program and sound control device

Abstract

To reduce a feeling of discomfort in sound image localization.SOLUTION: A computer is caused to function as: a character control unit 561 for controlling a character in a virtual space VS according to an operation of a user; and an acoustic processing unit 563 for synthesizing a first sound associated with the character and a second sound different from the first sound, and outputting the synthesized sound. The acoustic processing unit 563 executes first processing for localizing a sound image of the first sound with a position corresponding to the character as a first reference position LP1, and second processing for localizing a sound image of the second sound with a position different from the first reference position LP1 as a second reference position LP2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a program and an audio control device. [Background technology]

[0002] Some game programs reproduce sound effects in a virtual space (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the example of Patent Document 1, in a shooting game, gunshot sounds and the like are reproduced during the game. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-156589 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In computer games, the player character may be displayed in a biased position on the screen. In this case, the sound emitted by the player character may be heard by the user as if it were coming from a biased position. This may result in the sound being heard from a direction different from the user's line of sight, making it difficult for the user to empathize with the player character. In other words, the sound image may be localized in an unnatural way.

[0005] The present disclosure relates to reducing discomfort in sound image localization. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A first aspect provides a computer comprising: a character control unit that controls a character in the virtual space in response to a user's operation; a sound processing unit that synthesizes and outputs a first voice associated with the character and a second voice that is different from the first voice; and make it work, The acoustic processing unit includes: a first process of localizing a sound image of the first sound using a position corresponding to the character as a first reference position; a second process of localizing a sound image of the second sound using a position different from the first reference position as a second reference position; This is a program that performs the following.

[0007] In a first aspect, The acoustic processing unit includes: a first virtual microphone set at the first reference position virtually collecting the first sound and localizing a sound image of the first sound; The second sound may be virtually collected by a second virtual microphone set at the second reference position, and a process of localizing a sound image of the second sound may be performed.

[0008] In the above aspect, The sound processing unit may set the first reference position behind the character.

[0009] In the above aspect, setting a virtual camera that virtually photographs the virtual space, and causing the computer to function as a display unit that generates a moving image as if the virtual camera had photographed the character; the display unit disposes the virtual camera diagonally behind the character, The sound processing unit may set the second reference position behind the virtual camera.

[0010] A second aspect is a storage unit that stores the program of the above aspect; a control unit that executes the program; It is an acoustic control device equipped with the above. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce the sense of discomfort in sound image localization. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the game device 5. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the positional relationship between a player character and a non-player character at a certain point in the game. [Figure 3] 10 is an example of one frame of a moving image generated by a display unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] [Embodiment] An example in which the program is implemented as a game program and the sound control device is realized as a game device will be described below.

[0014] A game based on this game program is played in a virtual space (three-dimensional). There are no limitations on the type of game. For example, the game may be a fighting action game in which a player character attacks and defeats enemy characters.

[0015] In this game program, a character such as a player character may possess game content within the game screen. "Possession" here means, for example, that the character and the game content are displayed together on the screen. In some games, this "possession" may be expressed as "equipping."

[0016] An example of a game medium possessed by a character is a weapon. In the following description, it is assumed that the player character possesses a firearm (e.g., a shotgun) as a game medium. The player character can attack enemy characters with the gun.

[0017] In this game, various sounds are played as sounds emitted by virtual sound sources in the virtual space. The game media held by the character can be virtual sound sources in the virtual space. In other words, in this game, sounds are played as sounds emitted by the game media. For example, a firearm (game media) may emit a gunshot sound (or more accurately, a sound simulating a gunshot sound may be played).

[0018] <<Configuration of the Game Device>> <Hardware configuration> 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a game device 5 (sound control device). The game device 5 executes a predetermined game based on user operations. The game device 5 has a display 61, a speaker 62, and a controller 63 either externally connected or built-in.

[0019] The game device 5 may be a commercially available device such as a personal computer, PlayStation (registered trademark), XBox (registered trademark), PlayStation Vita (registered trademark), or Nintendo Switch (registered trademark).

[0020] The game progresses on the game device 5 based on the installed game program and game data. The game devices 5 can communicate data with each other using a communication network (not shown) or a short-range wireless communication device (not shown).

[0021] 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.

[0022] The network interface 51 is communicably connected to the communication network in order to transmit and receive various data to and from, for example, other game devices 5 and external server devices (not shown).

[0023] The graphics processing unit 52 renders game images including the player character and various objects in the virtual 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 (e.g., a liquid crystal display). The game images rendered in a moving image format are displayed on the display 61 as a game screen.

[0024] The audio processing unit 53 is connected to the speaker 62. The audio processing unit 53 plays digital game sounds in accordance with instructions from the control unit 56. Specifically, the audio processing unit 53 converts the sound data output by the control unit 56 into an analog signal and outputs it to the speaker 62.

[0025] The audio processing unit 53 is configured to be capable of multi-channel audio output in order to reproduce three-dimensional sound. Accordingly, a plurality of speakers 62 are connected to the game device 5. These speakers 62 may be placed to the left and right, front and rear, or above a listener (e.g., a game player) in order to reproduce three-dimensional sound.

[0026] The operation unit 54 is connected to the controller 63. The operation unit 54 transmits and receives signals to and from the controller 63. A game player operates various controls such as buttons on the controller 63 to input signals (commands, data, etc.) to the game device 5.

[0027] The storage unit 55 is composed of an HDD, SSD, RAM, ROM, etc. Game data, various programs including game programs, etc. are stored in the storage unit 55. Examples of game data include game media and user account information.

[0028] The control unit 56 controls the operation of the game device 5. The control unit 56 includes a CPU (microcomputer) and a semiconductor memory. The semiconductor memory stores programs and data for operating the CPU.

[0029] <Functional Configuration of Control Unit 56> The control unit 56 executes a game program to function as a character control unit 561, a display unit 562, and a sound processing unit 563 (see FIG. 1).

[0030] -Character control unit 561- The character control unit 561 controls the player character to move in the virtual space in accordance with instructions from the user (here, the game player). The user's instructions are input to the character control unit 561 via the operation unit .

[0031] The character control unit 561 also operates non-player characters and predetermined objects (for example, vehicles, etc.) in the virtual space. The character control unit 561 controls the actions of the non-player characters and predetermined objects using, for example, AI (artificial intelligence). The character control unit 561 progresses the game in accordance with the actions of the player characters and non-player characters.

[0032] In response to a user instruction, the character control unit 561 outputs a signal instructing the sound to be emitted (hereinafter referred to as a sound emission signal) to the sound processing unit 563. For example, in this game program, the user can instruct the character control unit 561 to fire a firearm carried by the player character by operating an operator on the controller 63.

[0033] In some cases, character control unit 561 outputs a sound generation signal to sound processing unit 563 in accordance with the progress of the game. For example, character control unit 561 may output a sound generation signal to sound processing unit 563 instructing a non-player character to generate a sound in accordance with the action of the non-player character.

[0034] -Display section 562- The display unit 562 generates a moving image as if a virtual camera (hereinafter referred to as virtual camera VC) were capturing an image of the player character. That is, the display unit 562 generates a moving image of a portion of the virtual space. The virtual camera VC moves in accordance with the movement of the player character.

[0035] Figure 2 is a plan view showing the relative positions of the player character PC and non-player characters NPC at a certain point in the game. Three building objects exist within the virtual space VS. Hereinafter, the three building objects will be referred to as buildings B1, B2, and B3.

[0036] 2, the virtual space VS also includes a road R (T-junction) adjacent to buildings B1, B2, and B3. The player character PC and multiple non-player characters NPC are located on the road R.

[0037] In this embodiment, the display unit 562 places a virtual camera VC diagonally behind and to the right of the player character PC (see FIG. 2). The virtual camera VC is positioned diagonally behind and to the right of the player character PC, facing forward of the player character PC (towards building B3) to capture images.

[0038] Fig. 3 is an example of one frame of a moving image generated by the display unit 562. Fig. 3 is an image captured under the conditions shown in Fig. 2. In the moving image generated by the display unit 562, the player character PC is displayed with his back to the left of the screen. Because the player character PC is displayed on the left, the user can visually recognize the non-player character NPC in front of the player character PC on the screen.

[0039] The display unit 562 outputs the generated moving image data to the graphics processing unit 52. The graphics processing unit 52 displays the moving image on the display 61 based on the received moving image data.

[0040] -Audio Processing Unit 563- In this game program, various sound data are prepared in advance. For example, in this game program, sounds such as the sound of a gun being fired and the sound of a bullet hitting the ground are prepared. The sound processing unit 563 plays back the sound data in accordance with the progress of the game. Specifically, the sound processing unit 563 selects sound data in accordance with the progress of the game and outputs the selected sound data to the audio processing unit 53.

[0041] In this game, the sound of a virtual sound source existing in the virtual space is produced acoustically as if it were emitted from the position of the virtual sound source. For example, suppose a virtual sound source (object) on the left side of the screen virtually emits sound. In this case, the sound is output from speaker 62 so that the user can recognize it as coming from the left.

[0042] To achieve this acoustic effect, the sound processor 563 performs sound image localization during sound playback. Sound image localization means localizing the position of a sound source as perceived by a human (user) at a predetermined virtual position within a virtual space.

[0043] To perform sound image localization, the acoustic processing unit 563 sets a virtual microphone (hereinafter referred to as a virtual microphone) in the virtual space as a virtual sound receiving point where sound is heard. The virtual microphone is not displayed on the screen (display 61).

[0044] The acoustic processing unit 563 outputs the sound emitted from the virtual sound source to the speaker 62 in an acoustic representation that sounds as if the sound was collected by a virtual microphone. The virtual microphone is a virtual listener, and the position of the virtual microphone is the reference position for sound image localization by the acoustic processing unit 563.

[0045] Acoustic processing unit 563 sets two virtual microphones. Hereinafter, these two virtual microphones will be referred to as a first virtual microphone L1 and a second virtual microphone L2. The position of first virtual microphone L1 in virtual space VS will be referred to as a first reference position LP1. The position of second virtual microphone L2 in virtual space VS will be referred to as a second reference position LP2.

[0046] FIG. 2 also shows an example of the placement of the first virtual microphone L1 and the second virtual microphone L2. The first virtual microphone L1 is set near the player character PC. More specifically, the first virtual microphone L1 is placed directly behind the player character PC. In other words, the first reference position LP1 is a position corresponding to the player character PC. The first virtual microphone L1 (first reference position LP1) moves in accordance with the movement of the player character PC.

[0047] The first virtual microphone L1 collects only the sound associated with the player character PC. In other words, the first reference position LP1 is a reference position (the position of the virtual listener) when localizing the sound image of the first sound.

[0048] Here, the sound associated with the player character PC (hereinafter referred to as the first sound) is a sound whose virtual sound source is the player character PC, a sound whose virtual sound source is an item equipped by the player character PC, etc. More specifically, examples of the first sound include the voice of the player character PC, the sound of the player character PC's equipment (such as clothing), the sound of the equipped weapon (firearm), etc.

[0049] The second virtual microphone L2 collects sounds other than the first sound (hereinafter referred to as the second sound). In this game program, there are objects other than the player character PC that can be virtual sound sources. The second sound is sound that is played back as if it were emitted by an object that can be a virtual sound source. Examples of the second sound include the voice of a non-player character NPC (e.g., a shout) and the sound emitted by an item (car, telephone, etc.) placed in the virtual space VS.

[0050] The second reference position LP2 is a reference position (the position of the virtual listener) when localizing the sound image of the second sound. The second reference position is a position different from the first reference position. The second virtual microphone L2 is placed directly behind the virtual camera VC (see FIG. 2). The second virtual microphone L2 (second reference position LP2) moves in accordance with the movement of the virtual camera VC.

[0051] <<Example of operation>> When the game starts, the character control unit 561 operates the player character PC within the virtual space VS in response to the user's (the game player's) operation of the controller 63. The character control unit 561 also operates objects such as non-player characters NPC within the virtual space VS as necessary.

[0052] As the game progresses, it is assumed that the player character PC encounters an enemy character (non-player character NPC). Specifically, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, the player character PC and multiple non-player character NPCs are facing each other. It is also assumed that the player character PC is equipped with a weapon W (see Figure 3). In this example, the weapon W is a firearm.

[0053] Here, it is assumed that the character control unit 561, as part of the movement control of the non-player character NPC, outputs a sound generation signal instructing the reproduction of the shout to the sound processing unit 563. The shout of the non-player character NPC is the second sound.

[0054] The sound processor 563 generates sound data by assuming that the cry (second sound) of the non-player character NPC is collected by the second virtual microphone L2. That is, the sound processor 563 localizes the position of the virtual sound source of the second sound perceived by the user as if the second sound were heard at the second reference position LP2.

[0055] The acoustic processing unit 563 outputs the generated audio data to the audio processing unit 53. The audio processing unit 53 converts the audio data into an analog signal and outputs it to the speaker 62.

[0056] 2, the non-player character NPC is located substantially in front of the virtual camera VC. In other words, the non-player character NPC is located in front of the second virtual microphone L2. Therefore, in the situation shown in FIG. 2, the shout of the non-player character NPC is heard by the user as a sound coming from the front.

[0057] Assume that the user operates the controller 63 to instruct firing of the weapon W. The sound of firing the weapon W is the first sound. In response to the user's instruction, the character control unit 561 outputs to the sound processing unit 563 a sound generation signal instructing playback of the gunfire sound.

[0058] The sound processing unit 563 generates sound data that defines a sound image as if the gunfire sound (first sound) of the weapon W was collected by the first virtual microphone L1. In other words, the sound processing unit 563 localizes the position of the virtual sound source (weapon W) of the first sound perceived by the user as if the first sound was heard at the first reference position LP1.

[0059] The acoustic processing unit 563 outputs the generated audio data to the audio processing unit 53. The audio processing unit 53 converts the audio data into an analog signal and outputs it to the speaker 62.

[0060] 2, the weapon W is positioned substantially directly in front of the second virtual microphone L2. Therefore, even if the player character PC is positioned to the left of the screen, the user hears the gunfire sound of the weapon W as coming from the front.

[0061] To summarize the above, the present embodiment is a program that causes a computer (control unit 56) to function as a character control unit 561 that controls a character in a virtual space in response to user operation, and an audio processing unit 563 that synthesizes and outputs a first audio linked to the character and a second audio different from the first audio, and the audio processing unit 563 performs a first process of localizing a sound image of the first audio using a position corresponding to the character as a first reference position LP1, and a second process of localizing a sound image of the second audio using a position different from the first reference position as a second reference position LP2.

[0062] Effect of this embodiment In this embodiment, two virtual microphones L1 and L2 are provided. The first virtual microphone L1 is a listener dedicated to the player character PC.

[0063] In this embodiment, the second sound is heard by the user as a sound emitted from the position of a virtual sound source (object). The second sound has a natural sound image localization for the user.

[0064] On the other hand, even if the player character PC is displayed in a position offset from the screen, the first sound will sound to the user as if it is emitted from in front of and near the user. If the user is playing the game while looking at the screen as if they were the player character PC, then it will be natural for the user to have the first sound localized as a sound image in this way.

[0065] As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the sense of discomfort in sound image localization.

[0066] [Other embodiments] The position and shooting direction of the virtual camera VC are examples. For example, the virtual camera VC may be placed diagonally behind and to the left of the player character, or the user may be able to set the position and shooting direction.

[0067] The position of the first virtual microphone L1 (first reference position LP1) and the position of the second virtual microphone L2 (second reference position LP2) are also examples. For example, the positions of these virtual microphones L1 and L2 can be changed within a range that does not cause discomfort to the user regarding the sound image localization.

[0068] The voice of the player character PC described as the first sound is merely an example. It is up to the program developer to decide what kind of sound to associate with the player character PC.

[0069] The program can be applied to applications other than game programs. The sound control device can be realized as a device other than the game device 5.

[0070] The acoustic control device may be realized by dividing it into a server and a client. In this case, the processing that was previously performed by the control unit 56 may be performed on the server side instead, or may be shared between the server side and the client side.

[0071] The effects of the present embodiment can be achieved even when these other embodiments are adopted. Furthermore, this embodiment can be combined with other embodiments, and other embodiments can be combined with each other as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0072] 5. Game devices (sound control devices) 55 Storage section 56 Control Unit (Computer) 561 Character Control Unit 562 Display section 563 Acoustic Processing Unit L1 First virtual microphone L2 Second virtual microphone LP1 1st reference position LP2 2nd reference position VC Virtual Camera VS Virtual Space

Claims

1. Computer, a character control unit that controls a character in the virtual space in response to a user's operation; a sound processing unit that synthesizes and outputs a first sound associated with the character and a second sound different from the first sound; Display and and make it work, The acoustic processing unit includes: a first process of localizing a sound image of the first sound using a position corresponding to the character as a first reference position; a second process of localizing a sound image of the second sound using a position different from the first reference position as a second reference position; and the sound processing unit sets the first reference position behind the character; the display unit sets a virtual camera that virtually captures images of the virtual space, and generates a moving image as if the virtual camera were capturing an image of the character; the display unit disposes the virtual camera diagonally behind the character, The sound processing unit sets the second reference position behind the virtual camera. program.

2. In the program of claim 1, The acoustic processing unit includes: a first virtual microphone set at the first reference position virtually collecting the first sound and localizing a sound image of the first sound; The second sound is virtually collected by a second virtual microphone set at the second reference position, and a process of localizing a sound image of the second sound is performed. program.

3. a storage unit that stores the program of claim 1 or claim 2; a control unit that executes the program; An acoustic control device comprising:

Images