Information processing program, information processing system, information processing device, and information processing method

Abstract

To draw more user attention to non-player objects. [Solution] The information processing system places player objects and non-player objects in a virtual space. Based on user input, the information processing system moves the player objects in the virtual space. Depending on conditions including the player object being located within the vicinity of a non-player object, and / or the player object facing the non-player object, the non-player object is transformed from a first shape to a second shape that resembles a character or symbol.

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing program, an information processing system, an information processing apparatus, and an information processing method for controlling non-player objects appearing in a game space.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, when a player object approaches a non-player object in a game space, a speech bubble showing "···" or "!" is displayed above the head of the non-player object that can talk to the player object (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] Conventionally, simply displaying a speech bubble above the head of a non-player object may not be sufficient to attract the user's attention, and a method that can attract the user's attention more is desired.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing program, an information processing system, an information processing apparatus, and an information processing method that can attract the user's attention to non-player objects more.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following configurations (1) to (20).

[0007] (1) An example of the present invention is an information processing program executed in a computer of an information processing device. The information processing program causes the computer to function as an object placement means, a player movement means, and a first deformation means. The object placement means places player objects and non-player objects in a virtual space. The player movement means moves player objects in the virtual space based on user input. The first deformation means deforms a non-player object from a first shape to a second shape that resembles a character or symbol, depending on a first condition including that the player object is located within a first range near a non-player object and / or that the player object is facing a non-player object.

[0008] According to the configuration described in (1) above, the shape of the non-player object itself is deformed, which can attract more user attention to the non-player object.

[0009] (2) In the configuration described in (1) above, the second shape may be a letter or symbol representing direction.

[0010] According to the configuration described in (2) above, the direction in which the player object should move can be clearly and intuitively communicated to the user.

[0011] (3) In the configuration of (1) or (2) above, the first deformation means may deform the non-player object from a first shape to a second shape which is an arrow, and rotate the non-player object to change the direction represented by the second shape.

[0012] According to the configuration in (3) above, there is no need to store a second shape for each direction of the arrow, thus reducing the effort required to create data for the second shape.

[0013] (4) In any of the configurations (1) to (3) above, the second shape may be modeled after "!" or "?".

[0014] (5) In any of the configurations described in (1) to (4) above, the information processing program may further enable the computer to function as a message display means. The message display means causes a message from a non-player object to be displayed on the display device when the display conditions are met.

[0015] According to the configuration described in (5) above, information that cannot be conveyed to the user by the second shape alone can be conveyed to the user through messages.

[0016] (6) In the configuration described in (5) above, the message may indicate content related to the second shape.

[0017] According to the configuration described in (6) above, more detailed information about the information shown by the second shape can be conveyed to the user through a message.

[0018] (7) In the configuration described in (6) above, the second shape may resemble an arrow. The message may be text that guides the player object's path.

[0019] According to the configuration described in (7) above, the direction in which the player object should move can be communicated to the user by the second shape, and more detailed guidance can be provided to the user through messages.

[0020] (8) In the configuration of (6) above, the second shape may resemble "?". The message may be a question for the player object.

[0021] According to the configuration of (8) above, it is possible to convey to the user that there is a question by the second shape, and also possible to convey the content of the question to the user by the message.

[0022] (9) In any of the configurations of (1) to (8) above, the first deformation means may gradually deform the non-player object from the first shape to the second shape.

[0023] According to the configuration of (9) above, it is possible to more easily attract the user's attention to the non-player object.

[0024] (10) In the configuration of (9) above, the shape of the non-player object may be determined based on the voxel data for each voxel set in the voxel space. The first deformation means may gradually deform the non-player object from the first shape to the second shape by performing interpolation processing using the voxel data representing the first shape and the voxel data representing the second shape.

[0025] According to the configuration of (10) above, interpolation processing can be easily performed by using voxel data.

[0026] (11) In the configuration of (9) or (10) above, the information processing program may further enable the computer to function as a restoration means. The restoration means, if at least a portion of a non-player object is erased while the shape of the non-player object is in a first shape, restores the shape of the non-player object so that it gradually returns to the first shape over time, and if at least a portion of the non-player object is erased while the shape of the non-player object is in a second shape, restores the shape of the non-player object so that it gradually returns to the second shape over time.

[0027] According to the configuration described in (11) above, whether the non-player object is in the first shape state or the second shape state, it can be restored to the shape it was in just before it was deleted.

[0028] (12) In the configuration of (11) above, if the first condition is met while the non-player object is being restored to the first shape, the first deformation means may deform the non-player object to the second shape after it has been restored to the first shape.

[0029] According to the configuration described in (12) above, it is possible to more reliably attract the user's attention to non-player objects.

[0030] (13) In any of the configurations (1) to (12) above, if the first condition is met while the shape of the non-player object is different from the first shape for reasons other than those caused by the deformation by the first deformation means, the first deformation means may deform the non-player object to the first shape and then deform it to the second shape.

[0031] According to the configuration described in (13) above, it is possible to more reliably attract the user's attention to non-player objects.

[0032] (14) In any of the configurations described in (1) to (13) above, the non-player object may have a first part that deforms from a first shape to a second shape, and a second part that is different from the first part. The first deformation means may change the position of the second part in accordance with the deformation of the first part from the first shape to the second shape.

[0033] According to the configuration described in (14) above, the appearance of non-player objects can be made more natural.

[0034] (15) In the configuration of (14) described above, the first deformation means may gradually change the position of the second part in accordance with the gradual deformation of the first part from the first shape to the second shape.

[0035] According to the configuration described in (15) above, the appearance of the non-player object can be made more natural even while the non-player object is undergoing deformation.

[0036] (16) In the configuration of (14) or (15) above, the non-player object may be a non-player character. The second part may be the eyes of the non-player character.

[0037] According to the configuration described in (16) above, the position of the eyes of non-player objects can be made to look natural.

[0038] (17) In any of the configurations described in (1) to (16) above, the information processing program may further utilize a computer as an operation control means. The operation control means causes the non-player object to perform the same operation whether it is in a first shape or a second shape.

[0039] According to the configuration described in (17) above, the non-player object can be operated in the same way whether it is the first shape or the second shape.

[0040] (18) In any of the configurations (1) to (17) above, the information processing program may further enable the computer to function as a second deformation means. The second deformation means deforms the non-player object from a second shape to a first shape according to the conditions, which include the player object being located outside a second range that is the same as or different from the first range but is in the vicinity of the non-player object, and / or the player object not facing the non-player object, and which are not satisfied if the first condition is satisfied.

[0041] According to the configuration described in (18) above, the non-player object can return to its first shape, so when the first condition is met again, the non-player object will deform again into its second shape, thereby attracting the user's attention once more.

[0042] (19) In any of the configurations described in (1) to (18) above, the first deformation means may deform the non-player object from the first shape to the second shape if the player object is located within a reference distance from the non-player object.

[0043] According to the configuration described in (19) above, non-player objects located near the player object can be deformed.

[0044] (20) In any of the configurations (1) to (19) above, the first deformation means may further change at least one of the color, pattern, and properties of the non-player object in response to the change in the shape of the non-player object from the first shape to the second shape due to the first condition.

[0045] According to the configuration described in (20) above, the appearance and / or properties of a non-player character can be changed in response to the deformation of the non-player object.

[0046] Another example of the present invention is an information processing device or information processing system that performs the processes described in (1) to (20) above. Another example of the present invention is an information processing method that performs the processes described in (1) to (20) above. [Effects of the Invention]

[0047] According to the above-described information processing program, information processing system, information processing device, or information processing method, it is possible to attract more user attention to non-player objects. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0048] [Figure 1] This diagram shows an example of the main unit with the left and right controllers attached. [Figure 2] This diagram shows an example of the left and right controllers being removed from the main unit. [Figure 3] A six-view drawing showing an example of the main unit. [Figure 4] A six-view drawing showing an example of a left controller. [Figure 5] A six-view drawing showing an example of a right controller. [Figure 6] Block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the main unit. [Figure 7] Block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the main unit, left controller, and right controller. [Figure 8] This diagram shows an example of a terrain object that is a voxel object. [Figure 9] Figure 8 shows an example of what the terrain object looks like before and after a portion of it is deleted. [Figure 10] Figure 8 shows an example of what the terrain object looks like before and after a portion of it is deleted. [Figure 11] A diagram showing an example of the contents of voxel data. [Figure 12] A diagram showing an example of property information that indicates the properties of a material. [Figure 13]A diagram showing an example of texture information that indicates the texture of a material. [Figure 14] A diagram showing an example of a mesh generation method. [Figure 15] A diagram showing an example of a game image that includes terrain objects. [Figure 16] A diagram showing an example of how a non-player character transforms. [Figure 17] This diagram shows an example of how a non-player character's body object deforms. [Figure 18] This diagram shows an example of how the eye and foot objects change during the deformation of a non-player character. [Figure 19] This figure shows an example of a deformation that is indicated by an upward-pointing arrow. [Figure 20] A diagram illustrating an example of a symbol represented by a suggestive shape and the meaning of that symbol. [Figure 21] This diagram shows an example of how a non-player character changes when deformation conditions are met during the restoration process of a non-player character that has been partially erased. [Figure 22] This diagram shows an example of various types of data used in information processing within a game system. [Figure 23] A flowchart illustrating an example of the game processing flow executed by the game system. [Figure 24] Figure 23 shows a subflowchart illustrating an example of a detailed flow of the character deformation process in step S11. [Figure 25] Figure 23 shows a subflowchart illustrating an example of a detailed flow of the character deformation process in step S11. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0049] [1. Game System Configuration] The following describes a game system according to an example of this embodiment. An example of the game system 1 in this embodiment includes a main unit (information processing device; functioning as the game device main unit in this embodiment) 2, a left controller 3, and a right controller 4. The left controller 3 and the right controller 4 are detachable from the main unit 2. In other words, the game system 1 can be used as an integrated device by attaching the left controller 3 and the right controller 4 to the main unit 2. Alternatively, the game system 1 can be used with the main unit 2 and the left controller 3 and right controller 4 as separate components (see Figure 2). The hardware configuration of the game system 1 in this embodiment will be described below, followed by a description of the control of the game system 1 in this embodiment.

[0050] Figure 1 shows an example of the main unit 2 with the left controller 3 and right controller 4 attached. As shown in Figure 1, the left controller 3 and right controller 4 are attached to the main unit 2 and integrated together. The main unit 2 is a device that performs various processes (e.g., game processing) in the game system 1. The main unit 2 is equipped with a display 12. The left controller 3 and right controller 4 are devices equipped with operation parts for user input.

[0051] Figure 2 shows an example of the left controller 3 and right controller 4 being removed from the main unit 2. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the left controller 3 and right controller 4 are detachable from the main unit 2. In the following, the left controller 3 and right controller 4 will be collectively referred to as "controllers".

[0052] Figure 3 is a six-view drawing showing an example of the main unit 2. As shown in Figure 3, the main unit 2 includes a roughly plate-shaped housing 11. In this embodiment, the main surface of the housing 11 (in other words, the front surface, i.e., the surface on which the display 12 is provided) is roughly rectangular in shape.

[0053] The shape and size of the housing 11 are arbitrary. For example, the housing 11 may be portable. The main unit 2 alone, or the integrated unit in which the left controller 3 and right controller 4 are attached to the main unit 2, may be a portable device. The main unit 2 or the integrated unit may be a handheld device. The main unit 2 or the integrated unit may also be a portable device.

[0054] As shown in Figure 3, the main unit 2 includes a display 12 provided on the main surface of the housing 11. The display 12 displays images generated by the main unit 2. In this embodiment, the display 12 is a liquid crystal display (LCD). However, the display 12 may be any type of display device.

[0055] Furthermore, the main unit 2 is equipped with a touch panel 13 on the screen of the display 12. In this embodiment, the touch panel 13 is of a type that allows multi-touch input (for example, a capacitive touch panel). However, the touch panel 13 may be of any type, for example, a type that allows single-touch input (for example, a resistive touch panel).

[0056] The main unit 2 is equipped with a speaker (i.e., speaker 88 shown in Figure 6) inside the housing 11. As shown in Figure 3, speaker holes 11a and 11b are formed on the main surface of the housing 11. The sound output from speaker 88 is emitted from these speaker holes 11a and 11b, respectively.

[0057] Furthermore, the main unit 2 is equipped with a left terminal 17, which is a terminal for the main unit 2 to communicate with the left controller 3 via wired connection, and a right terminal 21, which is for the main unit 2 to communicate with the right controller 4 via wired connection.

[0058] As shown in Figure 3, the main unit 2 is equipped with a slot 23. The slot 23 is located on the upper side of the housing 11. The slot 23 has a shape that allows a predetermined type of storage medium to be inserted. The predetermined type of storage medium is, for example, a storage medium (e.g., a dedicated memory card) specifically for the game system 1 and similar information processing devices. The predetermined type of storage medium is used, for example, to store data used by the main unit 2 (e.g., application save data, etc.) and / or programs executed by the main unit 2 (e.g., application programs, etc.). The main unit 2 is also equipped with a power button 28.

[0059] The main unit 2 is equipped with a lower terminal 27. The lower terminal 27 is a terminal for the main unit 2 to communicate with the cradle. In this embodiment, the lower terminal 27 is a USB connector (more specifically, a female connector). When the integrated device or the main unit 2 alone is placed on the cradle, the game system 1 can display the images generated and output by the main unit 2 on a stationary monitor. In this embodiment, the cradle also has the function of charging the integrated device or the main unit 2 alone that is placed on it. The cradle also has the function of a hub device (specifically, a USB hub).

[0060] Figure 4 is a six-view drawing showing an example of the left controller 3. As shown in Figure 4, the left controller 3 includes a housing 31. In this embodiment, the housing 31 has a vertically elongated shape, that is, it is long in the vertical direction (i.e., in the y-axis direction as shown in Figures 1 and 4). The left controller 3 can also be held in a vertically elongated orientation when detached from the main device 2. The housing 31 is shaped and sized to be held with one hand, especially the left hand, when held in a vertically elongated orientation. The left controller 3 can also be held in a horizontally elongated orientation. When the left controller 3 is held in a horizontally elongated orientation, it may be held with both hands.

[0061] The left controller 3 is equipped with an analog stick 32. As shown in Figure 4, the analog stick 32 is provided on the main surface of the housing 31. The analog stick 32 can be used as a directional input unit that can input direction. The user can input direction (and magnitude according to the angle of tilt) by tilting the analog stick 32. In addition, the left controller 3 may be equipped with a directional pad or a slide stick that allows slide input instead of the analog stick as the directional input unit. Furthermore, in this embodiment, input by pressing the analog stick 32 is also possible.

[0062] The left controller 3 is equipped with various operation buttons. The left controller 3 has four operation buttons 33-36 (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. In addition, the left controller 3 is equipped with a record button 37 and a minus button 47. The left controller 3 has a first L button 38 and a ZL button 39 on the upper left side of the side of the housing 31. Furthermore, the left controller 3 has a second L button 43 and a second R button 44 on the side of the housing 31 that is attached when mounted to the main unit 2. These operation buttons are used to give instructions according to various programs (e.g., OS programs and application programs) executed on the main unit 2.

[0063] Furthermore, the left controller 3 is equipped with a terminal 42 for wired communication between the left controller 3 and the main unit 2.

[0064] Figure 5 is a six-view drawing showing an example of the right controller 4. As shown in Figure 5, the right controller 4 includes a housing 51. In this embodiment, the housing 51 has a vertically elongated shape, that is, a shape that is long in the vertical direction. When the right controller 4 is detached from the main unit 2, it can also be held in a vertically elongated orientation. The housing 51 is shaped and sized to be held with one hand, especially the right hand, when held in a vertically elongated orientation. The right controller 4 can also be held in a horizontally elongated orientation. When the right controller 4 is held in a horizontally elongated orientation, it may be held with both hands.

[0065] The right controller 4, like the left controller 3, is equipped with an analog stick 52 as a directional input unit. In this embodiment, the analog stick 52 has the same configuration as the analog stick 32 of the left controller 3. Alternatively, the right controller 4 may be equipped with a directional pad or a slide stick capable of slide input instead of the analog stick. The right controller 4, like the left controller 3, is equipped with four operation buttons 53-56 (specifically, A button 53, B button 54, X button 55, and Y button 56) on the main surface of the housing 51. Furthermore, the right controller 4 is equipped with a + (plus) button 57 and a home button 58. The right controller 4 is also equipped with a first R button 60 and a ZR button 61 on the upper right side of the housing 51. The right controller 4, like the left controller 3, is also equipped with a second L button 65 and a second R button 66.

[0066] Furthermore, the right controller 4 is equipped with a terminal 64 for wired communication between the right controller 4 and the main unit 2.

[0067] Figure 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the main unit 2. In addition to the configuration shown in Figure 3, the main unit 2 includes the components 81-91, 97, and 98 shown in Figure 6. Some of these components 81-91, 97, and 98 may be mounted on an electronic circuit board as electronic components and housed within the housing 11.

[0068] The main unit 2 includes a processor 81. The processor 81 is an information processing unit that performs various information processing operations performed in the main unit 2, and may consist of, for example, only a CPU (Central Processing Unit), or it may consist of an SoC (System-on-a-chip) that includes multiple functions such as CPU function and GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) function. The processor 81 performs various information processing operations by executing information processing programs (for example, game programs) stored in a storage unit (specifically, an internal storage medium such as flash memory 84, or an external storage medium installed in slot 23).

[0069] The main unit 2 includes, as an example of an internal storage medium built into itself, a flash memory 84 and a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) 85. The flash memory 84 and DRAM 85 are connected to the processor 81. The flash memory 84 is a memory mainly used to store various types of data (which may be programs) stored in the main unit 2. The DRAM 85 is a memory used to temporarily store various types of data used in information processing.

[0070] The main unit 2 is equipped with 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 slot 23 and reads and writes data to a predetermined type of storage medium (for example, a dedicated memory card) installed in slot 23, according to instructions from the processor 81.

[0071] The processor 81 performs the above-mentioned information processing by appropriately reading and writing data to and from the flash memory 84 and DRAM 85, as well as to each of the above-mentioned storage media.

[0072] The main unit 2 includes a network communication unit 82. The network communication unit 82 is connected to the processor 81. The network communication unit 82 communicates with external devices via a network (specifically, wirelessly). In this embodiment, the network communication unit 82 communicates with external devices by connecting to a wireless LAN using a method compliant with the Wi-Fi standard as a first communication mode. The network communication unit 82 also performs wireless communication with other main unit 2 of the same type using a predetermined communication method (for example, communication using a proprietary protocol or infrared communication) as a second communication mode. The wireless communication using the second communication mode is possible with other main unit 2 located within a closed local network area, and realizes a function that enables so-called "local communication" in which data is sent and received by communicating directly between multiple main unit 2.

[0073] The main unit 2 includes a controller communication unit 83. The controller communication unit 83 is connected to the processor 81. The controller communication unit 83 communicates wirelessly with the left controller 3 and / or the right controller 4. The communication method between the main unit 2 and the left controller 3 and the right controller 4 is arbitrary, but in this embodiment, the controller communication unit 83 communicates with the left controller 3 and with the right controller 4 in accordance with the Bluetooth® standard.

[0074] The processor 81 is connected to the left terminal 17, right terminal 21, and lower terminal 27 described above. When the processor 81 communicates with the left controller 3 via a wired connection, 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. When the processor 81 communicates with the right controller 4 via a wired connection, 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. When the processor 81 communicates with the cradle, it transmits data to the cradle via the lower terminal 27. Thus, in this embodiment, the main unit 2 can perform both wired and wireless communication with the left controller 3 and the right controller 4, respectively. Furthermore, when the left controller 3 and the right controller 4 are mounted on the main unit 2 as an integrated unit, or when the main unit 2 alone is mounted on the cradle, the main unit 2 can output data (e.g., image data and audio data) to a stationary monitor or the like via the cradle.

[0075] Here, the main unit 2 can communicate simultaneously (in other words, in parallel) with multiple left controllers 3. Furthermore, the main unit 2 can communicate simultaneously (in other words, in parallel) with multiple right controllers 4. Therefore, multiple users can simultaneously input to the main unit 2 using their respective sets of left controllers 3 and right controllers 4. For example, while the first user inputs to the main unit 2 using the first set of left controllers 3 and right controllers 4, the second user can input to the main unit 2 using the second set of left controllers 3 and right controllers 4.

[0076] The display 12 is also connected to the processor 81. The processor 81 displays images generated (for example, by performing the above information processing) and / or images acquired from an external source on the display 12.

[0077] The main unit 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 terminals 25, as well as to the processor 81. The codec circuit 87 is a circuit that controls the input and output of audio data to the speakers 88 and the audio input / output terminals 25.

[0078] The main unit 2 comprises a power control unit 97 and a battery 98. The power control unit 97 is connected to the battery 98 and the processor 81. Although not shown in the figures, the power control unit 97 is also connected to various parts of the main unit 2 (specifically, the parts that receive power from the battery 98, the left terminal 17, and the right terminal 21). Based on commands from the processor 81, the power control unit 97 controls the power supply from the battery 98 to the aforementioned parts.

[0079] The battery 98 is also 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 unit 2 via the lower terminal 27, the supplied power charges the battery 98.

[0080] Figure 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the main unit 2, the left controller 3, and the right controller 4. Note that the details of the internal configuration of the main unit 2 are shown in Figure 6 and are therefore omitted in Figure 7.

[0081] The left controller 3 includes a communication control unit 101 that communicates with the main unit 2. As shown in Figure 7, the communication control unit 101 is connected to each component, including the terminal 42. In this embodiment, the communication control unit 101 can communicate with the main unit 2 both by wired communication via the terminal 42 and by wireless communication without using the terminal 42. The communication control unit 101 controls the method of communication that the left controller 3 performs with the main unit 2. That is, when the left controller 3 is attached to the main unit 2, the communication control unit 101 communicates with the main unit 2 via the terminal 42. When the left controller 3 is detached from the main unit 2, the communication control unit 101 performs wireless communication with the main unit 2 (specifically, the controller communication unit 83). Wireless communication between the controller communication unit 83 and the communication control unit 101 is performed according to, for example, the Bluetooth® standard.

[0082] The left controller 3 also includes a memory 102, such as flash memory. The communication control unit 101 is composed of, for example, a microcontroller (also called a microprocessor) and performs various processes by executing firmware stored in the memory 102.

[0083] The left controller 3 is equipped with buttons 103 (specifically, buttons 33-39, 43, 44, and 47). The left controller 3 is also equipped with an analog stick (referred to as "stick" in Figure 7) 32. Each button 103 and the analog stick 32 repeatedly output information about the operations performed on them to the communication control unit 101 at appropriate intervals.

[0084] The communication control unit 101 acquires information about the input (specifically, information about the operation or detection results from the sensor) 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 that has been processed in a predetermined manner), to the main unit 2. The operation data is transmitted repeatedly at a rate of once at predetermined intervals. The interval at which information about the input is transmitted to the main unit 2 may or may not be the same for each input unit.

[0085] When the above operation data is transmitted to the main unit 2, the main unit 2 can obtain the input made to the left controller 3. In other words, the main unit 2 can determine the operation of each button 103 and the analog stick 32 based on the operation data.

[0086] The left controller 3 includes a power supply unit 108. In this embodiment, the power supply unit 108 includes a battery and a power control circuit. Although not shown, the power control circuit is connected to the battery and to each part of the left controller 3 (specifically, each part that receives power from the battery).

[0087] As shown in Figure 7, the right controller 4 includes a communication control unit 111 that communicates with the main unit 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 memory 102 of the left controller 3. Therefore, the communication control unit 111 can communicate with the main unit 2 both by wired communication via the terminal 64 and by wireless communication without the terminal 64 (specifically, communication according to the Bluetooth® standard), and controls the method of communication that the right controller 4 performs with the main unit 2.

[0088] The right controller 4 is equipped with the same inputs as the left controller 3. Specifically, it is equipped with buttons 113 and an analog stick 52. These inputs have the same functions and operate in the same way as the inputs of the left controller 3.

[0089] The right controller 4 is equipped with a power supply unit 118. The power supply unit 118 has the same functions and operates in the same manner as the power supply unit 108 of the left controller 3.

[0090] [2. Overview of processing in the game system] Next, an overview of the processes performed in the game system 1 will be described with reference to Figures 8 to 21. In this embodiment, the game system 1 generates a game image in which terrain objects and characters (for example, player characters controlled by the player) are placed in a game space, which is a three-dimensional virtual space, and displays it on a display device. In this embodiment, the display device on which the game image is displayed may be the display 12 described above, or it may be a stationary monitor.

[0091] [2-1. Voxel] In this embodiment, the shape of some objects in the game space is defined by voxel data. Here, a voxel is a rectangular (more specifically, cubic) region arranged in a grid in the game space, and voxel data is the data set for each voxel. Hereafter, objects whose shape is defined by voxel data will be called "voxel objects". In this embodiment, the game system 1 stores voxel data for each of the multiple voxels set in the game space as data for generating voxel objects in the game space.

[0092] Figure 8 shows an example of a terrain object that is a voxel object. As shown in Figure 8, in this embodiment, terrain objects representing the ground and other terrain are defined by voxel data (i.e., they are voxel objects). Each cube shown in Figure 8 represents a terrain object. Note that in Figure 8, the edges of the terrain objects are shown with thick lines, but these thick lines are added for the purpose of making the drawing easier to read, and in reality, the edges of the terrain objects do not need to be displayed with thick lines.

[0093] Furthermore, the terrain object shown in Figure 8 is generated using a rule such as, "If the parameter included in the voxel data set for a voxel is greater than a predetermined value, a cube is placed at the voxel's position; if it is less than or equal to the predetermined value, nothing is placed at the voxel's position." The terrain object shown in Figure 8 is provided to illustrate the relationship between voxels and voxel objects in an easy-to-understand manner. In this embodiment, in practice, voxel objects are generated (based on voxel data) using a rule that results in a shape more complex than the length of one side of a voxel, such as the terrain object shown in Figure 15, which will be described later. The rule for determining the shape of a voxel object based on voxel data is arbitrary. In other embodiments, the game system 1 may generate voxel objects as shown in Figure 8 or as shown in Figure 15 based on object data.

[0094] For voxel objects, the shape can be changed by modifying the voxel data of each voxel. Figures 9 and 10 show examples of what the terrain object shown in Figure 8 looks like before and after a portion of it is deleted. That is, when the shaded portion of the terrain object shown in Figure 9 is destroyed, the terrain object changes to the shape shown in Figure 10. At this time, the game system 1 can easily delete the terrain object by rewriting the voxel data of the shaded portion voxel to indicate that the terrain object does not exist. Furthermore, when adding a terrain object, the game system 1 can easily change the shape of the terrain object by modifying the voxel data of each voxel, just as when deleting a terrain object.

[0095] In this way, Game System 1 can freely change the shape of voxel objects by rewriting the voxel data. For example, if a terrain object is destroyed in a game for some reason (for example, when a player character hits the terrain object) and the shape of that terrain object changes as a result, Game System 1 can freely change the shape of the terrain object by changing the voxel data used to generate the terrain object, rather than directly changing the data that represents the external shape of the terrain object (i.e., the mesh described later).

[0096] Figure 11 shows an example of the contents of voxel data. In this embodiment, the game space can be divided into a plurality of voxels arranged in a grid. The game system 1 stores voxel data associated with each voxel in the game space. The voxel data indicates the presence or absence of a voxel object in the voxel corresponding to the voxel data.

[0097] As shown in Figure 11, the voxel data includes density data. The density data indicates the density, which is an index used to define the shape of the voxel object in the voxel corresponding to the voxel data (specifically, the shape defined by the mesh described later). As will be described in detail later, the position and shape of the surface of the voxel object (i.e., the mesh described later) are determined based on the above density. In other words, in this embodiment, the above density is used to create a mesh that defines the surface of the voxel object.

[0098] In this embodiment, density can take the form of an integer value within a range from a lower limit (e.g., 0) to an upper limit (e.g., 255). In this embodiment, the game system 1 determines the shape of a voxel object based on density, such that a higher density value for a voxel tends to result in a larger proportion of the volume occupied by voxel objects within that voxel, while a lower density value tends to result in a smaller proportion. Thus, density is an indicator that affects the proportion of the volume occupied by voxel objects within a voxel. Density can also be said to be an indicator that shows the degree to which objects are contained within the area in which each voxel is defined. For example, if the density is 0, there are no voxel objects within that voxel; if the density is 255, the entire voxel is filled with voxel objects; and if the density is between 0 and 255, voxel objects can occupy the voxel in proportion to the value. Based on the above density, the shape of the mesh, i.e., the shape of the voxel object, can be determined. However, the volume of the voxel object generated based on the above density does not need to exactly match the ratio indicated by the density. For example, the volume of the voxel object may differ between the method used to generate the voxel object shown in Figure 8 and the method used to generate the voxel object shown in Figure 15, even if they are based on the same density.

[0099] In other embodiments, density may indicate either a state in which voxel objects occupy the entire region within the voxel, or a state in which no voxel objects are contained within the region within the voxel. For example, density data may only take the values ​​of 0 or 1.

[0100] As shown in Figure 11, the voxel data includes material data. The material data indicates the material (in other words, substance) of the voxel object generated by the voxel data. In this embodiment, the voxel object is assigned materials such as sand, rock, and soil. That is, in this embodiment, multiple types of materials are provided as materials that can be assigned to the voxel object, and the voxel object is assigned one of these multiple types of materials.

[0101] As shown in Figure 11, in this embodiment, the material data indicates the material identification information (referred to as the "material ID"). In this embodiment, the game system 1 stores material information indicating the properties and texture of each material provided in the game. In this embodiment, the material information associates the material ID with the properties of the material and the appearance of the material (specifically, the texture). Specifically, the material information is information that associates the material ID with the identification information of the properties of the material (referred to as the "property ID") and the identification information of the texture of the material (referred to as the "texture ID") (see Figure 11).

[0102] Figure 12 shows an example of property information indicating the properties of a material. As shown in Figure 12, the game system 1 stores property information that associates the above property ID with information indicating the content of the property indicated by the property ID. The properties of a material are the properties that the voxel object to which the material is set has in the game, such as weight and slipperiness as shown in Figure 12. The specific content of the properties is arbitrary, and for example, the following information may be set as the properties of the material. ·temperature • Fragility (for example, the number of times a voxel object will break when subjected to an impact) • Whether or not other objects can be attached to a voxel object. • The amount of health the player character recovers when the player character destroys a voxel object. • The amount of in-game currency a player character acquires when they destroy a voxel object. The specific properties set for the material are arbitrary. In other embodiments, different information may be set as information indicating the properties of the material.

[0103] Figure 13 shows an example of texture information indicating the texture of a material. As shown in Figure 13, the game system 1 stores texture information that associates the above-mentioned texture ID with the texture indicated by that texture ID.

[0104] In addition to texture information, optional information regarding color and / or pattern may be set as data that defines the appearance of a voxel object. For example, a crack pattern may be set as information regarding the appearance of a voxel object. By using such a pattern, game system 1 can generate an image of a voxel object that represents a cracked appearance.

[0105] As described above, in this embodiment, the material data defines the properties of the voxel object and the texture used for the voxel object by the material ID. For example, if the material ID indicated by the material data included in the voxel data is "002", the properties indicated by the property ID "001" associated with that material ID in the material information are set as the properties of the voxel object corresponding to that voxel data (see the arrow shown in Figure 11). In the above case, the texture indicated by the texture ID "002" associated with that material ID in the material information is applied to the voxel object corresponding to that voxel data (see the arrow shown in Figure 11).

[0106] As described above, in this embodiment, the game system 1 manages the properties and textures of materials separately. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to easily set up multiple types of materials that have the same properties but different appearances (i.e., textures), or multiple types of materials that have different properties but the same appearance.

[0107] The material data may be any data that can identify the properties and / or texture of the material. For example, in other embodiments, the material data may indicate the property ID and texture ID, or it may have a data structure that actually contains data indicating the properties and texture of the material.

[0108] Furthermore, material data may also include information about the material, which may contain other information different from the properties and textures described above. For example, material data may include effect data that indicates an effect that occurs when the effect conditions set for a voxel object (for example, when a part of the voxel object is destroyed, or when a character steps on the voxel object) are met. Note that effect data may be data that indicates an effect image (for example, an effect image that represents the destruction of the voxel object) or data that indicates an effect sound (the sound of a character walking on the voxel object).

[0109] As shown in Figure 11, voxel data includes state data that indicates the state of the voxel object. The specific content of the state data is arbitrary. For example, the state data may indicate whether the voxel object is wet or not, or it may indicate the amount of damage inflicted on the voxel object. The content of the state data may be updated during gameplay.

[0110] [2-2. Mesh] In this embodiment, the surface of a voxel object is represented by a mesh. A mesh is a collection of multiple faces (specifically, polygons) placed in the game space. In this embodiment, the game system 1 generates a mesh for a voxel object based on the voxel data of each voxel set in the game space. An example of generating a mesh based on voxel data is described below.

[0111] Figure 14 shows an example of a mesh generation method. Note that in Figure 14, voxels and meshes are represented in two dimensions for clarity and ease of explanation; however, in reality, a three-dimensional mesh is generated based on voxels in three-dimensional space.

[0112] As described above, in this embodiment, the density set for a voxel is set in the range of 0 to 255. In this embodiment, voxels with a density equal to or greater than a reference threshold are considered to be inside the object, and voxels with a density less than the reference threshold are considered to be outside the object. It is not necessary to define only voxels with a density of 0 as being outside the object (i.e., reference threshold = 1), and the reference threshold can be, for example, 128. In the example shown in Figure 14, the density of voxel 201 and the other outer voxels is set to 0, voxel 202 has a density of 100 which is less than the reference threshold, and voxels 203 and 204 have densities of 150 and 200 which are equal to or greater than the reference threshold. In this embodiment, the game system 1 generates vertices between voxels with a density equal to or greater than the reference threshold and voxels with a density less than the reference threshold. Specifically, for each region spanning eight adjacent voxels (four in the diagram) (the region enclosed by the dotted line in the diagram), a determination is made as to whether or not to generate a vertex. In other words, vertices are generated in regions that span both voxels with a density above a threshold and voxels with a density below a threshold. Furthermore, a polygon mesh is generated by connecting vertices when the boundary between adjacent vertices (the boundary of the region containing each vertex) passes through a range of voxels with a density above the threshold and voxels with a density below the threshold. The coordinates of vertices are determined by comparing the densities of adjacent voxels along each of the X, Y, and Z axes and interpolating based on the density difference. At this time, coordinate calculations can also be performed based on normal information, but the normal information may be stored in advance for at least some voxels, or if it is not stored, the normal information may also be calculated based on the densities of adjacent voxels. Note that in Figure 14, since the density of voxel 202 is below the threshold, voxel 202 is treated as outside the object when determining the presence or absence of a vertex, but the density value of voxel 202 itself is used in the calculation of the coordinates of the generated vertices. If the reference threshold is set to a value lower than the density of voxel 202, the result will be an increase in the number of vertices on the upper right and upper left sides of voxel 202 in Figure 14.

[0113] As described above, by generating a polygon mesh, it is possible to generate a shape with a volume that reflects the density of each voxel to some extent. However, depending on the relationship with adjacent voxels, it is possible that voxels with a density of 0 may include some areas within the object, or that voxels with a density of 255 may include some areas outside the object. In addition, in this embodiment, voxels below a reference threshold are treated as being outside the object, so the volume is smaller because there are fewer vertices compared to when they are treated as being inside the object. In other words, it is not necessary to calculate the polygon mesh so that the volume corresponds precisely to the density value.

[0114] Figure 15 shows an example of a game image including terrain objects. In this embodiment, by generating a mesh as described above, the voxel object can be made to have a shape with complex irregularities compared to the length of one side of a voxel.

[0115] The method for generating the mesh based on the voxel data is arbitrary. For example, in another embodiment, if the density of the voxel data is greater than a predetermined value, the mesh may be generated such that cubes are placed in the voxels (see Figure 8).

[0116] Game System 1 determines the appearance (i.e., color and / or pattern) of each face of the mesh generated as described above, according to the material identified by the voxel data. Specifically, Game System 1 determines the texture to be used for rendering each face of the mesh based on the voxel data, and generates an image of the voxel object by mapping the determined texture to each face. The texture mapped to each face of the mesh is determined based on the voxel data of the voxel used to generate that face (referred to as the target voxel) among the voxels in which the voxel object exists. The target voxel is, depending on the mesh generation method, for example, one or more voxels arranged around that face. In other words, the texture mapped to the face of the mesh is determined to be the texture corresponding to the material set for one or more voxels arranged around that face.

[0117] In other embodiments, a single voxel data may contain multiple types (e.g., two types) of material data. In this case, the voxel data includes ratio data relating to the multiple types of material data. The ratio data is used to determine the texture to be used for the voxel object, and indicates the ratio by which each material (specifically, the texture corresponding to the material) represented by the multiple types of material data affects the appearance (specifically, the color and / or pattern) of the voxel object. Furthermore, when determining the texture to be mapped to each face of the mesh, the texture is determined based on the various data (specifically, density data, multiple types of material data, and ratio data) contained in the voxel data of the target voxel. For example, if multiple types of materials are set for a target voxel corresponding to one face, the texture corresponding to the material with the greatest influence (one type) may be used, taking the above ratio into consideration, or each texture corresponding to the multiple types of materials may be used, taking the above ratio into consideration.

[0118] In other embodiments, there may be both voxel objects that use voxel data containing one type of material data and voxel objects that use voxel data containing two types of material data.

[0119] [2-3. Transformation of Non-Player Characters] Referring to Figures 16 to 21, the process of deforming a non-player character, which is a voxel object, will be explained. Figure 16 shows an example of how a non-player character is deformed. In this embodiment, the game system 1 places a non-player character 211 in the game space. As shown in Figure 16(a), when the player character 212 is located far away from the non-player character 211 during the game, the non-player character 211 is in its basic shape. In this embodiment, the non-player character 211 is a character modeled after a rock, and its basic shape is rock-like. However, the basic shape may be any shape.

[0120] On the other hand, as shown in Figure 16(b), when the player character 212 is positioned near the non-player character 211 during the game, the non-player character 211 transforms from its basic shape to a suggestive shape. A suggestive shape is a shape that suggests some information about the game to the user (also called the player). In the example shown in Figure 16, the suggestive shape is a right-pointing arrow, suggesting that the player character 212 should move to the right (for example, moving to the right may advance the game's story or allow the player to obtain an important item). Other specific examples of suggestive shapes will be described later, but in this embodiment, the suggestive shape represents a character or symbol that suggests information about the game.

[0121] As described above, in this embodiment, the deformation of the shape of the non-player character 211 itself can attract more user attention. This makes it easier for the user to notice that information related to the game is being hinted at. Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the information is hinted at by the shape of the non-player character 211 itself, the user can obtain information even if, for example, the player character 212 does not converse with the non-player character 211 (although further information may be obtained through conversation).

[0122] The following describes the details of the deformation process for non-player characters. In this embodiment, the deformation process is executed when the deformation conditions defined in the game program are met. In this embodiment, the deformation conditions are conditions related to the positional relationship between the non-player character 211 and the player character 212. Specifically, the deformation condition is that the player character 212 is located within a judgment range near the non-player character 211. The judgment range in this embodiment is the range within a reference distance from the position of the non-player character 211. In other words, if the player character 212 is located within a reference distance from the non-player character 211, the game system 1 deforms the non-player character 211 from its basic shape to a suggestive shape. This makes it possible to deform non-player characters located near the player character 212, making it easier for the user to notice the deformation of non-player characters.

[0123] The deformation conditions are not limited to those described above, and may also be other conditions relating to the positional relationship between the non-player character and the player character. For example, the above determination range may be a range determined based on the position of the non-player character. Specifically, the determination range may be the field of view of the non-player character (more specifically, the sector formed when the position of the non-player character is the center of a circle), or, if the non-player character is located in a certain area (for example, an area in a room or an area on a table), it may be a range within that area. Furthermore, the deformation conditions may also be conditions relating to the orientation of the player character relative to the non-player character. Specifically, the deformation condition may be that the player character is facing the non-player character. In this case, the game system 1 may, for example, determine that the player character is facing the non-player character if the angle between the player character's front direction and the direction from the player character to the non-player character is less than or equal to a predetermined angle, and determine that the player character is not facing the non-player character if the angle is greater than the predetermined angle.

[0124] In other embodiments, the deformation condition may be a combination of a condition relating to the positions of the non-player character and the player character, and a condition relating to the orientation of the player character relative to the non-player character. For example, the deformation condition may be that the player character is located within the determination range based on the non-player character, and the player character is facing the non-player character. Alternatively, for example, the deformation condition may be that either the player character is located within the determination range based on the non-player character, or the player character is facing the non-player character.

[0125] If the deformation conditions are met, the game system 1 deforms the non-player character 211 from the basic shape to the suggested shape. In this embodiment, the non-player character 211 has a body object, an eye object, and a foot object (see Figures 16 and 18). In this embodiment, the game system 1 deforms the non-player character by changing the shape of the body object.

[0126] In this embodiment, the body object is a voxel object. In this embodiment, the body object, which is a voxel object included in the non-player character, has its shape defined by voxel data relating to voxels different from those of the terrain object described above. That is, the voxel space relating to the non-player character (referred to as the "sub-voxel space") is a voxel space set up separately from the voxel space relating to the terrain object (referred to as the "main voxel space"). The sub-voxel space is set up as part of the game space (which can also be said to be part of the main voxel space), and the non-player character is placed within the sub-voxel space. The size and orientation of voxels in the sub-voxel space (i.e., the orientation of each side of a voxel) may differ from the size and orientation of voxels in the main voxel space. For example, by setting up a sub-voxel space that defines voxels with shorter side lengths than voxels in the main voxel space, the shape of the non-player character can be represented in more detail than the terrain object based on the main voxel space. Furthermore, Game System 1 changes the position or orientation of non-player characters (more precisely, their position or orientation in the game space) by changing the position or orientation of the sub-voxel space in the game space. When multiple non-player characters are placed in the game space, Game System 1 sets up a sub-voxel space in the game space for each non-player character.

[0127] In other embodiments, in addition to the body object, the eye object and foot object (i.e., the entire non-player character) may also be voxel objects. In other embodiments, the shape of the non-player character may be defined by the voxel data of the main voxel space described above. In other embodiments, the non-player character may not be a voxel object.

[0128] Figure 17 shows an example of how a non-player character's body object deforms. As shown in Figure 17, in this embodiment, the game system 1 gradually deforms the non-player character (specifically, the body object 221) from its basic shape to a suggested shape. Specifically, the game system 1 stores the basic shape and suggested shape of the body object 221 in advance. When executing the deformation process, the game system 1 generates intermediate shapes (referred to as "intermediate shapes") by interpolating between the basic shape and the suggested shape. In the example shown in Figure 17, the deformation from the basic shape to the suggested shape is performed in three stages. Therefore, the game system 1 generates two intermediate shapes by interpolating between the basic shape and the suggested shape. The number of stages in which the deformation is performed is arbitrary, and the game system 1 may, for example, generate nine intermediate shapes to perform the deformation over 10 frames.

[0129] Game system 1 expresses the gradual deformation of body object 221 by changing its shape from a basic shape to an intermediate shape and then to a suggested shape over time (for example, every predetermined number of frames). In this way, by showing the user how the non-player character 211 gradually deforms, it is possible to more easily attract the user's attention to the non-player character 211.

[0130] In this embodiment, since the body object 221 is a voxel object, the data representing each shape of the body object 221 (i.e., the basic shape, intermediate shape, and suggestive shape) is voxel data. The game system 1 can easily calculate the voxel data representing the intermediate shape (more specifically, the density value in the voxel data) by interpolating the density value represented by the voxel data for each voxel in the sub-voxel space related to the non-player character 211 between the basic shape and the suggestive shape.

[0131] As described above, in this embodiment, the shape of the non-player character is determined based on voxel data for each voxel set in the voxel space. The game system 1 performs interpolation processing using the voxel data representing the basic shape and the voxel data representing the suggestive shape, thereby gradually transforming the non-player character from the basic shape to the suggestive shape. In this way, in this embodiment, interpolation processing can be easily performed by using voxel data. The specific interpolation method may be any method, such as linear interpolation.

[0132] Figure 18 shows an example of how the eye object and foot object change during deformation of a non-player character. In Figure 18, the body object 221 is shown with a dotted line for the purpose of making the diagram easier to see. As shown in Figure 18, in this embodiment, the position of the eye object 222 differs between the state in which the non-player character 211 is in its basic shape and the state in which it is in its suggestive shape. Therefore, the game system 1 changes the position of the eye object 222 (specifically, the position of the joint corresponding to the eye object 222) in accordance with the deformation of the body object 221 during the deformation process. In the example shown in Figure 18, the position of the eye object 222 gradually moves downward in accordance with the deformation of the body object 221.

[0133] Game system 1 pre-stores the position of the eye object 222 in the basic shape and the position of the eye object 222 in the suggestive shape. When performing a deformation process, game system 1 calculates the position of the eye object 222 in the intermediate shape by interpolating between the position of the eye object 222 in the basic shape and the position of the eye object 222 in the suggestive shape. Therefore, when the body object 221 is in an intermediate shape, the eye object 222 is positioned between the position in the basic shape and the position in the suggestive shape (see Figure 18).

[0134] In this embodiment, the interpolation process for the body object 221 used to generate the intermediate shape is an interpolation process based on the density indicated by the voxel data, whereas the interpolation process for the eye object 222 is an interpolation process based on its position. Thus, in this embodiment, the game system 1 performs the interpolation process for the eye object 222 independently of the interpolation process for the body object 221.

[0135] As described above, in this embodiment, the non-player character has a first part (i.e., body object 221) that deforms from a basic shape to a suggestive shape, and a second part (i.e., eye object 222) that is different from the first part. The game system 1 changes the position of the second part in accordance with the deformation of the first part from the basic shape to the suggestive shape. This reduces the risk that the position of the second part in the suggestive shape will be unnatural, resulting in an unnatural appearance for the non-player character. In other embodiments, the game system 1 does not need to change the position of parts other than the first part during the deformation process.

[0136] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the game system 1 gradually changes the position of the second part in accordance with the gradual transformation of the first part from the basic shape to the suggestive shape (see Figure 18). This reduces the risk of the non-player character appearing unnatural not only in the suggestive shape but also in intermediate shapes. In other embodiments, the game system 1 does not need to gradually change the position of the eye object when the body object gradually transforms from the basic shape to the suggestive shape. In other words, the game system 1 may not calculate the position of the eye object in intermediate shapes and may change the position of the eye object in accordance with the transformation of the body object into the suggestive shape.

[0137] In this embodiment, the second part whose position changes during transformation from the basic shape to the suggestive shape is the eye object 222 of the non-player character 211, but in other embodiments, it may be any part of the non-player character. For example, in other embodiments, the game system 1 may change the position of the ear, mouth, hand, or foot objects of the non-player character during transformation from the basic shape to the suggestive shape.

[0138] In this embodiment, the non-player character 211 has joints corresponding to the eye object 222, as well as joints for the game system 1 to control the movement of the non-player character 211 (i.e., joints corresponding to the body object 221 and joints corresponding to the leg object 223). During the deformation process, the game system 1 also changes the position of these joints. The game system 1 stores the positions of the joints other than the joint corresponding to the eye object 222 in the basic shape and the suggested shape. For these joints, the position in the intermediate shape is calculated in the same way as the joint corresponding to the eye object 222. However, in other embodiments, the position in the intermediate shape of these joints does not need to be calculated, similar to the joint corresponding to the eye object 222.

[0139] As shown in Figure 18, in this embodiment, the position of the foot object 223 is the same in both the basic shape and the suggestive shape. This is to prevent problems such as the foot object 223 being embedded in the ground or floating above the ground in the game space due to the transformation from the basic shape to the suggestive shape. Therefore, in this embodiment, no interpolation processing is performed on the foot object 223. However, in other embodiments, the position of the foot object 223 may differ between the basic shape and the suggestive shape, similar to the eye object 222, and the position of the foot object 223 may gradually change when it is transformed from the basic shape to the suggestive shape.

[0140] In this embodiment, although the eye object 222 and the foot object 223 are not voxel objects, the game system 1 manages the positions of these objects (more precisely, their positions relative to the non-player character) using the same coordinate system as the sub-voxel space.

[0141] Figures 16 to 18 illustrate the case where the suggestive shape is a rightward-pointing arrow. In this embodiment, the game system 1 can also deform the non-player character 211 using an arrow pointing in a direction other than rightward as the suggestive shape. The deformation process when the suggestive shape is an upward-pointing arrow will be explained below with reference to Figure 19.

[0142] Figure 19 shows an example of a transformation where an upward-pointing arrow is the suggested shape. As shown in Figure 19, when an upward-pointing arrow is used as the suggested shape, the game system 1 gradually transforms the body object 221 from its basic shape to the suggested shape, just as when a rightward-pointing arrow is used as the suggested shape. In this embodiment, the game system 1 uses a rightward-pointing arrow as the suggested shape to generate the intermediate shape and the suggested shape as in the case where an upward-pointing arrow is used as the suggested shape.

[0143] In the example shown in Figure 19, the game system 1 first generates a body object 221 of the same intermediate shape (i.e., an intermediate shape related to a right-pointing arrow) as when generating a suggestive shape that is a right-pointing arrow, by interpolating between a pre-prepared suggestive shape (i.e., a suggestive shape that is a right-pointing arrow) and a basic shape. Next, the game system 1 generates a body object 221 of the intermediate shape related to a right-pointing arrow by rotating the body object 221, which represents the intermediate shape when the suggestive shape is an upward-pointing arrow (as shown in Figures 19(b) and (c)).

[0144] The angle at which the intermediate shape body object 221 related to the rightward-pointing arrow is rotated is determined by the angle between the direction of the arrow in the suggested shape to be generated (i.e., upward) and the direction of the pre-stored suggested shape (in this case, a rightward-pointing arrow), and the number of steps in the transformation of the intermediate shape from the basic shape to the suggested shape. In the example shown in Figure 19, the angle between the direction of the arrow in the suggested shape to be generated and the direction of the pre-stored suggested shape is 90°, and the transformation from the basic shape to the suggested shape is performed in 3 steps. Therefore, the first intermediate shape body object 221 (shown in Figure 19(b)) can be obtained by rotating the first intermediate shape body object 221 related to the rightward-pointing arrow by 30° (=90° × 1 / 3) towards the upward direction. Furthermore, the second intermediate shape body object 221 (shown in Figure 19 (c)) can be obtained by rotating the second intermediate shape body object 221 related to the rightward arrow by 60° (=90° × 2 / 3) toward the upward direction. Also, the suggestive shape body object 221, which is an upward-pointing arrow, can be obtained by rotating the suggestive shape body object 221, which is a rightward-pointing arrow, by 90° toward the upward direction.

[0145] Furthermore, even when an arrow other than a right-pointing arrow is used as the suggestive shape, the game system 1 determines the positions of the eye object 222 and the foot object 223 in the same way as when a right-pointing arrow is used as the suggestive shape. Specifically, for the eye object 222, the position of the eye object 222 in the intermediate shape is calculated by interpolating the position of the eye object 222 in the basic shape with the position of the eye object 222 in the suggestive shape. The position of the eye object 222 in the final suggestive shape may differ for each suggestive shape where the arrow directions are different. In other words, the game system 1 may store the position of the eye object 222 for each suggestive shape where the arrow directions are different, and calculate the position in the intermediate shape by interpolating the position in the basic shape with the position in the suggestive shape. As for the foot object 223, the foot object 223 is placed at a position defined in the game program.

[0146] As described above, in this embodiment, the game system 1 transforms the non-player character from its basic shape to an arrow-like suggestive shape, and rotates the non-player character (specifically, by rotating a pre-prepared suggestive shape, or an intermediate shape generated based on a pre-prepared suggestive shape), thereby changing the direction represented by the suggestive shape. This eliminates the need to prepare a suggestive shape for each arrow direction, thus reducing the effort required to create the suggestive shape data. Furthermore, since the game system 1 does not need to store a suggestive shape for each arrow direction, the amount of pre-prepared suggestive shape data can be reduced. Note that even if, for example, the basic shape is an arrow pointing in a certain direction and the suggestive shape is an arrow pointing in another direction, the game system 1 may still generate the intermediate shape by rotation as described above. In this case, since the intermediate shape is generated by rotating the basic shape without (or with little to no) interpolation, the intermediate shape also becomes an arrow, improving the appearance of the intermediate shape.

[0147] In the examples shown in Figures 16 to 19, the suggestive shape of the non-player character 211 was a symbol indicating direction (i.e., an arrow). Here, the suggestive shape may also be a letter indicating direction (for example, the letter "R" for right). This allows the user to easily and intuitively recognize the direction in which the player character 212 should move.

[0148] Game System 1 may also transform the non-player character 211 into suggestive shapes that represent other letters or symbols, in addition to the suggestive shape that represents an arrow. Figure 20 shows an example of a symbol represented by a suggestive shape and the meaning of that symbol. Game System 1 may transform the non-player character 211 into a suggestive shape that mimics the various symbols shown in Figure 20. For example, a suggestive shape that mimics an exclamation mark ("!") may suggest that the non-player character 211 has new information (for example, the player character 212 can obtain that information through conversation). A suggestive shape that mimics a question mark ("?") may suggest that the non-player character 211 has a question for the player character 212 (for example, a question is asked when the player character 212 talks to the non-player character 211). A suggestive shape that mimics a checkmark may suggest that the conversation with the non-player character 211 has been completed. An indicative shape resembling an "X" mark may suggest that the non-player character 211 will not converse with the player character 212. An indicative shape resembling a heart mark may suggest that the non-player character 211 has feelings for the player character 212 (for example, if the player character 212 converses with the non-player character in this state, they may receive an item). An indicative shape resembling a musical note mark may suggest that the non-player character 211 is in a good mood (for example, if the player character 212 converses with the non-player character in this state, they may receive information). As with the heart mark and musical note mark mentioned above, the indicative shapes may also suggest the state of the non-player character 211 as a state related to the game.

[0149] Furthermore, the game system 1 may vary the suggestive shape of the non-player character 211 depending on the game situation. For example, the direction of the suggestive shape, which is an arrow, may be changed depending on the progress of the game's story (i.e., depending on the direction in which the player character 212 should proceed). Also, for example, if the player character 212 has not yet had a conversation with the non-player character 211, the suggestive shape may be an exclamation mark, and if the player character 212 has had a conversation with the non-player character 211, the suggestive shape may be changed to a check mark.

[0150] In this embodiment, the player character 212 can converse with the non-player character 211. That is, when the player character 212 is positioned near the non-player character 211 and the user gives an instruction to converse, the player character 212 will converse with the non-player character 211. When a conversation takes place, the game system 1 displays a message indicating the content of the conversation from the non-player character 211. In other embodiments, the message from the non-player character 211 may be displayed when the player character 212 approaches the non-player character 211, when the player character 212 turns towards the non-player character 211, or when the above-mentioned modification conditions are met.

[0151] In this embodiment, the content of the message from the non-player character 211 is related to the suggestive shape of the non-player character 211. In other words, the suggestive shape of the non-player character 211 can be said to suggest the content of the message from the non-player character 211. The game system 1 displays a message (specifically, a message from the non-player character 211) that indicates content related to the suggestive shape, in response to the player character 212 conversing with the non-player character 211. For example, if the suggestive shape represents the arrow, the message displayed as a result of the conversation between the player character 212 and the non-player character 211 is a sentence that guides the player character 212's path (for example, "If you go this way, you'll reach the goal," or "If you go to the right, there's an item," etc.). Also, for example, if the suggestive shape represents a question mark ("?"), the message is a question to the player character 212 (for example, "Is there anything you want?" or "Do you have the item XX?", etc.). As described above, according to this embodiment, information that cannot be adequately conveyed by suggestive shapes (for example, more detailed information) can be conveyed to the user by message. Furthermore, since the user can roughly grasp or infer the content of the conversation from the suggestive shapes, they can decide whether or not to engage in conversation with the non-player character 211 based on the suggestive shapes.

[0152] The specific conditions for displaying the above message are arbitrary. For example, in another embodiment, the game system 1 may display the above message when the transformation conditions are met. That is, the non-player character 211 may transform into a suggestive shape and the above message may be displayed at the same time. In this case as well, information that cannot be conveyed by the suggestive shape alone can be conveyed to the user through the message.

[0153] In this embodiment, the game system 1 controls the actions of the non-player character 211. The specific actions performed by the non-player character 211 are arbitrary. For example, the game system 1 controls the non-player character 211 to perform actions such as turning its body from side to side or swaying up and down while standing, or walking.

[0154] In this embodiment, the game system 1 causes the non-player character 211 to perform the same actions whether it is in its basic shape or its suggestive shape. In this embodiment, the joints of the non-player character 211 may change position between the basic shape and the suggestive shape, but their number and connection relationships do not change. Therefore, the game system 1 can make the non-player character 211 operate in the same way regardless of whether it is in its basic shape or suggestive shape by controlling the joints in the same way.

[0155] Furthermore, as described above, in this embodiment, the game system 1 calculates the position of each joint according to the intermediate shape of the non-player character 211, even when the non-player character 211 is in an intermediate shape. Therefore, in this embodiment, the game system 1 can allow the non-player character 211 to continue moving even while it is transforming from the basic shape to the suggested shape.

[0156] In this embodiment, after the above deformation conditions are met, if the release conditions defined in the game program are met, the game system 1 returns the non-player character 211 from the suggestive shape to the basic shape. In this embodiment, when the character is transformed from the suggestive shape to the basic shape, the game system 1 gradually transforms the non-player character 211 from the suggestive shape to the basic shape, just as when the character is transformed from the basic shape to the suggestive shape. The release conditions, like the deformation conditions, are conditions related to the positional relationship between the non-player character 211 and the player character 212. Specifically, the release condition is that the player character 212 has moved outside the range from the position of the non-player character 211 to a predetermined release distance. Here, the release distance is the same as or longer than the reference distance related to the deformation conditions described above.

[0157] The release conditions are not limited to those described above, and may also be other conditions relating to the positional relationship between the non-player character 211 and the player character 212. For example, if the deformation condition is that the player character 212 is located within a predetermined area (e.g., an area in a room or an area on a table) determined based on the non-player character 211, the release condition may be that the player character 212 has moved out of that predetermined area. Also, for example, if the deformation condition is that the player character 212 is facing the non-player character 211, the release condition may be that the player character 212 is not facing the non-player character 211.

[0158] As described above, the game system 1 deforms the non-player character 211 from its suggestive shape back to its basic shape depending on the release conditions, which include the player character 212 being located outside a range based on the non-player character 211 that is the same as or different from the judgment range (in this embodiment, the range from the non-player character 211 to the release distance), and / or the player character 212 not facing the non-player character 211. This allows the shape of the non-player character 211 to be returned to its basic shape, so when the deformation conditions are met again, the non-player character 211 will deform back into its suggestive shape, thereby attracting the user's attention again. In other embodiments, no release conditions are set, and the non-player character 211, once in its suggestive shape, does not need to return to its original basic shape.

[0159] The release condition is a condition that is not satisfied if the deformation condition is satisfied. However, the release condition does not need to be a condition that is always satisfied when the deformation condition is not satisfied. For example, in this embodiment, the release condition does not need to be immediately satisfied when the player character 212 goes outside the judgment range, which is the range within the reference distance from the non-player character 211 (i.e., the release distance does not need to be the same as the reference distance). In this embodiment, the game system 1 sets the release distance to a distance longer than the reference distance so that the release condition is not immediately satisfied even when the player character 212 goes outside the judgment range. As a result, even if the player character 212 repeatedly goes in and out of the judgment range, the release condition is less likely to be satisfied, and as a result, the possibility of frequent deformation between the basic shape and the suggested shape can be reduced.

[0160] In this embodiment, since the non-player character 211 (specifically, the body object 221) is a voxel object, it can be erased (also called destroyed) during the game, similar to the terrain object described above. Specifically, when some kind of impact is applied to the non-player character 211, the game system 1 erases a part of the body object 221 by updating the voxel data of the body object 221 (more specifically, the density data described above). For example, the game system 1 erases a part of the non-player character 211 in response to actions by the player character 212 (for example, when the player character 212 punches the non-player character 211 or hits the non-player character 211 with another object). As a result, the player can change the shape of the non-player character 211 by manipulating the player character 212.

[0161] As described above, if a part of the non-player character 211 (specifically, the body object 221) is erased, the game system 1 restores the shape of the non-player character 211 to its original shape over time. Specifically, the game system 1 gradually changes the voxel data (more specifically, the density data) of the body object 221 over time so that it returns to the value before the erasure. Therefore, even if the non-player character 211 is erased by actions such as those of the player character 212, it will gradually be restored to its original shape. According to the above, the player can enjoy repeatedly deforming the non-player character 211. Furthermore, by restoring the shape of the non-player character 211, from which a part has been erased, to its original shape, the player can be made to recognize that the non-player character 211 is a character that has the property of deforming. By making the player aware of this, the possibility that the player will feel uncomfortable when the non-player character 211 deforms into a suggested shape as described above can be reduced.

[0162] Furthermore, if at least a portion of a non-player character 211 is erased while it is in its basic shape, the game system 1 restores the shape of the non-player character 211 so that it gradually returns to its basic shape over time. Also, if at least a portion of a non-player character 211 is erased while it is in a suggestive shape, the game system 1 restores the shape of the non-player character 211 so that it gradually returns to the suggestive shape over time. Thus, the game system 1 can restore the shape of the non-player character 211 to the shape it was in immediately before it was erased, regardless of whether it is in its basic shape or a suggestive shape.

[0163] Figure 21 shows an example of how a non-player character changes when a deformation condition is met while a partially erased non-player character is being restored. In Figure 21, a part of the non-player character 211 is erased at time t1, a deformation condition for the non-player character 211 is met at time t2 while the restoration corresponding to the erasure is in progress, and the shape of the non-player character 211 is restored at time t3. In the above case, at time t2 when the deformation condition is met, the game system 1 does not start the deformation process from the basic shape to the suggested shape because a part of the non-player character 211 is still erased and being restored. In this embodiment, at time t3 when the shape of the partially erased non-player character 211 is restored to its basic shape, if the deformation condition is met, the game system 1 starts the deformation process from the basic shape to the suggested shape. Subsequently, the non-player character 211 in its basic shape is transformed into the suggested shape (time t4).

[0164] As described above, in this embodiment, if the deformation condition is met while the non-player character 211 is being restored to its basic shape, the game system 1 deforms the non-player character 211 into a suggestive shape after it has been restored to its basic shape. If the deformation were to proceed from the shape being restored to the suggestive shape without going through the basic shape, the deformation to the suggestive shape might be difficult for the user to understand, potentially making it difficult to attract the user's attention to the non-player character 211. In contrast, according to this embodiment, by deforming the non-player character 211 from the shape being restored to the suggestive shape via the basic shape, it is possible to more reliably attract the user's attention to the non-player character 211. In other embodiments, if the deformation condition is met while the non-player character 211 is being restored to its basic shape, the game system 1 may deform the non-player character 211 into a suggestive shape without going through the basic shape. In this case, the game system 1 generates intermediate shapes for these two shapes by interpolating between the shape being restored (i.e., the shape at the point when the deformation condition is met) and the suggestive shape.

[0165] Furthermore, if a non-player character 211 is partially erased while in a suggestive shape, and the above release condition is met while the non-player character 211 is being restored to its suggestive shape, the game system 1 will transform the non-player character 211 back into its basic shape after it has been restored to its suggestive shape. It should be noted that when transforming the non-player character 211 from a suggestive shape to a basic shape, the need to attract the user's attention is considered to be lower compared to when transforming the non-player character 211 from a basic shape to a suggestive shape. Therefore, if the transformation condition is met while a partially erased non-player character 211 is being restored to its basic shape, the game system 1 may transform the non-player character 211 into the suggestive shape after it has been restored to its basic shape. On the other hand, if the release condition is met while a partially erased non-player character 211 is being restored to the suggestive shape, the game system 1 may transform the non-player character 211 from its shape during the restoration process (i.e., the shape at the time the release condition is met) back to its basic shape without going through the suggestive shape.

[0166] Furthermore, in this embodiment, similar to the terrain objects described above, it is possible to add other voxel objects to the non-player character 211. Specifically, when a predetermined other object (for example, a rock object with the same material as the body object 221) comes into contact with the body object 221 of the non-player character 211, the game system 1 integrates that object with the body object 221. In other words, in the above case, the game system 1 makes the shape of the body object 221 with the object attached to the original shape of the body object 221 the shape of the new body object 221.

[0167] If the deformation condition is met when the shape of the non-player character 211 has been altered by the addition of other objects to its base shape, the game system 1 restores the non-player character 211 to its base shape before transforming it into the suggestive shape. Thus, in this embodiment, if the deformation condition is met when the shape of the non-player character has been altered for reasons other than deformation from the base shape to the suggestive shape (for example, due to additions or deletions to the non-player character 211), the game system 1 transforms the non-player character 211 to its base shape before transforming it into the suggestive shape. However, even when the transformation from the above state to the suggestive shape is performed without going through the base shape, the transformation to the suggestive shape may be difficult for the user to understand, similar to the case where the transformation from a partially erased state to the suggestive shape is performed without going through the base shape, and it may be difficult to attract the user's attention to the non-player character 211. In contrast, according to this embodiment, by transforming from a shape with other objects added to the suggestive shape via the base shape, it is possible to more reliably attract the user's attention to the non-player character 211. Furthermore, the restoration from the added shape to the base shape may be performed by gradually deforming it over a predetermined time, or by returning to the base shape all at once. In another embodiment, if the deformation conditions are met in the above state, the game system 1 may deform the non-player character 211 from the added shape to the suggested shape without going through the base shape.

[0168] Furthermore, if the release condition is met when the non-player character 211 has a shape in which other objects have been added to the suggestive shape, the game system 1 restores the non-player character 211 to the suggestive shape and then transforms it back to the basic shape. The restoration from the added shape to the suggestive shape may be performed gradually over a predetermined time, or it may be performed to return to the suggestive shape all at once. In another embodiment, if the release condition is met in the above state, the game system 1 may transform the non-player character 211 from the shape with other objects added to the basic shape without going through the suggestive shape.

[0169] Furthermore, if other objects are added to the non-player character 211, the game system 1 may restore the shape of the non-player character 211 to its original shape over time, similar to the case where it is deleted. In this case, if the addition occurs while the non-player character 211 is in its basic shape, the non-player character 211 will be restored to its basic shape. On the other hand, if the addition occurs while the non-player character 211 is in its suggestive shape, the non-player character 211 will be restored to its suggestive shape. Also, if a deformation condition is met during the restoration process, the game system 1 may deform the non-player character 211 from its intermediate shape to its suggestive shape via the basic shape. On the other hand, if a release condition is met during the restoration process, the game system 1 may deform the non-player character 211 from its intermediate shape to its basic shape via the suggestive shape.

[0170] The above describes the process of changing the shape of the non-player character 211, but the game system 1 may also change the material (specifically, properties and texture) of the non-player character 211 in addition to its shape. In other words, the game system 1 may further change at least one of the non-player character's color, pattern, and properties in response to the change in the non-player character's shape from its basic shape to a suggested shape due to the deformation conditions.

[0171] For example, the texture of the non-player character 211 in its basic shape and the texture of the suggested shape may be set to be different from each other. In this case, the game system 1 may determine the color and pattern of the intermediate shape by interpolating the textures as well.

[0172] For example, the properties of the non-player character 211 in its basic shape (e.g., hardness) and its properties in its suggestive shape may be set to be different from each other. Specifically, the hardness in the basic shape and the hardness in the suggestive shape may be set to be different from each other, or a non-player character that does not explode in its basic shape may be set to explode (due to some impact) in its suggestive shape. The game system 1 may also determine the properties in intermediate shapes by interpolating the properties.

[0173] In other embodiments, even if the game system 1 gradually changes the shape of the non-player character 211 from a basic shape to a suggested shape using intermediate shapes, the material may not be changed gradually. For example, the game system 1 may change the material of the non-player character 211 when it reaches the suggested shape (or when it reaches a predetermined intermediate shape).

[0174] [3. Specific examples of processing in game systems] Next, we will explain specific examples of information processing in game system 1 with reference to Figures 22 to 25.

[0175] Figure 22 shows an example of various types of data used for information processing in game system 1. As shown in Figure 22, game system 1 stores game programs, player character data, and non-player character data.

[0176] The game program is a game program for executing the game processing in this embodiment (specifically, the game processing shown in Figure 23). The game program is data that is stored in the game system 1 in advance before the execution of the game processing. The game program is stored, for example, in a storage medium installed in slot 23 of the main unit 2.

[0177] Player character data is data relating to the player character. In this embodiment, player character data includes data indicating the position of the player character in the game space. Player character data is data generated during the execution of game processing. Player character data is stored, for example, in the DRAM 85 of the main unit 2.

[0178] Non-player character data is data relating to non-player characters. Non-player character data includes voxel space data, voxel object data, mesh data, basic shape data, suggestive shape data, deformation flag data, and joint data. In addition, non-player character data, with the exception of the basic shape data and suggestive shape data mentioned above, is generated during the execution of game processing and is stored, for example, in the DRAM 85 of the main unit 2. The basic shape data and suggestive shape data are stored in the game system 1 in advance of the execution of game processing, together with (or included in) the game program. In addition to the above data, non-player character data may also include data indicating the posture and state of the non-player character.

[0179] Voxel space data defines the sub-voxel space for non-player characters. Specifically, voxel space data includes data indicating the length of one side of a voxel in the sub-voxel space. It also includes data indicating the position (which can be said to be the position of the non-player character in the game space), orientation, and size of the sub-voxel space in the game space.

[0180] The voxel object data includes voxel data related to non-player characters, i.e., voxel data for each voxel in the sub-voxel space described above. The voxel object data is data that defines the shape of the non-player character in the sub-voxel space.

[0181] Mesh data is data that represents the mesh assigned to a non-player character. Mesh data includes, for example, data indicating the position of each vertex in the mesh.

[0182] Joint data is data related to the joints set for non-player characters (including joints that determine the position of eye and foot objects). Joint data includes data indicating the position and connection relationships of the joints.

[0183] Basic shape data is data (specifically, voxel data) that represents the basic shape of a non-player character. Suggestive shape data is data (specifically, voxel data) that represents the suggestive shape of a non-player character. As described above, in this embodiment, for suggestive shapes representing arrows, only suggestive shape data for suggestive shapes representing right-pointing arrows is provided, and suggestive shape data for suggestive shapes representing arrows of other directions is not provided.

[0184] The deformation flag data indicates whether a non-player character is in a state where it can be deformed into a suggested shape (i.e., whether the deformation conditions are met). If a non-player character is in a state where it can be deformed into a suggested shape, the deformation flag is set to ON; if a non-player character is not in a state where it can be deformed into a suggested shape, the deformation flag is set to OFF. At the start of the game, the deformation flag is set to OFF.

[0185] In addition to the data shown in Figure 22, the game system 1 also stores data that defines the main voxel space set in the game space, data that indicates voxel objects (in this case, terrain objects) placed in the main voxel space, and data that indicates the mesh set for said voxel objects (i.e., the mesh of the terrain object).

[0186] Figure 23 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the game processing flow performed by game system 1. The game processing shown in Figure 23 is initiated, for example, when the player issues an instruction to start the game during the execution of the game program described above.

[0187] In this embodiment, the processor 81 of the main unit 2 executes the game program stored in the game system 1, thereby executing the processing of each step shown in Figure 23. However, in other embodiments, some of the processing of each step may be executed by a processor other than the processor 81 (for example, a dedicated circuit). Also, if the game system 1 can communicate with other information processing devices (for example, a server), some of the processing of each step shown in Figure 23 may be executed by the other information processing device. Furthermore, the processing of each step shown in Figure 23 is merely an example, and the processing order of each step may be changed, or other processing may be performed in addition to (or instead of) the processing of each step, as long as similar results can be obtained.

[0188] Furthermore, the processor 81 executes the processing of each step shown in Figure 23 using memory (for example, DRAM 85). That is, the processor 81 stores the information (in other words, data) obtained by each processing step in memory, and when it is necessary to use that information in subsequent processing steps, it reads the information from memory and uses it.

[0189] In step S1 shown in Figure 23, the processor 81 sets up a voxel space in the game space. Specifically, the processor 81 acquires the voxel space data and stores it in the DRAM 85 (in other words, writes it). In subsequent game processing, the processor 81 may refer to the voxel space data when executing processing related to voxel objects (for example, the processing in step S2). In this case, the processor 81 refers to the voxel space data stored in the DRAM 85. The processing in step S2 is executed after step S1.

[0190] In step S2, the processor 81 sets up voxel objects (specifically, terrain objects) in the main voxel space in the game space. Specifically, the processor 81 acquires voxel data indicating the arrangement of terrain objects in the initial state and stores (in other words, writes) part or all of the acquired voxel data to the DRAM 85. The voxel data indicating the arrangement of terrain objects in the initial state is stored, for example, in a storage medium installed in slot 23 of the main unit 2. The processing in step S3 is executed after step S2.

[0191] In step S3, the processor 81 places each character (specifically, player characters and non-player characters) in the game space. Specifically, the processor 81 places each character at the position defined in the game program. At this time, player character data and non-player character data, including data indicating the placed position, are stored in the DRAM 85. The processing in step S4 is executed after step S3.

[0192] In step S4, the processor 81 controls the movements of each character appearing in the game space (specifically, player characters and non-player characters). For example, the processor 81 controls the movements of the player characters based on the operation data received from each controller 3 or 4. The processor 81 also causes the non-player characters to perform the movements defined in the game program (for example, turning their bodies left and right or swaying up and down while standing). Specifically, the processor 81 changes the position of the joints to perform the above movements and updates the joint data included in the non-player character data to indicate the changed positions. The processor 81 also updates the data indicating the position of the player characters included in the player character data, and / or the data indicating the position of the non-player characters included in the non-player character data, in accordance with the movement of each character in the game space. The processing of step S5 is executed after step S4.

[0193] In step S5, the processor 81 determines whether the elimination condition has been met for the non-player character as a result of operating each character in accordance with the processing in step S4. The elimination condition is a condition for eliminating a part of the non-player character, and in this embodiment, it is that some kind of impact has been applied to the non-player character (for example, a player character punches a non-player character, or another object hits a non-player character). If the result of the determination in step S5 is affirmative, the processing in step S6 is executed. On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S5 is negative, the processing in step S6 is skipped and the processing in step S7 is executed.

[0194] In step S6, the processor 81 erases a portion of the non-player characters (abbreviated as "NPC" in Figure 23) whose erasure conditions have been met. Specifically, the processor 81 updates the density indicated by the voxel data for the non-player characters so that a portion of those non-player characters are erased. The processor 81 updates the voxel object data stored in the DRAM 85 to reflect the changed density. The process in step S7 is executed after step S6.

[0195] In step S7, the processor 81 determines whether or not there are any non-player characters that have been partially erased by the processing in step S6. If the result of the determination in step S7 is positive, the processing in step S8 is executed. On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S7 is negative, the processing in step S8 is skipped and the processing in step S9 is executed.

[0196] In step S8, the processor 81 restores the partially erased non-player character to its original shape (i.e., the basic shape or suggestive shape). Specifically, as described in "[2-3. Deformation of Non-Player Characters]" above, the processor 81 gradually changes the density data values ​​contained in the voxel data of the non-player character back to the values ​​before erasure. Note that the partially erased non-player character does not need to be restored to its original shape in a single step S8 operation; it is gradually restored to its original shape by repeating the step S8 operation multiple times. The operation in step S9 is executed after step S8.

[0197] In step S9, the processor 81 determines whether an additional condition has been met for a non-player character as a result of operating each character in accordance with the processing in step S4. The additional condition is a condition for adding another object to the non-player character, and in this embodiment, it is that a predetermined other object (for example, a rock object with the same material as the body object) has come into contact with the non-player character. If the result of the determination in step S9 is affirmative, the processing in step S10 is executed. On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S9 is negative, the processing in step S10 is skipped and the processing in step S11 is executed.

[0198] In step S10, the processor 81 adds the other objects to the non-player character whose additional conditions are met. That is, the shape of the non-player character is changed to the shape with the other objects added. Specifically, the processor 81 updates the density indicated by the voxel data relating to the non-player character to the shape of the non-player character with the predetermined objects attached to its original shape. The processor 81 updates the voxel object data stored in the DRAM 85 to indicate the changed density. The processing in step S11 is executed after step S10.

[0199] In step S11, the processor 81 performs character deformation processing to deform the shape of the non-player character. Character deformation processing is the process of deforming the non-player character from its basic shape to a suggested shape, or from a suggested shape back to its basic shape. The detailed flow of the character generation process will be explained below with reference to Figures 24 and 25.

[0200] Figures 24 and 25 are subflowcharts showing an example of a detailed flow of the character deformation process in step S11 shown in Figure 23. In the character deformation process, first in step S21, the processor 81 determines whether or not the deformation condition has been met for any non-player character placed in the game space. This determination can be made based on the data indicating the position of the player character included in the player character data and the data indicating the position of the non-player character included in the non-player character data. If the determination result in step S21 is positive, the process in step S22 is executed. On the other hand, if the determination result in step S21 is negative, the process in step S22 is skipped and the process in step S23 is executed.

[0201] In step S22, the processor 81 updates the deformation flag data stored in the DRAM 85 so that the deformation flag is set to ON for non-player characters for which the deformation conditions were determined to be satisfied in step S21. The processing in step S23 is executed after step S22.

[0202] In step S23, the processor 81 determines whether the deformation flag is set to ON for any non-player character placed in the game space. If the result of the determination in step S23 is positive, the process in step S24 is executed. On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S23 is negative, the process in step S30 (see Figure 25), which will be described later, is executed.

[0203] In step S24, the processor 81 determines whether the non-player character with the deformation flag set to ON is in the suggested shape. The process in step S24 is to determine whether the non-player character with the deformation flag set to ON has completed the deformation into the suggested shape. If the result of the determination in step S24 is positive, the process in step S30 (see Figure 25), which will be described later, is executed. On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S24 is negative, the process in step S25 is executed.

[0204] In step S25, the processor 81 determines whether a non-player character with the deformation flag set to ON is in the process of being restored in response to partial erasure. That is, if the non-player character has been restored by the process in step S8, it is determined that the non-player character is in the process of being restored; if it has not been restored, it is determined that the non-player character is not in the process of being restored. If the result of the determination in step S25 is affirmative, the processes in steps S26 to S28 are skipped, and the process in step S30 (see Figure 25), which will be described later, is executed. In other words, if a non-player character is being restored, the deformation process to the suggested shape of the non-player character (step S27, described later) is not executed. On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S25 is negative, the process in step S26 is executed.

[0205] In step S26, the processor 81 determines whether or not a non-player character with the deformation flag set to ON has a shape to which other objects have been added. That is, if other objects have been added to the non-player character as a result of the processing in step S10, the non-player character is determined to have other objects added; if no additions have been made, the non-player character is determined not to have other objects added. If the result of the determination in step S26 is negative, the processing in step S27 is executed. On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S26 is positive, the processing in step S29 is executed.

[0206] In step S27, the processor 81 deforms the non-player character for which the deformation flag is set to ON from its basic shape to a suggested shape. Specifically, the processor 81 gradually changes the density data value included in the voxel data of the non-player character to a value that represents the suggested shape. At this time, the processor 81 may also change the material data included in the voxel data to further change at least one of the non-player character's color, pattern, and properties. Note that, as described in "[2-3. Deformation of Non-Player Characters]" above, in this embodiment, the non-player character is not deformed into the suggested shape by the processing in step S27 in a single step. In this embodiment, the processing in step S27 is repeated multiple times as the series of processing loops in steps S4 to S14 are repeatedly executed, so that the non-player character in its basic shape is deformed into the suggested shape via an intermediate shape. In other words, the processor 81 generates intermediate shapes by interpolating between the basic shape and the suggested shape during the processing of step S27 multiple times, and gradually transforms the non-player character from the basic shape to the suggested shape via the intermediate shapes. The processing of step S28 is executed after step S27.

[0207] In step S28, the processor 81 changes the position of each joint for the non-player character for which the deformation flag is set to ON. Specifically, as described in "[2-3. Deformation of Non-Player Characters]" above, the processor 81 changes the position of each joint to correspond to the shape deformed in step S27 (i.e., the intermediate shape or suggested shape). At this time, the processor 81 updates the joint data stored in the DRAM 85 to represent the changed position. Note that each of the above joints includes the joint corresponding to the eye object. Therefore, the processing in step S28 causes the position of the eye object to move in accordance with the deformation of the body object. In this embodiment, the processing in step S28 is the same as the processing in step S27 above, and as the series of processing loops in steps S4 to S14 are repeatedly executed, the processing in step S28 is repeated multiple times, causing the position of the eye object of the non-player character to gradually move. The processing in step S30 (see Figure 25) is executed after step S28.

[0208] In step S29, the processor 81 restores the non-player character, for which the deformation flag is set to ON, from its shape with other objects added to its base shape. Specifically, the processor 81 gradually changes the density data value included in the voxel data of the non-player character to a value that represents the base shape. In this embodiment, the processing in step S29 is the same as the processing in step S27 above, and as the series of processing loops in steps S4 to S14 are repeatedly executed, the processing in step S29 is repeated multiple times, so that the non-player character is gradually transformed from its shape with other objects added to its base shape. After the processing in step S29 restores the non-player character to its base shape, (if the deformation flag remains set to ON,) the non-player character is transformed from its base shape to an suggested shape by the processing in step S27. The processing in step S30 (see Figure 25) is executed after step S29.

[0209] In step S30, the processor 81 determines whether the release condition has been met for non-player characters whose deformation flag is set to ON. This determination can be made based on the data indicating the position of the player character included in the player character data and the data indicating the position of the non-player character included in the non-player character data. If the determination result in step S30 is positive, the processing in step S31 is executed. On the other hand, if the determination result in step S30 is negative, the processing in step S31 is skipped and the processing in step S32 is executed.

[0210] In step S31, the processor 81 updates the transformation flag data stored in the DRAM 85 so that the transformation flag is set to off for non-player characters for which the release condition was determined to have been met in step S30. The process in step S32 is executed after step S31.

[0211] In step S32, the processor 81 determines whether the deformation flag is set to off for any non-player character placed in the game space. If the result of the determination in step S32 is positive, the process in step S33 is executed. On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S32 is negative, the processor 81 terminates the character deformation process.

[0212] In step S33, the processor 81 determines whether the non-player character with the deformation flag set to off is in its base shape. The process in step S33 is to determine whether the non-player character with the deformation flag set to off has completed its deformation to the base shape. If the result of the determination in step S33 is positive, the processor 81 terminates the character deformation process. On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S33 is negative, the process in step S34 is executed.

[0213] In step S34, the processor 81 determines whether a non-player character with the deformation flag set to off is in the process of being restored in response to a part of it being erased. That is, if the non-player character has been restored by the process in step S8, it is determined that the non-player character is in the process of being restored; if it has not been restored, it is determined that the non-player character is not in the process of being restored. If the result of the determination in step S34 is affirmative, the processes in steps S35 to S38 are skipped, and the processor 81 terminates the character deformation process. In other words, if a non-player character is being restored, the deformation process to the basic shape of the non-player character (step S36, described later) is not executed. On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S34 is negative, the process in step S35 is executed.

[0214] In step S35, the processor 81 determines whether or not a non-player character with the deformation flag set to off has a shape to which other objects have been added. That is, if other objects have been added to the non-player character as a result of the processing in step S10, the non-player character is determined to have other objects added; if no additions have been made, the non-player character is determined not to have other objects added. If the result of the determination in step S35 is negative, the processing in step S36 is executed. On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S35 is positive, the processing in step S38 is executed.

[0215] In step S36, the processor 81 deforms the non-player character, for which the deformation flag is set to off, from the suggested shape to the basic shape. Specifically, the processor 81 gradually changes the value of the density data included in the voxel data of the non-player character so that it becomes a value that represents the basic shape. At this time, the processor 81 may also change the material data included in the voxel data to further change at least one of the non-player character's color, pattern, and properties. Note that, as described in "[2-3. Deformation of Non-Player Characters]" above, in this embodiment, the non-player character is not deformed into the suggested shape by the processing in step S36 in a single operation. In this embodiment, the processing in step S36 is repeated multiple times as the series of processing loops in steps S4 to S14 are repeatedly executed, so that the non-player character in the suggested shape is deformed into the basic shape via an intermediate shape. In other words, the processor 81 generates intermediate shapes by interpolation between the basic shape and the suggested shape during the processing of step S36 multiple times, and gradually transforms the non-player character from the suggested shape to the basic shape via the intermediate shapes. The processing of step S37 is executed after step S36.

[0216] In step S37, the processor 81 changes the position of each joint for the non-player character whose deformation flag is set to off. Specifically, as described in "[2-3. Deformation of Non-Player Characters]" above, the processor 81 changes the position of each joint so that it corresponds to the shape deformed in step S27 (i.e., the intermediate shape or the basic shape). At this time, the processor 81 updates the joint data stored in the DRAM 85 to represent the changed position. Note that the above joints include the joint corresponding to the eye object. Therefore, the processing in step S37 causes the position of the eye object to move in accordance with the deformation of the body object. In this embodiment, the processing in step S37 is the same as the processing in step S36 above, and as the series of processing loops in steps S4 to S14 are repeatedly executed, the processing in step S37 is repeated multiple times, causing the position of the eye object of the non-player character to gradually move. After step S37, the processor 81 terminates the character deformation process.

[0217] In step S38, the processor 81 restores the non-player character, whose deformation flag is set to off, from its shape with other objects added to its suggested shape. Specifically, the processor 81 gradually changes the density data value included in the voxel data of the non-player character to a value that represents the suggested shape. In this embodiment, the processing in step S38 is the same as the processing in step S28, and as the series of processing loops in steps S4 to S14 are repeatedly executed, the processing in step S38 is repeated multiple times, so that the non-player character is gradually transformed from its shape with other objects added to its suggested shape. After the processing in step S38 restores the non-player character to its suggested shape, (if the deformation flag remains set to off,) the non-player character is transformed from its suggested shape to its basic shape by the processing in step S36. After step S38, the processor 81 terminates the character deformation process.

[0218] Returning to the explanation of Figure 23, the process in step S12 is executed after the character deformation process in step S11. In step S12, the processor 81 generates a mesh for the voxel object. The mesh for the voxel object is generated according to the method described in "[2-2. Mesh]" above. Note that in step S12, the processor 81 does not need to generate meshes again for meshes that have been generated in the previous steps of step S12, and may instead regenerate meshes for characters whose voxel data has been changed by the processes in steps S4, S6, S8, S10, and S11. The process in step S12 allows the mesh of the voxel object to be dynamically changed during the game. The processor 81 also updates the mesh data stored in the DRAM 85 to reflect the newly generated mesh. The process in step S13 is executed after step S12.

[0219] In step S13, the processor 81 generates a game image representing the game space and displays it on the display device. Specifically, the processor 81 generates a game image representing the game space, including voxel objects and other objects. The image of the voxel object is generated using the voxel object data and mesh data stored in the DRAM 85, according to the method described in "[2-2. Mesh]" above. The processor 81 displays the generated game image on the display device. Also, if a conversation takes place between a player character and a non-player character (for example, if the user gives an instruction to have a conversation while the player character is in the vicinity of a non-player character), the processor 81 displays a message from the non-player character. During the game, the process in step S13 is repeatedly executed at a rate of once every predetermined time (for example, 1 frame time). The process in step S14 is executed after step S13.

[0220] In step S14, the processor 81 determines whether or not to terminate the game. For example, the processor 81 determines whether or not the user has given an instruction to terminate the game. If the result of the determination in step S14 is negative, the process in step S4 is executed again. Thereafter, the series of processes from steps S4 to S14 are repeatedly executed until it is determined in step S14 that the game should be terminated. On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S14 is positive, the processor 81 terminates the game process as shown in Figure 23.

[0221] [4. Effects and Modifications of This Embodiment] As described above, in the above embodiment, the information processing system (specifically, the game system 1) is configured to include the following means. Object placement means (step S3) for placing player objects (specifically, player character 212) and non-player objects (specifically, non-player character 211) within the virtual space. • A player movement means (step S4) that moves the player object in the virtual space based on user input. - A transformation means (step S27) that transforms a non-player object from a first shape (specifically, a basic shape) to a second shape (specifically, a suggestive shape) that resembles a letter or symbol, in accordance with a first condition (specifically, a transformation condition) that includes the player object being located within a first range (specifically, the judgment range described above) near the non-player object, and / or the player object facing the non-player object.

[0222] According to the above configuration, the shape of the non-player object itself can be deformed, thereby attracting more user attention to that non-player object. Furthermore, since the deformed second shape represents letters or symbols, some kind of information can be conveyed to the user through this second shape.

[0223] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the information processing system performs a process to change the direction represented by the suggestive shape by transforming the non-player object from its basic shape to an arrow-like shape and rotating the non-player object (Figure 19). In other embodiments, the information processing system may perform the transformation from the first shape to the second shape according to any condition, not limited to the first condition, in the configuration in which the above process is performed. The information processing system may perform the transformation by the above process according to conditions related to the game situation (for example, the game's story has progressed or the weather has changed during the game), and / or conditions related to the non-player object (for example, the non-player object has reached a predetermined state, such as a decrease in its health). For example, in response to the weather in the game becoming rainy, the non-player object may change into a shape resembling an umbrella.

[0224] Furthermore, in other embodiments, the second shape is not limited to representing letters or symbols, but may be a shape other than letters or symbols. For example, the information processing system may deform the non-player object into a flat, planar shape as the second shape, and change the properties of the non-player object to elastic properties. In this case, the information processing system may, for example, use the deformed, elastic non-player object as a stepping stone to enable the player object to jump higher.

[0225] In the above embodiment, when processing is performed using data (meaning including programs) in a certain information processing device, some of the data necessary for the processing may be transmitted from another information processing device different from the said information processing device. In this case, the said information processing device may perform the processing using the data received from the other information processing device and the data stored in itself.

[0226] In other embodiments, the information processing system may not have some of the configurations in the above embodiments, nor may it perform some of the processes executed in the above embodiments. For example, in order to achieve some of the specific effects in the above embodiments, the information processing system may have to have the configurations necessary to achieve those effects and perform the processes necessary to achieve those effects, but it may not have to have other configurations or perform other processes. [Industrial applicability]

[0227] The above embodiment can be used, for example, as a game system or game program, with the aim of attracting more user attention to non-player objects. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0228] 1. Game System 2. Main unit 81 processors 211 Non-Player Characters 212 Player Characters 221 object 222nd object 223 Foot Object

Claims

1. An information processing program executed in a computer of an information processing device, wherein the computer An object placement means for placing player objects and non-player objects within a virtual space, A player movement means for moving the player object in the virtual space based on user input, An information processing program that causes the non-player object to function as a first deformation means for deforming the non-player object from a first shape to a second shape resembling a character or symbol, depending on a first condition including that the player object is located within a first range near the non-player object and / or that the player object is facing the non-player object.

2. The information processing program according to claim 1, wherein the second shape is a character or symbol representing a direction.

3. The information processing program according to claim 2, wherein the first deformation means deforms the non-player object from the first shape to the second shape which is an arrow, and rotates the non-player object to change the direction represented by the second shape.

4. The information processing program according to claim 1, wherein the second shape is modeled after "!" or "?".

5. The information processing program according to claim 1, further comprising the computer functioning as a message display means for displaying a message from the non-player object on a display device when a display condition is met.

6. The information processing program according to claim 5, wherein the message indicates content related to the second shape.

7. The aforementioned second shape is modeled after an arrow, The information processing program according to claim 6, wherein the message is a statement that guides the player object's path.

8. The aforementioned second shape is modeled after a "?". The information processing program according to claim 6, wherein the message is a question to the player object.

9. The information processing program according to claim 1, wherein the first deformation means gradually deforms the non-player object from a first shape to a second shape.

10. The shape of the non-player object is determined based on the voxel data for each voxel set in voxel space. The information processing program according to claim 9, wherein the first deformation means performs interpolation processing using the voxel data representing the first shape and the voxel data representing the second shape to gradually deform the non-player object from the first shape to the second shape.

11. The information processing program according to claim 9 or 10, further comprising the computer functioning as a restoration means to restore the shape of the non-player object so that it gradually returns to the first shape over time if at least a portion of the non-player object is erased while the shape of the non-player object is the first shape, and to restore the shape of the non-player object so that it gradually returns to the second shape over time if at least a portion of the non-player object is erased while the shape of the non-player object is the second shape.

12. The information processing program according to claim 11, wherein the first deformation means, if the first condition is met while the non-player object is being restored to the first shape, deforms the non-player object to the second shape after it has been restored to the first shape.

13. The information processing program according to claim 1, wherein if the first condition is met while the shape of the non-player object is different from the first shape for reasons other than those caused by the deformation by the first deformation means, the first deformation means deforms the non-player object to the first shape and then deforms it to the second shape.

14. The non-player object has a first part that deforms from the first shape to the second shape, and a second part that is different from the first part. The information processing program according to claim 1, wherein the first deformation means changes the position of the second part in accordance with the deformation of the first part from a first shape to a second shape.

15. The information processing program according to claim 14, wherein the first deformation means gradually changes the position of the second part in accordance with the gradual deformation of the first part from the first shape to the second shape.

16. The aforementioned non-player object is a non-player character, The information processing program according to claim 14 or claim 15, wherein the second part is the eyes of the non-player character.

17. The information processing program according to claim 1, further comprising the computer functioning as an operation control means for causing the non-player object to perform the same operation when the non-player object is in the first shape and when it is in the second shape.

18. The information processing program according to claim 1, further comprising the computer functioning as a second deformation means for deforming the non-player object from the second shape to the first shape, in accordance with a second condition that is not satisfied if the first condition is satisfied, which includes the player object being located outside a second range that is the same as or different from the first range, and / or the player object not facing the non-player object.

19. The information processing program according to claim 1, wherein the first deformation means deforms the non-player object from the first shape to the second shape when the player object is located within a reference distance from the non-player object.

20. The information processing program according to claim 1, wherein the first deformation means further changes at least one of the color, pattern, and properties of the non-player object in response to the change in the shape of the non-player object from the first shape to the second shape due to the first condition.

21. An object placement means for placing player objects and non-player objects within a virtual space, A player movement means for moving the player object in the virtual space based on user input, An information processing system comprising deformation means for deforming a non-player object from a first shape to a second shape resembling a character or symbol, depending on a first condition including that the player object is located within a first range near the non-player object, and / or that the player object is facing the non-player object.

22. An object placement means for placing player objects and non-player objects within a virtual space, A player movement means for moving the player object in the virtual space based on user input, An information processing device comprising deformation means for deforming a non-player object from a first shape to a second shape resembling a character or symbol, in accordance with a first condition including that the player object is located within a first range near the non-player object and / or that the player object is facing the non-player object.

23. An information processing method performed by an information processing system, An object placement step involves placing player objects and non-player objects within a virtual space, A player movement step that moves the player object in the virtual space based on user input, An information processing method comprising: a deformation step of deforming a non-player object from a first shape to a second shape that resembles a character or symbol, in accordance with a first condition including that the player object is located within a first range near the non-player object and / or that the player object is facing the non-player object.

Images