Game program and game device

Abstract

To provide a game program and a game device capable of suppressing the decrease in performance effect due to sound, while suppressing the processing delay in a game device.SOLUTION: A game program causes a computer to function as: a game advancement unit 562 that advances a game; and a replay unit 564 that replays sound data. The sound data includes first sound data and second sound data in which a sound process is executed. The replay unit 564 replays the sound data in a first mode in which the first sound data is replayed while executing the sound process on the first sound data, or in a second mode in which the first sound data and the second sound data are replayed, on the basis of a processing load on a game device executing the game.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a game program and a game device. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there have been three-dimensional game devices that change the game sounds that a player hears related to a moving object based on the relationship between the player's viewpoint and the moving object moving within an object space in order to improve the sense of realism and presence felt by the player (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2002-346210 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In a game, in order to enhance the player's sense of realism, sound processing may be applied to the sound data to be reproduced depending on the environment the character (player character) is placed in. For example, when the player character is placed in a cave, reverb-processed sound data is reproduced.

[0005] However, when the processing load of a game device is high, applying sound processing to the reproduced audio data in real time will result in a delay in the processing of the game device, which will result in a loss of interest to the player.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a game program and a game device that can suppress a decrease in the presentation effect due to sound while suppressing a delay in processing of the game device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A first invention relates to a computer comprising: A game progression unit that progresses the game; a playback unit that plays back audio data; and make it work. the audio data includes first audio data and second audio data that has been subjected to acoustic processing; The playback unit is a game program that plays the audio data in a first mode in which the first audio data is played while applying the acoustic processing to the first audio data, or in a second mode in which the first audio data and the second audio data are played, based on the processing load of a game device that executes the game.

[0008] In addition, in the first invention, the playback unit may be configured to play back the audio data in the first mode when a condition that a processing load on a game device executing the game is equal to or less than a predetermined value is satisfied, and to play back the audio data in the second mode when the condition is not satisfied.

[0009] In the first aspect of the present invention, the acoustic processing is a reverberation processing, The second audio data may be a reverberant sound.

[0010] A second aspect of the present invention is a game device comprising: a storage unit that stores the game program of the first aspect of the present invention; A control unit that executes the game program; It is a game device equipped with the above. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, a game program and a game device are provided that can suppress a decrease in the presentation effect due to sound while suppressing the processing load on the game device. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a game device. [Diagram 2]4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining acoustic processing performed on audio data. [Diagram 3] 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the game device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, a game program and a game device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] The game program described in this embodiment is executed on a game device such as a personal computer, PlayStation (registered trademark), XBox (registered trademark), or PlayStation Vita (registered trademark).

[0015] In a game based on this game program, the player's operation is received, and the player character is made to act in a three-dimensional virtual game space (hereinafter simply referred to as the virtual space) and to perform various actions on the player character's companions.

[0016] In this game, a sound is played when a predetermined trigger condition is met during the movement or action of the player character, etc. The predetermined trigger condition may be, for example, the movement of the player character to a predetermined location, the appearance of an enemy character, the discovery of an item after defeating an enemy character, etc.

[0017] Furthermore, in this game, sound data that has been subjected to sound processing is reproduced according to the environment that the player character is placed in. In particular, in this game, sound processing is performed on the reproduced sound data according to the processing load of the game device.

[0018] <Game Device Configuration> 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a game device 5 according to this embodiment. The game device 5 executes a predetermined game based on the operation of a player. A display 61, a speaker 62, and a controller 63 are externally connected or built into the game device 5. In the game device 5, the game progresses based on the installed game program and game data.

[0019] The game device 5 has a network interface 51, a graphics processing unit 52, an audio processing unit 53, an operation unit 54, a storage unit 55, and a control unit 56. The network interface 51, the graphics processing unit 52, the audio processing unit 53, the operation unit 54, and the storage unit 55 are electrically connected to the control unit 56 via a bus 59.

[0020] The network interface 51 is communicatively connected to a communication network in order to transmit and receive various data between the game device 5 and an external server device (not shown), for example.

[0021] The graphics processing unit 52 renders game images including the player character and various objects related to the game space in a moving image format in accordance with game image information output from the control unit 56. The graphics processing unit 52 is connected to a display 61, and the game images rendered in a moving image format are displayed on the display 61 as a game screen.

[0022] The audio processing unit 53 reproduces and synthesizes digital game sounds according to instructions from the control unit 56. The audio processing unit 53 is connected to a speaker 62, and the reproduced and synthesized game sounds are output from the speaker 62.

[0023] The operation unit 54 is connected to the controller 63, and transmits and receives data related to operation inputs to and from the controller 63. For example, the player inputs operation signals to the game device 5 by operating operators (not shown) such as buttons provided on the controller 63.

[0024] The storage unit 55 is composed of a HDD, a RAM, a ROM, etc. The storage unit 55 can store game programs and game data. The storage unit 55 also stores other account information received from other game devices 5, etc.

[0025] The control unit 56 is configured with a microcomputer including a CPU and a semiconductor memory, and controls the operation of the game device 5 itself. For example, the control unit 56 causes the graphics processing unit 52 and the audio processing unit 53 to operate by executing the game program.

[0026] <Functional configuration of the control unit> The control unit 56 executes the game program, thereby functioning as a communication unit 561, a game progression unit 562, a processing load detection unit 563, and a playback unit 564.

[0027] The communication unit 561 has a function of communicating with other game devices 5 via the network interface 51. The communication unit 561 transmits to the other game devices 5 various operation signals that the operation unit 54 receives from the controller 63.

[0028] In response to the player's operation, the game progression unit 562 executes the game program and generates two-dimensional or three-dimensional game image information using data such as game space objects and textures included in the game data read from the storage unit 55. As the game image information is processed by the graphics processing unit 52, the processed game images are successively displayed on the display 61.

[0029] Furthermore, the game progression unit 562 causes a character operated by the player (player character) to move in the virtual space in response to an operation by the player. For example, the game progression unit 562 causes the player character to move in response to an operation signal from the controller 63.

[0030] The processing load detection unit 563 detects the processing load of the control unit 56. For example, the processing load detection unit 563 detects the number of frames processed per unit time (frame rate) of the control unit 56. This frame rate is expressed in units of FPS (frames per second). When the FPS value is high, the processing load of the control unit 56 is low, and when the FPS is low, the processing load of the control unit 56 is high.

[0031] For example, when there are few objects such as enemy characters displayed in the virtual space, the control unit 56 performs less processing, resulting in a high FPS value. On the other hand, when there are many objects such as enemy characters displayed in the virtual space, the control unit 56 performs more processing, resulting in a low FPS value. In other words, by referring to the frame rate (FPS value), it is possible to know how much processing load is being placed on the control unit 56.

[0032] The playback unit 564 plays back the sound data in accordance with the situation around the player character.

[0033] Here, the playback unit 564 plays (outputs) the audio data in a high-speed mode, a medium-speed mode, or a low-speed mode according to the processing load (frame rate) of the control unit 56 detected by the processing load detection unit 563. Here, a case where reverberation processing is performed on predetermined audio data (audio data A1) will be described as an example.

[0034] Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining the acoustic processing applied to audio data. Fig. 2(a)-(c) respectively show the state of audio data reproduced when the FPS of the control unit 56 is 60 (processing load: low), 45 (processing load: medium), and 30 (processing load: low). Fig. 2(a)-(c) respectively show the high-speed mode, medium-speed mode, and low-speed mode of the reproduction unit 564.

[0035] 2(a), when the processing load of the control unit 56 is low (60 FPS), audio data A1 that has been subjected to reverb processing A (high processing load) and reverb processing B (medium processing load) is played (output) from the speaker 62. The reverb processing A and B are executed when the audio data A1 is played back (in real time). This makes it possible to obtain a highly realistic sound effect in the high-speed mode.

[0036] In FIG. 2(a), since the processing load of the control unit 56 is low, even if the audio processing (reverb processing A) with a high processing load is executed in real time on the audio data A1, a delay in the processing by the control unit 56 is unlikely to occur.

[0037] 2(b), when the processing load of the control unit 56 is medium (45 FPS), audio data A1 that has been subjected to reverb processing B and audio data A2 are reproduced (output) from the speaker 62. The audio data A2 is a reverberation sound (reverberation sound) that has been generated in advance.

[0038] 2(b), the processing load of the control unit 56 is medium, so if a high-load acoustic process (reverb process A) is executed in real time on the audio data A1, a delay may occur in the processing of the control unit 56. For this reason, instead of reverb process A, a reverb sound (audio data A2) generated in advance is played back, thereby preventing a decrease in the acoustic production effect.

[0039] 2(c), when the processing load of the control unit 56 is high (30 FPS), the audio data A1 to A3 are reproduced (output) from the speaker 62. The audio data A3 is a reverberation sound (reverberation sound) that has been generated in advance.

[0040] 2(c), since the processing load of the control unit 56 is high, if the sound processing (reverb processing A, B) is executed on the sound data A1 in real time, there is a possibility that a delay will occur in the processing of the control unit 56. For this reason, instead of the reverb processing A, B, a reverb sound (sound data A2, A3) generated in advance is played back, thereby preventing a decrease in the sound-based dramatic effect.

[0041] In this way, when the processing load of the control unit 56 is low, the playback unit 564 executes reverb processing on the audio data A1 in real time (high-speed mode), whereas when the processing load of the control unit 56 is high, the playback unit 564 plays back the audio data A1 to A3 that have been generated in advance (low-speed mode). This prevents a decrease in the performance effect of the sound while suppressing delays in the processing of the control unit 56.

[0042] (Game device operation) A series of operational flows in the game device will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3. Figure 3 is a flow chart showing the operation of the game device 5.

[0043] First, the processing load detection unit 563 detects the processing load of the control unit 56 (game device 5) (step S1). Specifically, the processing load detection unit 563 detects the frame rate of the control unit 56 (the FPS value).

[0044] The reproducing unit 564 judges whether the frame rate of the control unit 56 is 60 FPS or more (step S2). If the frame rate of the control unit 56 is 60 FPS or more (Yes in step S2), the reproducing unit 564 reproduces the audio data in high-speed mode (step S3). That is, the reproducing unit 564 reproduces the audio data by executing reverb processing A and B on the audio data A1.

[0045] If the frame rate of the control unit 56 is less than 60 FPS (No in step S2), the playback unit 564 determines whether the frame rate of the control unit 56 is 45 FPS or more (step S4). If the frame rate of the control unit 56 is 45 FPS or more (Yes in step S4), the playback unit 564 plays back the audio data in medium speed mode (step S5). That is, the playback unit 564 executes reverb processing B on the audio data A1. Then, instead of reverb processing B, the playback unit 564 plays back the audio data A2.

[0046] If the frame rate of the control unit 56 is less than 45 FPS (No in step S4), the playback unit 564 plays back the audio data in low-speed mode (step S6). That is, the playback unit 564 plays back the audio data A1 without executing the reverb processes A and B. Then, the playback unit 564 plays back the audio data A2 and A3 instead of the reverb processes A and B.

[0047] To summarize the above, the game program of this embodiment causes the game device 5 (computer) to function as a game progression unit 562 that progresses the game and a playback unit 564 that plays back audio data, and the audio data includes audio data A1 (first audio data) and audio data A2 (second audio data to which acoustic processing has been applied) which is a reverb sound, and the playback unit 564 plays back the audio data in a high-speed mode (first mode) in which the audio data A1 is played back while applying reverb processing A (acoustic processing) to the audio data A1, or in a medium-speed mode or low-speed mode (second mode) in which the audio data A1 and the audio data A2 and A3 are played back, based on the processing load in the control unit 56 (game device) that executes the game.

[0048] <Effects of the Invention> As described above, the playback unit 564 operates in a high-speed mode in which the audio data A1 is played back while applying reverb processing A to the audio data A1, or in a medium-speed mode or a low-speed mode in which the audio data A1 and the audio data A2 that has been subjected to reverb processing are played back, based on the processing load in the control unit 56 that executes the game.

[0049] For example, when the processing load of the control unit 56 is high, the reverb processing A of the control unit 56 can be omitted by operating the reproduction unit 564 in the medium speed mode or the low speed mode, thereby suppressing a delay in the processing of the control unit 56. Moreover, instead of the reverb processing A, the audio data A2 generated in advance is reproduced, thereby suppressing a decrease in the performance effect due to the sound.

[0050] Furthermore, the playback unit 564 plays back the audio data in high-speed mode when the frame rate of the control unit 56 executing the game is 60 FPS or higher (the processing load on the game device is equal to or lower than a predetermined value) and plays back the audio data in medium-speed mode or low-speed mode when the frame rate of the control unit 56 is less than 60 FPS (the condition is not satisfied). As a result, when the processing load on the control unit 56 is low, the playback unit 564 operates in high-speed mode, thereby enhancing the dramatic effect of sound.

[0051] Moreover, the sound processing is reverberation processing, and the sound data A2 (second sound data) is a reverberation sound. This makes it possible to apply the present game program when the sound processing is reverberation processing.

[0052] [Other embodiments] In the above embodiment, the acoustic processing is reverberation processing, but the present invention is not limited to this. The acoustic processing may be, for example, reverberation processing, a process for emphasizing or attenuating a specific frequency band, a process for distorting sound, or other effect processing.

[0053] In the above embodiment, the playback unit 564 is set to three operation modes, namely, a high-speed mode, a medium-speed mode, and a low-speed mode, in accordance with the processing load of the control unit 56. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The operation modes of the playback unit 564 may be set to two stages, or may be set to four or more stages.

[0054] In addition, in the above embodiment, in the low-speed mode of the playback unit 564, the audio data A2 and A3 are played back, but instead of the audio data A2 and A3, audio data A3' in which the audio data A2 and A3 are combined into one audio data may be played back.

[0055] In the above embodiment, the processing load of the control unit 56 (game device 5) is represented by the frame rate, but this is not limiting. For example, the processing load of the control unit 56 may be represented by the usage rate of the CPU or memory.

[0056] In addition, the processing load detection unit 563 may detect the processing load of the control unit 56 in real time, or may use the average value of the most recent processing load (for example, the average frame rate, CPU or memory usage rate for the most recent few seconds) as the processing load of the control unit 56.

[0057] Furthermore, the game executed by the game device 5 may be of any genre, such as an adventure game, an action game, an FPS (First Person Shooter), a racing game, a sports game, an RPG (Role Playing Game), or a shooting game.

[0058] The game program may be implemented as a game program for a so-called online game. When the game program is for an online game, the processing performed by the control unit 56 may be performed by the server side instead, or may be shared between the server side and the client (game device 5). In this case, an authentication server and a matching server may be provided in the game system including the game device 5, and player matching may be performed in response to a request from the game device 5.

[0059] In the above embodiment, the game device 5 is a personal computer, a PlayStation, or the like, but the type of the game device 5 is not limited to this. For example, the game device 5 may be a smartphone, a tablet, or an arcade game cabinet provided in a game center.

[0060] Even when these other embodiments are adopted, the effects of the present invention are exhibited. In addition, this embodiment can be appropriately combined with other embodiments, and other embodiments can be appropriately combined with each other. It is. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 5. Gaming Devices 53 Audio Processing Unit 55 Storage section 56 Control Unit 561 Communications Department 562 Game Progression Department 563 Processing Load Detection Unit 564 Playback Department

Claims

1. Computer, A game progression unit that progresses the game; a playback unit that plays back audio data; and make it work. the audio data includes first audio data and second audio data that has been subjected to acoustic processing; A game program in which the playback unit detects a frame rate of a game device executing the game, and plays the audio data in a first mode in which the first audio data is played while applying the acoustic processing to the first audio data, or in a second mode in which the first audio data and the second audio data are played, depending on the detected frame rate.

2. In claim 1, A game program in which the playback unit plays the audio data in the first mode when a condition that the frame rate on a game device executing the game is equal to or greater than a predetermined value is satisfied, and plays the audio data in the second mode when the condition is not satisfied.

3. In claim 1 or 2, the acoustic processing is a reverberation processing, A game program, wherein the second sound data is a reverberation sound.

4. A storage unit that stores the game program according to any one of claims 1 to 3; A control unit that executes the game program; A game device comprising:

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