Game program, game system, game processing method and game device

Abstract

To provide a game program, a game system, a game processing method and a game device capable of providing more diversified deformation methods in a game in which a mesh is deformed on the basis of a voxel update.SOLUTION: A first voxel update scope is generated within a virtual space on the basis of a position where a first event occurs; each voxel corresponding to the first voxel update scope out of voxel data is made to perform first update to decrease the density; a collision determination between a first mesh updated on the basis of the first update and a first determination shape that is set from a position at least based on the first voxel update scope toward a first direction is made; and, if a material in the first mesh at the collision position is a first material, each voxel corresponding to a second voxel update scope generated at a position based on the collision position is made to perform second update to decrease the density.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 27

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a game program, a game system, a game processing method, and a game device for generating an object in a virtual space using voxel data.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, objects have been managed using voxel data, and an object mesh has been generated in a virtual space based on the voxel data (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0003]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In a game that performs mesh deformation based on voxel updates, more diverse deformation methods are desired.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a game program, a game system, a game processing method, and a game device that can provide more diverse deformation methods in a game that performs mesh deformation based on voxel updates.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention can adopt the following configurations (1) to (10), for example.

[0007] (1) One configuration example of the information processing program of the present invention causes a computer of an information processing apparatus to update, based on game processing, voxel data defined in a virtual space, where for each of a plurality of voxels, at least density indicating the degree to which the space defined by the voxel is virtually occupied by the content and material indicating the type of the content are set, determine a first mesh corresponding to the voxel data based on at least the density included in the voxel data for the vertex coordinates of the first mesh, determine the material of the first mesh based on at least the material included in the voxel data, generate or update it, when a first event based on game processing occurs, generate a first voxel update range in the virtual space based on the position where the first event occurred, for each of the voxels in the voxel data corresponding to the first voxel update range in the virtual space, perform a first update to decrease the density, perform a collision determination between the first mesh updated based on the first update and a first determination shape set in a first direction from a position based on at least the first voxel update range, and when the material of the first mesh at the collision position is a first material, generate a second voxel update range at a position based on the collision position, and for each of the voxels in the voxel data corresponding to the second voxel update range in the virtual space, perform a second update to decrease the density.

[0008] According to the configuration of (1) above, in a game that performs mesh deformation based on voxel generation or update, more diverse deformation methods can be provided. For example, when a first event occurs, an effect of continuously deforming the mesh can be performed.

[0009] (2) In the configuration of (1) above, the computer may further be caused to control a player character in a virtual space based on an operation input, cause the player character to perform a predetermined action based on the operation input, perform a collision determination between a second determination shape generated corresponding to the action and the first mesh, and generate a first voxel update range at the collision position with the collision being regarded as a first event.

[0010] According to the configuration of (2) above, a first event can be generated based on the action of the player character.

[0011] (3) In the configuration of (2) above, the action may be an attack action in a predetermined attack direction from the player character. The second determination shape may be generated at a position in the attack direction from the player character. The first direction may be a direction along the attack direction.

[0012] According to the configuration of (3) above, continuous deformation of the mesh can be generated in the depth direction in which the player character has performed an attack.

[0013] (4) In any one of the configurations of (1) to (3) above, the first determination shape may be at least one line segment.

[0014] According to the configuration of (4) above, collision determination with a simple determination shape becomes possible, and thus the processing load for the determination is reduced.

[0015] (5) In any one of the configurations of (1) to (4) above, the second voxel update range may be a range smaller than the first voxel update range.

[0016] According to the configuration of (5) above, the mesh can be deformed so that the size to be deformed gradually becomes smaller.

[0017] (6) In any one of the configurations (1) to (5) above, the first determination shape may be set in the first direction from a position within a range including the voxels updated by the first update based on the first voxel update range.

[0018] According to the configuration of (6) above, the mesh can be continuously deformed in a manner where the deformation ranges are connected.

[0019] (7) In any one of the configurations (1) to (6) above, cause the computer to further perform a collision determination between the first mesh updated based on the second update and a third determination shape set in the second direction from a position based on the second voxel update range. When the material of the first mesh at the collision position is the first material, generate a third voxel update range having a shape in which the second voxel update range is reduced at a position based on the collision position, and for each of the voxels corresponding to the third voxel update range in the virtual space among the voxel data, perform a third update to reduce the density.

[0020] According to the configuration of (7) above, a chain of mesh deformations can be generated.

[0021] (8) In any one of the configurations (1) to (7) above, when the computer further performs an update to reduce the density for the voxels whose material is the first material, and a first type of update including at least the first update and the second update is performed, a predetermined parameter associated with the player character may be increased according to the reduced density.

[0022] According to the configuration of (8) above, by continuously deforming the mesh, a predetermined parameter associated with the player character can be further increased.

[0023] (9) In any one of the configurations (1) to (8) above, the first mesh may be a determination mesh used for collision determination. The computer may further generate or update a second mesh, which is a display mesh corresponding to the voxel data and drawn based on a virtual camera, by determining vertex coordinates of the second mesh based on at least the density included in the voxel data and determining the material of the second mesh based on at least the material included in the voxel data, and may cause the virtual space including the second mesh to be drawn based on the vertex coordinates of the second mesh and the texture corresponding to the material of the second mesh.

[0024] According to the configuration of (9) above, since the determination mesh and the display mesh are determined separately, appropriate meshes can be used according to their respective uses.

[0025] (10) In any one of the configurations (1) to (9) above, the computer may further cause the virtual space including the first mesh to be drawn based on the vertex coordinates of the first mesh and the texture corresponding to the material of the first mesh.

[0026] According to the configuration of (10) above, since drawing and collision determination can be performed using the same mesh, the processing load for setting the mesh can be reduced.

[0027] Also, the present invention may be implemented in the form of a game system, a game processing method, and a game device.

Advantages of the Invention

[0028] According to the present invention, in a game that performs mesh deformation based on the generation or update of voxels, a more diverse deformation method can be provided.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0029]

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Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0030] [1. Configuration of Game System] Hereinafter, a game system according to an example of the present embodiment will be described. An example of the game system 1 in the present embodiment includes a main body device (information processing device; functioning as a game device main body in the present embodiment) 2, a left controller 3, and a right controller 4. The left controller 3 and the right controller 4 are each detachable from the main body device 2. That is, the game system 1 can be used as a device in which the left controller 3 and the right controller 4 are each attached to the main body device 2 and integrated. Further, the game system 1 can also be used with the main body device 2, the left controller 3, and the right controller 4 separated (see FIG. 2). Hereinafter, the hardware configuration of the game system 1 of the present embodiment will be described, and then the control of the game system 1 of the present embodiment will be described.

[0031] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a state in which the left controller 3 and the right controller 4 are attached to the main body device 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the left controller 3 and the right controller 4 are each attached to the main body device 2 and integrated. The main body device 2 is a device that executes various processes (for example, game processes) in the game system 1. The main body device 2 includes a display 12. The left controller 3 and the right controller 4 are devices provided with operation units for the user to input.

[0032] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a state in which the left controller 3 and the right controller 4 are each removed from the main body device 2. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the left controller 3 and the right controller 4 are detachable from the main body device 2. In the following, the left controller 3 and the right controller 4 may be collectively referred to as "controller".

[0033] Figure 3 is a six-sided view showing an example of the main body device 2. As shown in Figure 3, the main body device 2 includes a substantially plate-shaped housing 11. In the present embodiment, the main surface of the housing 11 (in other words, the front surface, that is, the surface on which the display 12 is provided) is generally rectangular in shape.

[0034] Note that the shape and size of the housing 11 are arbitrary. As an example, the housing 11 may be of a portable size. Also, the main body device 2 alone or the integrated device with the left controller 3 and the right controller 4 attached to the main body device 2 may be a portable device. Further, the main body device 2 or the integrated device may be a hand-held device. Also, the main body device 2 or the integrated device may be a transportable device.

[0035] As shown in Figure 3, the main body device 2 includes a display 12 provided on the main surface of the housing 11. The display 12 displays the image generated by the main body device 2. In the present embodiment, the display 12 is a liquid crystal display (LCD). However, the display 12 may be any type of display device.

[0036] Also, the main body device 2 includes a touch panel 13 on the screen of the display 12. In the present embodiment, the touch panel 13 is of a type capable of multi-touch input (for example, the capacitive method). However, the touch panel 13 may be of any type, for example, it may be of a type capable of single-touch input (for example, the resistive film method).

[0037] The main body device 2 includes a speaker (that is, the speaker 88 shown in Figure 6) inside the housing 11. As shown in Figure 3, speaker holes 11a and 11b are formed in the main surface of the housing 11. And the output sound of the speaker 88 is output from these speaker holes 11a and 11b respectively.

[0038] The main body device 2 also includes a left terminal 17 which is a terminal for the main body device 2 to perform wired communication with the left controller 3, and a right terminal 21 for the main body device 2 to perform wired communication with the right controller 4.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 3, the main body device 2 includes a slot 23. The slot 23 is provided on the upper surface of the housing 11. The slot 23 has a shape capable of mounting a storage medium of a predetermined type. The storage medium of the predetermined type is, for example, a storage medium dedicated to the game system 1 and information processing devices of the same type (for example, a dedicated memory card). The storage medium of the predetermined type is used, for example, to store data used in the main body device 2 (for example, save data of an application, etc.) and / or programs executed in the main body device 2 (for example, programs of an application, etc.). Also, the main body device 2 includes a power button 28.

[0040] The main body device 2 includes a lower terminal 27. The lower terminal 27 is a terminal for the main body device 2 to communicate with the cradle. In the present embodiment, the lower terminal 27 is a USB connector (more specifically, a female connector). When the integrated device or the main body device 2 alone is placed on the cradle, the game system 1 can display an image generated and output by the main body device 2 on a stationary monitor. Also, in the present embodiment, the cradle has a function of charging the placed integrated device or the main body device 2 alone. Further, the cradle has a function of a hub device (specifically, a USB hub).

[0041] FIG. 4 is a six-sided view showing an example of the left controller 3. As shown in FIG. 4, the left controller 3 includes a housing 31. In the present embodiment, the housing 31 has a vertically long shape, that is, a shape that is long in the vertical direction (i.e., the y-axis direction shown in FIGS. 1 and 4). The left controller 3 can also be gripped in a vertically long orientation when removed from the main body device 2. The housing 31 has a shape and size that can be gripped with one hand, particularly the left hand, when gripped in a vertically long orientation. Further, the left controller 3 can also be gripped in a horizontally long orientation. When the left controller 3 is gripped in a horizontally long orientation, it may be gripped with both hands.

[0042] The left controller 3 includes an analog stick 32. As shown in FIG. 4, the analog stick 32 is provided on the main surface of the housing 31. The analog stick 32 can be used as a direction input unit capable of inputting a direction. The user can input a direction according to the tilting direction (and an input of a magnitude according to the tilted angle) by tilting the analog stick 32. Note that the left controller 3 may include, as a direction input unit, a cross key or a slide stick capable of slide input instead of the analog stick. Further, in the present embodiment, it is possible to input by pressing the analog stick 32.

[0043] The left controller 3 is provided with various operation buttons. The left controller 3 has four operation buttons 33 to 36 (specifically, a right direction button 33, a down direction button 34, an up direction button 35, and a left direction button 36) on the main surface of the housing 31. Further, the left controller 3 is provided with a recording button 37 and a -(minus) button 47. The left controller 3 has a first L button 38 and a ZL button 39 at the upper left of the side surface of the housing 31. Also, the left controller 3 has a second L button 43 and a second R button 44 on the side surface of the housing 31 on the side that is attached when the left controller 3 is attached to the main body device 2. These operation buttons are used to give instructions according to various programs (for example, an OS program or an application program) executed by the main body device 2.

[0044] Also, the left controller 3 is provided with a terminal 42 for the left controller 3 to perform wired communication with the main body device 2.

[0045] FIG. 5 is a six-sided view showing an example of the right controller 4. As shown in FIG. 5, the right controller 4 includes a housing 51. In the present embodiment, the housing 51 has a vertically long shape, that is, a shape that is long in the vertical direction. The right controller 4 can also be gripped in a vertically long orientation when removed from the main body device 2. The housing 51 has a shape and size that can be gripped with one hand, particularly the right hand, when gripped in a vertically long orientation. Also, the right controller 4 can be gripped in a horizontally long orientation. When the right controller 4 is gripped in a horizontally long orientation, it may be gripped with both hands.

[0046] Similar to the left controller 3, the right controller 4 includes an analog stick 52 as a direction input unit. In this embodiment, the analog stick 52 has the same configuration as the analog stick 32 of the left controller 3. Also, instead of the analog stick, the right controller 4 may be provided with a cross key or a slide stick capable of slide input. Further, similar to the left controller 3, the right controller 4 includes four operation buttons 53 to 56 (specifically, an A button 53, a B button 54, an X button 55, and a Y button 56) on the main surface of the housing 51. Additionally, the right controller 4 includes a + (plus) button 57 and a home button 58. Moreover, the right controller 4 includes a first R button 60 and a ZR button 61 at the upper right of the side surface of the housing 51. Also, similar to the left controller 3, the right controller 4 includes a second L button 65 and a second R button 66.

[0047] Furthermore, the right controller 4 includes a terminal 64 for the right controller 4 to perform wired communication with the main body device 2.

[0048] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the main body device 2. In addition to the configuration shown in FIG. 3, the main body device 2 includes each of the components 81 to 91, 97, and 98 shown in FIG. 6. Some of these components 81 to 91, 97, and 98 may be mounted on an electronic circuit board as electronic components and housed in the housing 11.

[0049] The main body device 2 includes a processor 81. The processor 81 is an information processing unit that executes various information processes to be executed in the main body device 2. For example, it may be composed of only a CPU (Central Processing Unit), or it may be composed of a SoC (System-on-a-chip) including a plurality of functions such as a CPU function and a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) function. The processor 81 executes various information processes by executing an information processing program (for example, a game program) stored in a storage unit (specifically, an internal storage medium such as a flash memory 84, or an external storage medium mounted on the slot 23, etc.).

[0050] As an example of an internal storage medium built in the main body device 2, the main body device 2 includes a flash memory 84 and a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) 85. The flash memory 84 and the DRAM 85 are connected to the processor 81. The flash memory 84 is mainly a memory used to store various data (which may be a program) stored in the main body device 2. The DRAM 85 is a memory used to temporarily store various data used in information processing.

[0051] The main body device 2 includes a slot interface (hereinafter abbreviated as "I / F") 91. The slot I / F 91 is connected to the processor 81. The slot I / F 91 is connected to the slot 23, and reads and writes data to and from a predetermined type of storage medium (for example, a dedicated memory card) mounted on the slot 23 in accordance with an instruction from the processor 81.

[0052] The processor 81 appropriately reads and writes data between the flash memory 84 and the DRAM 85, and the above-mentioned storage media, and executes the above-mentioned information processes.

[0053] The main body device 2 includes a network communication unit 82. The network communication unit 82 is connected to the processor 81. The network communication unit 82 communicates (specifically, wirelessly) with an external device via a network. In the present embodiment, the network communication unit 82 connects to a wireless LAN and communicates with an external device by a method compliant with the Wi-Fi (registered trademark) standard as a first communication mode. Further, the network communication unit 82 performs wireless communication with other main body devices 2 of the same type by a predetermined communication method (for example, communication by a proprietary protocol or infrared communication) as a second communication mode. Note that the wireless communication by the second communication mode enables wireless communication with other main body devices 2 arranged within a closed local network area, and realizes a function enabling so-called "local communication" in which data is transmitted and received by direct communication between a plurality of main body devices 2.

[0054] The main body device 2 includes a controller communication unit 83. The controller communication unit 83 is connected to the processor 81. The controller communication unit 83 performs wireless communication with the left controller 3 and / or the right controller 4. The communication method between the main body device 2 and the left controller 3 and the right controller 4 is arbitrary, but in the present embodiment, the controller communication unit 83 communicates with the left controller 3 and the right controller 4 in accordance with the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard.

[0055] The processor 81 is connected to the above-described left terminal 17, right terminal 21, and lower terminal 27. When the processor 81 performs wired communication with the left controller 3, it transmits data to the left controller 3 via the left terminal 17 and receives operation data from the left controller 3 via the left terminal 17. Further, when the processor 81 performs wired communication with the right controller 4, it transmits data to the right controller 4 via the right terminal 21 and receives operation data from the right controller 4 via the right terminal 21. Also, when the processor 81 communicates with the cradle, it transmits data to the cradle via the lower terminal 27. Thus, in the present embodiment, the main body device 2 can perform both wired communication and wireless communication with the left controller 3 and the right controller 4, respectively. Further, when the left controller 3 and the right controller 4 are attached to the main body device 2 as an integrated device or when the main body device 2 alone is attached to the cradle, the main body device 2 can output data (for example, image data or audio data) to a stationary monitor or the like via the cradle.

[0056] Here, the main body device 2 can communicate with a plurality of left controllers 3 simultaneously (in other words, in parallel). Also, the main body device 2 can communicate with a plurality of right controllers 4 simultaneously (in other words, in parallel). Therefore, a plurality of users can simultaneously input to the main body device 2 using sets of the left controller 3 and the right controller 4, respectively. As an example, while a first user inputs to the main body device 2 using a first set of the left controller 3 and the right controller 4, it is possible for a second user to input to the main body device 2 using a second set of the left controller 3 and the right controller 4.

[0057] Also, the display 12 is connected to the processor 81. The processor 81 displays an image generated (for example, by executing the above-described information processing) and / or an image acquired from the outside on the display 12.

[0058] The main body device 2 includes a codec circuit 87 and speakers (specifically, a left speaker and a right speaker) 88. The codec circuit 87 is connected to the speakers 88 and the audio input / output terminal 25, and is also connected to the processor 81. The codec circuit 87 is a circuit that controls the input / output of audio data to / from the speakers 88 and the audio input / output terminal 25.

[0059] The main body device 2 includes a power control unit 97 and a battery 98. The power control unit 97 is connected to the battery 98 and the processor 81. Also, although not shown, the power control unit 97 is connected to each part of the main body device 2 (specifically, each part that receives power supply from the battery 98, the left terminal 17, and the right terminal 21). The power control unit 97 controls the power supply from the battery 98 to each of the above parts based on a command from the processor 81.

[0060] Also, the battery 98 is connected to the lower terminal 27. When an external charging device (for example, a cradle) is connected to the lower terminal 27 and power is supplied to the main body device 2 via the lower terminal 27, the supplied power is charged to the battery 98.

[0061] FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the main body device 2, the left controller 3, and the right controller 4. Note that the details of the internal configuration regarding the main body device 2 are shown in FIG. 6 and thus are omitted in FIG. 7.

[0062] The left controller 3 includes a communication control unit 101 that communicates with the main body device 2. As shown in FIG. 7, the communication control unit 101 is connected to each component including the terminal 42. In the present embodiment, the communication control unit 101 can communicate with the main body device 2 by both wired communication via the terminal 42 and wireless communication without using the terminal 42. The communication control unit 101 controls the communication method that the left controller 3 performs with respect to the main body device 2. That is, when the left controller 3 is attached to the main body device 2, the communication control unit 101 communicates with the main body device 2 via the terminal 42. Further, when the left controller 3 is removed from the main body device 2, the communication control unit 101 performs wireless communication with the main body device 2 (specifically, the controller communication unit 83). The wireless communication between the controller communication unit 83 and the communication control unit 101 is performed in accordance with, for example, the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard.

[0063] Further, the left controller 3 includes a memory 102 such as a flash memory. The communication control unit 101 is composed of, for example, a microcomputer (also referred to as a microprocessor), and executes various processes by executing the firmware stored in the memory 102.

[0064] The left controller 3 includes each button 103 (specifically, buttons 33 to 39, 43, 44, and 47). Further, the left controller 3 includes an analog stick (described as "stick" in FIG. 7) 32. Each button 103 and the analog stick 32 output information regarding the operation performed on themselves to the communication control unit 101 repeatedly at an appropriate timing.

[0065] The communication control unit 101 acquires information regarding input (specifically, information regarding operations or detection results by sensors) from each input unit (specifically, each button 103 and the analog stick 32). The communication control unit 101 transmits operation data including the acquired information (or information obtained by performing predetermined processing on the acquired information) to the main body device 2. Note that the operation data is repeatedly transmitted at a rate of once every predetermined time. Note that the intervals at which the information regarding input is transmitted to the main body device 2 may be the same or different for each input unit.

[0066] When the above operation data is transmitted to the main body device 2, the main body device 2 can obtain the input performed on the left controller 3. That is, the main body device 2 can determine operations on each button 103 and the analog stick 32 based on the operation data.

[0067] The left controller 3 includes a power supply unit 108. In the present embodiment, the power supply unit 108 has a battery and a power control circuit. Although not shown, the power control circuit is connected to the battery and is also connected to each part of the left controller 3 (specifically, each part that receives power supply from the battery).

[0068] As shown in FIG. 7, the right controller 4 includes a communication control unit 111 that communicates with the main body device 2. The right controller 4 also includes a memory 112 connected to the communication control unit 111. The communication control unit 111 is connected to each component including the terminal 64. The communication control unit 111 and the memory 112 have the same functions as the communication control unit 101 and the memory 102 of the left controller 3. Therefore, the communication control unit 111 can communicate with the main body device 2 both by wired communication via the terminal 64 and by wireless communication without using the terminal 64 (specifically, communication according to the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard), and controls the communication method that the right controller 4 performs with the main body device 2.

[0069] The right controller 4 includes the same input units as those of the left controller 3. Specifically, it includes each button 113 and the analog stick 52. These input units have the same functions as those of the left controller 3 and operate in the same manner.

[0070] The right controller 4 includes a power supply unit 118. The power supply unit 118 has the same function as the power supply unit 108 of the left controller 3 and operates in the same manner.

[0071] [2. Overview of Processing in the Game System] Next, with reference to FIGS. 8 to 24, an overview of the processing executed in the game system 1 will be described. In the present embodiment, the game system 1 generates a game image in which terrain objects and characters (for example, player characters operated by the user) are arranged in a game space that is a three-dimensional virtual space, and causes the display device to display the game image. In the present embodiment, the display device on which the game image is displayed may be the above-described display 12 or a stationary monitor.

[0072] [2-1. Voxel] In the present embodiment, for some objects in the game space, the shape is defined by voxel data. Here, a voxel is a rectangular parallelepiped (more specifically, a cubic) region arranged in a grid pattern in the game space, and voxel data is data indicating information regarding each voxel. Hereinafter, an object whose shape is defined by voxel data will be referred to as a "voxel object". In the present embodiment, the game system 1 stores voxel data as data for generating voxel objects in the game space for a plurality of voxels set in the game space.

[0073] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a terrain object that is a voxel object. As shown in FIG. 8, in the present embodiment, a terrain object representing a terrain such as the ground is defined in shape by voxel data (that is, it is a voxel object). Each cube shown in FIG. 8 represents a terrain object. In FIG. 8, the portions that are the sides of the terrain object are shown in thick lines, but this thick line is added for the purpose of making the drawing easier to view, and in reality, it is not necessary for the sides of the terrain object to be shown thickly.

[0074] The terrain object shown in FIG. 8 is generated, for example, according to the rule that "when the parameter included in the voxel data set for a voxel is greater than a predetermined value, a cube is placed at the position of the voxel, and when it is less than or equal to the predetermined value, nothing is placed at the position of the voxel". The terrain object shown in FIG. 8 is shown for the purpose of clearly exemplifying the relationship between voxels and voxel objects. In the present embodiment, in reality, for example, like the terrain object shown in FIG. 13 described later, a voxel object is generated according to a rule that results in a complex shape (based on voxel data). Note that the rule for determining the shape of the voxel object based on voxel data is arbitrary. In other embodiments, the game system 1 may generate a voxel object as shown in FIG. 8 or a voxel object as shown in FIG. 13 based on object data.

[0075] Regarding the voxel object, the shape can be changed by changing the voxel data of each voxel. FIGS. 9 and 10 are diagrams showing an example of the state before and after a part of the terrain object shown in FIG. 8 is deleted. That is, when the hatched portion of the terrain object shown in FIG. 9 is destroyed, the terrain object changes to the shape shown in FIG. 10. At this time, the game system 1 can easily erase the terrain object by rewriting the voxel data described later so as to indicate that there is no terrain object for the voxels in the hatched portion. Note that when the game system 1 adds a terrain object, it can also easily change the shape of the terrain object by changing the voxel data of each voxel, similar to the case of erasing the terrain object.

[0076] In this way, the game system 1 can freely change the shape of the voxel object by rewriting the voxel data. For example, when the shape of a terrain object changes as a result of being destroyed for some reason (e.g., a player character strikes the terrain object) in the game, the game system 1 does not directly change the data indicating the outer shape of the terrain object (i.e., the mesh described later), but can freely change the shape of the terrain object by changing the voxel data used for generating the terrain object.

[0077] In the present embodiment, it is assumed that voxels are defined throughout the game space (that is, the voxel space in which voxels are set corresponds to the entire game space). However, the voxel space does not necessarily have to be set throughout the game space, and it may be set in a partial area of the game space. When the voxel space is set in a partial area of the game space, the shape of the voxel object is defined by voxel data regarding the voxels in the voxel space, and the position of the voxel object in the game space is defined by the position of the voxel space in the game space. Further, a main voxel space set throughout the game space and a sub-voxel space set in a partial area of the game space may be set in the game space. At this time, the game system 1 stores voxel data for each voxel space.

[0078] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of voxel data. The voxel data includes density data, a first material ID, a second material ID, material mixing ratio data, and state data for each voxel defined in the game space. In the voxel data in the present embodiment, these data are set for each voxel.

[0079] The density data indicates the density, which is an index used to define the shape of the voxel object based on the voxel (specifically, the shape defined by a mesh described later). Although details will be described later, the position and shape of the surface of the voxel object (that is, the mesh described later) are determined based on the above density.

[0080] In this embodiment, the density can take an integer value in the range from a lower limit value (e.g., 0) to an upper limit value (e.g., 255). In this embodiment, when the value of the density set for a voxel is high, the ratio of the volume occupied by the region within the voxel object in the voxel tends to be large, and when the value of the density is low, the ratio tends to be small. The game system 1 determines the surface shape of the voxel object based on the density. Thus, the density is an index that affects the ratio of the volume occupied by the region within the voxel object in the voxel. It can also be said that the density is an index indicating the degree to which the space of the voxel is virtually occupied by the content (i.e., the virtual content of the voxel object). For example, when the density is 0, the inside of the voxel is empty, when the density is 255, the entire inside of the voxel is the content of the voxel object, and when the density is a value between 0 and 255, the inside of the voxel can be occupied by the content of the voxel object at a ratio corresponding to the value. Then, based on the above density, the shape of the mesh, that is, the surface shape of the voxel object, can be determined. The mesh can be said to be the surface of the part where the content exists in the voxel, or it can also be said to be the boundary between the part where the content exists and the part where it does not exist in the voxel. Note that the volume occupied by the region within the voxel object generated based on the above density does not have to be exactly the volume corresponding to the ratio indicated by the density. For example, in the method of generating a voxel object as shown in FIG. 8 and the method of generating a voxel object as shown in FIG. 13, even if based on the same density, the volume of the voxel object may be different.

[0081] In other embodiments, the density may indicate either a state in which the volume occupied by the region within the voxel object occupies the entire region within the voxel or a state in which the volume occupied by the region within the voxel object is not included in the region within the voxel. For example, the density data may be data that can only take values of 0 or 1.

[0082] The first material ID and the second material ID are information indicating the material (in other words, the substance) of the voxel. Here, in the present embodiment, materials such as sand, rock, soil, or gold are set for the voxel. Note that in the game system 1, a plurality of types of materials are prepared as materials that can be set for the voxel (refer to the material data shown in FIG. 12). In the present embodiment, up to two materials out of the plurality of types of prepared materials can be set for one voxel. The first material ID is an ID indicating the first material set for the voxel, and the second material ID is an ID indicating the second material set for the voxel. Although details will be described later, the material of the voxel object (that is, the material set for the polygon of the voxel object) is determined based on the material set for the voxel.

[0083] As described above, in the present embodiment, the voxel data includes the ID indicating the material. However, in other embodiments, the voxel data may be a data structure including data directly indicating the content of the material (that is, the name, properties, and drawing setting information described later).

[0084] The material mixing ratio data is an example of data indicating the ratio of each material in the voxel. In the present embodiment, since the number of material IDs set for one voxel is up to two, the material mixing ratio data indicating the ratio of one of the materials indicated by the first material ID and the material indicated by the second material ID can also represent the other ratio. In the present embodiment, the material mixing ratio is a value indicating the ratio of the second material to the whole composed of the first material and the second material by a value of 0 or more and 1 or less. For example, when the material mixing ratio set for a certain voxel is 0.4, it means that in the voxel, the first material and the second material are composed in a ratio of 0.6:0.4. Although details will be described later, the appearance and properties of the voxel object are determined based on the material. The material mixing ratio is used to determine the appearance and properties of the voxel object. In other embodiments, the material mixing ratio may be a value indicating the ratio of the first material. Also, the ratio of the materials in the voxel may be represented by respective values indicating the ratio of each material. In particular, in other embodiments, when three or more types of materials can be set instead of up to two types, the ratio of the materials in the voxel is represented as a plurality of values respectively indicating the ratio of each material.

[0085] Note that in the present embodiment, it is not always necessary to set two types of materials for the voxel, and one type of material may be set. For example, when one type of material is set for a certain voxel, the first material ID indicates the material, and the material mixing ratio is set to 0.

[0086] The state data indicates the state set for the voxel. The specific content and number of types of the state data are arbitrary. In the present embodiment, the state data includes data indicating the amount of damage set for the voxel. Note that in other embodiments, the state data may include, for example, data indicating whether the voxel is in a wet state (and the degree thereof).

[0087] As described above, in this embodiment, since the voxel data includes the material ID, the game system 1 stores material data that defines the content of the material indicated by the material ID. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the material data. As shown in FIG. 12, in the material data in this embodiment, for each material, the material ID is associated with the name, properties, and drawing setting information set for the material.

[0088] The name included in the material data is the name set for the material (for example, soil, sand, grass, gold, etc.). During the game, the name of the material of the voxel object may be displayed. In order to perform such display, the material data includes information on the name of the material.

[0089] The properties included in the material data are the properties set for the material. The properties of the material are the properties that the voxel object to which the material is set has in the game. Note that the specific content and number of types of the properties of the material are arbitrary. For example, at least any of the following information may be set as the properties of the material. · Hardness · Weight · Slipperiness · Damage setting when the player character touches · Temperature · Whether another object can adhere to the voxel object · Amount of recovery of the player character's physical strength when the player character destroys or acquires the voxel object · Amount of a predetermined parameter associated with the player character that the player character acquires when the player character destroys or acquires the voxel object (for example, the amount of gold or in-game currency owned) In other embodiments, information different from the above may be set as the information indicating the properties of the material.

[0090] In this embodiment, as information specifying the properties of the material, the material data includes an ID indicating the property (see FIG. 12). Although not shown, the game system 1 stores property information in which the content of the property (for example, the values indicating the above-described weight and slipperiness) is associated with the property ID for each prepared property. By referring to the above property information, the game system 1 can specify the specific content of the property set for the material.

[0091] The rendering settings included in the material data are information indicating settings related to rendering, such as the texture used for rendering the voxel object to which the material is set. In this embodiment, as information on the rendering settings, the material data includes the ID of the texture used for rendering the voxel object to which the material is set (see FIG. 12). Although not shown, the game system 1 stores texture information in which the texture ID and the texture indicated by the texture ID are associated for each prepared texture. By referring to the above texture information, the game system 1 can specify the specific content of the texture set for the material. In other embodiments, as information on the rendering settings, in addition to the texture information, any information related to the shading settings may be set. For example, the reflectivity, information related to the normal, etc. may be set.

[0092] Also, the material data may include other data other than the data shown in FIG. 12. For example, the material data may include data related to sound settings. For example, the data related to sound settings may be data that defines the footsteps output when the player character walks on the voxel object based on the voxel.

[0093] Note that the material data may be data in any format that can identify the properties of the material and / or rendering settings. For example, in other embodiments, the material data may have a data structure that includes data directly indicating the properties of the material and / or rendering settings, instead of a data structure including a material ID and a texture ID.

[0094] [2-2. Update of Voxel Data] During the game, the voxel object is deformed by updating the above-described voxel data. In this embodiment, when a game event (hereinafter referred to as an "update event") for updating the voxel object occurs, the game system 1 updates the voxel data. The specific content of the update event is arbitrary. The update event may be, for example, that a character appearing in the game performs an action to deform the voxel object (for example, the player character punches the voxel object), or an event that deforms the voxel object occurs (for example, an object thrown by the character contacts the voxel object, or a bomb explodes).

[0095] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the game space when an update event occurs. The situation shown in FIG. 13 is a situation where the player character 201 performs a punch action on the terrain object 202, which is a voxel object. Although details will be described later, in the example shown in FIG. 13, the voxel data is updated so that the terrain object 202 around the position where the punch action by the player character 201 hits is erased. As a result, the state where the terrain object 202 is destroyed by the punch action of the player character 201 is expressed.

[0096] In this embodiment, when an update event occurs, the game system 1 sets an update range (update range 203 shown in FIG. 13) for updating the voxel object in the game space. The position, shape, and size of the update range are arbitrary. The position of the update range may be determined based on, for example, the position where the object related to the generated update event (for example, the player character who performed a punch) contacts the voxel object. In the example shown in FIG. 13, the position of the update range 203 may be determined based on the position where the punch by the player character 201 hits, and for example, the hit position or the position a predetermined distance forward from the hit position may be the center position of the update range 203. The shape and size of the update range may be determined in advance to be a shape corresponding to the type of the update event. For example, when an update event due to the punch of the player character 201 occurs, the shape and size of the update range may be determined as a sphere with a predetermined size as shown in FIG. 13. Also, the size of the update range may be determined according to a value indicating the degree of influence of the generated update event (for example, the strength of the punch or the size of the explosion).

[0097] The game system 1 changes the density for the voxels corresponding to the set update range. Note that the voxels corresponding to the update range are, for example, the voxels within the update range or the voxels overlapping with the update range. As a result of the change in density, the mesh of the voxel object is changed by the process described later, so that the shape of the voxel object (the visible shape and the shape used for collision determination) is changed. Note that in other embodiments, in addition to changing the density for the voxels included in the update range, the game system 1 may change the material (that is, the first material, the second material, and the material mixing ratio) in the voxels or change the state in the voxels.

[0098] In this embodiment, the game system 1 determines whether a voxel is included in the update range using an SDF (Signed Distance Field). The game system 1 sets an SDF indicating the update range set in the game space, and makes the above determination based on the value of the SDF. The SDF represents, with a sign, the distance from a defined shape for any position. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the update range. In the example shown in FIG. 14, a spherical update range is set in the game space. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 14, among the positions in the game space, the SDF value becomes negative for the positions inside the shape represented by the SDF, and the SDF value becomes positive for the positions outside the shape represented by the SDF. In this example, it is possible to determine whether it is included in the update range based on whether the SDF value is positive or negative. Also, by using the SDF value, not only simple inside / outside determination but also processing such as correction and interpolation can be performed.

[0099] In the above, an example in which a change that the voxel object within the update range is deformed as if it is deleted is added to the voxel object has been described, but the changes added to the voxel object using the update range are not limited to this. For example, a change in which a voxel object is newly added within the update range (that is, the volume occupied by the region within the voxel object increases by the amount of the update range) may be added to the voxel object. Also, a change may be added to the voxel object such that only the material of the voxels within the update range changes without changing the density of the voxels. Further, a change combining a change in the density of the voxels and a change in the material may be added.

[0100] [2-3. Calculation of vertices] When the density of the voxels is updated as described above, the game system 1 sets vertices based on the updated voxel data. The above vertices can be the vertices of the mesh of the voxel object. Although details will be described later, in the present embodiment, the above vertices are simplified, and the simplified vertices become the vertices of the mesh of the voxel object.

[0101] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a method for setting vertices. In FIGS. 15 to 24 described below, for the purpose of making the drawings easier to view and the explanations easier to understand, voxels, vertices, meshes, etc. are represented two-dimensionally, but actually, vertices and meshes are set in a three-dimensional space based on the voxels in the three-dimensional space. In the present embodiment, the game system 1 uses a method of setting vertices at coordinates based on the positions and densities of a plurality of surrounding voxels for a portion where a voxel having a set density indicating its existence (i.e., a density equal to or greater than a reference value described later) and a voxel having a set density indicating its non-existence (i.e., a density less than the reference value described later) are adjacent. Details of this method will be described below.

[0102] As described above, in this embodiment, the density set for each voxel is set within the range of 0 to 255. A voxel with a density of 0 is completely in the air, and a voxel with a density of 255 represents a state where it is completely filled. Densities between 0 and 255 are treated interpolatively and used for vertex determination. And in this embodiment, voxels with a density equal to or greater than a reference value are virtually treated as being inside the object, and voxels with a density less than the reference value are treated as being outside the object. It can also be said that voxels with a density equal to or greater than the reference value are virtually treated as voxels indicating existence, and voxels with a density less than the reference value are virtually treated as voxels indicating non-existence. It is not necessary to define only voxels with a density of 0 as being outside the object (i.e., set the reference value = 1), and the reference value can be, for example, 128. In the example shown in FIG. 15, let's assume that in voxel 211 and other outer voxels, the density is 0, in voxel 212 the density is 100 which is less than the reference value, and in voxels 213 and 214 the densities are 150 and 210 which are equal to or greater than the reference value. In this embodiment, the game system 1 generates vertices between voxels with a density equal to or greater than the reference value and voxels with a density less than the reference value. Specifically, for each region spanning 8 adjacent voxels (4 in the drawing) (the region surrounded by the dotted line in the drawing), a determination is made as to whether to generate a vertex. That is, vertices are generated in regions spanning both voxels with a density equal to or greater than the reference value and voxels with a density less than the reference value. The coordinates of the vertices are determined by comparing the densities of adjacent voxels for each of the X, Y, and Z axes and performing interpolation based on the density difference. By setting the normal information that defines the position and orientation of the straight line connecting the vertices, the coordinates of the vertices can be further calculated based on the normal information. Note that the normal information may be held in advance for at least some of the voxels, or if it is not held, the normal information may also be calculated based on the densities of adjacent voxels. In FIG. 15, since the density of voxel 212 is less than the reference value, in the determination of the presence or absence of vertices, voxel 212 is treated as being outside the object, but the density value of voxel 212 itself is used for the calculation of the coordinates of the generated vertices.If the reference value is set to a value lower than the density of voxel 212, the result is that more vertices will be added to the upper right side and the upper left side of voxel 212 in FIG. 15.

[0103] By setting the vertices as described above, when generating a mesh that connects each of the set vertices (or each vertex after performing the simplification process described later on each of the set vertices), it is possible to generate a shape having a volume that reflects the density of each voxel to a certain extent. However, depending on the relationship with adjacent voxels, it may be the case that a voxel with a density of 0 includes a region within a part of the object, or a voxel with a density of 255 includes a region outside a part of the object. Also, in this embodiment, since voxels with a value less than the reference value are processed as outside the object, the volume is also smaller by the amount that the number of vertices is less compared to the case of processing them as inside the object. Thus, it is not necessary to calculate the polygon mesh so as to have a volume that exactly corresponds to the density value.

[0104] [2-4. Determination of Vertex Material] The game system 1 determines the material for each of the vertices set as described above. The material of a vertex is determined based on the materials of the voxels around the vertex. The voxels around the vertex are, for example, the voxels used for determining whether or not to generate the vertex (that is, the voxels that overlap with the "region spanning across voxels" described above). Note that in other embodiments, the voxels used for determining the material of a vertex do not have to be the same as the voxels used for determining the generation of the vertex, and they may be different.

[0105] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a method for determining the material of a vertex. In the example shown in FIG. 16, it is assumed that a vertex 219 is set for four voxels 215 to 218, and the four voxels 215 to 218 are the above-mentioned "voxels around the vertex". In the actual three-dimensional space, the number of voxels around the vertex is eight. Also, in the example shown in FIG. 16, for voxel 215, the density is set to 255, the first material is "sand", and the material mixing ratio is 0 (that is, the first material: the second material = 1:0, or the second material may not be set). For voxel 216, the density is set to 0 (the first and second materials may not be set). For voxel 217, the density is set to 204, the first material is "sand", the second material is "grass", and the material mixing ratio is 0.3 (that is, the first material: the second material = 0.7:0.3). For voxel 218, the density is set to 153, the first material is "soil", the second material is "grass", and the material mixing ratio is 0.4 (that is, the first material: the second material = 0.6:0.4). Also, the coordinates indicating the position of vertex 219 are assumed to be (X, Y) = (0.8, 0.6). Note that the coordinate system of these coordinates has the left-right direction in FIG. 16 as the X coordinate, the up-down direction as the Y coordinate, and the center position of the lower-left voxel 217 among the center positions of voxels 215 to 218 (the position of the white circle shown in FIG. 13) as (0, 0).

[0106] When determining the material of a vertex, the game system 1 calculates an evaluation value for each material in the surrounding voxels based on the density of the material and a weight value based on the distance from the voxel to the vertex. First, the weight value is calculated for each voxel and is calculated so that it becomes larger as the distance from the center position of the voxel to the vertex is closer. In the present embodiment, when the center position of the voxel is (x1, y1) and the coordinates of the vertex are (x2, y2), the weight value for a certain voxel is calculated according to the following formula (1). (Weight value) = |(1 - x1) - x2|·|(1 - y1) - y2|…(1) In the example shown in FIG. 16, the weight values of each of the voxels 215 to 218 calculated according to the above formula (1) are as follows. (Weight value of voxel 215)=|(1 - 0) - 0.8|·|(1 - 1) - 0.6| = 0.12 (Weight value of voxel 216)=|(1 - 1) - 0.8|·|(1 - 1) - 0.6| = 0.48 (Weight value of voxel 217)=|(1 - 0) - 0.8|·|(1 - 0) - 0.6| = 0.08 (Weight value of voxel 218)=|(1 - 1) - 0.8|·|(1 - 0) - 0.6| = 0.32

[0107] Further, the game system 1 calculates the density of the material for each voxel. Here, the density of the material is a value obtained by multiplying the ratio of the material occupied by the material among the materials set in the voxel by the density of the voxel. In the present embodiment, as the density of the voxel, a value obtained by normalizing the above-described value from 0 to 255 to a value from 0 to 1 is used. In the example shown in FIG. 16, for voxel 215, since the only material set is sand, the above ratio regarding the sand material is 1, and since the density of the voxel is 1, the density of the sand material is 1. For voxel 216, since the density is 0 and no material is set, the density of the material is not calculated. Or, if any material is set, the density of the material is 0. For voxel 217, the above ratios of the set sand material and grass material are 0.7 and 0.3, respectively, and since the density of the voxel is 204 / 255 = 0.8, the density of the sand material is 0.7·0.8 = 0.56, and the density of the grass material is 0.3·0.8 = 0.24. For voxel 218, the above ratios of the set soil material and grass material are 0.6 and 0.4, respectively, and since the density of the voxel is 153 / 255 = 0.6, the density of the soil material is 0.6·0.6 = 0.36, and the density of the soil material is 0.4·0.6 = 0.24.

[0108] Then, the game system 1 calculates the above evaluation value for each material based on the above weight value and the density of the material. In the present embodiment, the evaluation value of the material is a value obtained by attaching a weight according to the weight value for each voxel to the density of the material calculated for each voxel and summing for each surrounding voxel. In the example shown in FIG. 16, for the evaluation value of the sand material, the density of the material for voxel 215 is 1 and the weight value is 0.12, and the density of the material for voxel 217 is 0.56 and the weight value is 0.08, so 1·0.12 + 0.56·0.08 = 0.1648. Also, for the evaluation value of the grass material, the density of the material for voxel 217 is 0.24 and the weight value is 0.08, and the density of the material for voxel 218 is 0.24 and the weight value is 0.32, so 0.24·0.08 + 0.24·0.32 = 0.096. Also, for the evaluation value of the soil material, the density of the material for voxel 218 is 0.36 and the weight value is 0.32, so 0.36·0.32 = 0.1152.

[0109] The game system 1 determines the vertex materials based on the evaluation values for each material. Specifically, a predetermined number of materials are determined as the vertex materials in descending order of the evaluation values. In the present embodiment, two materials with large evaluation values are determined as the vertex materials. In the example shown in FIG. 16, since the evaluation values of the materials of sand, grass, and soil are 0.1648, 0.096, and 0.1152, respectively, the vertex materials are determined as the sand material and the soil material. Further, the game system 1 calculates the ratio of the two determined materials based on the above evaluation values. In the present embodiment, the ratio of the two materials may be expressed as a second material ratio, which is the ratio of the second material to the whole, similar to the above material mixing ratio. In the example shown in FIG. 16, for example, when the first material is the soil material and the second material is set as the sand material, the above second material ratio is represented by 0.1648 / (0.1648 + 0.1152) ≒ 0.59. Note that in other embodiments, as the value representing the ratio of the two materials, a value indicating the ratio of the first material may be used. Also, respective values indicating the ratio of each material may be used.

[0110] In the present embodiment, the game system 1 generates and stores vertex data indicating the position of the vertex, the material IDs of the first and second materials set for the vertex, and the ratio of the materials. However, the method of managing the materials set for the vertex is arbitrary. In other embodiments, the vertex data may be a data structure including data directly indicating the contents of the first and second materials.

[0111] As described above, in this embodiment, for each vertex, the game system 1 calculates, based on the voxel data of a plurality of surrounding voxels, a priority parameter (for example, an evaluation value) for each material ID included in the voxel data. Then, based on the priority parameter, up to a predetermined number (here, two) of material IDs with high priority are selected and determined as the material ID of the vertex. Note that the specific parameter used as the priority parameter is not limited to the above evaluation value. For example, in other embodiments, an evaluation value calculated using the density of the material instead of the above weight value may be used as the priority parameter.

[0112] In this embodiment, an evaluation value, which is an example of the priority parameter, is calculated based on the density of a plurality of voxels around the vertex such that the priority of the material set in the voxel with high density becomes higher (that is, the evaluation value of the material becomes larger and the material is more likely to be selected). According to this, the material of the vertex can be determined by reflecting the magnitude of the density set in the voxel.

[0113] Also, in this embodiment, an evaluation value, which is an example of the priority parameter, is calculated based on the distance from the reference position (specifically, the center position) of a plurality of voxels around the vertex to the vertex such that the priority of the material set in the voxel closer to the vertex becomes higher. According to this, the material of the vertex can be determined by reflecting the distance between the voxel and the vertex.

[0114] Also, in this embodiment, it can be said that an evaluation value, which is an example of the priority parameter, is calculated based on the material mixing ratio of a plurality of voxels around the vertex such that the priority of the material with a high material mixing ratio becomes higher. According to this, when a plurality of materials are set in one voxel, the material of the vertex can be determined by reflecting the ratio of each material.

[0115] [2-5. Simplification of Vertex] In this embodiment, the game system 1 simplifies each vertex calculated as described above. That is, the game system 1 reduces the number of vertices by grouping several of the vertices calculated as described above and replacing them with one vertex. Although details will be described later, the coordinates (i.e., positions) and materials of the vertices to be replaced are set based on a plurality of vertices before replacement. By such simplification, the number of vertices and the number of polygons constituting the mesh of the voxel object can be reduced, and the amount of memory used for processing and the processing load can be reduced.

[0116] In this embodiment, the game system 1 simplifies by expressing each vertex using an SVO (Sparse Voxel Octree). FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of vertex simplification. In FIG. 17, one square indicated by a solid line shown in (a) shown in FIG. 17 represents one vertex division region. Here, the vertex division region is a square region having the center position of the voxel as a vertex (in the actual three-dimensional space, the vertex division region is a cube or a rectangular parallelepiped), and is a region having the dotted lines in FIGS. 15 and 16 described above as sides. Further, in FIG. 17, the vertex division region in which the character "v" is shown inside indicates the vertex division region in which a vertex is set.

[0117] In this embodiment, the game system 1 determines whether or not it is possible to simplify the vertices within a predetermined number (four in FIG. 17, eight in the actual three-dimensional space) of mutually adjacent vertex division regions. When it is determined that simplification is possible, simplification is performed on the vertices within the predetermined number of vertex division regions.

[0118] As shown in Fig. 17, (a) is the state before simplification. In the example shown in Fig. 17, it is assumed that the vertex division regions within the range surrounded by the dotted line can be simplified. At this time, the game system 1 simplifies such that the vertices within each of the predetermined number of vertex division regions determined to be simplifiable are replaced by one vertex (see (b) shown in Fig. 17). As a result, the vertices within the predetermined number of vertex division regions are simplified to one vertex.

[0119] In this embodiment, the game system 1 performs simplification in multiple stages. The number of stages is arbitrary, but in Fig. 17, up to the second stage is illustrated and described. (b) shown in Fig. 17 shows the state after the first-stage simplification, and (c) shown in Fig. 17 shows the state after the second-stage simplification. In the second-stage simplification, it is determined whether simplification is possible for the vertices generated by the first-stage simplification. In the example shown in Fig. 17, as a result of determining that the vertex division region within the range surrounded by the dotted line in (b) shown in Fig. 17 can be simplified, the vertices of the vertex division region are simplified, resulting in the state shown in (c) shown in Fig. 17. Note that the determination conditions for whether the first-stage simplification is possible and the determination conditions for whether the second-stage simplification is possible may be the same or different.

[0120] Regarding the determination of whether simplification is possible, the specific method is arbitrary. In this embodiment, as the conditions for the above determination, conditions related to the shape of the voxel object and conditions related to the material are used. In this embodiment, when both the conditions related to the shape of the voxel object and the conditions related to the material are satisfied, it is determined that simplification is possible, and when at least one of the conditions related to the shape of the voxel object and the conditions related to the material is not satisfied, it is determined that simplification is impossible.

[0121] The condition regarding the shape means, for example, that the shape formed by each vertex before simplification and the shape formed by each vertex after simplification are not greatly changed. For example, whether or not the shape formed by each vertex is greatly changed before and after simplification can also be determined by calculating an index indicating the error between the mesh before simplification and the mesh after simplification and checking whether the index is less than or equal to a predetermined allowable value. Also, for example, when the shape formed by each vertex before simplification is a hollow shape, while the shape formed by each vertex after simplification is not a hollow shape (that is, information indicating hollowness is lost due to simplification), it is also determined that the condition regarding the shape is not satisfied. Whether or not the above situation occurs can be determined, for example, based on the density of each voxel corresponding to the vertex division region to be determined. Also, for example, when the shape formed by each vertex before simplification is a shape that can only be represented by two or more vertices and cannot be represented by a single vertex, it is also determined that the condition regarding the shape is not satisfied. Note that as the condition regarding the shape of the voxel object, the same conditions as those of the conventional method using SVO may be used.

[0122] Also, as a condition regarding materials, in the present embodiment, a condition regarding the number of types of materials set for each vertex within the above-mentioned predetermined number of vertex division regions to be simplified is used. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of the condition regarding materials. (a) shown in FIG. 18 shows a case where the materials of vertices 221 to 224 are (grass), (grass), (grass and soil), and (grass and soil), respectively, and (b) shown in FIG. 18 shows a case where the materials of vertices 221 to 224 are (grass and sand), (grass), (grass and soil), and (grass and soil), respectively. In the present embodiment, the condition regarding materials is that the total number of types of materials set for each of the above vertices to be simplified is equal to or less than a predetermined number. For example, the condition regarding materials is that it is equal to or less than the number of materials that can be set for one vertex. In the present embodiment, the above-mentioned predetermined number is 2. For example, in the case of (a) shown in FIG. 18, the total number of types of materials set for each of the vertices 221 to 224 to be simplified is two types, namely grass and soil, so the condition regarding materials is satisfied. At this time, on the condition that the above-mentioned condition regarding the shape of the object is satisfied, each of the vertices 221 to 224 is determined to be simplifiable. On the other hand, in the case of (b) shown in FIG. 18, the total number of types of materials set for each of the vertices 221 to 224 to be simplified is three types, namely grass, soil, and sand, so the condition regarding materials is not satisfied. At this time, regardless of whether the above-mentioned condition regarding the shape of the object is satisfied, each of the vertices 221 to 224 is determined to be non-simplifiable.

[0123] In the game system 1, even materials that are strictly classified into different types may be prepared with the same set properties but different appearances. For some of such multiple types of materials, they may be regarded as the same type in the determination of conditions related to the materials for the determination. For example, regarding soil materials, there may be cases where multiple types of soil materials with the same properties but similar appearances (e.g., texture color and pattern) are prepared. In such cases, the game system 1 may regard the multiple types of soil materials as the same type and perform the determination of conditions related to the materials.

[0124] Here, in the present embodiment, regarding vertices, similar to voxels, up to two types of materials can be set. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, when the total number of types of materials set for each vertex to be simplified is three or more, simplification is not performed. That is, when the total number of types of materials exceeds the number of materials that can be set for one vertex, simplification is not performed. Therefore, even if the number of vertices is reduced by simplification, the information on the materials set for the vertices will not be lost due to simplification, and the material information can be maintained.

[0125] In this embodiment, the material of the simplified vertex is determined based on the material of each vertex before simplification. Specifically, the game system 1 sets one or two types of materials set for the vertex before simplification as the first material and the second material for the vertex after simplification. Thereby, the information of the material can be maintained. Note that the ratio of the materials after simplification is determined based on the ratio of the materials of each vertex before simplification. In this embodiment, the ratio of the materials after simplification is calculated in the same manner as the method of calculating the ratio of the materials of each vertex using the above evaluation value. That is, the game system 1 calculates a weight value based on the distance between the vertex after simplification and the vertex before simplification, and based on the weight value and the density of the material at the vertex before simplification (note that the evaluation value of the material described in [2-4. Determination of Vertex Material] above can be used as the density of the material here), calculates an evaluation value for each material. Then, the ratio of the materials is calculated based on the calculated evaluation value of each material.

[0126] [2-6. Mesh Generation] In this embodiment, based on each vertex simplified as described above, a mesh of the voxel object is generated. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a mesh generated based on each vertex. Note that the square shown in FIG. 19 indicates the above-described vertex division region, or the vertex division region in which a plurality of vertex division regions are combined into one by simplification. As shown in FIG. 19, the game system 1 generates a mesh composed of polygons having sides that are straight lines connecting adjacent vertices in the vertex division region. Each polygon constituting the mesh is a triangle or a quadrilateral.

[0127] In this embodiment, the game system 1 generates two types of meshes: a display mesh and a determination mesh. The display mesh is a mesh used for displaying voxel objects. The determination mesh is a mesh used for collision determination of voxel objects. Although details will be described later, by using the above two types of meshes, the game system 1 can perform processing using meshes suitable for displaying and collision determination of voxel objects, respectively.

[0128] In this embodiment, the game system 1 generates the display mesh and the determination mesh based on the data of the above-mentioned SVO (that is, based on each simplified vertex). According to this, by sharing the vertex data used for generating the two types of meshes, the processing efficiency can be improved. Note that in other embodiments, the game system 1 may not perform vertex simplification and may generate the display mesh and / or the determination mesh based on non-simplified vertices.

[0129] In this embodiment, the game system 1 generates the determination mesh to have a simpler shape than the display mesh. Specifically, the game system 1 reduces the number of vertices of the determination mesh to be less than the number of vertices of the display mesh. Here, in this embodiment, the SVO data is data that holds the data of the vertices before simplification and the data of the simplified vertices in an octree structure, and also includes the data used for determining whether simplification is possible. This data includes, for example, the data of vertices calculated as candidates for the vertices after simplification (referred to as temporary vertices), and the data of the above-mentioned index indicating the error between the vertices before simplification and the temporary vertices. For example, the game system 1 may use, for the generation of the determination mesh, those vertices among the temporary vertices for which the above index is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold (this threshold is set to be larger than the above tolerance value). According to this, the number of vertices of the determination mesh can be made less than the number of vertices of the display mesh. By making the number of vertices of the determination mesh less than the number of vertices of the display mesh, the processing load due to collision determination can be reduced. Also, since the number of vertices of the display mesh is not excessively reduced, the appearance of the voxel object can be detailedly represented.

[0130] Note that in other embodiments, the display mesh and the determination mesh may be generated based on the same data or different data. Also, the display mesh and the determination mesh may have the same shape (however, even in this case, the materials set for both may be different). Also, the number of vertices of the determination mesh may be the same as the number of vertices of the display mesh, or may be more than the number of vertices of the display mesh.

[0131] [2-6-1. Determination of the Material of the Display Mesh] Next, an example of a method for determining the material and appearance of the display mesh will be described. In the present embodiment, the game system 1 determines the material for each polygon constituting the display mesh. Although details will be described later, in the present embodiment, the polygon corresponding to the above polygon is drawn using up to two textures corresponding to up to two materials. Therefore, the game system 1 ensures that for each polygon constituting the mesh, ultimately, the number of materials set for one polygon is two or less. In other embodiments, three or more materials may be set. For example, in embodiments where there are three or more materials for voxels and vertices, the same number of materials may be set for the polygon.

[0132] In the present embodiment, a quadrilateral may be formed as the polygon constituting the display mesh (see FIG. 19). When determining the material of the display mesh, the game system 1 first divides the quadrilateral constituting the display mesh into two triangles under certain conditions. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 20, the process of dividing the quadrilateral into two triangles will be described.

[0133] FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example in which a quadrilateral constituting a mesh is divided into two triangles. (a) shown in FIG. 20 shows the quadrilateral before division formed by vertices 231 to 234, which are part of the vertices of the mesh, and (b) shown in FIG. 20 shows the two triangles obtained by dividing the quadrilateral. In the example shown in FIG. 20, assume that the materials of each of the vertices 231 to 234 are grass, soil, sand and grass, and grass, respectively.

[0134] In this embodiment, when there are three or more types of materials set at each vertex of a quadrilateral in total, the game system 1 determines whether the division condition is satisfied. In this embodiment, the division condition is that by dividing the quadrilateral into two triangles, the total number of types of materials set at each vertex of the triangles can be two or less. When the division condition is satisfied, the game system 1 divides the quadrilateral into two triangles such that the total number of types of materials set at each vertex is two or less. In the example shown in FIG. 20, the materials set at each vertex 231 to 234 forming the quadrilateral are three types: grass, soil, and sand. Also, when the above quadrilateral is divided into a triangle formed by vertices 231, 232, 234 and a triangle formed by vertices 231, 233, 234, the materials set at each vertex of the former triangle are two types: sand and grass, and the materials set at each vertex of the latter triangle are two types: grass and soil (see (b) shown in FIG. 20). Therefore, for the above quadrilateral, the division condition is satisfied, so the game system 1 divides the quadrilateral into two triangles.

[0135] Note that since there are two ways to divide a quadrilateral into two triangles, when the division condition is satisfied for the triangles divided by at least one of the two ways, the game system 1 performs the above division by the method that satisfies the division condition. On the other hand, when the division condition is not satisfied for the triangles divided by either of the two ways, the division is performed by either method.

[0136] By performing the division as described above, the game system 1 can generate two triangles in which the materials set at each vertex are two or less so as to minimize the loss of information on the three or more types of materials set at each vertex of the quadrilateral. Here, as described above, each polygon constituting the mesh is drawn using up to two types of textures. Therefore, by performing the above division, the game system 1 can draw the polygon using two types of textures so as to minimize the loss of information on the materials set at each vertex.

[0137] In this embodiment, the game system 1 sets a polygon corresponding to the polygon after the above division. That is, the vertices of the polygon after the above division become the vertices of the polygon of the display mesh.

[0138] In this embodiment, for each polygon constituting the display mesh, when there are three or more types of materials set for each vertex of one polygon in total, the game system 1 determines the material of the polygon by selecting two types of materials. FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of a method for determining the material of a polygon constituting the display mesh. In the example shown in FIG. 21, for vertex 241 of the triangular polygon constituting the display mesh, let the first material be "grass", the second material be "soil", and the material ratio of the first material: the second material be set to 0.8:0.2. Also, for vertex 242 of the above polygon, let the first material be "grass", the second material be "sand", and the material ratio of the first material: the second material be set to 0.5:0.5. Also, for vertex 243 of the above polygon, let the first material be "sand", the second material be "soil", and the material ratio of the first material: the second material be set to 0.7:0.3.

[0139] When there are three or more types of materials set for each vertex of the polygon in total, the game system 1 calculates a determination value for each material. The determination value is calculated as the total value of the ratios for each vertex where the material is set. Then, the game system 1 selects two materials in order from the ones with larger determination values as the materials of the polygon. In the example shown in FIG. 21, the determination value of the grass material is 0.8 + 0.5 = 1.3, the determination value of the sand material is 0.5 + 0.7 = 1.2, and the determination value of the soil material is 0.2 + 0.3 = 0.5. Therefore, as the materials of the polygon shown in FIG. 21, the grass and sand materials are selected (see (a) shown in FIG. 21).

[0140] Note that the specific method for selecting the material of the polygon of the display mesh is arbitrary. In other embodiments, the material of the polygon of the display mesh may be selected by any method based on the information set at the vertices of the polygon. For example, for the material of the polygon of the display mesh, the material with the largest ratio at one vertex is specified for each vertex, and the material with the largest number of times specified for each vertex may be selected as the material of the polygon.

[0141] In this embodiment, the material of the polygon selected as described above is indicated by the materials set at the respective vertices of the polygon. That is, when the material of the polygon is selected, the game system 1 changes the materials set at the respective vertices of the polygon (that is, the material IDs included in the vertex data) to the selected material. In the example shown in FIG. 21, for vertices 241 and 243, before the selection of the material of the polygon, the materials of grass and soil, and sand and soil are set respectively (see (a) shown in FIG. 21). When the materials of grass and sand are selected as the material of the polygon as described above, the materials set at each of vertices 241 and 243 are changed to grass and sand (see (b) shown in FIG. 21). Note that for vertex 242, since the material set before the selection is the same as the selected material of the polygon, the material is not changed. As described above, when two types of materials are selected as the material of the polygon, the information on the materials of the third and subsequent types set at each vertex of the polygon will be deleted.

[0142] In addition, the game system 1 changes the ratio of the materials set for the vertices according to the change of the materials set for the vertices. For example, for vertex 241, the content is changed from the first material being grass and the second material being soil to the first material being grass and the second material being sand. Here, since the ratio of the sand material is 0, the material ratio is the first material : the second material = 1 : 0. In this way, the above change formally changes the material of each vertex in order to represent the material of the polygon by the materials of the respective vertices of the polygon.

[0143] According to the above, since the material set for each vertex of one polygon is only the material corresponding to the texture used for the drawing described later, it is possible to facilitate the execution of the drawing process using the texture.

[0144] Note that due to the above change, it is possible that the materials for a certain vertex are all changed (that is, none of the materials before the change match the materials after the change). Such a case is, for example, a case where the material set for the vertex before the change is soil and the materials selected as the material of the polygon are grass and sand. In such a case, the ratio of the materials at the vertex may be set based on the ratio of the materials at the other vertices of the polygon. For example, in the above example, if the first material set for one of the other vertices of the triangular polygon is grass and the material ratio is grass : sand = 1 : 0, and the material set for another vertex is sand and the material ratio is sand : grass = 1 : 0, the material ratio at the vertex may be set to grass : sand = 0.5 : 0.5. Further, the game system 1 may determine the ratio of the materials at the vertex in consideration of the distance between the vertex and the other vertices (for example, based on a weight value that increases as the distance gets closer).

[0145] As described above, in the present embodiment, for each polygon, the game system 1 selects up to a predetermined number (here, 2) of the material IDs set for the vertices included in the polygon (that is, the material IDs set for the vertices of the polygon corresponding to the polygon), and determines them as the material ID of the polygon. According to this, the game system 1 can perform the drawing process while suppressing the number of textures used while reflecting the material set for the vertices in the appearance of the polygon.

[0146] In the present embodiment, for all the materials of the vertices constituting the polygon, when the number of the materials is less than or equal to the predetermined number, the game system 1 determines the material as the material of the polygon, and when the material exceeds the predetermined number, based on the priority parameter of each vertex (specifically, based on the determination value calculated based on the above-described evaluation value), it selects a predetermined number of materials with high priority and determines them as the material of the polygon. Thus, even when more than a predetermined number of materials are set for each vertex in total, the material of the polygon can be set to a predetermined number or less of materials considering the priority.

[0147] As described above, in the present embodiment, the first and second materials set for each vertex of one polygon are changed to be two types of materials set for the polygon. Here, when such a change is made, there may be a discrepancy in the first and second materials set for the vertices shared by two adjacent polygons.

[0148] FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of materials set at each vertex of two adjacent polygons. FIG. 22 shows a state (the state shown in (b) in FIG. 20) in which two polygons are formed by the respective vertices 231 to 234 shown in FIG. 20. In the example shown in FIG. 22, since the material of the first polygon formed by vertices 231, 233, and 234 is determined to be grass and sand, the first and second materials of these vertices should be set to grass and sand, respectively. On the other hand, since the material of the second polygon formed by vertices 231, 232, and 234 is determined to be grass and soil, the first and second materials of these vertices should be set to grass and soil, respectively. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 22, there is a conflict in the materials to be set for vertices 231 and 234 shared by the two polygons.

[0149] Therefore, in the present embodiment, when there is a conflict in the materials to be set for a vertex shared by two polygons, the game system 1 adds another vertex at the same position with respect to the said vertex. FIG. 22(b) is a diagram showing an example of a state in which vertex 231' is added for vertex 231 and vertex 234' is added for vertex 234. In the example of FIG. 22, for vertices 231 and 234, the game system 1 sets the first and second materials to grass and sand according to the material of the first polygon. Also, for vertices 231' and 234', the game system 1 sets the first and second materials to grass and soil according to the material of the second polygon. In this way, by formally setting two vertices as the vertices shared by two polygons (that is, generating two vertex data with the same position but different materials), it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a conflict in the materials set for the vertices.

[0150] The game system 1 generates a display mesh composed of polygons whose vertices and materials are determined as described above. Further, the game system 1 performs the drawing of the voxel object by performing the drawing of the polygon based on the material information (that is, the first material and the second material) set for each vertex.

[0151] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of applying a texture to a polygon. FIG. 23 shows a triangular polygon formed by the vertices 241 to 243 shown in FIG. 21. Note that the materials set for the vertices 241 to 243 are those shown in (b) shown in FIG. 21.

[0152] Regarding the position of the vertex of the polygon, the texture of the first material and the texture of the second material set for the vertex are blended by mapping at the ratio of the materials set for the vertex (that is, using the ratio as the blend ratio). Note that the textures of the first and second materials used for drawing are the textures indicated by the drawing setting information associated with each material ID associated with the vertex data in the above-described material data (see FIG. 12). In the example shown in FIG. 23, regarding the position of vertex 241, since the material ratio of grass:sand is 1:0, drawing is performed using only the grass texture. Also, regarding the position of vertex 243, since the first material is sand and the material ratio of sand:grass is 1:0, drawing is performed using only the sand texture. Further, regarding the position of vertex 242, since the first material is grass, the second material is sand, and the material ratio of grass:sand is 0.5:0.5, drawing is performed by blending the grass texture and the sand texture at a blend ratio of 0.5:0.5.

[0153] Also, for positions other than the vertices of the polygon, the game system 1 determines the blend rate by interpolating the blend rates at each vertex. Then, the textures of the two materials set at each vertex are drawn by a mapping that blends them based on the interpolated blend rate. Note that the specific method of interpolation is arbitrary. As an example, the blend rate between vertices is linearly interpolated. In FIG. 23, the positions where the ratio of application of the grass material texture is high are shown in white, and the positions where the ratio of application of the sand material texture is high are shown in black. In the example shown in FIG. 23, the grass texture is applied at vertex 241, the blend ratio of the sand texture increases toward vertex 243, the blend rate of grass and sand becomes 1:1 at the position of vertex 242, and only the sand texture is applied at the position of vertex 243. In this way, by blending and drawing the two textures set for the polygon (that is, set for each vertex of the polygon) at a blend rate according to the ratio of the materials, the appearance at the boundary between different materials in the display mesh can be made natural. As a result, the appearance of the display mesh with multiple types of materials set can be made natural.

[0154] [2-6-2. Determination of the Material of the Mesh for Judgment] Next, an example of a method for determining the material of the mesh for judgment will be described. Although details will be described later, in this embodiment, collision detection of the voxel object is performed using the mesh for judgment, and processing may be executed according to the material of the voxel object for which collision has been detected. Therefore, in this embodiment, the material is also determined for the mesh for judgment.

[0155] In this embodiment, for each polygon constituting the determination mesh, the game system 1 ensures that only one type of material is set for each polygon. Specifically, the game system 1 determines the material set for the polygon of the determination mesh based on the material information (i.e., the first and second materials and the information on the ratio of the materials) set at the vertices of the polygon.

[0156] FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a method for determining the material of a polygon constituting a determination mesh. FIG. 24 shows an example of determining the material for a triangular polygon formed by the respective vertices 241 to 243 shown in FIG. 21. Note that the materials set at the respective vertices 241 to 243 are those shown in (a) shown in FIG. 21.

[0157] When determining the material of a polygon, the game system 1 calculates a determination value for each material set at each vertex of the polygon. In this embodiment, the method for calculating the above determination value is the same as the method for calculating the determination value used for selecting the material of the polygon of the display mesh. Note that the specific method for calculating the determination value is arbitrary. In other embodiments, the above determination value may be calculated by any method based on the information set at the vertices of the polygon of the determination mesh.

[0158] In the example shown in FIG. 24, the determination value for each material is the same as the case shown in FIG. 21 described above. The determination value for the grass material is 1.3, the determination value for the sand material is 1.2, and the determination value for the soil material is 0.5. Therefore, the grass material is selected as the material of the polygon shown in FIG. 24.

[0159] As described above, in this embodiment, for each polygon, the game system 1 selects up to a predetermined number (here, 1) of the material IDs set for the vertices included in the polygon (that is, the material IDs set for the vertices of the polygon corresponding to the polygon) and determines them as the material ID of the polygon. According to this, the game system 1 can suppress the number of materials set for the determination mesh to be equal to or less than the predetermined number. As a result, it is possible to prevent the processing according to the type of material, which is performed according to the result of the collision determination using the determination mesh, from becoming complicated. Note that the method of determining the material of the polygon of the determination mesh is arbitrary and is not limited to the above. In other embodiments, the material of the polygon of the determination mesh may be determined by any method based on the information set for the vertices of the polygon.

[0160] Also, in this embodiment, up to two types of materials are set for the polygons of the display mesh, while only one type of material is set for the polygons of the determination mesh. According to this, for the polygons of the display mesh, two types of textures can be used to achieve a natural appearance, and for the determination mesh, it is possible to prevent the processing performed according to the result of the collision determination using the determination mesh from becoming complicated. Note that in other embodiments, the number of types of materials that can be set for the polygons of the display mesh and the determination mesh is arbitrary. The number of materials that can be set for the polygons of the display mesh and the number of materials that can be set for the polygons of the determination mesh may both be plural, may be the same, or may be different.

[0161] In this embodiment, the number of material types set for one voxel is up to two, and the number of material types set for one polygon in the display mesh is up to two. According to this, while suppressing the data amount of voxel data, it is possible to reflect the material information set in the voxel data in the material of the display mesh. Further, in this embodiment, the number of material types set for the vertices set based on the voxel data is also up to two (see FIG. 16). According to this, for the vertices generated during the process of obtaining the display mesh from the voxel data, two types of materials can be set, so that the material information set in the voxel data can be reflected in the display mesh without loss of material information during the process.

[0162] In another embodiment, the game system 1 may set materials differently for vertices used to generate a display mesh and vertices used to generate a determination mesh with respect to vertices set based on voxel data. For example, the game system 1 may set up to two types of materials for vertices used to generate a display mesh as described above, and may set one type of material for vertices used to generate a determination mesh. For the materials of the polygons of the display mesh, two types of materials may be set in the same manner as above, and as the material of the polygon of the determination mesh, one type of material may be set based on the one type of material set for each vertex of the polygon. When setting one type of material for the vertices used to generate the determination mesh, the material for which the above-described determination value calculated for each material is the largest may be set as the material of the vertex. Also by the above, as in this embodiment, the number of types of materials set for one polygon in the display mesh can be up to two, and the number of types of materials set for one polygon in the determination mesh can be one. Therefore, it is possible to reflect the material information set in the voxel data in the display mesh, and it is possible to suppress the complication of the processing performed according to the result of the collision determination using the determination mesh.

[0163] As described above, in the present embodiment, a display mesh and a determination mesh can be set for one voxel object. However, depending on the game situation, it is not necessary to set both the display mesh and the determination mesh for one voxel object at the same time (for example, it is not necessary to set both in the processing in one frame). For example, the determination mesh may be generated in a range where collision determination is performed in the game space, and may not be generated in a range where collision determination is not performed. As an example, the game system 1 may generate a determination mesh for voxel objects within a predetermined range centered on the player character, and may not generate a determination mesh for voxel objects outside the predetermined range, but only generate a display mesh.

[0164] In addition, for the display mesh, the game system 1 may store data related to the generated mesh in the memory, and in a frame after the mesh is generated, use the data without re-executing the process of generating the mesh except for the updated range. According to this, the processing load for generating the display mesh can be reduced. Also, for the determination mesh, the data related to the generated mesh may not be stored in the memory, and the mesh may be sequentially generated as needed (for example, every time a collision determination needs to be performed). According to this, the memory area used for generating the mesh can be saved.

[0165] In the above, when the voxel data is changed from the initial state, the method of generating each mesh (that is, the display mesh and the determination mesh) based on the changed voxel data has been described. Note that the above method can also be used when generating each mesh based on the voxel data in the initial state, for example, at the start of the game. However, each mesh based on the voxel data in the initial state does not necessarily need to be generated based on the voxel data in the initial state at the start of the game, and may be prepared in advance before the game starts.

[0166] In other embodiments, only one of the above-described display mesh and determination mesh may be set (that is, the display mesh and the determination mesh are the same mesh). In this case, the above-described display mesh may be shared by using it as the determination mesh, or the above-described determination mesh may be shared by using it as the display mesh.

[0167] [2-7. Processing Using Mesh] Next, with reference to FIGS. 25 to 33, an example of processing using the mesh generated as described above for the voxel object will be described. In the following, it is assumed that terrain objects such as the ground and walls are voxel objects, and a player character performs an action, and an example will be described in which an in-game effect occurs as a result of collision detection.

[0168] Note that the above "in-game effect" is an arbitrary change that occurs in the game, for example, a change that occurs by "processing that reflects the result of contact between objects". The "in-game effect" may be based on a collision determination between the determination mesh and a determination shape corresponding to the determination target based on the game processing (for example, a determination area set for an object such as a player character). The above effect may occur on the object corresponding to the determination mesh, or the above effect may occur on the object corresponding to the determination target. The content of the "in-game effect" may be associated with the material set for the polygon in which a collision is determined in the collision determination that is the cause of the occurrence of the effect (that is, the content of the effect may be determined by the material).

[0169] FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of a game image representing the state of a player character moving on a terrain object. In the example shown in FIG. 25, the material for the polygons in a partial region 251 of the determination mesh of the terrain object which is the ground is set to "lava". Also, the material for the polygons in a region 252 other than the region 251 of the determination mesh of the terrain object is set to "rock".

[0170] In the example shown in FIG. 25, the game system 1 performs a collision determination between the terrain object and the player character 201 using the determination mesh. That is, a collision determination is made as to whether or not the determination mesh of the terrain object and a determination area set for the player character (for example, an area having a predetermined shape set based on the position of the player character) are in contact. And when a collision between the polygon whose material is lava and the player character 201 is determined, as a process for generating an action in the game, a process of reducing the physical strength of the player character 201 is performed. Also, in the above case, a process of causing the player character 201 to perform a predetermined reaction is performed.

[0171] Note that in the present embodiment, as the property information included in the above-described material data, for the lava material, a property of reducing the physical strength of the contacted player character (for example, the property that the temperature is equal to or higher than a predetermined value) is set. The game system 1 generates an in-game action (in the above example, a reduction in the physical strength of the player character) based on the property information corresponding to the material set for the polygon in the determination mesh for which a collision has been determined by the collision determination.

[0172] Also, when a collision between a polygon whose material is rock and the player character 201 is detected, the process of reducing the physical strength of the player character is not executed. Also, based on the collision, the player character 201 is controlled so that it cannot enter the inside of the polygon. Therefore, the player character can stand on or walk on the above polygon. In this way, in the present embodiment, by setting the material for each polygon, the game system 1 can execute different processes according to which part of the voxel object another object has contacted. Also, the content of the process to be executed can be made according to the type of material. Note that in the present embodiment, since the player character can change the terrain object (for example, deform it or change the material), for example, as will be described later, the lava can be changed to another material, or the lava part of the terrain object can be erased. Therefore, the user can avoid the reduction of the physical strength of the player character due to contact with the lava by changing the terrain object.

[0173] Also, the content of the process executed when a collision between a voxel object and another object is detected is arbitrary. For example, when the other object is a moving object such as a player character or an enemy character, the process may be a process of outputting the footsteps of the object or displaying an effect (for example, an effect representing dust or water splashes) at the contact location. At this time, the game system 1 can make the footsteps different or the effects different according to the type of material set for the polygon of the contacted part of the voxel object.

[0174] FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of a game image representing a state where the player character 201 destroys the terrain object 255. FIG. 27 is a diagram showing an example of a cross-section of the terrain object 255 destroyed by the player character 201. As shown in FIGS. 26 and 27, in the present embodiment, the user can cause the player character 201 to perform a punch action by a predetermined operation input. Further, the game system 1 destroys and erases a part of the terrain object 255 as an in-game effect caused by the punch action. Specifically, the terrain object 255 is deformed as if a part thereof is erased. When the punch action is performed, after the punch action, fragment objects corresponding to the erased terrain object may be arranged around the position where the punch action is performed. Also, there may be a case where no fragment object corresponding to the destruction of the terrain object 255 is generated. In FIGS. 26 and 27, the generated fragment objects are omitted for the purpose of making the drawings easier to view and the explanation easier to understand.

[0175] When the user performs an operation input to cause the player character 201 to perform the above punch action, the game system 1 causes the player character 201 to perform an action of punching in the attack direction in front of the player character 201 and performs a collision determination. Then, when a collision between the player character 201 performing the punch action and the terrain object 255 is determined, a first update range is generated based on the position and orientation of the player character 201. For example, the first update range is generated at a position based on the collision position where the above collision is determined, and is generated, as an example, in a predetermined direction (for example, a direction along the attack direction in front of the player character) with respect to the player character. Note that the position, shape, and size of the first update range due to the punch action are generated based on the position, strength, ability where the player character 201 destroys the terrain object 255, the strength (for example, material) of the terrain object 255, and the like. In the examples of FIGS. 26 and 27, a first update range in the shape of a fishing bell with a hemispherical shape at the innermost part is formed centering on the collision position determined by the player character 201 performing the punch action. Note that the shape of the first update range may be other shapes, such as a spherical shape, an ellipsoidal shape, a cube shape, a cylindrical shape, a wedge shape, a shape generated by three-dimensional software, or a shape in which a part of these shapes is missing. Further, the position of the first update range may be set centering on the position where the punch action by the player character 201 occurs in the game space (for example, the position reached by the fist with which the player character 201 punches), or may be set centering on a predetermined distance in front of the position as viewed from the player character 201.

[0176] The game system 1 reduces the density of voxels corresponding to the first update range. As a result, the terrain object 255 is deformed such that the portion corresponding to the first update range is erased. For example, in the present embodiment, based on the SDF of each voxel in the terrain object 255, the density of each voxel is rewritten to control the erasure of each voxel. Specifically, by at least rewriting the density of voxels with a negative SDF distance to a low value, at least a part of the portion corresponding to the first update range in the terrain object 255 is erased. As a first example, by rewriting the density of voxels with a negative SDF distance to the lower limit value, the terrain object 255 included within the first update range is erased, and by maintaining the density of voxels with a positive SDF distance at the original value, the terrain object 255 outside the first update range is not erased. As a second example, by rewriting the density of voxels with a negative SDF distance to a lower value as the absolute value of the distance is larger, and by rewriting the density of voxels with an absolute value larger than a predetermined value to the lower limit value, a state is achieved where a part of the terrain object 255 included within the first update range is erased, and by maintaining the density of voxels with a positive SDF distance at the original value, the terrain object 255 outside the first update range is not erased. As a third example, by rewriting the density of voxels with a negative SDF distance to the lower limit value, the terrain object 255 included within the first update range is erased, and by rewriting the density of voxels with a positive SDF distance to a lower value as the absolute value of the distance is smaller, a state is achieved where a part of the terrain object 255 outside the first update range is erased.

[0177] Note that instead of unconditionally deforming the voxel object corresponding to the first update range, the game system 1 may increase the amount of damage set for the voxels corresponding to the first update range according to the punch action, and reduce the density of the voxels when the amount of damage exceeds a predetermined value.

[0178] In addition, in the present embodiment, continuous deformation (e.g., chain destruction) can be applied to a portion of a predetermined material. For example, when an event that causes chain destruction is performed by a player character and at least a part of the site of the terrain object 255 deformed by the event is composed of a predetermined material, further deformation of the terrain object 255 occurs. As an example, when the material of the determination mesh constituting the terrain object 255 deformed corresponding to the first update range generated by the attack destruction by the punch action of the player character 201 and the determination shape in a predetermined determination direction from the position based on the first update range is a predetermined material (e.g., gold), further chain destruction of the terrain object 255 occurs at the collision position of the determination mesh.

[0179] For example, when the entire terrain object 255 shown in FIG. 27 is composed of a gold material, if the player character 201 destroys the terrain object 255 corresponding to the first update range generated by an attack by a punch action, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the destruction, a first chain destruction occurs in the terrain object 255 in the direction of the attack from the position based on the first update range. Further, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the first chain destruction, a second chain destruction occurs in the terrain object 255 in the direction of the attack from the position based on the range destroyed by the first chain destruction. Then, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the second chain destruction, a third chain destruction occurs in the terrain object 255 in the direction of the attack from the position based on the range destroyed by the second chain destruction.

[0180] Here, in the above material data, as a property that the voxel object in which the gold material is set has in the game, when the player character destroys or acquires the voxel object, the amount of the gold parameter associated with the player character that the player character acquires is set, and the value obtained during the game is set relatively high. Therefore, when the player character destroys a voxel object in which the gold material is set, it can be acquired according to the number of voxel objects destroyed based on the amount of the gold parameter in the above material data. That is, as described above, for the terrain object 255 in which the gold material is set, not only the destruction corresponding to the first update range but also the first to third chain destructions occurring thereafter cause the number of voxel objects to be destroyed to increase. Therefore, the amount of the gold parameter acquired by the player character 201 due to these destructions will increase.

[0181] Next, with reference to FIGS. 28 to 33, an example of the process for causing chain destruction will be described. Note that FIG. 28 is a diagram showing an example of the process in which collision determination is performed after the destruction of the first update range due to the attack of the player character. FIG. 29 is a diagram showing an example of the process for causing the first chain destruction using the second update range. FIG. 30 is a diagram showing an example of the process in which collision determination is performed after the first chain destruction occurs. FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an example of the process for causing the second chain destruction using the third update range. FIG. 32 is a diagram showing an example of the process in which collision determination is performed after the second chain destruction occurs. FIG. 33 is a diagram showing an example of the process for causing the third chain destruction using the fourth update range.

[0182] In FIG. 28, when a specific object (e.g., a player character) deforms the terrain object 255 by a specific event (e.g., a punch action), the game system 1 treats it as a chain target for performing chain destruction based on the deformation. The specific event treated as the chain target may be any event, but as an example, it is an event in which some deformation (e.g., destruction or deletion) occurs in the terrain object. For example, the specific event may include actions (punch action, kick action, body check action) that deform the terrain object attacked by the player character by punching, kicking, body checking, etc., as well as attacks using weapons. On the other hand, the game system 1 does not treat it as the chain target even when, for example, an object other than the specific object (e.g., an enemy character) performs a punch action to deform the terrain object 255, or when a part of the terrain object 255 is removed by an event other than the specific event (e.g., a pulling out action). When treated as the chain target, the game system 1 stores the specific object that is the chain target, the specific event, and the direction (e.g., the attack direction) in which the voxel object is deformed by the specific event.

[0183] When the above chain target is set, the game system 1 performs a process of determining whether to perform a first chain destruction after a predetermined time (for example, after 10 frames) from setting the chain target, and a process of setting an update range (second update range) when performing the first chain destruction. For example, as shown in FIG. 28, the game system 1 sets an AABB (Axis-Aligned Bounding Box) that encloses the range destroyed based on the first update range generated by the attack by the above specific event. The AABB is formed by a rectangular parallelepiped with each side parallel to the coordinate axes of the voxel space in which the voxel object is defined, and encloses the voxels destroyed by the attack by the above specific event (for example, the voxels whose density is changed to the lower limit value and / or at least the density is decreased based on the first update range generated by the attack by the above specific event) with a minimum size.

[0184] Next, the game system 1 performs a collision determination (for example, a raycast from the center C1 in a predetermined determination direction (a direction along the above attack direction)) between the determination mesh updated based on the attack destruction using the above first update range and a determination shape (for example, at least one line segment) set in a predetermined determination direction from the center C1 of the above AABB. Then, when the material of the determination mesh at the collision position in the above collision determination (for example, the material of the raycast determination mesh) is a gold material, the game system 1 causes a first chain destruction to occur. In other embodiments, the position serving as the reference for the above determination direction may not be the center of the above AABB, and may be a position near the center of the above AABB, the center of gravity of the range destroyed based on the above first update range, the center or center of gravity of the above first update range, etc.

[0185] As shown in FIG. 29, when generating the first chain destruction, the game system 1 sets a second update range at a position based on the collision position used when determining whether to generate the first chain destruction. For example, the second update range is a range smaller than the first update range and is set in a spherical shape centered on the collision position. Then, the game system 1 decreases the density of the voxels corresponding to the second update range. As a result, the terrain object 255 is deformed such that, in addition to the portion corresponding to the already erased first update range, the portion corresponding to the second update range is also erased. For example, in the present embodiment, an SDF based on the second update range is set, and based on the SDF of each voxel in the terrain object 255, the density of each voxel is rewritten to control the erasure of each voxel. Note that the process of rewriting the density of voxels using SDF is the same as the process using the first update range described above, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted here.

[0186] Next, the game system 1 performs a process of determining whether to perform a second chain destruction after a predetermined time (for example, after 10 frames) from the generation of the first chain destruction and a process of setting an update range (third update range) when performing the second chain destruction. For example, as shown in FIG. 30, the game system 1 performs a collision determination (for example, ray casting from the center C2 in a predetermined determination direction (a direction along the attack direction)) between the determination mesh updated based on the first chain destruction using the second update range and a determination shape (for example, at least one line segment) set in a predetermined determination direction from the center C2 of the second update range. Then, when the material of the determination mesh at the collision position in the collision determination (for example, the material of the ray-cast determination mesh) is a gold material, the game system 1 generates a second chain destruction.

[0187] As shown in FIG. 31, when causing the second chain destruction to occur, the game system 1 sets a third update range at a position based on the collision position used when determining whether to cause the second chain destruction. For example, the third update range is a range smaller than the first update range and the second update range, and is set in a spherical shape centered on the collision position. Then, the game system 1 decreases the density of the voxels corresponding to the third update range. As a result, the terrain object 255 is deformed so that, in addition to the portions corresponding to the first update range and the second update range that have already been erased, the portion corresponding to the third update range is also erased. For example, in the present embodiment, an SDF based on the third update range is set, and the density of each voxel is rewritten based on the SDF of each voxel in the terrain object 255, thereby controlling the erasure of each voxel. Note that the process of rewriting the density of voxels using the SDF based on the third update range is the same as the process using the first update range described above, and thus a detailed description thereof is omitted here.

[0188] Next, the game system 1 performs a process of determining whether to perform a third chain destruction after a predetermined time (for example, after 10 frames) from when the second chain destruction is caused, and a process of setting an update range (fourth update range) when performing the third chain destruction. For example, as shown in FIG. 32, the game system 1 performs a collision determination (for example, a raycast from the center C3 of the third update range in a predetermined determination direction (a direction along the attack direction)) between the determination mesh updated based on the second chain destruction using the third update range and a determination shape (for example, at least one line segment) set in a predetermined determination direction from the center C3 of the third update range. Then, when the material of the determination mesh at the collision position in the collision determination (for example, the material of the raycast determination mesh) is a gold material, the game system 1 causes a third chain destruction to occur.

[0189] As shown in FIG. 33, when generating the third chain break, the game system 1 sets a fourth update range at a position based on the collision position used when determining whether to generate the third chain break. For example, the fourth update range is a range smaller than any of the first to third update ranges, and is set in a spherical shape centered on the collision position. Then, the game system 1 decreases the density of the voxels corresponding to the fourth update range. As a result, the terrain object 255 is deformed such that, in addition to the portions corresponding to the already erased first to third update ranges, the portions corresponding to the fourth update range are also erased. For example, in the present embodiment, an SDF based on the fourth update range is set, and the density of each voxel is rewritten based on the SDF of each voxel in the terrain object 255, thereby controlling the erasure of each voxel. Note that the process of rewriting the density of voxels using the SDF based on the fourth update range is the same as the process using the first update range described above, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted here.

[0190] In the present embodiment, the number of times of repeating the process of deforming the above-described voxel object (for example, the process of generating a chain break) is arbitrary. By repeating the above process, the number of voxels with decreasing density can be increased, and the voxels can be continuously deformed for one event. Further, since the above process is performed on the voxels of the gold material as the chain target, the amount of the gold parameter acquired by the player character 201 increases each time the process is repeated. The gold material is set to have a relatively high value obtained during the game, and the larger the acquisition volume of the voxels of the gold material, the more pleasing it is to the user. Therefore, repeating the above process for one event gives the user a pleasant feeling that the possessed gold parameter gradually accumulates, and the performance of the chain break can elevate the user's mood.

[0191] In addition, in this embodiment, restrictions may be imposed on the process of repeatedly deforming the above-described voxel object. As a first example, the number of times of repeating the process of deforming the above-described voxel object may be restricted (for example, restricted to 3 times). As a second example, the size of the update range in which the process of deforming the above-described voxel object is repeated may be restricted. For example, in the second example above, each time the process of deforming the above-described voxel object is repeated, the size of the update range is set to be reduced by a predetermined reduction rate (for example, 80%), and when the size of the set update range becomes equal to or less than a predetermined size (for example, a radius of 0.1 m), the process may be terminated. As a third example, when the material of the mesh for determining the collision position in the collision determination for determining whether or not to cause a chain break is not the material of gold, the process of repeatedly deforming the above-described voxel object may be terminated. Further, in this embodiment, at least two of the first to third examples may be combined to restrict the process of repeatedly deforming the above-described voxel object.

[0192] In addition, in this embodiment, a plurality of determination directions used in the collision determination for determining whether or not to cause a chain break may be prepared. For example, a priority order may be set for the plurality of determination directions, and collision determination may be performed in the order of the priority order. When the material of the mesh for determining the collision position is the material of gold, an update range based on the collision position may be set.

[0193] For example, as the plurality of determination directions, it is conceivable to perform collision determination in ascending order of the following 11 directions until the material of gold is detected in the determination mesh. 1. Attack direction... The direction along the direction in which an attack (destruction) was first performed due to a predetermined event 2. Direction of chain break two times before... The direction in which the reference position (collision position) of the update range used for the chain break two times before was set 3. Direction of chain break immediately before... The direction in which the reference position (collision position) of the update range used for the chain break immediately before was set 4. Diagonal right direction... The diagonal right hand direction when the direction in item 3 above is taken as the front (for example, the direction at a 45° diagonal to the right). 5. Diagonal left direction... The diagonal left hand direction when the direction in item 3 above is taken as the front (for example, the direction at a 45° diagonal to the left). 6. Right direction... The right hand direction when the direction in item 3 above is taken as the front (for example, the direction at 90° to the right). 7. Left direction... The left hand direction when the direction in item 3 above is taken as the front (for example, the direction at 90° to the left). 8. Upward direction... The upward direction in world coordinates (for example, the positive Y-axis direction). 9. Downward direction... The downward direction in world coordinates (for example, the negative Y-axis direction). 10. World right direction... The left-right and front-back direction in world coordinates that is closest to the direction in item 6 above (for example, among the positive X-axis direction, negative X-axis direction, positive Z-axis direction, and negative Z-axis direction, the direction that is closest to the right direction above). 11. World left direction... The left-right and front-back direction in world coordinates that is closest to the direction in item 7 above (for example, among the positive X-axis direction, negative X-axis direction, positive Z-axis direction, and negative Z-axis direction, the direction that is closest to the left direction above).

[0194] By performing collision detection using the above directions in ascending order, the following effects can be expected. · By preferentially using the directions in items 1 - 3 above for collision detection, it is possible to cause chain destruction so as to deviate as little as possible from the direction in which an attack (destruction) was first performed due to a predetermined event or the direction in which chain destruction has already occurred. · By using the direction in item 1 above as the highest priority for collision detection, it is possible to cause chain destruction so as not to deviate from the direction in which an attack was first performed due to a predetermined event. · Next, by preferentially using the direction in item 2 above for collision detection, it is possible to cause the next chain destruction in the direction in which the first chain destruction occurred. · Next, by preferentially using the direction in item 3 above for collision detection, it is possible to cause the next chain destruction in the direction in which the chain destruction occurred immediately before. · Next, by using the directions 4 - 7 for collision determination, it is possible to check the materials in the peripheral directions based on the direction of the immediately preceding chain destruction. Additionally, any direction between the direction 3 and the direction 4 and / or the direction 5, the direction between the direction 4 and the direction 6, or the direction between the direction 5 and the direction 7 may be added as the determination direction. In this case, it may be used for collision determination in the order closest to the direction 3. · Next, by using the directions 8 and 9 for collision determination, it is effective in the case of a game design in which it is desired to guide the player character in the vertical direction in the game space. · Next, by using the directions 10 and 11 for collision determination, it is effective in the case of a game design in which there are many arrangements of voxel objects combined in a grid or rectangular parallelepiped shape in the game space.

[0195] By using a plurality of determination directions for collision determination in this way, the probability of detecting the determination mesh set with the gold material can be increased, leading to an effect where the voxels of the gold material are broken in a chain reaction. Also, even if there are voxels of the gold material arranged at positions different from the direction where the first attack (destruction) was made due to a predetermined event, chain destruction can be generated based on the arranged positions. Furthermore, even when destroying a complex terrain, the voxels of the gold material can be broken in a chain reaction, and by providing a priority order for each determination direction, it is possible to prevent a behavior where the direction of chain destruction becomes the direction of the player character.

[0196] Note that the multiple determination directions used for collision determination are not limited to the 11 determination directions described above, and at least one determination direction may be removed. Also, the priority order of the determination directions described above may be reversed in the order in which the paired left - right or up - down directions are used. For example, at least one of the order in which the above - mentioned direction 4 and direction 5 are used, the order in which the above - mentioned direction 6 and direction 7 are used, the order in which the above - mentioned direction 8 and direction 9 are used, and the order in which the above - mentioned direction 10 and direction 11 are used may be reversed.

[0197] Also, the determination shape used in the above - mentioned collision determination is an arbitrary shape. Further, the determination shape may be a different shape according to the determination direction used, or may be a shape that changes according to the number of times of chain breakage used.

[0198] Also, the position of the update range (for example, the above - mentioned second to fourth update ranges) for setting the range of chain breakage may be a position centered on an arbitrary position based on the collision position. For example, it may be centered on a position offset by a predetermined length before and after, above and below, or to the left and right of the collision position. Also, the size and shape of the update range for setting the range of chain breakage may be arbitrary sizes and shapes. For example, the size of the update range does not necessarily have to be set to be small for each chain breakage as described above. As an example, an update range of the same size as the update range (for example, the above - mentioned first update range) set by the above - mentioned specific event may be set for each chain breakage. Also, the shape of the update range may be a cylindrical shape, a conical shape, an ellipsoidal shape, a polygonal shape, a polygonal pyramid shape, etc., and update ranges of different shapes may be set for each chain breakage.

[0199] In the above description, an example was used in which the first update range is set in the attack direction in front of the player character, and the direction along the attack direction is preferentially set as the determination direction, and chain destruction occurs. However, in this embodiment, the direction in which an attack is performed when the above specific event occurs is arbitrary. For example, when the player character performs a punch action to attack the ground directly below or the ceiling directly above, the attack direction for setting the first update range can be the downward or upward direction in the game space. In such a case, as the determination direction used in the above collision determination, the direction along the downward or upward attack direction in the game space may be preferentially used.

[0200] Also, the material that is the target of the above chain destruction may be another material instead of or in addition to the gold material. For example, the material that is the target of the above chain destruction may be any material as long as the value obtained during the game is relatively high in terms of parameters such as the amount of in-game currency obtained by the player character when the player character destroys or acquires a voxel object as the property of the material. It may be a material such as precious metals like silver, copper, platinum, or precious stones like diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds.

[0201] Also, in this embodiment, the material ID set for one voxel may be three or more (that is, three or more types of materials may be set for one voxel). Also, the above specific event that is the target of the chain destruction may be any event. For example, in addition to or instead of the case where the above specific event occurs due to a punch action performed by the player character, it may occur due to other actions performed by the player character.

[0202] In addition, along with the occurrence of a series of destructions to the terrain object described above, a fragment object corresponding to the part of the gold material erased from the terrain object may be generated. In this case, the fragment object may have an appearance composed of the gold material, may be generated to have a shape corresponding to the erased part of the terrain object, or may have a predetermined shape. Also, the fragment object may be a voxel object or may not be a voxel object. Further, after an effect is performed in which the fragment object once scatters in the game space due to the destruction of the terrain object, an effect indicating that the player character that performed the destruction has acquired it (for example, an effect in which the scattered fragment object is sucked into the player character itself) may be performed and the fragment object may disappear from the game space.

[0203] [3. Specific Examples of Processing in the Game System] Next, with reference to FIGS. 34 to 36, a specific example of information processing in the game system 1 will be described.

[0204] FIG. 34 is a diagram showing an example of various data used for information processing in the game system 1. Each data shown in FIG. 34 is stored in a memory (for example, flash memory 84, DRAM 85, and / or a memory card mounted on slot 23, etc.) accessible by the main body device 2. As shown in FIG. 34, the game system 1 stores a game program. The game program is for executing the game processing in the present embodiment (for example, the game processing shown in FIGS. 35 and 36). Note that the game program includes the above-described material data (see FIG. 12). Also, the above memory stores the above-described voxel data (see FIG. 11), update range data, mesh data, object data, chain data, chain flag data, etc. (see FIG. 34).

[0205] The update range data is data indicating the above-described update range. In the present embodiment, the update range is represented by the above-described SDF.

[0206] The mesh data includes various data related to the mesh of the voxel object. As shown in FIG. 34, in the present embodiment, the mesh data includes SVO data, display mesh data, and determination mesh data. The SVO data is data that holds each vertex calculated from the voxel data in the above-described SVO structure. In the present embodiment, the SVO data includes, in addition to the data indicating the position of each vertex, data indicating the material set for each vertex (for example, data indicating the ID of the material). The display mesh data includes various data related to the display mesh. Specifically, the display mesh data includes data indicating each vertex of the display mesh and data indicating the material set for each vertex (for example, data indicating the ID of the material). The determination mesh data includes various data related to the determination mesh. Specifically, the determination mesh data includes data indicating each vertex of the determination mesh and data indicating the material set for each vertex (for example, data indicating the ID of the material).

[0207] The object data includes various data related to objects other than the voxel object (for example, player characters, virtual objects, etc.). The object data is stored for each object that appears in the game space. The object data includes, for example, data indicating the position, speed, and state of the object.

[0208] The chain data includes data that is stored when an event occurs for a chain target where the above-described chain destruction occurs. For example, the chain data stores data related to the content of the chain target (the object that caused the event, the event content, the direction in which the voxel object is deformed by the event, the positions of the set update ranges respectively (for example, the center C and the collision positions shown in FIGS. 28 to 33), the shape, the size, the determination directions used in the chain destruction, etc.) every time an event occurs for the chain target.

[0209] The chain flag data includes data indicating a chain flag that is set to on during the period from the occurrence of an event to be chained until the end of the chain destruction (that is, the period during which chain destruction can occur).

[0210] FIG. 35 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of game processing executed by the game system 1. FIG. 36 is a subroutine showing an example of the chain processing executed in step S11 in FIG. 35. The execution of the game processing is started, for example, in response to the start of the game according to a user instruction during the execution of the game program. Note that the processing loop consisting of a series of processes from steps S1 to S19 is executed once per frame at a cycle of once per frame.

[0211] In the present embodiment, the processor 81 of the main body device 2 will be described as executing the processes of the respective steps shown in FIGS. 35 and 36 by executing the game program stored in the game system 1. However, in other embodiments, some of the processes of the respective steps may be executed by a processor (for example, a dedicated circuit or the like) different from the processor 81. Further, when the game system 1 can communicate with another information processing device (for example, a server), some of the processes of the respective steps shown in FIGS. 35 and 36 may be executed in the other information processing device. Also, the processes of the respective steps shown in FIGS. 35 and 36 are merely examples, and if the same result can be obtained, the processing order of the respective steps may be changed, or another process may be executed in addition to (or instead of) the processes of the respective steps.

[0212] Further, the processor 81 executes the processes of the respective steps shown in FIGS. 35 and 36 using a memory (for example, DRAM 85). That is, the processor 81 stores the information (in other words, data) obtained by each processing step in the memory, and when using the information in subsequent processing steps, reads out the information from the memory and uses it.

[0213] In FIG. 35, the processor 81 acquires the operation data indicating the operation input by the user (step S1), and proceeds to the next step. For example, the processor 81 acquires the operation data output from each controller via the controller communication unit 83 and / or each terminal 17 and 21, and the operation data output from the main body device 2 (for example, the touch panel 13).

[0214] Next, the processor 81 designates, as a processing target, any object among the objects in the game space that requires processing and for which the processing has not been completed (including the voxel object defined by the unique voxel space), and executes the process of calculating the speed and the process of reflecting the result of contact between the objects in the previous frame for the designated object (step S2), and proceeds to the next step. The speed of the object is used to calculate the position of the object in the current frame in the process of step S17 described later. For example, when the designated object is the player character, the speed of the player character is calculated based on the operation data acquired in step S1. Also, when the designated object is an object not operated by the user, the speed of the object is calculated based on rules predetermined in the game program. Specifically, the speed of the object is calculated based on virtual physical calculations including the interaction between the objects. For example, interactions such as repulsion due to collision between objects, friction due to contact, falling due to virtual gravity, and deceleration due to virtual air resistance are reflected in the speed determination.

[0215] Also, the process of reflecting the result of contact between the objects in the previous frame includes the process of applying the influence of contact to the object when it is determined in the collision determination (step S16 described later) in the previous frame that the objects have come into contact with each other. The above process is, for example, the following process. · When it is determined that the player character has contacted a lava terrain object in the previous frame, a process of reducing the physical strength of the player character · When it is determined that the player character has contacted a terrain object by a punch action or the like in the previous frame, a process of generating a fragment object In the process of step S2 above, when the state regarding the object is changed, the processor 81 updates the object data stored in the memory regarding the object so as to indicate the changed content.

[0216] Next, the processor 81 determines whether an update event for updating the voxel object has occurred due to the object specified in step S2 above (step S3). For example, the determination in step S3 above is made based on the result of a collision determination (step S16 described later) in the previous frame. As an example, when it is determined that the player character has contacted a terrain object by a punch action or the like in the previous frame, it is determined that an update event has occurred in which a part of the terrain object is erased (see FIGS. 26 to 27). Then, when an update event has occurred, the processor 81 proceeds to the process in step S4. On the other hand, when no update event has occurred, the processor 81 proceeds to the process in step S9.

[0217] In step S4, the processor 81 sets an update range for updating the voxel object in the game space and proceeds to the next step. For example, the specific content of the update range (for example, position, shape, and size) is associated with each type of update event in the game program. The update range set in step S4 above is set to be associated with the content related to the type of update event determined to occur in step S3 above. In step S4 above, the processor 81 stores the data indicating the set update range in the memory as update range data.

[0218] Next, for the voxels corresponding to the update range set in step S4 above, the processor 81 makes changes according to the update event (step S5), and proceeds to step S6. For example, when the processor 81 deletes or deforms the voxel object within the update range as if it has been reduced, or deforms it as if a voxel object has been added within the update range, the processor 81 updates the voxel data stored in the memory so as to change the density of the voxels corresponding to the update range (see the above [2-2. Update of voxel data]).

[0219] In step S6, the processor 81 determines whether the update event is a chaining target. For example, when a specific object (e.g., a player character) deforms a terrain object by a specific event (e.g., a punch action), the processor 81 determines that it is an update event that is a chaining target. Then, when it is a chaining target, the processor 81 proceeds to step S7. On the other hand, when it is not a chaining target, the processor 81 proceeds to step S9. In step S6 above, when the update range set in step S4 above is equal to or less than a predetermined size (e.g., a radius of 0.1 m), the processor 81 may make a negative determination.

[0220] In step S7, the processor 81 stores chaining data based on the content of the update event that is the chaining target, and proceeds to the next step. For example, the processor 81 uses data indicating the object that generated the update event, the content of the update event, the direction in which the voxel object was deformed by the update event (e.g., the attack direction), the position, shape, size, etc. of the update range set in step S4 above, to update the chaining data stored in the memory.

[0221] Next, the processor 81 sets the chaining flag to on (step S8), and proceeds to step S9. For example, the processor 81 sets the chaining flag to on and updates the chaining flag data stored in the memory.

[0222] In step S9, the processor 81 determines whether the processing in steps S2 to S8 has been completed for all objects that require processing (including voxel objects defined by the unique voxel space). Then, if the processing for all objects is completed, the processor 81 proceeds to step S10. On the other hand, if the processing for any object is not completed, the processor 81 returns to step S2 and repeats the processing.

[0223] In step S10, the processor 81 determines whether the chain flag indicated by the chain flag data stored in the memory is set to on. Then, if the chain flag is set to on, the processor 81 proceeds to step S11. On the other hand, if the chain flag is set to off, the processor 81 proceeds to step S12.

[0224] In step S11, the processor 81 performs a chain process and proceeds to step S12. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 36, the chain process performed in step S11 will be described.

[0225] In FIG. 36, the processor 81 determines whether the current time is the chain timing (step S21). For example, if a predetermined time (e.g., 10 frames) has elapsed since the occurrence of the update event targeted for chaining or since the previous chain break occurred, the processor 81 makes an affirmative determination in step S21. Then, if the current time is the chain timing, the processor 81 proceeds to step S22. On the other hand, if the current time is not the chain timing, the processor 81 ends the processing by this subroutine.

[0226] In step S22, the processor 81 sets the determination direction and proceeds with the processing to the next step. As an example, when one direction (for example, the direction in which the voxel object is deformed by the update event that is the chain target (for example, the direction along the attack direction)) is set as the selectable determination direction, the processor 81 sets the one direction as the determination direction.Again, as an example, when a plurality of selectable determination directions are prepared, one determination direction is selected and set from the plurality of determination directions based on the priority order described in the above [2-7. Processing using a mesh].

[0227] Next, the processor 81 performs a collision determination in the determination direction set in step S22 above (step S23) and proceeds with the processing to the next step. As an example, when the update range used in the immediately preceding deformation among the deformations of the voxel object accompanying the update event that is the chain target is set by the update event, the processor 81 performs a collision determination (see FIG. 28; for example, ray casting) between the line segment set from the center C of the AABB described in the above [2-7. Processing using a mesh] in the determination direction and the determination mesh.Again, as an example, when the update range used in the immediately preceding deformation among the deformations of the voxel object accompanying the update event that is the chain target is set by chain destruction, the processor 81 performs a collision determination (see FIGS. 30 and 32; for example, ray casting) between the line segment set from the center C of the update range in the determination direction and the determination mesh.

[0228] Next, the processor 81 determines whether or not the material of the determination mesh at the collision position in the collision determination in step S23 above is the material that is the chain target (for example, the material of gold). Then, when it is the material that is the chain target, the processor 81 proceeds with the processing to step S25. On the other hand, when it is not the material that is the chain target, the processor 81 proceeds with the processing to step S29.

[0229] In step S25, the processor 81 sets an update range for updating the voxel object in the game space and proceeds with the processing to the next step. For example, the processor 81 sets a spherical update range centered on the collision position used in the collision determination in step S23 above. Also, the processor 81 sets an update range that is smaller than the update range used in the previous deformation among the deformations of the voxel object associated with the update event that is the target of chaining (for example, a range that is 80% smaller in size). Then, the processor 81 stores data indicating the set update range in the memory as update range data.

[0230] Next, the processor 81 makes a change to erase the voxels corresponding to the update range set in step S25 above (step S26) and proceeds with the processing to the next step. For example, the processor 81 updates the voxel data stored in the memory so that the density of the voxels corresponding to the update range decreases, in the same manner as in step S5 above (see the above [2-2. Update of Voxel Data] and [2-7. Processing Using a Mesh]).

[0231] Next, the processor 81 determines whether or not the number of times the voxel object has been chained and deformed due to the update event that is the target of chaining has reached a predetermined number of times (for example, 3 times) by the process of erasing the voxels in step S26 above (step S27). Then, when the number of times of chained deformation has not reached the predetermined number of times, the processor 81 proceeds with the processing to step S28. On the other hand, when the number of times of chained deformation has reached the predetermined number of times, the processor 81 proceeds with the processing to step S30.

[0232] In step S28, the processor 81 determines whether or not the update range set in step S25 has reached a predetermined size (for example, a radius of 0.1 m) or less. Then, when the update range has reached the predetermined size or less, the processor 81 proceeds to step S30. On the other hand, when the update range has not reached the predetermined size or less, the processor 81 ends the processing by this subroutine.

[0233] On the other hand, in step S29, the processor 81 determines whether or not the processing in steps S22 to S24 using all the prepared determination directions has been completed. Then, when the processing using all the determination directions has been completed, the processor 81 proceeds to step S30. On the other hand, when the processing using any of the determination directions has not been completed, the processor 81 returns to step S22 and repeats the processing.

[0234] In step S30, the processor 81 sets the chain flag to off and ends the processing by this subroutine. For example, the processor 81 sets the chain flag to off and updates the chain flag data stored in the memory. In the processing using this flowchart, when the chain flag is set to off, the chain processing ends. That is, when the number of times of chain breakage has reached the threshold (positive determination in step S27), the range of chain breakage has reached a predetermined size (positive determination in step S28), or no gold material has been detected in the collision determination (for example, ray casting) in all of the plurality of prepared determination directions (positive determination in step S29), the processing for generating a series of chain breakages that repeatedly deform the voxel object along with the update event to be chained ends.

[0235] Returning to FIG. 35, in step S12, the processor 81 updates the vertices of the voxel object in the game space and proceeds to the next step. For example, when the voxel data is updated in the processing of step S5 or step S26, the processor 81 calculates new vertices based on the updated voxel data. The position of the new vertices is calculated according to the method described in [2-3. Calculation of Vertices] above. Also, the material of the new vertices is calculated according to the method described in [2-4. Determination of Vertex Material] above.

[0236] Next, the processor 81 simplifies the vertices (step S13) and proceeds to the next step. For example, for each vertex updated by the processing in step S12, the processor 81 simplifies it according to the method described in [2-5. Simplification of Vertices] above. Then, the processor 81 updates the SVO data stored in the memory to indicate each vertex obtained by the processing in step S12 and step S13. Note that the processing in step S12 and step S13 does not necessarily recalculate the vertices for the entire voxel data, and may be executed only for the part where the content of the voxel is changed in the processing of step S5 or step S26.

[0237] Next, the processor 81 updates the display mesh of the voxel object based on the SVO data stored in the memory (step S14), and proceeds to the next step. Note that the position of each vertex of the display mesh and the material of each polygon of the display mesh (for example, the material set for each vertex of the polygon) are calculated according to the methods described in the above [2-6. Generation of Mesh] and [2-6-1. Determination of Material of Display Mesh]. In step S14 above, the processor 81 updates the display mesh data stored in the memory so as to indicate the position and material of each vertex of the updated display mesh. Note that the processor 81 may start the processing after step S15 described below without waiting for the completion of step S14 and execute them in parallel. In that case, step S14 needs to be completed before the start of step S18 described below.

[0238] Next, the processor 81 updates the determination mesh of the voxel object based on the SVO data stored in the memory (step S15), and proceeds to the next step. Note that the position of each vertex of the determination mesh and the material of each polygon of the determination mesh (for example, the material set for each vertex of the polygon) are calculated according to the methods described in the above [2-6. Generation of Mesh] and [2-6-2. Determination of Material of Determination Mesh]. In step S15 above, the processor 81 updates the determination mesh data stored in the memory so as to indicate the position and material of each vertex of the updated determination mesh.

[0239] In the example shown in FIG. 36, the generation process of the determination mesh in step S15 is executed for each frame. However, the generation process of the determination mesh does not necessarily have to be executed for each frame. For example, when the collision determination processes in step S16 and step S23 described later are executed only in frames that satisfy a predetermined condition, the processor 81 may execute the generation process of the determination mesh in the frame in which the collision determination is performed. Further, the processor 81 may execute the generation process of the determination mesh for the voxels within the area in the game space where the collision determination in step S16 or step S23 is performed. For example, in a situation where there are no objects to be collided with other than voxel objects around the player character in the game space and the chain flag is set to off (that is, a situation where only the collision determination between the player character and the surrounding voxel objects needs to be performed), the processor 81 may execute the generation process of the determination mesh for the voxels within a predetermined range based on the player character. Also, in a situation where the chain flag is set to on, in addition to the above-described predetermined range, the generation process of the determination mesh may be executed for the voxels within a predetermined range based on the update range set by the chain process in step S11.

[0240] Next, the processor 81 performs a collision determination for each object in the game space based on the determination mesh data and the object data stored in the memory (step S16), and proceeds to the next step. For example, the processor 81 performs the collision determination using the determination mesh for voxel objects and using a determination area of a predetermined shape set for the object for objects that are not voxel objects. In the present embodiment, the collision determination in step S16 is performed in consideration of the speed calculated in step S2. That is, the processor 81 performs the collision determination using the position when moving at the above speed as the position of each object.

[0241] In this embodiment, the collision determination in step S16 determines whether or not a player character performing an action such as movement or a punch action contacts a terrain object. Note that when it is determined in the collision determination in step S16 that objects are in contact with each other, in the process of step S2 in the next frame, a process for reflecting the result of the contact between the objects is executed, or in the process of step S3 in the next frame, it is determined that an update event has occurred.

[0242] Next, the processor 81 controls the operations of the respective objects in the game space (step S17) and proceeds to the next step. For example, for the player character, the processor 81 performs control to cause movement and various actions based on the operation data acquired in step S1 above. Then, when a predetermined action occurs, the processor 81 generates a region for collision determination corresponding to the action within the game space. Note that in one execution of the process in step S17, for operations performed over a plurality of frames (for example, an action by the player character), each object is controlled so that the operation for one frame progresses. As a result, by repeatedly executing the process in step S17 over a plurality of frames, each object performs a series of operations related to movement and various actions. Also, the position of the object is basically determined to be the position after moving at the speed calculated in step S2 above. However, when it is determined by the collision determination in step S16 that the object contacts another object and the movement is obstructed by the contacted other object, the position of the object may be determined not to change. Then, in step S17, the processor 81 updates the object data stored in the memory so that the content indicates the object after the control in step S17.

[0243] Next, the processor 81 generates a game image (step S18) and proceeds to the next step. For example, the processor 81 generates a game image by performing rendering based on a virtual camera for each polygon of the mesh for displaying the voxel object and each polygon of the objects other than the voxel object. Note that each polygon of the display mesh is rendered using rendering settings such as a texture corresponding to the material set for the polygon according to the method described in the above [2-6-1. Determination of the material of the display mesh]. The game image generated in step S18 above is output to the display device and displayed at a cycle of once per frame.

[0244] Next, the processor 81 determines whether to end the game (step S19). For example, the processor 81 makes an affirmative determination in step S19 when a predetermined operation input for ending the game is performed by the user or when the conditions for ending the game are satisfied. Then, when the processor 81 ends the game, it ends the processing according to the flowchart. On the other hand, when the processor 81 does not end the game, it returns to step S1 above and repeats the processing. Thereafter, the series of processes of steps S1 to S19 above are repeatedly executed until it is determined in step S19 to end the game.

[0245] As described above, in this embodiment, when an update event that is a chain target occurs, it is possible to perform an effect of continuously deforming the voxel object, and in a game that performs mesh deformation based on voxel updates, more diverse deformation methods can be provided.

[0246] Note that in the above description, an example is used in which a voxel object is defined by generating a three-dimensional mesh based on voxel data set for voxels in a three-dimensional space, but a voxel object may be defined based on voxel data set for two-dimensional voxels.

[0247] Also, the game system 1 can be any device, such as a portable game device, any portable electronic device (such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), mobile phone, smartphone, personal computer, camera, tablet, etc.). In this case, the input device for performing user operations to operate player characters, etc. does not have to be the left controller 3, the right controller 4, or the touch panel 13, etc., and can be another controller, mouse, touch pad, touch panel, trackball, keyboard, cross keys, slide pad, etc.

[0248] Also, in the above description, an example in which the information processing is performed by the game system 1 respectively is used, but at least a part of the above processing steps may be performed by other devices. For example, when the game system 1 is further configured to be communicable with other devices (for example, another server, another information processing device, another game device, another mobile terminal, etc.), the above processing steps may be further executed by the cooperation of the other devices. In this way, by performing at least a part of the above processing steps by other devices, the same processing as the above-described processing becomes possible. Also, the above-described information processing can be executed by the cooperation between one processor or a plurality of processors included in an information processing system constituted by at least one information processing device. Also, in the above embodiment, the processor 81 of the game system 1 can perform information processing by executing a predetermined program, but a part or all of the above processing may be performed by a dedicated circuit provided in the game system 1.

[0249] Here, according to the above-described modified example, the present invention can be realized even in a so-called cloud computing system configuration or a distributed wide-area network and local network system configuration. For example, in the system configuration of a distributed local network, it is also possible to execute the above processing in cooperation between a stationary information processing device (stationary game device) and a portable information processing device (portable game device). Note that in these system configurations, there is no particular limitation on which device performs the above-described processing, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be realized regardless of any processing sharing.

[0250] In addition, the processing order, setting values, conditions used for determination, etc. used in the above-described information processing are merely examples, and it goes without saying that the present embodiment can be realized even with other orders, values, and conditions.

[0251] Further, the above program may be supplied to the game system 1 not only through an external storage medium such as an external memory but also through a wired or wireless communication line. Also, the above program may be pre-recorded in a non-volatile storage device inside the device. Note that as the information storage medium for storing the above program, in addition to a non-volatile memory, a CD-ROM, a DVD, or an optical disk-shaped storage medium similar thereto, a flexible disk, a hard disk, a magneto-optical disk, a magnetic tape, etc. may also be used. Also, as the information storage medium for storing the above program, a volatile memory for storing the above program may be used. Such a storage medium can be referred to as a computer-readable recording medium. For example, by causing a computer or the like to read and execute the program of these recording media, various functions described above can be provided.

[0252] As described above, the present invention has been described in detail. However, the foregoing description is merely illustrative of the present invention in every respect and is not intended to limit its scope. Needless to say, various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Also, those skilled in the art will understand that they can implement an equivalent scope based on the description of the present invention and common technical knowledge from the description of the specific embodiments of the present invention. Further, it should be understood that the terms used in this specification are used in the meaning commonly used in the art unless otherwise specified. Therefore, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in this specification have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. In case of conflict, this specification (including definitions) shall prevail.

Industrial Applicability

[0253] As described above, the present invention can be used as a game program, a game system, a game processing method, a game device, etc., which can provide more diverse deformation methods and the like in a game that performs mesh deformation based on voxel update.

Explanation of Signs

[0254] 1... Information processing system 2... Main body device 3... Left controller 4... Right controller 11... Housing 12... Display 13... Touch panel 32, 52... Analog stick 42, 64... Terminal 81... Processor 82... Network communication unit 83... Controller communication unit 85... DRAM

Claims

1. A computer of an information processing apparatus causes voxel data defined in a virtual space, for each of a plurality of voxels, to be updated based on game processing, the voxel data including at least a density indicating a degree to which the space defined by the voxel is virtually occupied by contents and a material indicating the type of the contents, a first mesh corresponding to the voxel data to be generated or updated by determining vertex coordinates of the first mesh based on at least the density included in the voxel data and determining a material of the first mesh based on at least the material included in the voxel data, when a first event based on the game processing occurs, to generate a first voxel update range in the virtual space based on a position where the first event occurs, and for each of the voxels in the voxel data corresponding to the first voxel update range in the virtual space, to perform a first update to decrease the density, to perform a collision determination between the first mesh updated based on the first update and a first determination shape set in a first direction from a position based on at least the first voxel update range, and when the material of the first mesh at the collision position is a first material, to generate a second voxel update range at a position based on the collision position, and for each of the voxels in the voxel data corresponding to the second voxel update range in the virtual space, to perform a second update to decrease the density, a game program.

2. The computer further causes a player character to be controlled in the virtual space based on an operation input, a predetermined action to be performed on the player character based on the operation input, and a collision determination to be performed between a second determination shape generated corresponding to the action and the first mesh, and when a collision is determined, to generate the first voxel update range at the collision position as the first event, the game program according to Claim 1.

3. The action is an attack action from the player character in a predetermined attack direction, and the second determination shape is generated at a position in the attack direction from the player character. The game program according to claim 2, wherein the first direction is a direction along the attack direction.

4. The game program according to claim 1, wherein the first determination shape is at least one line segment.

5. The game program according to claim 1, wherein the second voxel update range is smaller than the first voxel update range.

6. The game program according to claim 1, wherein the first determination shape is set in the first direction from a position within a range including voxels for which the first update has been performed based on the first voxel update range.

7. Further, the computer performs a collision determination between the first mesh updated based on the second update and a third determination shape set in a second direction from a position based on the second voxel update range, and when the material of the first mesh at the collision position is the first material, generates a third voxel update range having a shape in which the second voxel update range is reduced at a position based on the collision position, and for each of the voxels in the voxel data corresponding to the third voxel update range in the virtual space, performs a third update to reduce the density. The game program according to claim 1.

8. Further, when the computer performs an update to reduce the density for the voxels whose material is the first material, and a first type of update including at least the first update and the second update is performed, the computer increases a predetermined parameter associated with the player character according to the reduced density. The game program according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. The first mesh is a determination mesh used for the collision determination, Further, the computer generates or updates a second mesh corresponding to the voxel data and being a display mesh drawn based on a virtual camera, by determining vertex coordinates of the second mesh based on at least the density included in the voxel data and determining the material of the second mesh based on at least the material included in the voxel data. The game program according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which causes the virtual space including the second mesh to be drawn based on the vertex coordinates of the second mesh and the texture corresponding to the material of the second mesh.

10. The game program according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which further causes the computer to draw the virtual space including the first mesh based on the vertex coordinates of the first mesh and the texture corresponding to the material of the first mesh.

11. Voxel data defined in a virtual space, wherein for each of a plurality of voxels, density indicating the degree to which the space defined by the voxel is virtually occupied by the content, and material indicating the type of the content are at least set, and the voxel data is updated based on game processing. A first mesh corresponding to the voxel data is generated or updated by determining the vertex coordinates of the first mesh based at least on the density included in the voxel data, and determining the material of the first mesh based at least on the material included in the voxel data. When a first event based on the game processing occurs, a first voxel update range is generated in the virtual space based on the position where the first event occurred, and for each of the voxels in the voxel data corresponding to the first voxel update range in the virtual space, a first update for decreasing the density is performed. Collision determination is performed between the first mesh updated based on the first update and a first determination shape set in a first direction from a position based at least on the first voxel update range. When the material of the first mesh at the collision position is a first material, A second voxel update range is generated at a position based on the collision position, and for each of the voxels in the voxel data corresponding to the second voxel update range in the virtual space, a second update for decreasing the density is performed. A game system.

12. The game system further includes controlling a player character in the virtual space based on an operation input. Based on the operation input, cause the player character to perform a predetermined action, perform a collision determination between a second determination shape generated corresponding to the action and the first mesh, and use the fact that a collision has been determined as the first event to generate the first voxel update range at the collision position. The game system according to claim 11.

13. The action is an attack action in a predetermined attack direction from the player character, The second determination shape is generated at the position in the attack direction from the player character, The first direction is a direction along the attack direction. The game system according to claim 12.

14. The first determination shape is at least one line segment. The game system according to claim 11.

15. The second voxel update range is a range smaller than the first voxel update range. The game system according to claim 11.

16. The first determination shape is set in the first direction from a position within a range including the voxels for which the first update has been performed based on the first voxel update range. The game system according to claim 11.

17. The game system further, Perform a collision determination between the first mesh updated based on the second update and a third determination shape set in a second direction from a position based on the second voxel update range. When the material of the first mesh at the collision position is the first material, Generate a third voxel update range in the shape of a reduced second voxel update range at a position based on the collision position, and for each of the voxels corresponding to the third voxel update range in the virtual space among the voxel data, perform a third update to decrease the density. The game system according to claim 11.

18. The game system further, an update that decreases the density for the voxels whose material is the first material, and when a first type of update including at least the first update and the second update is performed, increase a predetermined parameter associated with the player character according to the decreased density. The game system according to any one of claims 11 to 17.

19. The first mesh is a determination mesh used for the collision determination, The game system further, generates or updates a second mesh, which corresponds to the voxel data and is a display mesh drawn based on a virtual camera, by determining vertex coordinates of the second mesh based on at least the density included in the voxel data and determining a material of the second mesh based on at least the material included in the voxel data, The game system according to any one of claims 11 to 17, wherein drawing of the virtual space including the second mesh is performed based on vertex coordinates of the second mesh and a texture corresponding to the material of the second mesh.

20. The game system according to any one of claims 11 to 17, wherein drawing of the virtual space including the first mesh is performed based on vertex coordinates of the first mesh and a texture corresponding to the material of the first mesh.

21. In an information processing system, voxel data defined in a virtual space, in which at least a density indicating a degree to which a space defined by each of a plurality of voxels is virtually occupied by contents and a material indicating a type of the contents are set, is updated based on game processing, a first mesh corresponding to the voxel data is generated or updated by determining vertex coordinates of the first mesh based on at least the density included in the voxel data and determining a material of the first mesh based on at least the material included in the voxel data, when a first event based on the game processing occurs, a first voxel update range is generated in the virtual space based on a position where the first event occurs, and for each of the voxels in the voxel data corresponding to the first voxel update range in the virtual space, a first update for decreasing the density is performed, a collision determination is performed between the first mesh updated based on the first update and a first determination shape set in a first direction from at least a position based on the first voxel update range, and when the material of the first mesh at the collision position is a first material, A game processing method that causes a second voxel update range to be generated at a position based on the collision position, and for each voxel in the voxel data that corresponds to the second voxel update range within the virtual space, causes a second update to reduce the density.

22. The information processing system further controls a player character in the virtual space based on an operation input, causes the player character to perform a predetermined action based on the operation input, performs a collision determination between a second determination shape generated corresponding to the action and the first mesh, and takes the fact that a collision has been determined as the first event, and generates the first voxel update range at the collision position. The game processing method according to claim 21.

23. The action is an attack action from the player character in a predetermined attack direction, the second determination shape is generated at a position in the attack direction from the player character, The game processing method according to claim 22, wherein the first direction is a direction along the attack direction.

24. The game processing method according to claim 21, wherein the first determination shape is at least one line segment.

25. The game processing method according to claim 21, wherein the second voxel update range is a range smaller than the first voxel update range.

26. The game processing method according to claim 21, wherein the first determination shape is set in the first direction from a position within a range including the voxel in which the first update has been performed based on the first voxel update range.

27. The information processing system further performs a collision determination between the first mesh updated based on the second update and a third determination shape set in a second direction from a position based on the second voxel update range, and when the material of the first mesh at the collision position is the first material, generates a third voxel update range having a shape in which the second voxel update range is reduced at a position based on the collision position, and for each voxel in the voxel data that corresponds to the third voxel update range within the virtual space, causes a third update to reduce the density. The game processing method according to claim 21.

28. The game processing method according to any one of claims 21 to 27, wherein, in the information processing system, when a first type of update including at least the first update and the second update is performed, the update is such that the material decreases the density with respect to the voxel of the first material, and a predetermined parameter associated with the player character is increased according to the decreased density.

29. The first mesh is a determination mesh used for the collision determination. In the information processing system, further, a second mesh corresponding to the voxel data and drawn based on a virtual camera is generated or updated by determining vertex coordinates of the second mesh based on at least the density included in the voxel data and determining the material of the second mesh based on at least the material included in the voxel data. The game processing method according to any one of claims 21 to 27, wherein drawing of the virtual space including the second mesh is performed based on vertex coordinates of the second mesh and a texture corresponding to the material of the second mesh.

30. The game processing method according to any one of claims 21 to 27, wherein in the information processing system, drawing of the virtual space including the first mesh is performed based on vertex coordinates of the first mesh and a texture corresponding to the material of the first mesh.

31. A game device including a processor, wherein the processor updates voxel data defined in a virtual space, the voxel data having at least a density indicating the degree to which the space defined by each of a plurality of voxels is virtually occupied by its content and a material indicating the type of the content, based on game processing. The first mesh corresponding to the voxel data is generated or updated by determining vertex coordinates of the first mesh based on at least the density included in the voxel data and determining the material of the first mesh based on at least the material included in the voxel data. When a first event based on the game processing occurs, a first voxel update range is generated in the virtual space based on the position where the first event has occurred, and for each of the voxels in the virtual space corresponding to the first voxel update range among the voxel data, a first update for decreasing the density is performed. Collision determination is performed between the first mesh updated based on the first update and a first determination shape set in a first direction from a position based on at least the first voxel update range. When the material of the first mesh at the collision position is the first material, A game device that generates a second voxel update range at a position based on the collision position and performs a second update for decreasing the density for each of the voxels in the virtual space corresponding to the second voxel update range among the voxel data.

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