Information processing method, program, and storage medium

Abstract

To provide an information processing method, a program, and a storage medium that enable easy addition of an effect to one scene of a game.SOLUTION: In an information processing device 100, an original image setting unit 401 displays an original image on an effect setting screen, an effect setting unit 404 draws a first effect on a first layer, an image editing unit 402 superimposes the first layer on the original image and displays it on the screen, and an effect editing unit 405 applies parameter adjustment to the first effect drawn on the first layer when the parameter adjustment for the first effect exists. Furthermore, when a second effect is added, either one of: further drawing the second effect on the first layer on which the first effect is drawn; and drawing the second effect on a second layer and further superimposing the second layer on the original image on which the first layer is superimposed is executed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing method, a program, and a storage medium. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, various methods have been adopted as a mechanism for adding post-effects to specific objects in cut scenes of games, etc. For example, one such method uses Shader Graph, which is one of the functions of Unity, a game engine (see Non-Patent Document 1).

[0003] The shader graph is a way to visually build shaders, by creating and connecting nodes within a graph framework instead of writing code. The basic usage of the shader graph is to first generate a shader graph in the first panel, then edit the shader graph by generating and connecting new nodes in the second panel, then generate a material in the third panel, specify a shader in the fourth panel, set the material to the renderer in the fifth panel, and adjust parameters in the sixth panel. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Non-Patent Document 1] First time using Shader Graph <https: / / docs.unity3d.com / ja / Packages / com.unity.shadergraph@10.0 / manual / First-Shader-Graph.html> Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] If a post-effect is to be added using the shader graph disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1, the first to sixth panels are required as described above, which is a large number of panels and increases the cost of work.

[0006] In addition, in order to master all the functions, it is necessary to use various panels, and those who are not familiar with game engines, especially artists, will have to bear the learning cost of using these functions. Furthermore, even for those who are familiar with game engines, such as engineers, it becomes difficult to adjust the nodes as the number of nodes increases, and there is a risk that such people will also have to bear the learning cost.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of such problems, and its object is to provide an information processing method, program, and storage medium that make it possible to easily add effects to a scene in a game. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve this object, a first aspect of the present invention is an information processing method for setting a desired effect on an object-by-object basis in a specified image, comprising the steps of: displaying the specified image on a screen on which effects are set; drawing a first effect set by a user on a first layer; superimposing the first layer on which the first effect is drawn on the specified image and displaying it on the screen; and, if a parameter adjustment is made to the first effect, applying the parameter adjustment to the first effect drawn on the first layer, wherein, when a second effect different from the first effect is added, the method performs one of the following: further drawing the second effect on the first layer on which the first effect is drawn, and drawing the second effect on a second layer different from the first layer, and further superimposing the second layer on which the second effect is drawn on the specified image on which the first layer is superimposed.

[0009] A second aspect of the present invention is a program that causes a computer to execute an information processing method for setting a desired effect on an object-by-object basis in a specified image, the information processing method comprising the steps of: displaying the specified image on a screen on which effects are set; drawing a first effect set by a user on a first layer; superimposing the first layer on which the first effect is drawn on the specified image and displaying it on the screen; and, if a parameter adjustment is made to the first effect, applying the parameter adjustment to the first effect drawn on the first layer, and is characterized in that, when a second effect different from the first effect is added, the information processing method performs one of the following: further drawing the second effect on the first layer on which the first effect is drawn, and drawing the second effect on a second layer separate from the first layer, and further superimposing the second layer on which the second effect is drawn on the specified image on which the first layer is superimposed.

[0010] A third aspect of the present invention is a computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to the second aspect. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to easily add post-effects. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 illustrates a rendering concept of applying multiple effects to a given object according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display screen that is displayed when an effect is applied to an object according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4]1 is a block diagram for explaining functions of an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. In the drawings described below, elements having the same functions are designated by the same reference numerals, and repeated description thereof may be omitted.

[0014] One embodiment of the present invention is to apply a desired effect to a specific object in an image of a game (such as an image constituting a cut scene), and to apply at least one effect to each object included in the image to which the effect is to be applied, by drawing the effect on a layer. That is, for example, in an image in which a first object and a second object are arranged, when a first effect, a second effect, and a third effect are applied to the first object and a fourth effect and a fifth effect are applied to the second object, the first effect is applied to the first layer, the second effect is applied to the second layer, and the third effect is applied to the third layer, and the fourth effect is applied to the second object in the fourth layer, the fifth effect is applied to the fifth layer, and the third effect is applied to the third layer.

[0015] In the present invention, an "object" refers to something that is placed in each image in the game, such as a background, a character, a VRX, a weapon, an object that is not classified as a background (such as a motorcycle on which a certain character appears), etc. Note that the background may also include objects that are classified as background (such as trees, buildings, roads, etc.).

[0016] 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing device 100 according to this embodiment. The information processing device 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) 102, a storage 103, a memory 104, an output interface (I / F) 105, a reader interface (I / F) 106, a reader 107, an input interface (I / F) 108, and a communication module 109. A display unit 110 such as a display is connected to the information processing device 100 via the output I / F 105, and an input unit 111 such as a mouse, keyboard, or controller is connected via the input I / F 108.

[0017] The CPU 101 executes various processing operations such as various calculations, controls, and determinations, and functions to execute various processes, for example, by loading a predetermined program from the storage 103 into the memory 104 and executing a series of instructions included in the program. The GPU 102 is a processor for performing image processing, and draws an image in response to a predetermined instruction from the CPU 101 and causes the display unit 110 to display the image.

[0018] The storage 103 stores programs (for example, the programs shown in FIG. 4) and various data to be read and executed by the CPU 101. The memory 104 temporarily holds the data and programs. The memory 104 is a volatile memory that temporarily stores data being processed by the CPU 101 and the GPU 102, input data, and further data (such as images) read by the reader 106 (a mask buffer, a camera buffer, etc., described later, are formed in the memory 104), and is, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory).

[0019] The output I / F 105 displays an image on the display unit 110 according to instructions from the CPU 101 and the GPU 102. The reader 107 is provided in the information processing device 100 and is configured to be able to mount an external storage medium such as a memory card or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) storing various data, programs, etc., and reads predetermined data from the mounted external storage medium. The reader I / F 106 reads data from the external storage medium mounted in the reader 106 according to instructions from the CPU 101. The input I / F 108 accepts an input signal related to an operation input by a user through the input unit 111. The communication module 109 is connected to a communication network and communicates with other computers connected to the communication network. This communication may be wired or wireless.

[0020] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the concept of rendering to apply multiple effects to a given object according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a new expression can be created by combining a plurality of effects by overlapping layers corresponding to each effect. That is, as shown in Fig. 2, effects A, B, C, and D are applied to object A by overlapping layer 201 on which effect A is drawn on object A, which is the object to which the effect is to be applied, layer 202 on which effect B is drawn on object A, layer 203 on which effect C is drawn on object A, and layer 204 on which effect D is drawn on object A.

[0021] Furthermore, in this embodiment, further effects may be added to each layer. For example, as shown in Fig. 2, effects E and F can be added to layer 202 in addition to effect B. That is, effect E is applied to layer 202 having effect B to generate layer 202a to which effects B and E have been applied, and effect F is applied to layer 202a to generate layer 202b to which effects B, E, and F have been applied.

[0022] Each effect may be subjected to effect adjustment. In this specification, "effect adjustment" refers to adjustment of each parameter set for the corresponding effect.

[0023] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display screen that is displayed when an effect is applied to an object according to this embodiment. 3, a display screen 300 for applying a predetermined effect to a predetermined object is provided with a confirmation screen 301 and an editing screen 302. Confirmation screen 301 displays an image (also referred to as an "edited image" in this specification) reflecting additions and parameter adjustments made in editing screen 302 to an image to which the effect is to be applied (an image without the effect reflected, also referred to as an "original image") to which the effect is to be applied. That is, confirmation screen 301 displays the original image before the effect is applied, and when an effect is added or parameters are adjusted in editing screen 302, an edited image reflecting these is displayed.

[0024] The editing screen 302 is provided with an object selection field 303 for selecting an object to which an effect is to be applied, layer UIs (User Inferfaces) 304, 311, 312, etc. for applying effects to layers, and a layer addition button 310 for adding a layer to which an effect is to be applied. When the user presses the layer addition button 310 via the input unit 111, a layer UI for a new layer is displayed. For example, in the object selection field 303, objects included in the original image displayed on the confirmation screen 301 are displayed, and when the user selects a desired object via the input unit 111 and presses the layer addition button 31, a layer UI 304 is displayed, and the user can add at least one effect to the layer corresponding to the layer UI 304 and perform effect adjustment (parameter adjustment). Furthermore, when it is desired to add effects to layers, the user can press the layer addition button 310 via the input unit 111 to display the layer UIs 311, 312, etc., and apply effects to layers.

[0025] Moreover, the layer UI 304 is provided with effect UIs 306, 308, 309, and an effect add button 305. When the user presses the effect add button 305 via the input unit 111, the effect UI 306 for deciding and editing (adjusting parameters) an effect to be applied to the target layer is displayed. For example, when the layer UI 304 is displayed, the user presses the effect add button 305 to display an effect edit field 307. In this embodiment, applicable effects are set in advance, for example, motion blur, shadow, highlight, and the like. The effect edit field 307 allows such applicable effects to be selected, and the user selects a desired effect via the input unit 111. When the effect is selected, the selected effect is drawn on the corresponding layer, and the layer on which the effect is drawn is superimposed on the original image on the confirmation screen 301, an edited image reflecting the selected effect is generated, and the generated edited image is displayed on the confirmation screen 301. Next, a parameter adjustment section for editing the selected effect is displayed in the effect edit field 307. The parameter adjustment section is, for example, a slide bar for changing the size of a parameter, an input field for inputting the numerical value of a parameter, etc. When the user changes a parameter in the parameter adjustment section via the input unit 111, the effect drawn on the corresponding layer changes accordingly, and the edited image with the parameter adjustment is displayed on the confirmation screen 301.

[0026] If the user wishes to add further effects to the same layer, effect UIs 308 and 309 are displayed by pressing an effect addition button 305, and the user can set the effect and adjust the parameters as appropriate in the same manner as described above.

[0027] 4 is a block diagram for explaining functions of the information processing device 100 according to this embodiment. The functions of the units shown in FIG. When an instruction to apply an effect to a predetermined image is received from a user, the information processing device 100 displays the display screen 300 on the display unit 110. When an image to which an effect is to be applied is selected by the user, the original image setting unit 401 displays the selected image on a confirmation screen as an original image.

[0028] Screen editing unit 402 applies effects and parameter adjustments applied by effect setting unit 404 and effect editing unit 405, which will be described later, to the image displayed on confirmation screen 301. That is, screen editing unit 402 superimposes a layer having an effect that has been added or whose parameters have been adjusted by effect setting unit 404 and effect editing unit 405 onto the image (original image or edited image) displayed on confirmation screen 301, thereby displaying an image to which a desired effect has been applied (which becomes an edited image) on confirmation screen 301.

[0029] When an object determination unit 403 receives an object selected by the user from the object selection field 302, it determines the object selected by the user as an object to which an effect is to be applied.

[0030] When the effect setting unit 404 receives an instruction to add a layer by the user pressing the add layer button 310, it displays the layer UI 304 and allows the user to set the effect to be applied. When applying an effect to a new layer (effect UI 306 in FIG. 3), when the user determines the desired effect in the effect editing field 307, the effect setting unit 404 sets one layer and draws the determined effect on the layer (generating a layer on which the determined effect is drawn). In this case, the screen editing unit 402 superimposes the layer on the original image to generate an edited image, and displays the edited image on the confirmation screen 301.

[0031] Also, when an effect is added to the same layer (effect UI 308 or 309 in FIG. 3), when the user determines a desired effect in the effect editing field 307, the effect setting unit 404 draws the effect determined by the user on the already set layer (applies a new effect to a layer to which an effect has already been applied). In this case, the added effect is reflected in the layer constituting the edited image. Therefore, the screen editing unit 402 displays a new edited image reflecting the effect added to the same layer on the confirmation screen 301. Furthermore, when an effect is added to a different layer (layer UI 311 or 312 in FIG. 3), when the user determines a desired effect in the effect editing field 307, the effect setting unit 404 sets a layer other than the layer to which the effect has already been applied, and draws the determined effect on the layer. In this case, the screen editing unit 402 generates a new edited image by superimposing the newly added layer on the image displayed on the confirmation screen 301, and displays the edited image on the confirmation screen 301.

[0032] When the effect editing section 405 receives an input of a predetermined parameter adjustment for an effect set by the user in the effect setting section 404 in the effect editing field 307, it reflects the input parameter adjustment for the effect drawn in the corresponding layer. Since the layer constitutes the edited image displayed on the confirmation screen 301, the edited image in which the parameter adjustment by the user has been applied to the target effect is displayed on the confirmation screen 301.

[0033] With such a configuration, an example of processing is described in which a first effect and a second effect are applied to a specified original image on a first layer, a first parameter adjustment is made to the first effect and a second parameter adjustment is made to the second effect, and a third effect is further applied to the second layer, and a third parameter adjustment is made to the third effect.

[0034] When an original image to which an effect is to be applied is selected by the user via the input unit 111, the original image setting unit 401 displays the original image on the confirmation screen 301. Next, when an object to which an effect is to be applied is selected in the object selection field 303 by the user via the input unit 111, the object determination unit 403 determines the object selected by the user as the object to which the effect is to be applied.

[0035] Next, when the add layer button 310 is pressed via the input unit 111, the effect setting unit 404 displays the layer UI 304 on the editing screen 302, and allows the user to set an effect. When the user presses the add effect button 305 via the input unit 111, the effect setting unit 404 displays the effect UI 306 in order to set an effect on the corresponding first layer, and allows the user to select an effect to be applied in the effect editing field 307. Here, when the user selects the first effect, the effect setting unit 404 draws the first effect on the first layer, and the screen editing unit 402 displays the edited image on the confirmation screen 301 by superimposing the first layer on which the effect set by the effect setting unit 404 is drawn on the original image.

[0036] Next, when a first parameter adjustment is made to the first effect in effect editing field 307 via input unit 111, effect editing unit 404 reflects the first parameter adjustment to the first effect drawn on the first layer. As a result, the edited image displayed on confirmation screen 301 displays the first effect with the first parameter adjustment made.

[0037] In this embodiment, in addition to the first effect, a second effect is also applied to the first layer. Therefore, when the user presses the effect addition button 305 via the input unit 111, the effect setting unit 404 displays the effect UI 308 in order to set a further effect on the first layer, and allows the user to select an effect to be applied in an effect editing field in the effect UI 308. When the user selects the second effect, the effect setting unit 404 further draws the second effect on the first layer on which the first effect has been drawn. As a result, the second effect is also applied to the edited image displayed on the confirmation screen 301.

[0038] Next, when a second parameter adjustment is made to the second effect in the effect editing field of the effect UI 308 via the input unit 111, the effect editing unit 404 reflects the second parameter adjustment to the second effect drawn on the first layer. As a result, the edited image displayed on the confirmation screen 301 displays the first effect with the first parameter adjustment and the second effect with the second parameter adjustment.

[0039] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the third effect is applied to a second layer, which is a layer different from the first layer. Therefore, after an edited image to which the first and second effects are applied is generated, when the layer addition button 310 is pressed via the input unit 111, the effect setting unit 404 displays the layer UI 311 on the edit screen 302 in the same manner as described above, and allows the user to set the third effect, and the effect editing unit 404 allows the user to perform the third parameter adjustment. As a result, an edited image in which the first effect with the first parameter adjustment and the first layer with the second effect with the second parameter adjustment and the second layer with the third effect with the third parameter adjustment are superimposed on the original image is displayed on the confirmation screen 301.

[0040] As described above, according to this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 2, effects to be applied to each layer are drawn, parameters are adjusted for the effects drawn on the layers, and an image is displayed in which the layers to which effects have been added and parameters have been adjusted are superimposed, so that an editing screen 302 that represents this process as a UI can be constructed. Therefore, even when multiple effects are applied, there is no need to display a panel for adding each effect or adjusting parameters, and operation costs can be reduced.

[0041] Furthermore, even if the number of effects to be applied increases, the user can select the effect to be applied via the GUI, and the selected effect is applied to the specified layer, so there is no increase in the number of nodes due to the addition of effects, and effects can be added easily, reducing the learning cost to master the software.

[0042] In addition, effects can be applied to different layers, so effects that affect each other can be deployed on different layers. Therefore, for example, if you want to apply motion blur (one effect) and animated shadow (another effect), you can apply motion blur and animated shadow on different layers, so you can prevent the distortion effect of motion blur from affecting the animated shadow.

[0043] (Other embodiments) The above-mentioned embodiment also includes a processing method in which a program (for example, a program that performs the processing shown in FIG. 4) that operates the configuration of the above-mentioned embodiment to realize the functions of the above-mentioned embodiment is stored in a storage medium, the program stored in the storage medium is read as code, and the program is executed by a computer. That is, a computer-readable storage medium is also included in the scope of the embodiment. In addition, the above-mentioned embodiment includes not only the storage medium in which the above-mentioned computer program is stored, but also the computer program itself. Examples of such a storage medium include a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a non-volatile memory card, a ROM, and the like. In addition, the above-mentioned embodiment also includes not only a program stored in the above-mentioned storage medium that executes processing by itself, but also a program that operates on an OS in cooperation with other software and functions of an extension board to execute the operations of the above-mentioned embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 100 Information processing device 101 CPU 103 Storage 104 Memory 301 Confirmation Screen 302 Editing screen 303 Object Selection Column 304, 311, 312 Layer UI 305 Add effect button 306, 308, 309 Effect UI 307 Effect Editing Column 310 Add Layer Button 401 Original image setting section 402 Screen Editorial Department 403 Object Determination Unit 404 Effect Settings 405 Effects Editorial Department

Claims

1. 1. An information processing method for setting a desired effect on an object-by-object basis in a predetermined image, comprising: displaying the predetermined image on a screen on which effects are set; A step of drawing a first effect set by a user on a first layer; a step of superimposing a first layer on which the first effect is drawn on the predetermined image and displaying the first layer on the screen; and if a parameter adjustment is made to the first effect, applying the parameter adjustment to the first effect drawn on the first layer; When adding a second effect different from the first effect, further drawing the second effect on the first layer on which the first effect was drawn; and Drawing the second effect on a second layer different from the first layer, and further superimposing the second layer on which the second effect is drawn on the predetermined image on which the first layer is superimposed.

2. An information processing method comprising the steps of:

2. A program for causing a computer to execute an information processing method for setting a desired effect on an object-by-object basis in a predetermined image, comprising: The information processing method includes: displaying the predetermined image on a screen on which effects are set; A step of drawing a first effect set by a user on a first layer; a step of superimposing a first layer on which the first effect is drawn on the predetermined image and displaying the first layer on the screen; and if a parameter adjustment is made to the first effect, applying the parameter adjustment to the first effect drawn on the first layer; When adding a second effect different from the first effect, further drawing the second effect on the first layer on which the first effect was drawn; and Drawing the second effect on a second layer different from the first layer, and further superimposing the second layer on which the second effect is drawn on the predetermined image on which the first layer is superimposed. A program characterized by performing any one of the above.

3. A computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 2.

Images