Game machine, program for realizing game machine, and method of displaying objects in game

Abstract

A game machine is provided that displays an attack direction in a 3D virtual game space when a player character is attacked, such that the human player can readily recognize the attack direction. In the game machine that activates the player character and an enemy character that attacks the player character in a 3D virtual game space, the direction of the attack received by the player character from the enemy character is acquired based on player position information indicating the position of the player character and enemy position information indicating the position of the enemy character in the game space. Damage marks which are objects that indicate the attack direction are generated at positions corresponding to the attack direction in a player region set around the player character, and at least a part of the game space, including the player character and the damage marks, is displayed.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]The present invention relates to a game machine that displays the direction of an attack from an enemy character in a readily recognizable manner. The present invention also relates to a computer program for realizing such a game machine, and further to a method of displaying certain objects in a game.[0003]2. Description of the Related Art[0004]Various shooting games have so far been developed in which the player operates a predetermined character (for example, a soldier, a fighter, a tank) to attack an opponent character by utilizing weapons such bullets, missiles, and laser beams. Hereinafter, the character operated by the player will be referred to as “player character”, and the opponent character as “enemy character”.[0005]In the shooting game, generally, scores are added when the player activates the player character to attack the enemy character and successfully defeats (for example, when the bullet or missile di...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0021]Preferably, the program may further cause the computer to operate as a calculation unit that calculates attack direction height information including height information of the attack direction, based on both height information in the player position information and height information in the enemy position information, wherein the damage mark generation unit generates the damage mark based on the attack direction height information calculated by the calculation unit.

Problems solved by technology

However, the display screen only displays a part of the virtual game space, and hence the player is unable to notice the presence of an enemy character located at a position not included in the display screen.

Such display of many markers and the like makes the screen uncomfortable to watch, and besides the player feels perplexed with which of the enemy characters to focus on, since all of the enemy characters do not always attack at a time.

Accordingly, it is not always best to notify the player of the position of all the enemy characters, on the display screen.

Accordingly, the player has to translate the attack direction indicated by the damage mark DM into one of the directions with respect to the player character in the virtual game space, and it is difficult to recognize the attack direction.

Thus in the conventional games the attack direction in horizontal directions is displayed in directions on the vertical plane, in other words the image showing the game progress (image from the viewpoint of the player character) and the image indicating the attack direction from the enemy character EC (damage mark DM) are not displayed in a screen of a common direction, and therefore it is difficult for the player to recognize the attack direction from the enemy character EC based on the damage mark DM.

Such display impedes the player from recognizing the upward and downward attack direction in the 3D virtual game space, thereby disabling the player to dodge the succeeding attack of the enemy character and to make a counter attack.

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