JPH0724141A - Game device using head-mounted body - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] To provide a game device using a head-mounted body, which enables downsizing of the game device, suppresses an increase in cost, and improves response to movement. [Structure] This game device includes an image display device 10, a head mounted body provided with an angular velocity sensor 612, a speaker 622, a game space calculation unit 100 for performing a calculation regarding a game progress, and an angle calculation unit 682. Display device 10
It is configured to include an image synthesizing unit 200 that creates image information to be output to. When the player changes the line-of-sight direction, the time change (angular velocity) in this direction is detected by the angular velocity sensor 612, and the changed line-of-sight direction is calculated by the angle calculation unit 682. Based on the calculation result, coordinate conversion processing to the viewpoint coordinate system, clipping processing, perspective projection conversion processing, and sorting processing are performed, and the image in the visual field direction of the player is output to the image display device 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a game device using a head-mounted body which allows a player to enjoy a game while looking at a display provided on the head-mounted body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional video game device includes a display unit such as a CRT, a game calculation unit, and an operation unit. A player operates the operation unit while watching the screen of the display unit. You can enjoy it.

By the way, in recent years, a head mounted body having a display device called a head mounted display has been developed, and this head mounted body is equipped with, for example, two liquid crystal display boards (LCD). By using this head-mounted body, it is possible to enjoy more realistic images.

Therefore, if the head-mounted body described above is used instead of the display used in the conventional video game apparatus and an image in the visual field direction of the player can be projected on the display section of the head-mounted body, it is possible to see the scene. You can enjoy powerful and powerful game images.

By the way, in order to display an image in the visual field direction of the player on the display section of the head mounted body, it is necessary to accurately detect which direction the player is facing. 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a Pohimus sensor has been known as a device for detecting a movement of a person, and is being put into practical use. This Poimus sensor is configured to include a source in which coils are wound in three directions of XYZ and generate a magnetic field in each direction, and a sensor which is within a predetermined distance from the source and detects a magnetic field in the XYZ directions. . A magnetic field in three directions was sequentially generated by passing an electric current through the three coils of the source, and when the respective magnetic fields were generated, the current values obtained from the three coils in the sensor were detected, and the sensor was attached. The distance and the inclination of the object in each of the XYZ directions are obtained.

[0006]

By the way, in order to detect the direction of the player by using the above-mentioned Poimus sensor, a source for generating a magnetic field is required in addition to the sensor, and this source generates a magnetic field. Since it is necessary to connect the power source and the like to the game device, there is a problem that the game device becomes large in size and the cost is increased when used in the game device. Further, since it is necessary to keep the distance between the sensor and the source within a certain distance, when the sensor is attached and fixed to the head mounted body, the operation range of the player is also limited.

Further, when the player's direction is measured using the above-mentioned Poimus sensor, a magnetic field must be generated by selectively passing a current through each of the coils in the three directions of the sensor, so that the detection operation takes time. However, when connected to a game device, there is a problem in that the response to the player's action is poor and the sense of presence is impaired.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and uses a head-mounted body that enables downsizing of a game device, suppresses an increase in cost, and has a good response to movement. It is an object of the present invention to provide a conventional game device.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a game apparatus using a head mounted body of the present invention is a head mounted body mounted on a player's head and the head mounted body. A display unit provided on the player's line of sight in the body, and an angular velocity detection unit fixedly attached to a part of the head mounted body,
The detection result of the angular velocity detection unit is input, and the angle calculation unit calculates the angle at which the player has moved based on the angular velocity detected by the angular velocity detection unit when the player moves, and the angle calculation unit. A display control unit is provided, which receives the calculation result and changes the field of view by the angle moved by the player, and sends the image to the display unit. The direction of the player when the player changes the direction. The image on the game screen displayed on the display unit in the head mounted body is changed according to the above.

Further, a game device using the head-mounted body of the present invention includes a head-mounted body mounted on the head of the player and a display section provided on the line of sight of the player in the head-mounted body. Based on the angular velocity detected by the angular velocity detector when the player moves, the angular velocity detector fixedly attached to a part of the head mounted body and the detection result of the angular velocity detector are input. An angle calculation unit that calculates an angle at which the player has moved, and a game calculation unit that performs a predetermined game calculation based on a calculation result by the angle calculation unit,
A display control unit to which the calculation result of the angle calculation unit is input, and which sends a video created based on the calculation result of the game calculation unit to the display unit by changing the field of view by the angle moved by the player, And changing the image on the game screen displayed on the display section in the head mounted body according to the orientation of the player when the orientation is changed by the player.

Further, according to the present invention, the game space is set by the game space calculating means, and the pseudo three-dimensional image is synthesized by the image synthesizing means, so that the image is displayed on the head-mounted body mounted on the head of the player. In a game device using a head-mounted body that forms a game space in which a predetermined moving body can move in a virtual three-dimensional space by operating an operation unit while watching the pseudo-three-dimensional image, the head-mounted body is The game space computing means includes at least a display unit provided on the player's line of sight for displaying the pseudo three-dimensional image, and an angular velocity detection unit fixedly attached to a part of the head mounted body. An object information storage unit that stores position and direction information of a three-dimensional object of the moving body as object information, and a terrain of the moving body in the virtual three-dimensional space. Shape information is stored in the terrain information storage unit, and object information of the moving body is read from the object information storage unit, and the object information of the moving body is changed using the terrain information read from the terrain information storage unit. The object synthesizing unit is configured to receive the detection result of the angular velocity detecting unit, and when the player moves, the image synthesizing unit controls the player based on the angular velocity detected by the angular velocity detecting unit. An angle calculation unit that calculates a moving angle, a three-dimensional image information storage unit that stores three-dimensional image information of a three-dimensional object that constitutes the game space and appears in the game space, and object information from the object information storage unit And the three-dimensional image information from the three-dimensional image information storage unit, and the virtual three-dimensional space is arranged in the virtual three-dimensional space. Determining the position of the moving body, based on the calculation result of the angle calculation unit,
And an image calculation unit for calculating a visual field image of the game space viewed from the determined position of the moving body in the player's visual field direction and synthesizing and outputting a pseudo three-dimensional image toward the display unit inside the head mounted body. Thus, the pseudo three-dimensional image on which the topographical information is reflected is synthesized and displayed.

Further, the present invention further includes image pickup means for picking up a real space image seen by the player on the head mounted body, and the image combining means picks up an image of the player's view in the three-dimensional space and the image pickup means. Further includes a display image synthesizing unit for synthesizing the real space video,
It is characterized in that a pseudo three-dimensional image in which a view field image in a virtual three-dimensional space and a real space image are combined is output as an image on the display section in the head mounted body.

[0013]

In the head-mounted body used in the present invention, the angular velocity detecting section is attached and fixed, and the angular velocity around a predetermined axis is output as a detection signal when the player moves. Then, based on this detection signal, the angle calculation unit performs a predetermined calculation to calculate the angle at which the player has moved. In this way, since the player's current direction is known by calculating the player's moving angle, an image of the player's direction is created by the display control unit and provided in the head mounted body. The created image is displayed on the display unit.

In the present invention, since the angular velocity detecting section is used, a structure other than the angular velocity detecting section, such as a source for generating an external magnetic field, is not necessary for detecting the movement of the player, and the game apparatus is miniaturized. It is possible to suppress the increase in cost. Also,
The angle is calculated based on the angular velocity obtained by the angular velocity detection unit, the movement of the player can be detected in real time, and the response to the movement can be improved. In particular, as compared with the case where a current is selectively applied to each of the coils in three directions to generate a magnetic field as in the conventional Poimus sensor, the detection response of the movement of the player can be significantly improved.

[0015]

[Example] 1. Outline of Game First, an example of a three-dimensional game device realized by applying the game device using the head-mounted body of the present invention will be briefly described.

According to the present three-dimensional game device, a virtual three-dimensional space is formed by a preset game program, and the formed virtual three-dimensional space can be freely moved around by the moving body operated by the player. Can provide space.

The three-dimensional game realized by the present three-dimensional game device is a future tank game spread in the near future city where various races are gathered. In this futuristic tank game, fighters who have gathered for huge prize money decide the champion in a death match game format in the game field surrounded by a square that cannot be escaped. Each fighter competes for a champion with its own future tank. The player then participates in the game as one of these fighters.

FIG. 2 shows an external view of the present three-dimensional game device. As shown in the figure, the player 302 operates the left and right analog levers 12 and 14 which are the operation units to operate the moving body imaged in the head mounted body 609, that is, the future tank 20 on which the player himself / herself is riding. It will be. That is, the player 302 can freely move around in the game field set in the virtual three-dimensional space by operating the future tank 20. Further, the analog levers 12 and 14 are provided with machine guns that can be fired indefinitely and missile triggers 16 and 18 that are powerful weapons with a limited number.

The head mount 609 shown in FIG.
A display device such as a liquid crystal display is attached in front of the player's eyes so as to cover the player's visual field. An apparatus for attaching an angular velocity sensor is attached to the head-mounted body 609, so that the rotational movement of the player's head is detected. Then, an image corresponding to the detection signal from this angular velocity sensor is generated, and this image is generated.
By displaying it on the display device in 09, for example, an operation such as looking around, which is normally performed casually, can be experienced in a virtual space with the same sense of presence as in a real space.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show an example of the shape of the head mounted body 609. FIG. 1A shows a head mounted body 609 configured by providing a player's angular velocity sensor 612, the image display device 10, and a speaker 622 on a helmet 614. According to this type of wearing body, the player can create a world completely isolated from the outside by wearing the helmet 614, so that a more realistic virtual reality can be enjoyed. On the other hand, the head-mounted body 609 shown in FIG. 2B has a space sensor 612 for a player, an image display device 10, and a speaker 6.
Since 22 is integrally attached to the wearing band 616, it is possible to realize a more comfortable wearing feeling. The mounting body used in this embodiment is not limited to the shape shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, and various shapes can be used.

The image display device 10 is attached in front of the player's eyes so as to cover the player's field of view, and displays image information of image information sent from an image synthesizing section 200 described later through a connection line 618. As an image display method in this case, it is desirable to use a small display such as a color liquid crystal display or a small CRT in order to downsize the head mounted body 609 and improve the feeling of wearing. In addition, in order to focus the eyes on the image,
It is desirable to perform correction by an optical system in order to widen the viewing angle and improve the realism.

Here, the shape of the small display may be formed so as to cover the field of view of the player along the shape of the player's face so as to obtain a panoramic image effect. The shape may be formed in front of both eyes of the player. In the latter case, it is desirable to give a three-dimensional stereoscopic effect by giving an image with parallax to a two-dimensional two-dimensional image given to both eyes. With such a configuration, the size of the object and the distance to the object can be grasped, so that it is possible to create a virtual world that is closer to the real world.

The angular velocity sensor 612 is a sensor for detecting the angular velocity of the player's head, and is preferably formed by using, for example, a piezoelectric vibrating gyro using a GE type, a Watson type, or an equilateral triangular tuning fork type oscillator. In particular, by using the piezoelectric vibrating gyro, it is possible to realize a small-sized angular velocity sensor that can efficiently detect the angular velocity.

In general, when the angular velocity is detected by using one piezoelectric vibrating gyro, only the angular velocity around one axis can be detected. Therefore, the angular velocity sensor 612 has three piezoelectric vibrating gyros, and detects the angular velocity of each of the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis to detect the movement of the player's head three-dimensionally. It has become. However, depending on the content of the game, it is not always necessary to use three piezoelectric vibrating gyros, and one or two piezoelectric vibrating gyros may be used. For example, when only the operation is performed in the case of looking over the same plane, only the angle around the Z axis needs to be detected, so that the angular velocity sensor 612 is formed using one piezoelectric gyro.

An overall view of the game field 60 is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, in the game field 60, various terrains formed in three dimensions and set by the game program are formed. That is, first
The four sides of the game field 60 are surrounded by walls 62 so that each fighter cannot escape. A first plateau 64 is provided on the inner circumference of the wall 62. The zero zone 66 is surrounded by the first plateau 64, and slopes 68, 70, 72, 74 are provided between them. Furthermore, in the zero zone 66, the second and third plateaus 76,
78 is also provided, and obstacles 80, 82 are also provided. As described above, the game field 60 in the present three-dimensional game has a three-dimensional topography unlike the conventional two-dimensional game field. Therefore, it is possible to form a game space full of reality that has never existed before. On the contrary, in such a three-dimensional game device, how to make the player feel the three-dimensional terrain becomes a major technical issue.

The future tank 20 operated by the player 302 and the enemy future tank 22 operated by the enemy fighter face each other on the zero zone 66. In FIG. 4, the future tank 2
The second and third plateaus 7 are located between 0 and the enemy future tank 22.
Since the players 6 and 78 are interposed, the player 302 cannot see the enemy future tank 22 on the image display device 10. Therefore, the player 302 first finds the enemy position by the enemy position detecting radar. Then, the future tank 20 is steered by the analog levers 12 and 14 to get over the second plateau 76, approach the enemy, and attack the enemy.

FIG. 5 shows a pseudo three-dimensional image displayed on the image display device 10 of the head mounted body 609,
Particularly, an image when the own future tank 20 approaches the enemy future tank 22 is shown.

As shown in the figure, the aim 40 is displayed on the image display device 10, and the player 302 uses this aim 40 to attack the enemy. The image display device 10 also displays an enemy position detection radar 50 that detects the position of the target enemy future tank 22. This allows the player 302 to know the enemy position 52 with respect to the own position 51. Becomes

Further, the shield display portion 54 in the image display device 10 displays the shield amounts of the own aircraft and the enemy future tank 22. Currently, the amount of shield (defense) of the aircraft is
It greatly exceeds the shield capacity of the enemy future tank 22. Therefore, it is an opportunity for the player 302 to attack, and conversely, the enemy future tank 22 must avoid this critical situation and find an item that restores the shield amount.

In this case, the own future tank 20 is the zero zone 6
Located on top of No. 6, enemy future tank 22 is on the first plateau 6.
Since it is located at 4, there is a difference in height between the two.
Therefore, even in such a geographical condition, the player 302
However, it is necessary to set the game so that the enemy can be attacked well. On the contrary, if the enemy future tank 22 makes good use of this geographical condition and sets the game so as to avoid this critical situation, the interest of the game can be further enhanced. That is, how to reflect such a geographical condition in the game setting is a major technical issue.

The above description is for the case where there is one player playing the game, as shown in FIG. When the player plays the game alone, the computer is in charge of the fighter who drives the enemy future tank 22.

On the other hand, FIG. 6 shows an external view of the present three-dimensional game device when two players play a match. In this case, the player 302 operates the future tank 20 while looking at the image display device 10, and the player 303 operates the enemy future tank 22 while looking at the image display device 11 mounted on his / her head. Then, the image display device 10
A pseudo three-dimensional image viewed from the direction of the future tank 20 is displayed on the screen, and a pseudo three-dimensional image viewed from the direction of the enemy future tank 22 is displayed on the image display device 11. In this way, two players play a game under different geographical conditions while viewing pseudo three-dimensional images from different viewpoints in one virtual three-dimensional space. Note that FIG. 6 shows only the case of two players, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can naturally be applied to the case of playing a game by a plurality of players of three or more. 2. Description of Entire Device FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of a three-dimensional game device according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the present three-dimensional game device has an operation unit 140 for a player to input an operation signal, a game space calculation unit 100 for setting a game space by a predetermined game program, and a pseudo at the player's viewpoint position. Three
Image combining unit 200 for forming a three-dimensional image, head-mounted body 60
9 includes an image display device 10 that outputs a pseudo three-dimensional image, and a voice synthesis unit 678 that outputs a voice according to the progress of the game from a speaker 622 provided on the head mounted body 609. To be done.

When the present three-dimensional game device is applied to a driving game, for example, a steering wheel, a gear or the like for driving a sports car is connected to the operation unit 140,
As a result, the operation signal is input. Also, when applied to shooting games such as the future tank battle,
Analog levers 12 and 14 for driving future tanks,
Also, triggers 16, 18 for firing a machine gun, missile, etc. are connected.

The game space calculation unit 100 is comprised of a central processing unit 1
02, object information storage unit 104, terrain information storage unit 106, and object information change unit 108. Here, the central processing unit 102 controls the entire three-dimensional game device. Further, a predetermined game program is stored in the storage unit provided in the central processing unit 102. In addition, the object information storage unit 104 stores object information that is position and direction information of a three-dimensional object that forms a virtual three-dimensional space, and other attribute information. In addition, the terrain information storage unit 10
6, the terrain information of the game field 60 formed by the above-mentioned three-dimensional terrain is stored as height data, for example. Further, the object information changing unit 108 performs a calculation to change the object information stored in the object information storage unit 104 based on the topographical information stored in the topographical information storage unit 106. The details of the configuration of the game space calculation unit 100 will be described later.

The voice synthesizing unit 678 synthesizes various voices under the control of the central processing unit 102, for example, a launch sound of a machine gun or a missile, an explosive sound, and the like. Output from a speaker 622 provided at a position corresponding to the player's ear.

In the image synthesizing section 200, a pseudo three-dimensional image seen from an arbitrary viewpoint position of the player 302 in the virtual three-dimensional space, that is, a pseudo three-dimensional image displayed on the image display device 10 provided on the head mounted body 609. Is image-synthesized. Therefore, the image composition unit 200 is configured to include the three-dimensional image information storage unit 204 and the image calculation unit 202.

The three-dimensional image information storage unit 204 stores a three-dimensional image of a three-dimensional object. here,
Three-dimensional objects are the future tank 20 and the enemy future tank 2
2, such as a mobile body, the wall 62 shown in FIG. 4, the first, second, and third
It refers to all the objects that form the game space set in the virtual three-dimensional space, such as the terrain such as the plateaus 64, 76 and 78 and the obstacles 80 and 82. As shown in FIG. 5, this three-dimensional object is represented as a set of polygons 90 to 92, and information such as the coordinates of each vertex of this polygon is stored in the three-dimensional image information storage unit 204 as three-dimensional image information. There is.

The image calculation unit 202 includes an image supply unit 212 and an image forming unit 240.

The image supply unit 212 includes a processing unit 214 that controls the entire image synthesizing unit 200, a coordinate conversion unit 216 that performs a three-dimensional calculation process on image information such as the vertex coordinates of a polygon, and a clipping processing unit 218. The perspective conversion unit 220 and the sorting processing unit 222 are included.

Here, the processing unit 214 includes an angle calculation unit 68.
2 is included. Based on the detection signal (angular velocity) input from the angular velocity sensor 612, the angle calculation unit 682 receives
Calculates the player's viewpoint direction. Then, the perspective projection conversion processing by the coordinate conversion unit 216 is performed using the information on the viewpoint direction.

In the image forming section 240, the image supply section 212
The image information of all the dots in the polygon is calculated from the image information such as the vertex coordinates of the polygon which has been subjected to the three-dimensional calculation processing in (3), and this is output as a pseudo three-dimensional image.

Next, the operation of the entire 3D game apparatus will be described.

First, at the same time as the game starts, the central processing unit 102 stores the object information, which is the position and direction information of all three-dimensional objects arranged in the virtual three-dimensional space, according to the game program, in the object information storage unit 104. To memorize. However, if a part of the object information storage unit 104 is a non-volatile memory and the initial value of the object information is stored in advance, such an operation is not necessary.

The object information stored in the object information storage unit 104 is stored in the format shown in FIG. 7, for example. In the figure, the index (0
~ N) are serial numbers representing each three-dimensional object. For example, index 0 is the enemy future tank 22, index 1 is the wall 62, and index 2 is the obstacle 80.
, ..., the index n is a serial number representing a three-dimensional object that constitutes the future tank 20 of the player's own machine. Thereby, for example, the position information and the direction (tilt) information of the enemy future tank 22 in the virtual three-dimensional space are (X0, Y0, Z
0) and (θ0, φ0, ρ0). As a result, the position and the direction in which the enemy future tank 22 is arranged are determined. Similarly, the position and direction information of the three-dimensional object such as the obstacle 80 is also set, whereby the position information of all the three-dimensional objects forming the game space in the virtual three-dimensional space, or the position information and the direction information is set. It will be decided.

In the case of a large three-dimensional object such as the enemy future tank 22, this is divided into parts such as the cockpit, the left driving part, the right driving part, and the barrel, and one of these parts 1 It is also possible to consider one as a three-dimensional object and assign the index to it. By doing this, these parts, such as the left drive,
It is possible to independently move the right side drive unit, the barrel, etc., and to draw the enemy future tank 22 that moves in a more realistic manner.

The terrain information storage unit 106 stores the terrain information of the game field 60 shown in FIG. 4 as height information, for example. The object information changing unit 108
By reading this topographical information, it is possible to change the position and direction information of the three-dimensional object stored in the object information storage unit 104. That is, for example, the position and direction information (X0
, Y0, Z0, θ0, φ0, ρ0),
The inclination and the like of the enemy future tank 22 is changed. This makes it possible to form a game space that reflects the terrain information. The details of the operation of the game space calculation unit 100 will be described later.

Next, the operation of the image synthesizing section 200 will be described.

First, the processing unit 214 reads the position and direction information of the three-dimensional object from the object information storage unit 104 using the index as an address. Similarly, the processing unit 214 reads the three-dimensional image information of the three-dimensional object from the three-dimensional image information storage unit 204 using the index as an address. For example, when the index is 0, the position and direction information (X0, Y0, Z0, θ0,
φ 0, ρ 0) is read from the object information storage unit 104, and the three-dimensional image information representing the enemy future tank 22 as a set of polygons is read from the three-dimensional image information storage unit 204.

The processing unit 214 sequentially reads the indexes in this way and converts these information into a data format as shown in FIG.

FIG. 8A shows an overall view of this data format. As shown in the figure, the data to be processed is configured such that the frame data is at the head and the object data of all three-dimensional objects displayed in this frame are continuous. Then, after this object data, polygon data of polygons forming the three-dimensional object is further arranged.

Here, the frame data refers to data formed by parameters that change for each frame, and is common to all three-dimensional objects in one frame. The viewpoint position, viewpoint direction, and viewing angle of the player. It is composed of data such as information, monitor angle / size information, and light source information. These data are set for each frame. For example, when a window or the like is formed on the display screen, different frame data is set for each window. By this, on the display screen, for example, a rearview mirror,
It is possible to form a screen or the like of the enemy future tank 22 viewed from above.

Of the frame data described above, only the player's viewpoint direction information is obtained by the calculation by the angle calculation unit 682 in the processing unit 214. That is, the angle calculation unit 682 calculates the visual field direction of the player by performing a predetermined calculation based on the detection signal (angular velocity) input from the angular velocity sensor 612, for example, integrating the input angular velocity. However, when an angle is calculated by integration to obtain the player's visual field direction, a difference may occur between the actual direction and the calculated direction due to the accumulation of errors due to integration, and it is necessary to correct it by some method. . As a correction method, for example, when the game screen changes in the course of the game, the player faces the front (the analog levers 12 and 14 should be able to recognize the general front direction), and the trigger 16 or 18 is used. It is considered that the operation is performed by pressing.

The object data refers to data formed by parameters that change for each three-dimensional object, and position information in units of three-dimensional objects,
It is composed of data such as direction information. This is data having almost the same content as the above-mentioned object information.

Further, the polygon data means data formed by image information of polygons and the like. As shown in FIG. 8B, a header, vertex coordinates X0, Y0, Z0 to X3,
It is composed of other attached data such as Y3 and Z3.

The coordinate calculation unit 216 reads out the data in the above format and performs various calculation processes on the coordinates of each vertex. The calculation process will be described below with reference to FIG.

Taking the future tank game as an example, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, three-dimensional objects 300, 332, 334 representing enemy future tanks, buildings, obstacles, etc. are arranged in a virtual three-dimensional space represented by the world coordinate system (XW, YW, ZW). After that, the image information representing these three-dimensional objects is coordinate-converted into a viewpoint coordinate system (Xv, Yv, Zv) with the viewpoint of the player 302 as a reference.

Next, the clipping processing unit 218 performs image processing called so-called clipping processing. Here, the clipping processing is image information outside the field of view of the player 302 (or outside the field of view of the window opened in the three-dimensional space), that is, the front / rear / right / down / left / up clipping planes 340 and 342. 344, 3
This is image processing for removing image information outside an area (hereinafter referred to as display area 2) surrounded by 46, 348, and 350. That is, the image information required by the present apparatus for the subsequent processing is only the image information within the visual field of the player 302. Therefore, if the other information is removed in advance by the clipping process, the load of the subsequent process can be significantly reduced.

The determination of the visual field direction of the player 302 by the clipping processing unit 218 is made based on the calculation result by the angle calculation unit 682 in the processing unit 214.

Next, in the perspective conversion unit 220, the display area 2
Only for objects inside is the screen coordinate system (XS,
YS) is perspectively converted, and the data is output to the sorting processing unit 222 at the next stage.

In the sorting processing section 222, the order of processing in the image forming section 240 in the next stage is determined, and the image data of the polygon is output according to the order.

In the image forming section 240, the image supply section 212
The image information of all the dots in the polygon is calculated from the data such as the vertex coordinates of the polygon which has been subjected to the three-dimensional calculation processing in (3). As a calculation method in this case, the contour line of the polygon is obtained from the vertex coordinates of the polygon, the contour point pair which is the intersection of this contour line and the scanning line is obtained, and the line formed by this contour point pair is given a predetermined color. You may use the method of making it correspond to data etc. In addition, a method is used in which image information of all dots in each polygon is stored in advance in a ROM or the like as texture information, and the texture coordinates given to each vertex of the polygon are used as addresses to read and paste the texture information. May be.

Finally, the pseudo three-dimensional image formed by the image forming section 340 is output from the image display device 10.

With such a configuration, the player can enjoy the game in the virtual reality world. That is, the display image is not displayed on a display device such as a CRT as in the related art, but is displayed on the image display device 10 mounted so as to cover the field of view of the player. Then, the image display device 10 displays a virtual view image in the player's viewpoint direction by using the angular velocity sensor 612 and the angle calculation unit 682. Therefore, the player uses the head mounted body 60 to obtain a view image in an arbitrary direction in the virtual three-dimensional space.
You can see it by turning your head on which 9 is attached.

As a result, when the present embodiment is applied to a driving game or a role-playing game, for example, by looking back, the racing car of the opponent who is chasing can be confirmed, or the surroundings can be looked around to determine the direction in which one is going. You can do things like do it.

When this embodiment is applied to a shooting game, in a virtual three-dimensional space set in all directions of 360 degrees around the player, enemy planes attacking from four directions in the space are You will be able to enjoy shooting games. As a result, it is possible to form a game space that is closer to the real world, and it is possible to dramatically improve the fun, realistic sensation, and tenseness of the game.

In particular, the angular velocity sensor 612 attached to the head mounted body 609 of this embodiment can detect the angular velocity in the rotational direction of the player's head by itself, and is used to supply a magnetic field from the outside. Since a source or the like is unnecessary, the game device can be downsized and the cost can be reduced. Further, in this game, since each player needs to operate the analog lever 12 and the like, the range in which the player can move is limited. However, since the above-mentioned sources and the like are not required, the player can move freely when performing a shooting game or the like. You can

Also, in this embodiment, the angular velocity sensor 612 is used.
Since the orientation of the player's head is calculated in real time by the angle calculation unit 682 based on the output of, the response to the player's movement is good, and the game with a realistic feeling can be enjoyed. 3. Multi-Player Type Game FIG. 10 shows an example of a block diagram in the case where the three-dimensional game apparatus according to the present invention has a person-to-person multi-player type game configuration.

As shown in the figure, in this case, the head including the operation unit 140, the game space calculation unit 100, the object information storage unit 104, the image composition unit 200, the image display unit, the angular velocity sensor 612 and the like having the same configuration. Two or more mounting bodies 609 are prepared. Then, as shown in the figure, by sharing the object information stored in the object information storage unit 104, the present three-dimensional game device has the multi-player type game configuration shown in FIG. You can In this case, as the data to be shared, at least the object data of the moving body may be shared. Further, in the case of a game configuration in which a missile, a machine gun or the like is used to attack, the object information regarding this bullet is also made common. The common method may be communication or the like, or the object information storage unit 104,
The board or the like on which the 104 is installed may be connected in common.

In the case of the multi-player type as described above, it is not necessary to make all the three-dimensional objects forming the virtual three-dimensional space common, and for example, the player 302
By making the configuration of the virtual three-dimensional space that can be viewed by the player 303 slightly different, it is possible to configure a more diverse game space.

Further, the configuration of the present three-dimensional game device as a multiplayer game is not limited to that shown in FIG. For example, during (1/60) second which is one frame,
It is set so that there can exist a plurality of data groups including frame data shown in FIG. 8A, object data continuous with the frame data, and polygon data. By doing this, each frame data of a plurality of existing data groups
It is possible to set different viewpoint positions and viewpoint directions. By setting in this way, one game space computing unit 10 can be used within the range permitted by the speed of hardware.
0, the image composition unit 200 can form a plurality of pseudo three-dimensional images having different viewpoint positions and viewpoint directions. Then, by displaying the pseudo three-dimensional images viewed from different viewpoint positions and viewpoint directions on the image display devices of the respective players, a plurality of image composition units and game space calculation units are provided as shown in FIG. Even without it, a multi-player type three-dimensional game device can be realized. 4. Combining Real Space Video and Virtual View Image Now, in the above-described three-dimensional game device using the head-mounted body, if the real space image captured by the video camera and the virtual view image output from the image forming unit can be combined. ,
It is possible to realize a more realistic 3D game device. Figure 1
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an embodiment capable of such image composition. Further, FIG. 12A shows an external view of this three-dimensional game device.

In FIG. 12A, a future tank 630, which is made to look very similar to the real thing, is installed on the floor 4 inside the dome 1 whose inside is painted in blue. Here, the floor 4 is also painted in the same blue color as the inside of the dome 1. And this future tank 6
A player 650 is on board 30.

The future tank 630 has, for example, a cockpit 63
6, left side drive unit 632, right side drive unit 634, analog levers 640 and 641, instrument panel 644, and the like. Then, for example, the left drive unit 632 and the right drive unit 634 are the analog levers 640 and 64 of the player 650.
It is formed so as to be freely steered by the operation of 1. Then, as will be described later, the player 650 can see changes in these movements with the video camera 610.

The instrument panel 644 is, for example, a speedometer,
The player 6 includes a fuel gauge and a warning gauge (not shown).
It is configured to change depending on the operating state of 50.
That is, the analog levers 640 and 641 of the player 650.
The speedometer changes in response to the operation to, and when the game is over and the fuel runs out, the fuel gauge indicates this. Further, when a trouble occurs in the engine of the future tank 630, the warning indicator blinks, and the player 650
Can know this by the video camera 610.

At the bottom of the future tank 630, an attitude control unit 624 is provided, and the future tank 63 is responsive to the topographic information of the game field 60 and the operation signal of the player 650.
The posture change of 0 and the acceleration change are controlled. As a result, the attitude control unit 624 causes the slope surface 75 shown in FIG.
When the future tank 630 passes through, the posture is controlled according to the angle of the slope. As a result, you can experience a virtual world that is closer to the real world. Further, when the terrain block through which the future tank 630 has passed is a gravel road, the attitude control unit 624 can generate fine vibrations accordingly. The attitude control is performed by the game space computing unit 100, and the information for controlling is generated using the terrain information stored in the terrain information storage unit 106 described above. Thereby, not only is the terrain information reflected in the pseudo three-dimensional image as in the above-described embodiment,
This terrain information can be reflected in the attitude control, and the fun of the game can be significantly improved.

A head mounting body 608 is mounted on the player 650 so as to cover the field of view of the player 650. As shown in FIGS. 3 (c) and 3 (d), the configuration of the head mounting body 608 is as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b).
9 has a configuration in which a video camera 610 is newly added.

This video camera 610 is a player 650.
Is used to view the real world, and is set at a position close to the viewpoint position (eye position) of the player 650, and its angle is also set to the player 650, as shown in FIGS. It is desirable to set so as to match the visual field direction of. This is because by setting in this way, the image of the real world that the player 650 can actually see can be seen more comfortably. As the image pickup means of the video camera 610, for example, a high resolution CCD or the like is used.

The dome is provided with a spatial sensor signal generator 13, and the spatial sensor 12 provided on the head of the player 650 can detect the three-dimensional information of the player.

Next, the image synthesizing method according to this embodiment will be described below.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12B, the real space image 700 in the real three-dimensional space photographed by the video camera 610 and the virtual view image 702 in the virtual three-dimensional space are image-synthesized. , A display image 704 is formed. Then, this display image 704 shows the connection line 618.
Is output to the image display device 10 through the, and becomes a visual field image that the player 650 actually sees.

This image synthesis is performed by blue matte synthesis in this embodiment. In other words, all but the future tank 630 and its accessories, the player 650 which is oneself, that is, the inside of the dome 1 and the floor 4 are colored in blue. By doing so, in the real space image 700, the future tank 630, the analog levers 640, 64
1, except for the player's hand 654, etc., has a blue background. Then, the display image 704 can be obtained by setting all the pixels of the blue color portion of the real space image 700 to empty dots and superposing them on the virtual view image 702. In this case, for example, the dome 1 shows a background mainly seen by the player 650, and the floor 4 shows the road surface situation of the game field 60 in which the future tank 630 is running.

A block diagram of an embodiment of the three-dimensional game device in this case is shown in FIG.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 11 has a configuration in which a display image synthesizing device 680 to which a video camera 610 is newly connected and an attitude control section 624 are added to the embodiment shown in FIG. Therefore, the angular velocity sensor 612 and the angle calculator 682
Thus, the line-of-sight direction of the player 650 is extracted, and the virtual field-of-view image 702 seen by the player 650 is output from the image forming unit 240.

The display image synthesizing device 680 synthesizes the virtual field image 702 and the real space image 700 picked up by the video camera 610. Various methods are conceivable as the method of this image synthesis, but in the present embodiment, this is performed by the method of blue matte synthesis as described above, for example. FIG. 13 shows details of the configuration of the display image combining device 680 in this case.

That is, in FIG. 13, the video camera 610.
The image signal representing the real-space image 700 input from the filter is first filtered in the display image synthesis device 680.
And is divided into three primary color components of RGB. And
Each of these components is A / D converted into 8-bit digital data by the A / D conversion circuit 902, whereby 24-bit RGB digital data is obtained for each pixel. Whether or not the 24-bit RGB digital data of each pixel in the real space image 700 matches the 24-bit RGB digital data of the blue color painted on the back side of the dome 1 and the floor 4 is a blank dot. The determination circuit 904 calculates and determines each pixel. The result of this determination is that the empty dot memory 906
Written in. The empty dot memory 906 has a configuration of a 1-bit memory corresponding to all the pixels of the display image, and empty dot determination data for each pixel is written as 1-bit data.

The display image synthesizer 680 has a field buffer 910 corresponding to each pixel of the display image. Then, the data control unit 908 refers to the empty dot determination data written in the empty dot memory 906, and writes the real space image at each pixel position of the field buffer 910. That is, when the pixel is determined to be an empty dot by the empty dot determination data, the real space video is not written at the pixel position of the field buffer 910. On the contrary, when it is determined by the empty dot determination data that the pixel is not an empty dot, 24-bit RGB digital data of the real space video is written as it is.

Next, the data control unit 908 refers to the empty dot determination data written in the empty dot memory 906, and the virtual visual field image information calculated by the image forming unit 240 is calculated at each pixel position of the field buffer 910. Is overwritten. That is, when the pixel is determined to be an empty dot by the empty dot determination data, the virtual field-of-view image information is written as it is. vice versa,
When it is determined by the empty dot determination data that the pixel is not an empty dot, nothing is written and the real space image is displayed at this pixel position.

After the above writing, the image data of each pixel position is read from the field buffer 910 by the data control unit 908. Then, this image information data is output as an image to the image display device 10 through the connection line 618, and the player 650 can see the display image 704 in which the virtual view image 702 is incorporated in the real space image 700 in real time.

It is more preferable that the writing and reading of the image information described above are performed simultaneously, for example, by forming the field buffer 710 for two screens.

Now, in the game space computing section 100, a voice signal output from the speaker 622 through the voice synthesizing section 678 and a posture control signal to the posture control section 624 are generated, whereby voice synthesis and posture control are performed. Be seen.

For example, the attitude control is performed as follows. First, the object information of the future tank is changed by the object information changing unit 108 using the terrain information of the terrain information storage unit 106. Then, the attitude control signal is generated using the changed object information, that is, the object information (X0, Y0, Z0, .theta.0, .phi.0, .rho.0) in which the terrain information is reflected. Then, this attitude control signal is output to the attitude control unit 624, whereby the attitude control is performed.

According to the present embodiment having the above configuration, the player 6
Reference numeral 50 indicates the movement of the left-side drive unit 632, the right-side drive unit 634, etc. of the future tank 630, which is extremely close to the real thing, and the video camera 61.
It is possible to freely maneuver the future tank 630 in the virtual three-dimensional space while actually checking through 0 through the eyes. As a result, operability is significantly improved, and a virtual reality world closer to reality can be expressed.

The image synthesizing method in the display image synthesizing device 680 is not limited to the above-described one, and for example, the image synthesizing is performed using red instead of blue, or image synthesizing is performed using a plurality of colors. Can be used.

Further, this embodiment is not limited to the one-person three-dimensional game device as shown in FIG.
The present invention can also be applied to an attraction type three-dimensional game device in which a plurality of players can board as shown in (c).

In this attraction, as shown in FIG. 14A, a plurality of players board the cabin 720 of the giant future tank 734. The interior of the cabin 720 is made to look very similar to the real thing, and is provided with, for example, a cockpit and a battle seat. In this case, in particular, the control stick 732, the operation panel 730, and the combat gun 744 that the player directly touches
Exquisitely made to look like the real thing.

The player who gets into the cabin 720 is arranged in the pilot seat, the battle seat, etc. as a pilot, a co-pilot, and a shooter according to their roles. Then, the pilot 746 and the co-pilot 747 placed in the cockpit use the control stick 732, the operation panel 730, etc. while looking at the pseudo three-dimensional image projected on the cockpit window 722 by the blue mat method described above Control the future tank 734. In this case, in this embodiment, as described above, the space sensor 12 is attached to each player, the view direction is calculated for each player, and the view image obtained by this calculation is used as the image display device 6.
It is displayed on 20. As a result, the appearance of the obstacle 740 approaching the giant future tank 734 is
Since the co-pilot 747 and the shooter 748 can be set to look different, it is possible to provide a more realistic and realistic attraction. In addition, the pilot 746,
The co-pilot 747 can operate the giant future tank while operating the control rod 732 and the operation panel 730 that are made to look very similar to the real thing, so that he can play as if he were driving a real giant future tank. Becomes

Shooters 748, 749 placed in the combat seats
The left side window 724 and the right side window 725 by the combat gun 744.
Attacks the enemy 742 displayed by the blue mat method. The game result in this case is calculated by the game space calculation unit 10
It is calculated by 0 and displayed in real time during the game or as the game results of all crew members after the game ends.

As shown in FIG. 14B, in the giant future tank 734 in which the player gets in, the posture control unit 624 using hydraulic pressure or the like controls the posture and acceleration G according to the terrain information and the operation signal of the player. It is controlled so that it is more realistic.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

For example, the three-dimensional game device according to the present invention can be applied to devices having various hardware configurations. That is, the invention can be applied to, for example, a video game device for business use, a game device for attraction as described above, or a driving simulation for a driving school. Also,
For example, it can be applied to a home video game device having a configuration as shown in FIG.

This household video game device comprises a game cartridge 401, a game machine body 400, and a head mounted body 609, and the game cartridge 401 and the game machine body 400 are connected by a connector 498.
The game cartridge 401 includes the auxiliary arithmetic processing unit 41.
0, a first storage unit 480, and a second storage unit 490. The first storage unit 480 is formed of, for example, a non-volatile memory, and includes the terrain information storage unit 106, the object information storage unit 104, and the three-dimensional image information storage unit 204. Further, the auxiliary processing calculation unit 410 includes an image supply unit 212, an image forming unit 240, an object information changing unit 108, and a control unit 214. Further, the second storage unit 490 is composed of a rewritable memory.

This home video game device operates almost in the same manner as the embodiment shown in FIG. That is, the object information and the terrain information stored in the first storage unit 480,
Using the operation signal from the operation unit 408, the central processing unit 1
02 and the auxiliary calculation processing unit 410 set the game space, that is, set the object information. Next, using this object information and the three-dimensional image information stored in the first storage unit 480, the auxiliary processing calculation unit 410,
A pseudo three-dimensional image is calculated by the central processing unit 102, and the result is stored in the second storage unit 490. afterwards,
The stored image information is output as an image to the image display device of the head mounted body 609 via the image processing unit 404 and, if necessary, the video RAM 406.

[0103]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the movement of the player is detected by using the angular velocity detecting section, a configuration other than the angular velocity detecting section, for example, a source for generating an external magnetic field is unnecessary. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of the game device and suppress an increase in cost. Further, the angle is calculated based on the angular velocity obtained by the angular velocity detection unit, the movement of the player can be detected in real time, and the response to the movement can be improved. In particular, as compared with the case where a current is selectively applied to each of the coils in three directions to generate a magnetic field as in the conventional Poimus sensor, the detection response of the movement of the player can be significantly improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an appearance of the present three-dimensional game device.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the shape of a head mounted body.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a game field of the three-dimensional game device.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a pseudo three-dimensional image that is image-synthesized by the present three-dimensional game device.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an appearance when the present three-dimensional game device is played by two players.

FIG. 7 is a schematic explanatory diagram for explaining object information stored in an object information storage unit.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a data format handled by the three-dimensional game device.

FIG. 9 is a schematic explanatory diagram illustrating a method of calculating image information inside a polygon.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a structure in the case of a multi-player type game structure.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of an embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic explanatory diagram for explaining a three-dimensional game device capable of synthesizing a real space video and a virtual view image.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a display image combining device.

FIG. 14 is a schematic explanatory diagram for explaining a case where the present three-dimensional game device is applied to an attraction type game.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a case where the present invention is applied to a home video game device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 image display device 100 game space calculation unit 102 central processing unit 200 image combination unit 202 image calculation unit 204 three-dimensional image information storage unit 212 image supply unit 214 processing unit 216 coordinate conversion unit 218 clipping processing unit 220 perspective conversion unit 222 sorting processing Section 240 image forming section 608, 609 head mounted body 612 angular velocity sensor 610 video camera 682 angle calculation section

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A head mounted body mounted on a player's head, a display unit provided on the player's line of sight in the head mounted body, and fixed to a part of the head mounted body. An angular velocity detection unit, an angle calculation unit that receives the detection result of the angular velocity detection unit, and that calculates the angle at which the player has moved based on the angular velocity detected by the angular velocity detection unit when the player moves. A display control unit, in which the calculation result by the angle calculation unit is input, creates a video in which the field of view is changed by the angle that the player has moved, and sends it to the display unit, and the player changes its direction. A game apparatus using a head mounted body, wherein an image on a game screen displayed on the display unit inside the head mounted body is changed depending on a direction of a player. 2. A head-mounted body mounted on the head of the player, a display unit provided on the line of sight of the player in the head-mounted body, and fixed to a part of the head-mounted body. An angular velocity detection unit, an detection result of the angular velocity detection unit is input, and an angle calculation unit that calculates an angle at which the player has moved based on the angular velocity detected by the angular velocity detection unit when the player moves. A game calculation unit that performs a predetermined game calculation based on the calculation result of the angle calculation unit and the calculation result of the angle calculation unit are input, and a video image created based on the calculation result of the game calculation unit is input to the player. A display control unit that changes the field of view by an angle corresponding to the movement of the display unit and sends the display unit to the display unit. A game device using a head-mounted body, which is characterized by changing an image on a game screen displayed on a section. 3. A game space is set by the game space calculation means, and a pseudo three-dimensional image is synthesized by the image synthesis means,
As a result, a game space in which the player can move in the virtual three-dimensional space by operating the operation unit while watching the pseudo three-dimensional image displayed on the head-mounted body mounted on the head is formed. In the game device using the head mounted body, the head mounted body is provided on the player's line of sight and displays the pseudo three-dimensional image, and the head mounted body is attached and fixed to a part of the head mounted body. An object information storage unit for storing at least the position and direction information of the three-dimensional object of the moving body as object information, and the virtual space in the virtual three-dimensional space. A terrain information storage unit that stores terrain information of the terrain on which the moving body moves; and object information of the moving body that is read from the object information storage unit. Object information changing unit for changing the object information of the moving object using the topographical information read from the topographical information storage unit, wherein the image combining unit receives the detection result of the angular velocity detection unit. , An angle calculation unit that calculates an angle at which the player has moved based on the angular velocity detected by the angular velocity detection unit when the player moves, and a three-dimensional object that forms the game space and appears in the game space. Based on the three-dimensional image information storage unit that stores three-dimensional image information, the object information from the object information storage unit, and the three-dimensional image information from the three-dimensional image information storage unit, the virtual three-dimensional space is created. The position of the arranged moving body is determined, and a play is performed from the determined position of the moving body based on the calculation result by the angle calculation unit. A visual field image of the game space that is visible in the visual field direction of the player, and an image calculation unit that synthesizes and outputs a pseudo three-dimensional image toward the display unit in the head mounted body. A game device using a head-mounted body, which displays a three-dimensional image by combining the images. 4. The head mounted body according to claim 3, further comprising an image pickup means for picking up a real space image viewed from the player, wherein the image synthesizing means includes a view image of the player in the virtual three-dimensional space, It further includes a display image synthesizing unit for synthesizing the real space video imaged by the image pickup means, whereby the view field image in the virtual three-dimensional space and the real space video image are synthesized on the display unit in the head mounted body. A game device using a head mounted body, which outputs a pseudo three-dimensional image. 5. The game device according to claim 1, wherein the angular velocity detector is a piezoelectric vibration gyro.