuration of the game system of the present embodiment. 2(A) to 2(E) show examples of various devices that realize the game system of this embodiment. FIG. 3A shows an example of a three-dimensional map used in the game system of this embodiment, and FIG. 3B shows an example of a game screen displayed on the display unit. An example of a character's jumping motion. FIGS. 5A to 5C are examples of game screens corresponding to a jumping motion. An example of a character's sliding motion. 7A to 7C are examples of game screens corresponding to sliding motions. Explanatory diagram of the music part. An example of correspondence between areas and time-series music parts. An example of correspondence between determination results (beat parameters) and part music parts. 11A and 11B are flowcharts for explaining the processing of this embodiment. An example of object control. 4 is a flowchart for explaining object control; Example of model object, skeleton structure. Explanatory diagram of the parent-child relationship of bones. A specific example of animation information. Explanatory diagram of beat timing. An example of the relationship between reference timing and sound timing. Explanatory drawing of the adjustment process with respect to animation information. 4 is a flowchart for explaining animation processing; An example of data stored in the animation information storage unit. 22(A) to 22(F) are examples of character rotation motions. 23A to 23C are explanatory diagrams of adjustment processing for animation information including a plurality of key frames. Another flowchart for explaining animation processing.

The present embodiment will be described below. It should be noted that the embodiments described below do not unduly limit the content of the present invention described in the claims. Moreover, not all the configurations described in the present embodiment are essential constituent elements of the present invention.

1. 1. Configuration FIG. 1 shows an example of a block diagram of a game system (game device, image generation system, server system) of this embodiment. The configuration of the game system of this embodiment is not limited to that shown in FIG. 1, and various modifications such as omitting some of its components (each part) or adding other components are possible.

The operation unit 160 is used by a player (user) to input operation data, and its functions include operation buttons, direction keys, analog sticks, levers, various sensors (angular velocity sensor, acceleration sensor, etc.), and an imaging unit. (camera), a microphone, a touch panel display, or the like.

The storage unit 170 serves as a work area for the processing unit 100 and the communication unit 196, and its function can be realized by RAM, SSD, HDD, or the like.

The storage unit 170 includes a music information storage unit 171 that stores music information (BGM, music), and a game progress history storage that stores information on the game progress history (elapsed time, in-game parameters, character movement history and movement direction, etc.). It includes a section 172, a field/object information storage section 173 for storing information on a field in which a moving body moves and objects placed on the field, and an animation information storage section 174 for storing animation information on a moving body (character). Note that the configuration of the storage unit 170 is not limited to that shown in FIG. 1, and the storage unit 170 may include a configuration (not shown) such as a buffer for storing information of operation input by the player and a drawing buffer used for object drawing processing. good.

The storage medium 180 (computer-readable medium) stores various information such as data and programs. The storage medium 180 may be a semiconductor memory such as SRAM or DRAM, a register, a magnetic storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD), or an optical storage device such as an optical disk device. It may also be a formula storage device. For example, the storage medium 180 stores computer-readable instructions, and the instructions are executed by the processing unit 100 (processor) to realize the functions of each unit (communication unit, processing unit) of the game system. will be The instruction here may be an instruction set that constitutes a program, or an instruction that instructs a hardware circuit of the processing unit 100 (processor) to operate.

The display unit 190 outputs an image generated according to this embodiment, and its function can be realized by an LCD, an organic EL display, a CRT, various projector-type displays, an HMD, or the like. The sound output unit 192 outputs the sound generated according to this embodiment, and its function can be realized by a speaker, headphones, or the like.

An I/F (interface) unit 194 performs interface processing with the portable information storage medium 195, and its function can be realized by an ASIC for I/F processing. The portable information storage medium 195 stores various information for the player to play the game, and can be realized by an IC card (memory card), a USB memory, a magnetic card, or the like.

The communication unit 196 communicates with an external device (for example, another game device, a management device, a server system, etc.) via a wired or wireless network. It can be realized by hardware such as a processor or firmware for communication.

A program (data) for causing a computer to function as each part of the present embodiment is delivered from an information storage medium of the server system (host device) to the storage medium 180 (or the storage part 170) via the network and the communication part 196. You may The use of storage media by such server systems can also be included within the scope of the present invention.

The processing unit 100 (processor) performs game processing, display processing, sound processing, and the like based on operation information from the operation unit 160, programs, and the like. The processing unit 100 performs various processes using the storage unit 170 as a work area. Each process (each function) of this embodiment performed by the processing unit 110 can be realized by a processor (a processor including hardware). For example, each process of this embodiment can be implemented by a processor that operates based on information such as a program and a memory (storage device) that stores information such as the program. In the processor here, for example, the function of each unit may be implemented by separate hardware, or the function of each unit may be implemented by integrated hardware. For example, a processor includes hardware, which may include circuitry for processing digital signals and/or circuitry for processing analog signals. For example, the processor can be composed of one or more circuit devices (such as ICs) or one or more circuit elements (such as resistors and capacitors) mounted on a circuit board. The processor may be, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). However, the processor is not limited to the CPU, and various processors such as GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) or DSP (Digital Signal Processor) can be used. Also, the processor may be a hardware circuit based on ASIC (application specific integrated circuit). Also, the processor may be composed of a plurality of CPUs, or may be composed of hardware circuits composed of a plurality of ASICs. Also, the processor may be configured by a combination of multiple CPUs and multiple ASIC hardware circuits.

The processing unit 100 includes an input reception unit 102 , a game processing unit 104 , a character processing unit 106 , a music playback unit 112 , an object control unit 114 , a determination unit 116 and a display processing unit 120 . The character processing unit 106 also includes an animation processing unit 108 and a timing processing unit 110 . Modifications such as omitting some of these components or adding other components are possible.

The input receiving unit 102 performs processing for receiving player operation information (input information). For example, an operation input by the player using the operation unit 160 is accepted. For example, data from the operation unit 160 is sampled, A/D converted, and received as operation information.

The game processing unit 104 performs game processing (game arithmetic processing). Here, the game processing includes processing for starting the game when the game start condition is satisfied, processing for progressing the game, and processing for ending the game when the game end condition is satisfied. The game processing unit 104 also performs arithmetic processing of the player's game results (scores, points).

The character processing unit 106 performs processing related to characters operated by the player in the game. The character is, for example, a humanoid character CA, which will be described later. However, the object to be operated by the player can be extended to various moving objects, and the character processing unit 106 can be expanded to a moving object processing unit that performs processing related to moving objects.

An animation processing unit 108 of the character processing unit 106 performs character animation processing. Specifically, the animation information storage unit 174 of the storage unit 170 stores a plurality of pieces of animation information (motion information), each piece of animation information corresponding to a given action (action, motion, animation) of the character. do. The animation processing unit 108 determines (selects) appropriate animation information based on the operation information and object information, and performs processing (motion reproduction processing) to reproduce the animation information, thereby realizing character animation.

Also, the animation processing unit 108 of the present embodiment performs adjustment processing such that the animation of the character is matched with the sound (music). The timing processing unit 110 performs processing for specifying timing (reference timing, sound timing) necessary for adjustment processing based on operation information and music information. The animation processing unit 108 adjusts animation information based on the timing specified by the timing processing unit 110 .

The music reproducing unit 112 performs sound processing based on the results of various processes performed by the processing unit 100 , generates music (BGM), and outputs the generated music (BGM) to the sound output unit 192 . In the following description, an example in which music (BGM) is the target of the reproduction process in the music reproduction unit 112 will be described. You may output to the sound output part 192. FIG.

The object control unit 114 controls an object that is placed in a field where the character moves and that is the target of the action of the character. The object control unit 114 controls the arrangement of objects based on the progress history of the game.

The determination unit 116 performs determination processing based on player operation information. For example, the determination unit 116 determines whether the character's action on the object was successful based on information such as the position of the character corresponding to the player, the position of the object, and the type of operation input by the player.

The display processing unit 120 performs processing (such as image generation processing) for displaying an image such as a game image on the display unit 190 . For example, drawing processing is performed based on the results of various processes (game processing, simulation processing) performed by the processing unit 100 to generate an image and output it to the display unit 190 . For example, when generating an image for a 3D game, geometry processing such as coordinate transformation (world coordinate transformation, camera coordinate transformation), clipping processing, perspective transformation, or light source processing is performed. Rendering data (position coordinates of vertices of primitive surfaces, texture coordinates, color data, normal vectors, α values, etc.) are created. Then, based on this drawing data (primitive surface data), the object (one or more primitive surfaces) after perspective transformation (after geometry processing) is stored in a drawing buffer (frame buffer, work buffer, etc.) in units of pixels. buffer). This produces an image seen from a virtual camera (given viewpoint) in object space.

FIG. 2A shows an example of a device that implements the game system of this embodiment. FIG. 2A shows an example in which the game system of this embodiment is implemented by a portable game device. This portable game device includes operation buttons 10, 11, 12 and 13 functioning as an operation unit 160, direction keys 14, analog sticks 16 and 18, R and L keys 20 and 22, and a display realized by a liquid crystal display. It has a part 190 . Note that the device that implements the game system of this embodiment is not limited to that shown in FIG. 2A, and various modifications are possible. For example, the device that realizes the game system of this embodiment includes a home game device (stationary type) shown in FIG. It may be an arcade game machine or the like shown in FIG. 2(D). Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 2(E), the game system of this embodiment may be implemented by a server system 500 or the like that is communicatively connected to the terminal devices TM1 to TMn via a network 510. FIG. For example, each process of the game system of this embodiment may be implemented by distributed processing of the server system 500 and the terminal devices TM1 to TMn. Each terminal device of TM1 to TMn can be realized by various devices as shown in FIGS. 2A to 2D, for example.

As shown in FIG. 1, the game system of this embodiment includes an animation processing section 108 and a timing processing section 110 . The animation processing unit 108 performs animation processing of the moving object based on the player's operation information. The timing processing unit 110 determines the reference timing based on the player's operation information, and determines the timing information of the sound to be output during the game based on the reference timing. Furthermore, the animation processing unit 108 performs animation processing of the moving object in accordance with the timing information of the sound.

The operation information is information representing the content (result) of the operation performed by the player on the operation unit 160 . For example, the operation information is information indicating which one of the operation buttons 10, 11, 12, 13, direction key 14, analog sticks 16, 18, R, L keys 20, 22 in FIG. 2A is operated. is. The operation information may also include information specifying the timing of the operation performed by the player.

A moving object is an object that moves on a game map (three-dimensional map in a narrow sense) based on player's operation information in the game system. The moving object is a player moving object that moves in the virtual space corresponding to the player in the real space. A moving object is, in a narrow sense, a character CA (player character, avatar), which will be described later. However, vehicles such as cars, motorcycles, and airplanes may be used as moving bodies. That is, the moving object in this embodiment can be extended to various objects that can move in the virtual space formed in the game system. The image viewed from the virtual camera may be a third-person viewpoint image or a first-person viewpoint image. The player's moving body (character), which is a moving body, may be an object displayed in the game image, or may be a virtual object not displayed in the game image.

The reference timing is timing (or information representing the timing) that serves as a reference for animation processing (in a narrow sense, reproduction processing of animation information). The reference timing is, for example, characteristic timing in animation information to be played back, and in a narrow sense represents the playback timing of key frames. The reference timing (t _K in FIG. 18 to be described later) can be specified by specifying the playback start timing (t _S in FIG. 18) of the animation information based on the operation information, for example.

The sound timing information is information representing the characteristic timing of the sound output by the sound output unit 192 . Hereinafter, the timing represented by the sound timing information is referred to as the sound timing. Note that the sound here is a piece of music in a narrow sense, and the timing of the sound is the timing corresponding to the reference timing among the characteristic timings of the piece of music. The characteristic timing of a piece of music is the timing that is characteristic of the piece of music, such as the timing of beats, which will be described later, or the timing of outputting the sound of a predetermined part. However, the sound here may be any sound that can define a characteristic timing. is.

According to the method of the present embodiment, when performing animation processing based on operation information, it is possible to enhance the linkage between animation and sound by matching the reference timing with the timing of sound. As a result, it is possible to give the player the feeling of moving the moving object (character) in time with the sound, or the feeling of playing the sound by moving the moving object. The method of the present embodiment makes it possible to realize a game system that gives the player a sense of exhilaration and exhilaration.

Also, the animation processing unit 108 adjusts the animation information of the moving body used in the animation processing based on the sound timing information. More specifically, the animation processing unit 108 performs adjustment processing so that the moving object moves in accordance with the timing information of the sound.

The animation information is information for causing a moving body to perform a predetermined action, and is a set of information representing the posture of the moving body (the posture of the skeleton), as will be described later with reference to FIG. 16, for example. In this embodiment, the timing at which the animation information reproduction process is executed is determined by the player's operation information. is entered. Therefore, in the present embodiment, adjustment processing is performed on animation information. In this way, it is possible to enhance the linkage between the sound and the animation regardless of the timing at which the operation information is input.

The animation information is associated with keyframe information representing keyframes, and the animation processing unit 108 determines the timing represented by the sound timing information and the reproduction timing of the keyframes represented by the keyframe information. are adjusted so that they match. That is, the reference timing may be the reproduction timing of the keyframe.

A key frame represents a characteristic frame among a plurality of frames forming animation information. By performing the process of matching the playback timing of the keyframes and the sound timing (reducing the time difference), it is possible to realize the adjustment process of the animation information such that the animation of the moving object and the sound are interlocked.

The animation processing unit 108 also performs processing for determining animation information to be subjected to animation processing, and performs adjustment processing for the determined animation information. In this way, it becomes possible to determine (select) appropriate animation information from a variety of animation information.

For example, the animation processing unit 108 performs animation information determination processing based on sound timing information. The sound timing information is an element that determines the link between the animation of the moving object and the sound as described above. Therefore, by using the sound timing information, it is possible to realize decision processing that considers the relationship between sound and animation, for example, decision processing that targets animation information that is highly interlocked with sound.

A parameter is associated with the sound timing information, and the animation processing unit 108 performs animation information determination processing based on the parameter. In a narrow sense, the sound reproduced in the game is music represented by music information, and the parameters are parameters relating to at least one of volume, pitch, and timbre.

Here, the volume represents the volume of sound (signal level), the pitch represents the pitch of the sound (signal frequency), and the timbre represents the waveform of the sound (signal waveform, for example, envelope). However, information representing the musical instrument (part) from which the sound is output may be used as the parameter related to the tone color.

In this way, it becomes possible to determine the animation information according to the parameters of the sound (music). For example, it is possible to perform a process of determining animation information with small movements for quiet music and animation information with large movements for intense music.

Also, the animation processing unit 108 may perform animation information determination processing based on at least one of music information, player operation information, field information in which the moving body moves, and state information representing the state of the moving body. good.

The music information may be, for example, the above-described volume, pitch, and timbre information, or may be other information such as the music genre and composer. The operation information is information (operation type information) indicating which input interface is to be operated in the operation unit 160 having various input interfaces as shown in FIG. 2A, for example. Also, the field in which the moving object moves may be, for example, a field FE, which will be described later, or may include an object OB. The state of the moving object is, for example, the current position, orientation, and moving speed of the moving object, and the history of past positions, orientations, and moving speeds. Further, when in-game parameters such as physical strength and durability are set for the moving object, the parameters may be used as the state information of the moving object. By doing so, it is possible to determine appropriate animation information as a target of reproduction processing based on various information used in the game.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the game system of this embodiment includes a game processing section 104, a music reproducing section 112, a character processing section 106, and a determination section . The game processing unit 104 performs game progress processing. The music reproduction unit 112 performs music reproduction processing. The character processing unit 106 performs processing for moving the character corresponding to the player in the field of the game space based on the player's operation information. The determination unit 116 determines whether or not the character's action with respect to the object placed on the field is successful, based on the player's operation information. In this embodiment, the music reproducing unit 112 performs control to reproduce a music part, which is a part of music, extracted according to the area where the character exists in the field. Furthermore, the music reproducing unit 112 performs control to change the reproduction mode of the music part based on the determination result of the determining unit 116 .

Here, the music part is at least one of a part obtained by dividing the music in the direction of the time axis of the performance (time-series music part described later) and a part obtained by dividing the music for each music part (part music part described later). is. As an example, a time-series music portion is associated with each of a plurality of areas set in a field as described later, and the music reproduction unit 112 selects a reproduction target based on the area in which the character exists. Determine the chronological music part. Then, the music reproducing unit 112 performs control to change the part music part to be reproduced as control to change the reproduction mode. However, it is also possible to make modifications such as associating a predetermined area with a guitar and another area with drums, and so on, in which a part music portion is associated with an area.

In this way, it is possible to reproduce music corresponding to the player's operation of the character. From the player's point of view, it is possible to select a music part (in a narrow sense, music control in the time series direction) depending on which area the character is to be moved to. can be changed (music control in the part direction). That is, it is possible to realize a highly entertaining game system (program) in which music can be played naturally by appropriately moving areas and performing actions on objects. The game system of this embodiment does not require difficult operations unlike conventional music games. Furthermore, the movement of objects in this embodiment is not just a means of movement as in conventional action games, but an important factor that determines performance (thickness of sound). Therefore, by making the action itself acrobatic and stylish, it is possible to realize a game system that gives the player a sense of exhilaration.

The game system of this embodiment also includes an object control unit 114 that controls objects. The object control unit 114 controls an object that is different from the target of the character's action based on the determination result of the determination unit 116 .

Here, the control over the object may be control to switch placement/non-placement of the object, or control to transform the placed object. Alternatively, control may be performed to dynamically determine the placement position, placement posture, and type of object to be placed. Alternatively, the control may be such that the object emits light (blinks) or changes its color.

In this way, it becomes possible to use the result of the action on the object not only for music control but also for object control. In this embodiment, an action on an object serves as a trigger for music control. For this reason, it is considered necessary to prompt the player to operate so that the character can continuously perform the action for the object. Furthermore, considering that appropriate area movement is necessary (because the area and the music part are associated) and that the interest of the game system is to be enhanced, it is recommended that the same object be continuously operated. It is desirable that the operations are performed on different objects one after the other, rather than on different objects. In this regard, it is possible to appropriately guide the player by using the action of a given object as a trigger for controlling a different object. More specifically, by performing control to highlight an object different from the current target of action, it is possible to indicate to the player that the different object is suitable for the next target of action.

The object control unit 114 controls objects based on the progress history of the game. Here, the progress history of the game is at least one of the elapsed time of the game, the direction of movement of the character, and the result of the player's operation input. Here, the elapsed time of the game may be the elapsed time from the start of the game, the elapsed time from the start of playing a song, or the time spent in a given area. good too. The advancing direction of the character is information representing the displacement of the position of the character, and is, for example, vector information representing the difference in the position of the character between two different timings. The operation input result is, in a narrow sense, the determination result of the determination unit 116, and includes information on success/failure of past operations, information on the number of successes and number of failures. Alternatively, information such as how many times the jumping motion has been performed (“motion attribute” in FIG. 21 to be described later, the number of times it has been performed, etc.) may be used as the result of the operation input.

As will be described later with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B, when a virtual camera is placed behind the character (in the case of a third-person viewpoint), the player can see the area in the direction in which the character is moving on the game screen. will observe. Therefore, by performing control such that a new object is placed on the side of the movement direction of the character relative to the object currently being acted upon, it is possible to clearly notify the player of the existence of the new object. You can play smoothly. In addition, by using the elapsed time and the result of operation input, flexible object control according to the situation in the game becomes possible. Note that the game progress history is not limited to the above information, and can be extended to various information that can be acquired in the process of game processing by the game processing unit 104 .

Also, the object control unit 114 controls the object based on the rhythm of the music when a given condition is satisfied. By doing so, it becomes possible to control the object in time with the music. For example, when the reference position of the object is set, the amount of displacement of the object with respect to the reference position is changed in accordance with the rhythm of the music. By doing so, the object moves in time with the music, and it is possible to enhance the linkage between the behavior of the object and the music.

The object control unit 114 determines whether the game processing unit 104 has performed processing to allow the character to move to an area different from the area where the character exists, or when the determination unit 116 has determined that the character has successfully moved to the object. is determined, it is determined that the given condition is established. In this way, when the movement restriction is lifted and the phase in the game progresses, or when the character action is successful, the behavior of the object and the music are interlocked. In other words, the condition is that the situation in the game has changed (in a narrow sense, it has changed in a direction favorable to the player).

Also, the game processing unit 104 may perform a process of allowing the character to move to an area different from the area where the character exists, based on the determination result of the determination unit 116 . In a narrow sense, the game processing unit 104 enables the character to move to another area by making the path passable for the character.

In this way, it is possible to restrict the movement of the area, and to cancel the movement restriction based on the determination result, and to realize the cancellation of the movement restriction by switching the route between impassable/passable. becomes possible. Specifically, since the movement restriction is lifted when the action on the object is successful, the player needs to perform an appropriate operation in order to proceed to the next area, and a highly entertaining game system can be realized. . It should be noted that the control for making the impassable route passable may be implemented by the above-described object control. For example, control may be performed to place a scaffolding object for movement on a route that was impassable due to a groove or a wall that could not be climbed due to lack of scaffolding. This control is executed by the object control unit 114 based on an instruction from the game processing unit 104, for example. In this way, by performing object control using the determination result of the determination unit 116, it is possible to naturally realize control for releasing the movement restriction.

The game processing unit 104 also performs processing for controlling the time limit for progressing the game, and sets the time limit for each area associated with the music part. When a time limit is set in this way, it is necessary to pass through each area within a predetermined time in order to raise the evaluation in the game, and a highly entertaining game system can be realized. In particular, when each area is associated with a time-series music portion, by associating the performance time of the time-series music portion with the time limit, it is possible for the player to naturally perform a good performance.

Also, the character processing unit 106 may perform processing for moving the character at a moving speed associated with the music reproduction speed. Here, the reproduction speed of music is, for example, the tempo (BPM value) of the music. In this way, the character moves quickly in fast-tempo music, and the character moves slowly in slow-tempo music, making it possible to realize character processing that matches the music.

2. Method of this embodiment Next, the method of this embodiment will be specifically described. In a conventional music game, the game system instructs operation timing according to the rhythm of music, and the player performs operations in accordance with the instructed operation timing. However, in order to obtain high ratings in conventional music games, it is necessary to perform appropriate operations at appropriate times, which is extremely difficult.

Conventionally, action games have been widely known, for example, games in which characters are moved on a three-dimensional map. In some action games, a character operated by a player is allowed to perform parkour or free-running. Parkour (free running) is a method of efficiently moving to a destination by combining actions such as running, jumping, and climbing, making use of walls and terrain. By making the character perform parkour, the character can move smoothly even on a map with complicated topography (or a map on which obstacles are arranged).

However, in conventional action games, parkour was just a means of transportation on the map. That is, actions such as jumping and climbing by the character are performed in the process of moving to the destination, and have no important meaning in the game itself.

Therefore, this embodiment proposes a game system that combines a music game and an action game. An outline of the game system will be described below. It should be noted that the method of the present embodiment is not limited to being applied to the game system described below, and can be applied to various games such as fighting games and racing games. In the following description, a character is mainly used as an example of a moving object.

2.1 Field Object Settings and Character Actions FIG. 3A is a bird's-eye view of a three-dimensional map in the game system of this embodiment, and FIG. is an example of In the game system according to the present embodiment, a three-dimensional map is constructed in a virtual three-dimensional space to represent terrain for the movement of the character CA (moving body in a broad sense). A three-dimensional map includes, for example, a field FE and objects OB (OB1 and OB2 in the example of FIG. 3A).

A field FE represents an area in which the character CA can move. Field FE is, for example, a horizontal plane corresponding to the ground as shown in FIG. An object OB is an object (obstacle) placed on the field FE. In the example of FIG. 3A, the object OB1 is a cylindrical object, and the object OB2 is a platform-like object including beams and supports.

Below, the field FE will be described as an area in which the character can move (walk, run) without requiring special actions (jumping, wall climbing, etc.). Also, the object OB is an area (object) in which the character CA needs to perform a special action (action) in order to move along the path on which the object OB exists. The object OB can be rephrased as an area through which walking or running is not permitted.

However, the distinction between the field FE and the object OB here is for convenience, and the processing of the three-dimensional map in the game processing unit 104 can be realized in any form. For example, the game processing unit 104 may collectively process the field FE and the object OB as one piece of three-dimensional map information. Alternatively, processing may be performed with the fixed portion of the three-dimensional map as the field FE and the movable portion as the object OB.

The character CA moves on the three-dimensional map based on the player's operation. For example, when the analog stick 18 in FIG. 2A is tilted in a predetermined direction, the character CA walks (runs) on the field FE in a direction corresponding to the predetermined direction. Also, the character CA performs an action with respect to the object OB. For example, in a state in which the character CA is in a predetermined positional relationship with the object OB1, pressing an operation button (for example, one of 10, 11, 12, and 13) in FIG. Executes a jumping motion.

A virtual camera VC is arranged in the three-dimensional space. As shown in FIG. 3B, the display unit 190 displays an image as if the three-dimensional space was captured by the virtual camera VC by each process of the display processing unit 120 described above.

4 to 6C are examples of actions of the character CA with respect to the object OB. The animation information storage unit 174 stores animation information of the character CA according to actions, and the animation processing unit 108 reproduces the animation information to cause the character CA to perform predetermined actions.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the motion of the character CA with respect to the cylindrical object OB1. The character CA performs a vaulting motion (vault) on the object OB1 and jumps over the object OB1. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the jumping motion is performed by running up from one side of the object OB1 (A1), placing the left hand on the upper surface of the object OB1 and swinging both legs up to the right (A2), releasing the left hand and moving the object OB1. It is realized by continuously performing each step of landing on the ground opposite to (A3). Note that A1 to A3 in FIG. 4 are examples of representative postures of the jumping motion, and the posture of the character CA is continuously between A1 and A2 (for example, A4 and A5) and also between A2 and A3. change (so as to have a smooth action).

FIGS. 5A to 5C are examples of game screens corresponding to the jumping motion of FIG. 5A corresponds to A1, FIG. 5B corresponds to A2, and FIG. 5C corresponds to A3.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the motion of the character CA with respect to the platform-shaped object OB2. The character CA performs a sliding motion with respect to the object OB2 and slips under the beam of the object OB2. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the sliding action is to run up from one side of the object OB2 (B1), slide on the ground with both knees on the ground (B2), and stand on the ground on the opposite side of the object OB2. (B3) is realized by successively performing each step.

FIGS. 7A to 7C are examples of game screens corresponding to the sliding motion of FIG. 7A corresponds to B1, FIG. 7B corresponds to B2, and FIG. 7C corresponds to B3.

2.2 Music Portion and Reproduction Processing An example in which the sound output in the game is music represented by music information will be described below. In the game system of this embodiment, sound output control is performed based on the player's operation of the character CA. Specifically, the music is divided into music parts, and which music part is to be reproduced is determined based on the player's operation. Here, the musical piece part is a part obtained by dividing a musical piece in the direction of the time axis of the performance, a part obtained by dividing the musical piece into each musical piece part, and the like.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram explaining a music part. A piece of music generally consists of a plurality of parts with different tunes. For example, one piece of music is composed of an intro (Intro), an A melody (1st Verse), a B melody (2nd Verse), a chorus (Chorus), and the like. Depending on the song, each part may appear multiple times or the C melody (bridge) may be added, but here the intro, A melody, B melody, and chorus are played consecutively in chronological order. An example in which one piece of music is composed will now be described. That is, each of the intro, the A melody, the B melody, and the chorus becomes a music portion in the direction of the time axis (hereinafter referred to as a time axis music portion).

Also, when focusing on one time-axis music portion (for example, A melody), the time-axis music portion can be further divided into parts. Hereinafter, the music portion for each part will be referred to as a part music portion. In the example of FIG. 8, the musical parts are "accompaniment (rhythm)," "guitar," "drums," and "keyboard," and "guitar" further includes "guitar 1," "guitar 2," and " It is subdivided into "Guitar 3".

By specifying both the time axis music portion and the part music portion, specific sound information (for example, group information of musical notes, melody) is specified. In the case of FIG. 8, for example, "A melody guitar part 1", "A melody drum part", "A melody keyboard part", etc. are associated with sound information.

The music reproducing unit 112 performs a process of determining which of the music parts shown in FIG. 8 is to be reproduced, and performs a process of reproducing the determined music part. Specifically, the music reproduction unit 112 performs a process of selecting any one of the time-series music parts and a process of selecting one or more of the part music parts. A specific description will be given below.

2.2.1 Selection Processing of Time-Series Music Portion In the game system of this embodiment, the field FE is divided into a plurality of areas, and a time-based music portion is assigned to each area.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the correspondence relationship between the areas set in the field FE and the time axis music portion. In the example of FIG. 9, five areas AR1 to AR5 are set in the field FE. AR1 corresponds to the intro of the time series music portion. AR2 corresponds to the A melody, AR3 corresponds to the B melody, and AR4 corresponds to the chorus. AR5 is a goal area, which corresponds to the end of the music. Note that AR5 may correspond to the outro (outro).

The music reproducing unit 112 determines an area in which the player-operated character CA exists, and performs a process of selecting a time-series music part corresponding to the area to be reproduced. In the example of FIG. 9, if it is determined that the character CA exists in the area AR1, then the intro is to be reproduced, and if it is determined that the character CA exists in the AR2, then the A melody is to be reproduced. The same applies to other areas.

A specific reproduction position, for example, the number of seconds of the A melody to be reproduced is specified by, for example, elapsed time information. For example, when the character CA continues to exist in AR2 for x seconds, the music reproducing unit 112 instructs the sound output unit 192 to output the A melody for the x seconds.

In the music, the length of each time series music part is fixed. For example, the song information includes the intro from the beginning of the song (0 seconds) to t1 seconds, the A melody from t1 seconds to t2 seconds, the B melody from t2 seconds to t3 seconds, and the chorus from t3 seconds to t4 seconds. It includes information on the playback timing (playback time) of the affiliated song part. Therefore, a “good performance” of the song is a performance in which each chronological portion of the song from the introduction to the chorus is played back for a specified length.

In other words, the operation for realizing a "good performance" is to move the character CA whose initial presence area is AR1 to AR2 when t1 seconds have passed, to AR3 when t2 seconds have passed, and to AR4 when t3 seconds have passed. and move to AR5 when t4 seconds have elapsed. When such an operation is performed by the player, the transition of the time-series music portion is smoothly performed, and it is possible to give the player a refreshing feeling.

However, the desirable transition timing (such as t1 to t4 mentioned above) is difficult to grasp unless the player has memorized the music itself or has a lot of musical knowledge, so we left the area movement completely to the player. Then the game becomes more difficult. Therefore, in the game system of this embodiment, a guide character for guiding movement between areas may be displayed on the game screen. For example, the guide character is a flying object such as a bird that flies and moves in a high position that is easily visible on the game screen in the three-dimensional space shown in FIG. 3(A).

RO in FIG. 9 is an example of the moving route of the guide character. As shown in RO, the guide character moves sequentially from AR1 to AR5. The movement of the guide character is controlled so that it passes through point P1, which is the boundary between AR1 and AR2, at a timing t1 seconds after the start of the music. Similarly, the guide character is controlled to pass P2 in t2 seconds, P3 in t3 seconds, and P4 in t4 seconds. By moving the character CA operated by the player in accordance with the guide character, the player can naturally achieve a "good performance".

It should be noted that it is assumed here that movement between areas can be executed at any time. However, a modified implementation is also possible in which movement between areas is restricted and the restriction is lifted when a given condition is met. Details will be described later.

2.2.2 Selection process of part music part (playback mode change control)
When it is determined that the character CA exists in a predetermined area (for example, AR3), and the corresponding time-series music portion (for example, B melody) is reproduced, compared to the case where only the guitar part is to be reproduced, the guitar, drum, If the three parts of the keyboard are played back, the sound will be thicker, so it is considered to be a "good performance". As for the guitar, playing a large number of sounds in one measure is more complicated than playing a small number of sounds in one measure, and is considered to be a "good performance". Note that the number of tones may be increased in the time series direction (such as changing one half note to two quarter notes), or increasing the number of sounds at one timing (such as changing a single note to a chord). ).

In the present embodiment, the determination unit 116 determines whether or not the action of the character CA on the object OB was successful, and the music playback unit 112 selects the part music portion based on the determination result. As the operation to the object OB succeeds, the number of parts to be selected increases, and even if the part is the same, a music part with a large number of sounds per unit time (for example, per bar) is selected.

For example, in the present embodiment, parameters (hereinafter referred to as beat parameters) are updated based on the determination result of the determination unit 116 . The beat parameter is a parameter that is increased when the action of the character CA on the object OB is determined to be successful, and is decreased (or maintained) when it is determined to be unsuccessful.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the correspondence relationship between beat parameters and part music portions selected for reproduction. As shown in FIG. 10, when the beat parameter is less than th1, only the accompaniment (rhythm) is to be reproduced. The accompaniment (rhythm) here may be a part in which a bass performance is performed, or simply a part in which sounds are output at the timing of beats (for example, C1 or C2 in FIG. 17, which will be described later). Alternatively, it may be a part whose sound output timing is determined according to the type of music such as waltz or bolero.

When the beat parameter reaches th1 or more, the guitar 1 is selected as a reproduction target in addition to the accompaniment (rhythm). Guitar 1 is a part of a piece of music in which the number of sounds is relatively small among guitar parts. When the beat parameter is greater than or equal to th1 and less than th2, a simple piece of music with accompaniment and a guitar part with few sounds is output.

When the beat parameter reaches or exceeds th2, the guitar 2 is selected for playback in addition to the accompaniment (rhythm). Guitar 2 is a part of a piece of music that has more sounds than guitar 1 . When the beat parameter is greater than or equal to th2 and less than th3, the combination of accompaniment and guitar is the same as when the beat parameter is greater than or equal to th1 and less than th2, but the number of guitar sounds increases and the depth increases.

When the beat parameter reaches th3 or more, the accompaniment (rhythm), guitar 3 and drums are selected for reproduction. Guitar 3 is a part of a piece of music that has more sounds than guitar 2 . When the beat parameter is greater than or equal to th3 and less than th4, the sound of the guitar increases and the types of musical instruments increase, so the sound becomes thicker than when the beat parameter is less than th3.

When the beat parameter reaches th4 or more, the accompaniment (rhythm), guitar 3, drums and keyboard are selected for reproduction. In this case, since the types of musical instruments are further increased, the sound is thicker than when the th is less than 4.

Whether or not the action of the character CA with respect to the object OB is successful can be determined by determining the combination of the type of the object OB and the operation input by the player (for example, the type of button pressed by the player). For example, if the button corresponding to the jumping motion is pressed in front of the object OB1, it is determined that the motion in FIG. 4 has succeeded. the operation succeeds. For example, the storage unit 170 stores association information that associates the type of object with an operation input that is determined to be successful, and the determination unit 116 refers to the association information to perform determination processing.

If a button corresponding to a sliding motion is pressed in front of an object OB1 that has no space below it, or if the user walks and collides with the object OB, it is determined that the motion has failed. In addition, since the object OB2 can jump over the object OB2, it is possible for a given type of object OB to have a plurality of operation inputs that are determined to be successful.

In this way, the action of the character CA with respect to the object OB can be successfully performed by a simple player operation. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, if the operation on the object OB is successful, the sound will become thicker. In other words, in this embodiment, even a player who has no knowledge of music or lacks a sense of rhythm can easily achieve a "good performance", and a highly entertaining game system can be realized.

As can be seen from the above description, in order to achieve a "good performance", it is preferable to cause the character CA to perform actions targeting a large number of objects OB. However, as shown in FIG. 9, the moving route RO of the guide character is set relatively simply. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 9, for example, it is conceivable that a large area exists at a position relatively far from the movement route RO of the guide character, such as AR21 and AR41. If the movement of the character CA is aligned with the movement route RO of the guide character, the objects OB placed in the areas AR21, AR41, etc. will not be subject to the action of the character CA.

Considering only the transition of the chronological music portion, it is sufficient to move the character CA so as not to leave the guide character. It becomes necessary to perform an operation on the object OB of the area. In this embodiment, the game system is highly entertaining by allowing the player to decide whether to follow the guide character in consideration of safety, or to aim for a higher evaluation by taking a risk and moving away from the guide character. can be realized.

Note that the increment of the beat parameter may be reduced when repeatedly performing an action on the same object OB, and the increment of the beat parameter may be increased when performing an action on a new object OB. Alternatively, when performing an action on an object OB close to the movement route RO of the guide character, the increase width of the beat parameter is reduced, and when performing an action on an object OB far from the movement route RO, the increase width of the beat parameter is reduced. You can make it bigger. In this way, in order to efficiently raise the beat parameter, it becomes more necessary to move away from the guide character, so a more interesting game system can be realized.

FIG. 11A is a flowchart for explaining the processing of this embodiment. FIG. 11A shows processing executed for each frame, for example. When this process is started, the game processing unit 104 determines whether or not the player has performed an operation input to the operation unit 160 (S101). If an operation input has been performed (Yes in S101), the animation processing unit 108 performs animation processing for causing the character to perform an action corresponding to the operation input (S102). Details of S102 will be described later with reference to FIG. 20 and the like.

After the processing of S102, or if No in S101, update processing of the beat parameters is performed (S103). FIG. 11B is a flow chart for explaining beat parameter update processing. In this process, the action of the character CA with respect to the object OB is determined (S201). If the operation succeeds, the beat parameter is increased (S202), and if the operation fails, the beat parameter is decreased (S203). If no action is performed on the object OB (if there is no operation input, or if the operation input is only to walk or run on the field FE, etc.), the beat parameters are not changed (S204). Note that, as described above, the change width of the beat parameter may be adjusted according to the type and arrangement of the object OB. Alternatively, it is also possible to make a modification such as increasing the range of increase when the actions are successively successful (when a combo is established) compared to single-shot successes.

Since it is not desirable for a solid performance to continue when the player does not perform any operation for a long period of time, it is necessary to reduce the beat parameters by factors other than the failure of the movement. However, if the value of the beat parameter is changed abruptly (for example, returned to the initial value in a short period of time), the rich performance suddenly changes to only the accompaniment, giving the player a sense of discomfort. Therefore, in this embodiment, the beat parameters are changed based on the information regarding the elapsed time.

For example, the game processing unit 104 decreases the beat parameter by a predetermined value each time a predetermined time elapses (S205). By doing so, it becomes possible to manage the beat parameters so as not to make the player feel uncomfortable. In addition, in order to keep the beat parameter at a high value, it is necessary to continuously make the motion to the object OB successful, so it is possible to realize a highly entertaining game system.

Returning to FIG. 11A, the description continues. When the beat parameter updating process is completed, the music reproducing unit 112 performs music control based on the updated beat parameter (S104). Specifically, the time series music portion is determined based on the area where the character CA exists, and the part music portion is determined based on the beat parameter.

The beat parameters may also be used to control the objects OB placed in the field FE (S105).

2.3 Object Control An example of control of the object OB shown in S105 of FIG. 11A will be described. The object OB is not prevented from being fixedly arranged at a predetermined position in the field FE. However, when the objects OB are fixed in advance, it becomes difficult for the player to understand in what order the plurality of objects OB should be moved.

Therefore, the object control unit 114 of the present embodiment controls an object different from the object to be acted upon by the character CA based on the determination result of the determination unit 116 . For example, when the operation for a given object OB succeeds, the object OB is controlled (three-dimensional map updating process) so that the next object OB appears in the vicinity of the object.

FIG. 12 shows a specific example of object control, and the objects OB1 and OB2 are the same as in FIG. 3A and the like. In FIG. 12, the player's operation causes the character CA to perform an action with respect to the object OB1 and an action with respect to the object OB2, and the determination unit 116 determines that the action was successful. In this case, the object control unit 114 newly arranges the objects OB3 and OB4 at positions on the moving direction Vm side of the character CA from the current position of the character CA at the end of the action. The movement direction Vm is, for example, a vector representing the difference between the current position of the character CA and its past position. A new object OB (OB3, OB4) may appear instantaneously, or may appear as if rising from the surface of the field FE. Alternatively, as described later as a modified example, the movement of the object OB may be matched to the music.

By arranging the next object so that it falls within the field of view of the character (within the imaging range of the virtual camera VC, within the game screen) in this way, the player sequentially executes the actions of the character CA targeting the objects OB that appear one after another. and it is possible to properly move within the field FE. In the example of FIG. 12, the player can naturally perform operations on objects OB3 and OB4 after performing an operation on object OB2.

Note that the area in which the object OB can be placed within the field FE and the type (shape) of the object to be placed in the area may be fixed in advance. In this case, the control of the object OB is the control of whether or not the object OB appears in each area. Also, a plurality of types of objects OB that can be placed are set for one area, and the object control unit 114 may control which type of object OB is to appear. Alternatively, any type of object OB can be placed at any position in the field FE, and the object control unit 114 may dynamically determine the type and placement position of the object OB.

In a broad sense, the progress history of the game is used for object control. The progress history of the game includes the progress direction of the character and the result of the player's operation input. In the above example, when the result of the operation input indicating that the action on the object OB1 or OB2 is successful, object control is performed to place new objects (OB3, OB4) in the character's advancing direction. However, other progress histories may be used to control the object OB. For example, the object control unit 114 controls objects based on the elapsed time of the game.

For example, in the example of FIG. 9, consider the case where the character CA exists in the area AR2. If the elapsed time T from the start of the performance satisfies t1<T<t2 and the difference between T and t2 is sufficiently large, the character CA can afford to stay in the area AR2 for a certain amount of time, and there is no need to rush to move to AR3. . In this case, the object control unit 114 performs control to arrange the next object OB at a position relatively far from the area AR3. By doing so, it is possible to efficiently arrange the object OB in the area AR2 and increase the number of actions of the character CA with respect to the object OB.

When the difference between T and t2 is small, it is preferable to have the player perform the operation of the character CA with the movement to AR3 in mind, considering the transition of the time-series music portion. In this case, the object control unit 114 performs control to place the next object OB at a position relatively close to the area AR3. By doing so, it is possible to smoothly move the character CA to the area AR3. By controlling the object OB in consideration of the elapsed time in this way, even a beginner of the game can realize a favorable performance with a good balance between the transition of the chronological music portion and the selection of the part music portion. be possible.

Alternatively, the object control unit 114 may perform control to cause the object OB that has once appeared to disappear (to be unplaced) on condition that a predetermined time has elapsed. In this way, after the object OB appears, the player must quickly move to the position of the object OB to perform the action. In other words, when the player smoothly operates the character, it is possible to make the sound of the music thicker by performing actions with a large number of objects OB, thereby realizing a highly entertaining game system.

Further, the object control based on the result of the player's operation input may be a simple control such as adding the next object OB if the action of the character CA on the object OB succeeds, and not adding it if it fails. good. However, more complex information, such as the beat parameter values described above, may be used as a result of the player's operational input.

For example, when the beat parameter is high, the object control unit 114 increases the number of objects OB to be added or makes the shapes of the objects OB to be added more complicated than when the beat parameter is low. In this way, the higher the beat parameter, the greater the number of actions of the character CA with respect to the object OB to be added, and the more complex (flashy) the action to be executed. In other words, the more successful the operation up to that point is, the more flashy the character CA can be made to perform, thus realizing a highly entertaining game system.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining the processing in the object control unit 114, and corresponds to the processing of S105 in FIG. 11(A). When this process is started, the object control unit 114 acquires the game progress history (S301). Specifically, the elapsed time of the game, the character's advancing direction, and the result of the player's operation input are obtained.

Next, the object control unit 114 determines the placement positions of objects (S302) and the number and type of objects OB to be additionally placed (S303) based on the acquired game progress history. Then, the object control unit performs the process of actually arranging the object OB based on the contents determined in S302 and S303, that is, the process of updating the three-dimensional map (S304).

2.4 Animation Processing By making the character CA perform various actions according to the method described above, it is possible to give the player the feeling of naturally playing a piece of music. Unlike conventional music games, complicated operations are not required for a "good performance", and the actions themselves are acrobatic, so it is possible to provide players with a strong sense of exhilaration.

However, the motions executed by the character CA have characteristic timings (frames, postures) in the motions. For example, the jumping motion shown in FIGS. 4 to 5C is characterized by a posture (A2) where the left hand is placed on the upper surface of the object OB1 and both legs are raised. Therefore, it is desirable that the characteristic timing (hereinafter referred to as motion characteristic timing) of the motion such as A2 (FIG. 5B) and the characteristic timing of the music (hereinafter referred to as music characteristic timing) match. If the time difference between the motion feature timing and the music feature timing is large, the linkage between the motion and the music is lost, and it becomes difficult to give the player the feeling that the music is being played using the motion.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-200010 discloses a character animation that moves in time with a piece of music. However, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-200013, since the character's actions are not related to the player's operation, an animation suitable for the music can be determined at the stage when the music is determined. In contrast, in this embodiment, the action of the character CA is determined based on the player's operation input. Since it is not possible to know in advance what kind of operation will be performed at what timing of the music, it is difficult to apply the technique of Patent Document 2.

Animation processing for synchronizing character actions and music will be described below.

2.4.1 Basic animation processing The animation processing unit 108 performs animation processing. That is, animation reproduction processing is performed to cause the character CA to perform animation (motion). This animation reproduction processing can be realized by reproducing the animation information stored in the animation information storage unit 174 or the like.

For example, as shown in FIG. 14, a model object MOB representing a character CA or the like includes a plurality of part objects (waist 32, chest 34, neck 36, head 38, right upper arm 40, right forearm 42, right hand 44, left upper arm 46, Left forearm 48, left hand 50, right crotch 52, right shin 54, right leg 56, left crotch 58, left shin 60, left leg 62). The positions and rotation angles (directions) of these part objects (parts) are the positions (positions of joints J0 to J15) and rotation angles (child bones relative to parent bones) of bones B0 to B19 that make up the skeleton model. relative rotation angle). Note that these bones and joints are virtual and not objects that are actually displayed.

The animation information storage unit 174 stores, for example, the positions and rotation angles of these bones (part objects, joints) as animation information (motion information). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 15, rotation angles α, β, γ, etc. of the child bone BMC about the X, Y, and Z axes with respect to the parent bone BMP are stored as animation information.

Note that the structure of the animation information and the like are not limited to those shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, and various modifications are possible. For example, only the bone rotation angles may be included in the animation information, and the bone positions (joint positions) may be included in the model data of the model object. In addition to the bones B1 to B19 in FIG. 14, auxiliary bones may be provided to assist deformation of the model object by the motion bones.

FIG. 16 shows an example of the data structure of animation information used in this embodiment. A piece of animation information is, for example, a set of a plurality of posture data arranged in chronological order, and the posture data is, for example, a set of data representing the rotation angle of each bone. FIG. 16 is an example of animation information for realizing the jumping motion shown in FIG. This is achieved by For example, the 0th frame in FIG. 16 corresponds to A1 in FIG. 4, the k (k is an integer of 1<k<N) frame corresponds to A2, and the Nth frame corresponds to A3.

The animation information also includes keyframe information. A key frame is a frame that represents the motion characteristic timing in the motion of the character CA corresponding to the animation information. For example, the animation information in FIG. 16 includes information that the k-th frame corresponding to A2 is a key frame. That is, once the animation information to be processed (reproduced) is determined, it is possible to specify the position of the key frame in the animation information, for example, the relative timing of "the kth frame from the start of animation reproduction". .

On the other hand, there are characteristic timings on the music side as well. The music characteristic timing is, for example, the beat timing of the music. A beat is the basic rhythm of a piece of music, and the timing of the beat is the timing of C1 in FIG. 17 or the timing of the back beat shown in C2 in FIG. 17 in the case of a 4/4 time signature. . Note that the specific timing interval (beat length, tempo) changes according to the speed of the music (BPM value). The characteristic timing depends on the structure of the music, but if the music is specified, the music characteristic timing in the music can be specified. It should be noted that a piece of music whose music characteristic timing changes according to the time-series music portion may be used, or the music characteristic timing may be specified based on the time-series music portion.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the relationship between music feature timings and action feature timings (keyframes of animation information). The horizontal axis of FIG. 18 is real time, for example, elapsed time (unit: msec) from the start of the game. Assuming that the reproduction of the music does not stop in the middle, the position of the music feature timing on the elapsed time axis can be specified at the time of starting the reproduction of the music.

Also, the animation processing unit 108 performs processing for identifying animation information to be reproduced and for identifying the reproduction start timing of the animation information based on the player's operation input. Specifically, the animation information to be reproduced is specified based on the type of the object OB positioned near the character CA and the type of operation input by the player (for example, the type of button pressed). Further, the reproduction start timing of the animation information is specified based on the timing at which the operation input by the player is executed.

FIG. 18 shows an example in which specific processing is performed to reproduce the animation information shown in FIG. 16 with the timing _tS as the start timing. Since the frame rate is known in designing the game system, it is easy to specify the position of each frame on the elapsed time axis. Alternatively, the animation information itself may hold posture data in units of time (for example, in units of msec) instead of in units of frames.

As shown in FIG. 18, the keyframe position (t _K ) on the elapsed time axis does not match the music feature timing (tm1 to tm5). Therefore, if the animation information is reproduced as it is, the linkage between the motion and the music will be lost.

Therefore, the timing processing unit 110 of the present embodiment performs processing for specifying the reference timing and the timing of the sound, and the animation processing unit 108 performs animation processing for the character CA (moving body in a broad sense) in accordance with the timing of the sound. conduct. More specifically, the animation processing unit 108 adjusts animation information used for animation processing based on sound timing. Perform adjustment processing.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating adjustment processing. As shown in FIG. 18, when the animation information reproduction process of FIG. 16 is simply performed with _tS as the start timing, the reproduction timing of the keyframe does not match any music feature timing.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the timing processing unit 110 first identifies the reproduction timing of the key frame as the reference timing. Based on the reference timing, the timing processing unit 110 then identifies the timing of the sound, which is the music characteristic timing to be adjusted. In the example of FIG. 19, the reference timing is _tK , which is the reproduction timing of the key frame before adjustment, and can be specified from the reproduction start timing _tS and the animation information (FIG. 16). Also, the timing tM of the sound is the music feature timing temporally later than the reference timing and close to the reference timing, for example, _tM = _tm3 . However, it is not prevented that tm4 or tm5 becomes the timing of the sound.

The animation processing unit 108 performs adjustment processing such that the identified reference timing _tK is matched with the sound timing _tM . Note that the process of matching here is not limited to the process of perfect matching, and includes the process of reducing the time difference to the extent that the player does not feel uncomfortable.

Simple adjustment processing includes (1) processing to delay the start timing of animation playback, (2) processing to slow-play a predetermined range before the keyframe, and (3) copying a given frame before the keyframe. , and the like are conceivable. Since all of (1) to (3) are processes for shifting the reference timing backward in terms of time, by matching the shift amount to the time difference between the reference timing and the sound timing, the reference timing and the sound timing are matched. be done.

However, in the above processes (1) to (3), there are scenes where the movement of the character CA becomes unnatural. For example, in the process (1), the time lag from the player's operation to the start of the character CA increases. Further, in the process (2), the action of the character CA is slowed down, and in the process (3), the action of the character CA is temporarily stopped in a predetermined posture. For example, in a fighting game, when playing back a punch animation in which the arm is punched forward, if the action of swinging the arm forward is played back in slow motion, the punch lacks impact, and if the arm stops midway, it will not be considered as an attack animation. Clearly unnatural.

Therefore, it is desirable that the adjustment processing of the present embodiment be performed so that the animation after adjustment does not look unnatural. For example, the adjustment process (1) is used when the time lag until the movement starts is small, specifically when the time difference between the reference timing and the sound timing (for example, the difference between _tK and _tM before adjustment) is relatively small. .

The adjustment process of (2) is executed for a range of motion that does not give a sense of discomfort even if slow playback is performed. For example, in the punch animation, there is no problem even if the take-back motion of swinging the arm is slightly slow. Therefore, it is preferable to execute the adjustment process (2) for the frame range corresponding to the take-back motion. The processing for slow playback can be realized specifically by performing interpolation processing and adding frames. For example, each piece of animation information may include information about the frame range that can be subjected to the adjustment process (2) and the adjustable width of each frame range. The adjustable width here is, in a broad sense, a parameter that indicates how long the motion in the frame range can be stretched without becoming unnatural.

Further, the adjustment process (3) is executed for frames that do not cause discomfort even if the same posture is continued. For example, in a punch animation, it is not unnatural to stop in a posture after the take-back and before the arm is swung out, because it is regarded as an action to accumulate strength and an action to aim. Therefore, it is preferable to perform the adjustment process (3) with the frame as a copy target. Also, the copy target is not limited to one frame, and may be a plurality of frames. For example, in the case of the jumping motion shown in FIG. 4, the key frame reproduction timing can be delayed by increasing the number of running steps, and an increase in the number of steps is not unnatural as a motion. Therefore, the adjustment process of (3) may be performed with the frame section corresponding to the two steps of the run-up as the copy target. Taking into consideration the added part of the copied frame, the foot to take off, the foot to step at the start of the movement, etc., it is possible to copy the frame section corresponding to one step of the approach run. Each piece of animation information may include information on frames (frame range) that can be subjected to the adjustment process (3).

It is also possible to combine the adjustment processes (2) and (3). For example, the adjustment process (2) of changing the pitch of the approach run is performed while the adjustment process (3) of increasing the number of steps of the approach run is performed. By doing so, it is possible to flexibly change the reproduction timing of the key frames while allowing the character CA to perform natural movements. Naturally, the combination with the adjustment processing of (1) is also not prevented.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart for explaining animation processing. FIG. 20 corresponds to the process of S102 in FIG. 11(A). When this process is started, operation information based on the operation input in S101 is acquired (S401). The processing in S401 is, for example, acquisition processing of information specifying the button pressed by the player.

Also, based on the area in which the character CA exists, the time-series music portion to be reproduced is specified (S402). In addition, although not shown in FIG. 20, a part music portion to be played back may be specified. This processing is performed by the music reproducing unit 112 . Further, if the music feature timing can be specified from the music itself, the processing of S402 can be omitted.

The animation processing unit 108 determines animation information to be processed based on the object OB positioned near the character CA and the operation information acquired in S401 (S403). The timing processing unit 110 determines the reference timing (t _K ) and the sound timing (t _M ) as shown in FIG. 18 (S404, S405).

The animation processing unit 108 adjusts the animation information so that the reference timing determined in S404 matches the sound timing determined in S405 (S406). As described above, the processing of S406 can be realized by slow playback (interpolation processing) that does not make the motion unnatural, or by copying a predetermined frame (frame section). The animation processing unit 108 performs reproduction processing of the animation information after adjustment processing (S407).

2.4.2 Animation Information Determination Processing In the above, as shown in S403 of FIG. 20, an example was shown in which one piece of animation information to be processed is specified (determined) based on the object OB and operation information. . However, the animation information determination process can be modified in various ways.

FIG. 21 shows an example of animation information stored in the animation information storage unit 174, and one line corresponds to one piece of animation information. Each piece of animation information includes a file name, motion attributes, and keyframe information. Although not shown in FIG. 21, each piece of animation information includes posture (bone position, rotation angle) information in each frame, as shown in FIG. Also, as described above in the adjustment process, the animation information may include information such as frames that can be selected as targets for the adjustment process.

As shown in FIG. 21, the animation for causing the character CA to jump is not limited to one, and there are a plurality of pieces of animation information such as FA1, FA2, and so on. For example, in parkour, many jumping techniques are known, such as the safety vault that puts one foot on the jumping object, the speed vault that enters the jumping object from the side, and the cong vault that passes both hands between the hands of the jumping object. It is For example, the animation information for causing the character CA to perform a safety vault is FA1, and the animation information for performing a speed vault is FA2.

The same is true for sliding, as shown in Figure 6, where the knees are bent and the upper body is arched, as well as foot-first sliding, in which the legs are extended in the direction of travel, and head sliding, in which both hands are placed forward in the direction of travel. etc. can be considered. The animation information storage unit 174 stores a plurality of pieces of animation information each representing one sliding motion (FB1, FB2, etc.).

In addition, in parkour, actions such as climbing on walls (climbing up, wall running, etc.) and actions of landing safely from a high position (landing) are often used, and multiple actions are known for each. Therefore, the animation information storage unit 174 also stores animation information for realizing each action. Furthermore, the animation information stored in the animation information storage unit 174 is not limited to the above, and may include animation information for performing other actions such as somersaults (flips).

The animation processing unit 108 performs determination processing for determining one piece of animation information to be processed from a large number of pieces of animation information as shown in FIG. 21 is also included in the animation information determination processing from the object OB and the type of operation information. . However, if one action attribute includes a plurality of pieces of animation information, the animation processing unit 108 needs to determine one piece of animation information.

Animation information determination processing can be realized by various techniques. For example, the animation processing unit 108 may perform determination processing based on the game progress history such as beat parameters and elapsed time. As an example, the higher the beat parameter or the longer the elapsed time, the animation information in which the character CA moves more rapidly is determined to be processed. A vigorous motion may indicate that the amount of motion is large, or may indicate that the motion is fast (the amount of motion per unit time is large). In this way, when the action succeeds and the beat parameter rises, the depth of the sound increases and the action of the character CA also becomes flashy, making it possible to liven up the game and give the player a sense of exhilaration. . Alternatively, the longer the elapsed time, the higher the probability that the character CA is approaching the goal. Therefore, it is possible to make the game lively by making the character CA's actions flashy.

Alternatively, the animation processing unit 108 may perform determination processing based on music information. For example, the music information storage unit 171 stores music information associated with parameters such as volume, pitch, and timbre. Specifically, information on volume, pitch, and timbre at each characteristic timing is associated with each characteristic timing of music (timing of sound). The animation processing unit 108 determines what kind of volume, pitch, and timbre the music has during the scheduled reproduction period of the animation. By doing so, it is possible to make the character CA move in accordance with the state of the music being reproduced.

For example, the animation information in which the movement of the character CA is more intense as the volume is louder or the pitch is higher, is determined as the processing target. Volume (pitch) may be processed not by simple magnitude (pitch), but by volume change (pitch change) within a predetermined period. For example, when the volume change (pitch change) is large, animation information in which the character CA moves rapidly is determined to be processed. By doing so, it is possible to make the action of the character CA flashy in a scene where the music is exciting, thereby making the game more lively. As for the timbre, the waveform of the actual sound or the result of the Fourier transform may be used, but the decision processing of the animation information may be performed using the information of the part (instrument) to be output. For example, if a guitar or drums are to be output, animation information in which the character CA moves rapidly is processed, and if a piano is to be output, animation information in which the character CA moves less is processed. Conceivable.

Alternatively, the animation processing unit 108 may perform determination processing based on sound timing information. For example, when determination processing is performed that the motion attribute is “jumping”, the timing processing unit 110 targets each piece of animation information (FA1, FA2, . Determine timing and timing of sounds. Then, the animation processing unit 108 determines, as a processing target, animation information whose reference timing is likely to match the timing of the sound. Here, "easy to match" simply means that the time difference between the reference timing and the sound timing is small. However, the criteria for determination are not limited to this, and the animation information may be determined based on whether or not the motion of the character CA after the adjustment process is natural. In other words, the animation processing unit 108 (timing processing unit 110) tries adjustment processing on a plurality of pieces of candidate animation information, and determines animation information for which adjustment processing can be appropriately executed as a reproduction target.

Also, in the above description, for the sake of simplification, an example in which one piece of animation information includes one key frame has been described. However, there may be two or more characteristic timings (frames, motions) in the motion, and the animation information in that case includes a plurality of key frames. For example, in the action of FIG. 4, the landing of each foot in the run-up, takeoff, landing after jumping, etc. may be considered as key frames. In this case, animation information corresponding to the jumping action of FIG. keyframes.

Alternatively, animation information that causes the character CA to perform complex actions may be used. FIGS. 22(A) to 22(F) show an example of an action of performing a side flip of holding (hereinafter referred to as a side flip), but a jumping action combining side flips may also be used. For example, the character CA starts moving from the front side of the object OB1, takes off from the run-up, first lands on the upper surface of the object OB1, and then the holding side shown in FIGS. 22A to 22F. Take a flight and land behind the object OB1. From the point of view that a part of the character CA touches the object OB1 or the field FE, both the landing on the upper surface of the object OB1 and the landing on the field surface due to the sideways are characteristic timings. It is natural to consider the action of getting on the OB1 and the action of getting off the OB1 by side jumping, and the jumping action has at least two characteristics. That is, the animation information for causing the character CA to perform the jumping motion has a plurality of key frames. In addition, various types of animation information having multiple key frames are conceivable.

For animation information having multiple key frames, multiple reference timings are also set. For example, the timing processing unit 110 determines a first reference timing corresponding to the first keyframe and a second reference timing corresponding to the second keyframe, and determines the first reference timing corresponding to the first reference timing. A second tone timing corresponding to the tone timing and the second reference timing is determined. The animation processing unit 108 executes a process of matching the first reference timing with the timing of the first sound and matching the second reference timing with the timing of the second sound as adjustment processing.

FIGS. 23A to 23C are diagrams for explaining adjustment processing for animation information including a plurality of key frames. As shown in FIG. 23A, when the reference timing and the sound timing are determined, the animation processing unit 108 sets the first adjustment period from the start timing to the first reference timing and the first reference timing. to the second reference timing, the adjustment process described above is executed.

For example, the animation processing unit 108 extends the first adjustment period to adjust the first reference timing to the timing of the first sound (FIG. 23(B)), and then performs the second adjustment period. is extended to match the second reference timing with the timing of the second sound (FIG. 23(C)). However, as described above, the extendable range of each adjustment period is limited from the viewpoint of allowing the character CA to perform natural actions. Therefore, there may be cases where at least one of the adjustment processes shown in FIGS. 23(B) and 23(C) cannot be implemented. Alternatively, it is conceivable that the second reference timing can be adjusted well by intentionally not matching the first reference timing and the timing of the first sound. Therefore, the adjustment process in the animation processing unit 108 is not limited to the process of determining the extension width sequentially from the previous adjustment period in chronological order, but the process of determining the optimum extension width of each adjustment period considering the whole. may be realized by For example, the animation processing unit 108 sets a given evaluation function and determines the extent of extension of each adjustment period so that the evaluation value of the evaluation function is maximized.

The animation processing unit 108 may determine animation information to be reproduced, for example, based on the evaluation value of the evaluation function. The evaluation function is the number of keyframes, the number of reference timings that can be adjusted to the sound timing (hereinafter referred to as the number of successful adjustments), and the number of reference timings that cannot be adjusted to the sound timing (hereinafter referred to as the number of failed adjustments). ) and the like to determine the evaluation value. For example, an evaluation function is used in which the value increases as the number of successful adjustments increases, and the value decreases as the number of failed adjustments increases. There are various ways of thinking about how to use the number of keyframes for evaluation. Use

The animation information selected will vary according to the specific form of the evaluation function. For example, when a plurality of pieces of animation information having the same original number of key frames exist, the animation processing unit 108 determines animation information with a large number of adjustment successes to be processed. Alternatively, the animation processing unit 108 may process animation information with a high ratio of the number of successful adjustments to the total number of key frames.

In the above description, the beat timings shown in C1 and C2 in FIG. 17 are used as the music feature timings. However, the music feature timing is not limited to this. For example, the timing at which the sound of a predetermined part is output may be set as the music characteristic timing. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 8, the output timing of the guitar part is set as the characteristic timing of the music. Since the guitar 1 has a relatively small number of sounds, there are also few song characteristic timings (for example, one timing per bar). Since the guitar 3 has a relatively large number of sounds, it also has many musical characteristic timings (for example, 4 timings, 8 timings, etc. in one measure). In this case, the timing of the sound changes according to the progress history of the game (beat parameters in a narrow sense).

When there are few music characteristic timings, the timings that can be selected as the timing (t _M ) of the sound are limited. Therefore, the number of adjustment failures tends to increase in animation information with many reference timings (keyframes). As a result, in animation information determination processing, animation information with few reference timings (key frames) is likely to be processed.

On the other hand, when there are many song characteristic timings, the number of sound timing candidates increases, so even if there are many reference timings (keyframes), the number of successful adjustments tends to increase, and animation information that performs complex actions tends to be processed. By making the music feature timing (sound timing) variable in this way, it becomes possible to determine the animation information according to the situation.

FIG. 24 is another flowchart for explaining animation processing. S501 and S502 are the same as S401 and S402 in FIG. In the example of FIG. 24, it is assumed that the music characteristic timing is changed according to the part, and processing for determining the part music portion is added (S503).

Also, the animation processing unit 108 determines a candidate set (candidate animation set) of animation information to be processed based on the object OB positioned near the character CA and the operation information acquired in S501 (S504). For example, when the action attribute is determined to be "jumping" from the operation information and the object OB, the candidate animation set is a set of pieces of animation information (FA1, FA2, . . . ) corresponding to the jumping action.

Then, the animation processing unit 108 selects one piece of animation information from the candidate animation set (S505), and the timing processing unit 110 determines the reference timing and sound timing for the selected animation information (S506, S507). . The animation processing unit 108 calculates an evaluation value based on the reference timing and the sound timing (S508). The evaluation value here is, for example, the maximum value of the evaluation function described above.

The animation processing unit 108 determines whether unprocessed animation information remains in the candidate animation set (S509), and if there is unprocessed animation information, returns to S505 and continues processing. When evaluation values for all animation information in the candidate animation set have been calculated (No in S509), animation information to be processed is determined based on the evaluation values (S510).

The adjustment processing (S511) and reproduction processing (S512) after the animation information is determined are the same as S406 and S407 in FIG. If the evaluation value is the maximum value of the evaluation function, the adjustment process of S511 may use the result of S508 as it is.

Note that FIG. 24 shows an example in which all candidate animation sets are evaluated. However, it is desirable to perform the reproduction process of S512 as soon as possible after obtaining the operation information of S501 (strictly speaking, after inputting the operation of S101 in FIG. 11A). If it takes a long time to reproduce, the animation will take a long time to start despite the player's operation, giving a sense of incongruity.

Therefore, it is desirable to reduce the processing load so that animation information determination processing and adjustment processing can be performed at high speed. Therefore, for example, instead of evaluating all the candidate animation sets, it is possible to terminate the determination process when animation information with an evaluation value equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value is found.

2.5 Modifications Some modifications will be described below.

(Modification 1)
In the above description, an example was shown in which the playback position within the time-series music portion is determined by the elapsed time (area existence time). For example, if the character CA exists in the area AR2 continuously for x seconds, the A melody is reproduced for the x seconds. That is, although there is a restriction that the time-series music portion transitions according to the area, the progress of the music within the time-series music portion is automatically performed over time.

However, in this embodiment, the motion of the character CA with respect to the object OB is used for performance. In other words, the progress of the music should be related to the player's operation (the action of the character CA), and it is not preferable that the music progress while the character CA is still.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the playback position within the time-series music portion may be determined based on the motion of the character CA. For example, a parameter (hereinafter referred to as melody parameter) that increases as the character CA performs an action is set, and the reproduction position within the time-series music portion is determined based on the presence area of the character CA and the melody parameter. Note that the motion of the character CA here may be a motion with respect to the object OB, or may be a motion of walking or running in the field FE. Also, the melody parameter may be a parameter that is initialized when the character CA moves to the next area, that is, when the time-series music portion transitions.

In this way, the progress of the music is stopped when the character CA is not moving, so it is possible to increase the degree of interlocking between the motion of the character CA and the music.

(Modification 2)
As shown in FIG. 12 , the object control unit 114 controls the object OB, which is different from the action target of the character CA, based on the determination result of the determination unit 116 . Here, the object control unit 114 may perform control such that the behavior of the object OB matches the music (in a narrow sense, the tempo and rhythm of the music).

For example, the object control unit 114 vibrates the object OB in accordance with the beat cycle of the music. Alternatively, the object control unit 114 causes the object OB to move like an equalizer screen. An equalizer is a device that divides a piece of music into a plurality of frequency components and adjusts the signal level of each frequency component. A screen displaying the signal level of each frequency component as a graph is widely used as an interface. For example, the object control unit 114 controls the position of the object OB (movement amount with respect to the reference position) according to the signal level of a given frequency component. Alternatively, a plurality of objects OB may be arranged in a predetermined direction and each object may be assigned a different frequency component. In this way, the object group functions as if it were an equalizer interface.

Also, although an example of controlling the position and movement of the object OB is shown here, it is also possible to control the color, texture, etc. of the object OB.

In the present embodiment, it was possible to link the action of the character CA with music (FIGS. 8 and 9), and link the action of the character CA with object control (FIG. 12). It is possible to link the behavior of the object OB and the music. In this way, by increasing the degree of interlocking between the elements of character movements (player operations), music, and objects, it is possible to give the player a strong sense of control over the music and fields within the game. become.

Note that music-based object control may be executed when a given condition is met. The given condition is when it is determined that the character's action on the object is successful, or when the value of the beat parameter is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. That is, when the player's operation is appropriately performed and the music is exciting, the object OB and the music are linked, so that a more interesting game system can be realized. In the case of an embodiment in which movement between areas is restricted, as in Modification 5, which will be described later, removal of the restriction on movement may be set as a condition for object control based on music.

(Modification 3)
An example has been described in which the operation used for music control and object control targets the object OB. However, music control or the like may be performed based on the action of the character CA on the field FE (ground, floor surface).

For example, in parkour, in addition to the side flips shown in FIGS. 22(A) to 22(F), rotation techniques such as cartwheels, backward somersaults (backflips), and forward somersaults may be used. It can also be executed in planar areas without obstacles or walls. These actions also look better than simple actions such as walking and running, and give the player a sense of exhilaration.

For example, the game processing unit 104 performs a process of increasing the beat parameter when a specific action that does not target the object OB is performed. In this way, the action result of the specific action is reflected in the music and the control of the object OB in the same manner as the action for the object OB.

(Modification 4)
An example has been described above in which the moving object to be subjected to the animation information adjustment processing is the humanoid character CA. However, the mobile object is not limited to this, and for example, a car or motorcycle in a racing game, or an airplane may be a vehicle such as a ship. In this case, it is possible to match the timing at which the characteristic motion of the vehicle (turning, spinning, jumping over an obstacle, etc.) is performed with the music characteristic timing.

Alternatively, the virtual camera VC shown in FIG. 3 may be used as the moving object. FIG. 3 shows an example in which the virtual camera VC is placed behind the character CA, but by making the camera angle (the position of the virtual camera, the direction of the optical axis) variable, it is possible to generate various display screens. Become. Various techniques such as panning, tilting, zooming in, and zooming out are known as camerawork, and it is possible to define characteristic timing from the movement of the virtual camera VC itself or the relationship with the subject.

By using the virtual camera VC as a moving body, it is possible to match the timing at which the characteristic display image is displayed with the characteristic timing of the music.

(Modification 5)
In the example described above using FIG. 9, movement between the areas (AR1 to AR5) set in the field FE is free, and by using a guide object or the like, the player can be instructed to move at an appropriate timing. was urging However, movement between areas may be restricted in advance.

In this way, it is possible to prevent the player from proceeding to the next area while ignoring the progress of the music itself. For example, it is possible to prevent the player from entering the area AR3 corresponding to the B melody even though the performance of the A melody has not ended.

In this case, it is necessary to set conditions for releasing the restriction. Simply, the movement restriction is lifted based on the elapsed time. For example, the restriction on movement from AR2 to AR3 is lifted when the time required to finish playing the A melody has passed. Alternatively, as a result of the player's operation input, more specifically, the condition for releasing the restriction may be that the value of the beat parameter is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. For example, when a certain amount of movement is performed in AR2 and the A melody is played thickly, it becomes possible to move to AR3. Removal of movement restrictions is realized, for example, by switching between passable and impassable movement routes between areas.

Also, the game processing unit 104 may set a time limit for each area. The time limit here is, for example, the upper limit of time allowed to exist continuously in each area. Then, the game processing unit 104 performs a process of lowering the in-game evaluation when the character CA stays in the given area beyond the time limit.

The movement restriction has the effect of suppressing movement to the next area before the performance of the time-series music portion is completed. In addition, the time limit has the effect of preventing the player from remaining in the area (promoting movement to the next area) when the performance of the time-series music portion is completed. Therefore, by combining the movement restriction and the time restriction, it is possible to prompt the player to move the area (transition of the chronological music portion) at an appropriate timing.

(Modification 6)
Also, the moving speed of the character CA may be changed according to the music information. The music information here is, for example, the tempo of the music (timing interval between beats, BPM value, etc.). Specifically, if the tempo of the music is fast, the moving speed of the character is increased, and if the tempo is slow, the moving speed is decreased. Alternatively, the music information may be the rhythm of the music. For example, the moving speed of the character changes depending on whether the music is waltz or bolero. The quieter the melody, the lower the movement speed is set, and the more intense the melody, the faster the movement speed is set.

By doing so, it is possible to harmonize the movement speed of the character CA with the music. As described above, it may be combined with the embodiment in which the animation information is determined according to the music (volume, pitch, tone color). , and if the melody is intense, the character CA moves quickly and performs vigorous movements.

Although the present embodiment has been described in detail as above, those skilled in the art will easily understand that many modifications are possible without substantially departing from the novel matters and effects of the present invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention. For example, in the specification or drawings, a term (character, etc.) that is described at least once with a different term (moving object, etc.) that has a broader definition or has the same meaning may be replaced with that different term anywhere in the specification or drawing. can be done. Further, the determination processing of actions for objects, music control, object control, and animation processing (including determination processing and adjustment processing) are not limited to those described in the present embodiment, and methods and processes equivalent to these are also possible in the present invention. included in the range of Also, the present invention can be applied to various games. The present invention can also be applied to various game systems such as arcade game systems, home game systems, large-scale attraction systems in which many players participate, simulators, multimedia terminals, system boards for generating game images, and mobile phones. . For example, the game system may be a mobile phone or a portable information terminal in which a game program is installed and executed.

10, 11, 12, 13... operation buttons, 14... direction keys,
16, 18... analog sticks, 20, 22... R, L buttons, 100... processing section,
102... Input receiving unit, 104... Game processing unit, 106... Character processing unit,
108... Animation processing unit, 110... Timing processing unit, 112... Music playback unit,
114... Object control unit, 116... Judgment unit, 120... Display processing unit, 160... Operation unit,
170...storage unit, 171...song information storage unit, 172...game progress history storage unit,
173... field/object information storage unit, 174... animation information storage unit,
180...storage medium, 190...display unit, 192...sound output unit, 194...I/F unit,
195... portable information storage medium, 196... communication unit, 500... server system,
510: network, AR1 to AR5: area, CA: character,
FE...field, OB (OB1 to OB4)...object, RO...moving route,
TM1 to TMn... terminal device, VC... virtual camera, Vm... moving direction

Claims (9)

an animation processing unit that performs animation processing of a moving object based on player operation information;
As a timing processing unit that performs the reference timing in the animation processing and the timing information of the sound output during the game,
make your computer work
The animation processing unit
performing the animation process of moving the moving body based on the operation information of the player and animation information including a plurality of time-series posture data of the moving body;
The timing processing unit
specifying, based on the operation information of the player, an operation characteristic timing of the moving object in the animation process as the reference timing;
The animation processing unit
adjusting the animation process so that the timing represented by the timing information of the sound and the motion feature timing match ;
The animation processing unit
so that when the timing represented by the sound timing information is later than the motion feature timing, the moving body operates in accordance with the sound timing information;
(1) a process of delaying the reproduction start timing of the animation process, or
(2) a process of slow-playing the motion of the moving object in a given range before the motion characteristic timing;
A program characterized by performing as the adjustment processing . In claim 1 ,
The motion characteristic timing is associated with the animation information as key frame information representing a key frame,
The animation processing unit
A program for performing the adjustment process so that the timing represented by the timing information of the sound and the reproduction timing of the key frame represented by the key frame information match. In claim 2 ,
The program, wherein the reference timing is the reproduction timing of the key frame. In any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
The animation processing unit
A program for performing a process of determining the animation information to be subjected to the animation process, and performing the adjustment process on the determined animation information. In claim 4 ,
The animation processing unit
A program for performing the determination processing of the animation information based on the timing information of the sound. In claim 5 ,
A parameter is associated with the timing information of the sound,
The animation processing unit
A program for performing the determining process of the animation information based on the parameter. In claim 6 ,
The sound reproduced in the game is a song represented by the song information,
The program, wherein the parameter is a parameter relating to at least one of volume, pitch, and timbre. In claim 4 ,
The sound reproduced in the game is a song represented by the song information,
The animation processing unit
The determining process of the animation information is performed based on at least one of the music information, the operation information of the player, the information of the field in which the moving body moves, and the state information representing the state of the moving body. A program to an animation processing unit that performs animation processing of a moving object based on player operation information;
a timing processing unit that performs a reference timing in the animation processing and a timing processing unit that performs a process of specifying timing information of a sound that is output during a game;
including
The animation processing unit
performing the animation process of moving the moving body based on the operation information of the player and animation information including a plurality of time-series posture data of the moving body;
The timing processing unit
specifying, based on the operation information of the player, an operation characteristic timing of the moving object in the animation process as the reference timing;
The animation processing unit
adjusting the animation process so that the timing represented by the timing information of the sound and the motion feature timing match ;
The animation processing unit
so that when the timing represented by the sound timing information is later than the motion feature timing, the moving body operates in accordance with the sound timing information;
(1) a process of delaying the reproduction start timing of the animation process, or
(2) a process of slow-playing the motion of the moving object in a given range before the motion characteristic timing;
A game system characterized in that it is performed as the adjustment process .

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