Game program and game device

Abstract

To enhance a feeling of devotion by an effective sound in a virtual space.SOLUTION: A game progressing unit 561 operates a character in a virtual space in response to an operation of a user. A sound source for outputting a sound production signal is present in the virtual space. A detection unit 563 detects whether or not an intersecting object is present with regard to each of a plurality of virtual straight lines extending in mutually different directions from a predetermined reference point in the virtual space. An acoustic processing unit 562 reproduces a sound signal according to the sound production signal output by the sound source, and in the reproduction, makes sound volume of later reverberation sound in the direction toward the reference point from the object smaller as a distance between the object detected by the detection unit and the reference point is closer.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a game program and a game 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 games, sound effects can make or break your sense of immersion.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to improve the sense of immersion provided by sound effects in a virtual space. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In the first aspect, a computer is caused to function as a game progression unit, a sound processing unit, and a detection unit, the game progression unit receives a user's operation and moves a character in a virtual space; A sound source that outputs a sound signal exists in the virtual space, the detection unit detects whether or not an object exists that intersects each of a plurality of virtual lines that are extended in different directions from a predetermined reference point in the virtual space; The acoustic processing unit includes: Reproducing a sound signal in accordance with the sound signal output by the sound source; In the reproduction, the closer the distance between the object detected by the detection unit and the reference point, the lower the volume of the late reverberation sound in the direction from the object toward the reference point. It is a game program.

[0007] In a first aspect, The detection unit may define a plurality of points uniformly distributed on a sphere, and define a plurality of the virtual straight lines by connecting these points with the reference point.

[0008] In the above aspect, The sound processing unit may reproduce a sound simulating the firing of a firearm as the sound of the game medium.

[0009] A second aspect is a storage unit that stores the program of the above aspect; a control unit that executes the program; It is a game device equipped with the above. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the sense of immersion in a virtual space through sound effects. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the game device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] [Embodiment] Hereinafter, embodiments of a game program and a game device will be described.

[0013] 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.

[0014] <<Configuration of the Game Device>> <Hardware configuration> 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a game device 5. 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.

[0015] 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).

[0016] The game progresses on the game device 5 based on the installed game program and game data. Game devices 5 can also communicate data with each other using a communication network (not shown) or a short-range wireless communication device (not shown).

[0017] 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.

[0018] 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).

[0019] 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.

[0020] In this game program, a virtual camera (hereinafter referred to as virtual camera C) is set in the virtual space as the user's (player's) viewpoint. The graphics processing unit 52 creates a 3D image (moving image) as if the virtual space were photographed by the virtual camera C, and displays it on the display 61. The user can set the direction, magnification, etc. of the virtual camera C via the controller 63.

[0021] 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.

[0022] 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.

[0023] 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.

[0024] 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.

[0025] 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.

[0026] <Functional Configuration of Control Unit 56> The control unit 56 executes a game program to function as a game progression unit 561, a sound processing unit 562, and a detection unit 563 (see FIG. 1).

[0027] -Game Progression Section 561- The game progression unit 561 causes player characters to move within a virtual space in response to operations by the user (here, the game player). The game progression unit 561 also causes non-player characters and predetermined objects (such as vehicles) to move within the virtual space.

[0028] The game progression unit 561 controls the actions of non-player characters and predetermined objects using, for example, AI (artificial intelligence). The game progression unit 561 progresses the game in accordance with the actions of the player characters and non-player characters.

[0029] 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 display 61. In some games, this "possession" may be expressed as "equipping."

[0030] In this game, the game media possessed by the character can be a virtual sound source in the virtual space. In other words, in this game, sounds are reproduced as sounds emitted by the game media. Hereinafter, the reproduction of sounds as sounds emitted by the game media may be expressed as "the game media making a sound."

[0031] An example of the 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 the game medium.

[0032] In this game, the firearm may emit a gunshot sound (more precisely, a sound simulating the sound of a gunshot may be reproduced). For example, in this game program, the user can instruct the player character to fire a firearm held by the player character by operating a control on the controller 63. In response to the user's instruction to fire, the game progression unit 561 outputs a signal indicating that the game medium (firearm) will make a sound (hereinafter referred to as a sound generation signal) to the sound processing unit 562.

[0033] -Detection unit 563- In this game program, objects that reflect sound are placed in the virtual space. For example, objects that represent the walls of buildings or caves are treated as sound-reflecting objects. Sound-reflecting objects (walls, etc.) have a set sound absorption coefficient.

[0034] The detection unit 563 detects objects (walls, etc.) in the virtual space in a predetermined direction. Specifically, the detection unit 563 detects objects in a predetermined direction by a ray casting method. The basic principle of the ray casting method is to extend a virtual straight line (ray) from a predetermined reference point (starting point) in a predetermined direction and check whether there is an object that intersects with the straight line.

[0035] In detecting an object, the detection unit 563 detects whether or not there is an object that intersects each of a plurality of virtual straight lines that are extended in different directions from the position (starting point) of the virtual camera C.

[0036] In this detection, the detection unit 563 defines a plurality of points evenly distributed on a sphere. More specifically, the detection unit 563 arranges a plurality of points on a Fibonacci sphere in real time during the game. The detection unit 563 defines a plurality of virtual lines connecting these points with the virtual camera C.

[0037] The detection unit 563 divides these defined points into multiple point clouds according to directions (for example, front, back, left, and right of the virtual camera C) relative to the virtual camera C. The number of divisions, the boundary settings for the divisions, and the number of points constituting the point clouds may be determined arbitrarily by the developer of the game program.

[0038] -Audio Processing Unit 562- In this game program, various kinds of sound data are prepared in advance. For example, sound data for a shotgun is prepared in the game program.

[0039] The sound processing unit 562 reproduces sound data in accordance with the progress of the game. Specifically, the sound processing unit 562 selects sound data in accordance with the progress of the game, and outputs the selected sound data to the audio processing unit 53.

[0040] When outputting audio data, the sound processing unit 562 instructs the volume of the audio data to the audio processing unit 53. The audio processing unit 53 converts the audio data output by the sound processing unit 562 into an analog signal of the instructed volume and outputs it to the speaker 62.

[0041] The sound processing unit 562 has a function (first function) of reproducing sounds including direct sound, early reflection sound, and late reverberation sound in response to a sound generation signal as sounds generated by a game medium (such as a firearm). In this embodiment, the direct sound, early reflection sound, and late reverberation sound are prepared in advance as data for each object that generates sounds. For example, for a firearm object, the direct sound, early reflection sound, and late reverberation sound related to the firing sound are prepared in advance as data.

[0042] The sound processing unit 562 has a function (second function) of performing sound image localization during the playback. In order to perform sound image localization, the sound processing unit 562 sets a virtual sound receiving point (hereinafter referred to as a virtual microphone L) in the virtual space where sound is heard. In this example, the virtual microphone L is set near the virtual camera C. The virtual microphone L has directionality. The virtual microphone L moves in accordance with the movement of the virtual camera C (or the movement of the player character).

[0043] In this game, acoustic effects are produced so that sounds appear to be coming from a virtual sound source existing in the virtual space. The sound processor 562 outputs sounds emitted from virtual sound sources (such as weapons held by the player character) to the speaker 62 in an acoustic representation that makes it appear as if the sounds were collected by a virtual microphone L. The virtual microphone L is a virtual listener and is the reference point for sound image localization by the sound processor 562.

[0044] In a real-world room, for example, if a person fires a gun near a wall, a person in the room who hears the gunshot will hear early reflections in addition to the direct sound. Late reverberations are also generated, but it is thought that the person hearing the gunshot will not hear much of the late reverberations from the direction of the wall.

[0045] In this game program, in order to express such late reverberation sounds, the sound processing unit 562 performs the following processing.

[0046] (1) The acoustic processing unit 562 derives, for each point group (in other words, for each direction), the average, minimum, and maximum values ​​of the distance between the object detected by the detection unit 563 and the virtual camera C. Furthermore, the acoustic processing unit 562 derives the average, minimum, and maximum values ​​of the sound absorption coefficient of the object.

[0047] (2) The sound processing unit 562 determines the attenuation of the volume of the late reverberation sound for each point group (direction) based on the derived value. For example, the sound processing unit 562 reduces the volume of the late reverberation sound in the direction from the object detected by the detection unit 563 toward the virtual camera C as the distance between the object and the virtual camera C decreases.

[0048] <<Example of operation>> When the game starts, the game progression unit 561 moves the player character within the virtual space in response to the user's (the game player's) operation of the controller 63. The game progression unit 561 also moves objects such as non-player characters within the virtual space as necessary.

[0049] The detection unit 563 detects an object by performing a raycast in real time using the position of the virtual camera C as a reference point (starting point).

[0050] As the game progresses, let us assume that the player character encounters an enemy character in a specific room (room A). At this time, the player character has his back to the wall. Virtual camera C is facing the player character from behind him.

[0051] Here, let us assume that the user gives a command to fire the firearm held by the player character, in which case the game progression unit 561 outputs a sound generation signal to the sound processing unit 562.

[0052] When the sound processing unit 562 receives the sound signal, it performs the following processing.

[0053] (1) For each point cloud, the average, minimum, and maximum values ​​of the distance between the object detected by the detection unit 563 and the virtual camera C, and the average, minimum, and maximum values ​​of the sound absorption coefficient are derived.

[0054] (2) Based on the derived values, the volume attenuation of late reverberation and other sounds is determined for each point group.

[0055] For example, the closer the distance between the object (e.g., a wall) detected by the detection unit 563 and the virtual camera C, the smaller the volume of the late reverberation sound in the direction from the object toward the virtual camera C is determined to be by the sound processing unit 562. In this example, the volume of the late reverberation sound is determined to be smaller for the point cloud behind the player character than for the other point clouds.

[0056] (3) Select the audio data to play The sound processor 562 selects sound data corresponding to the game media to be sounded. For example, if the user instructs the player character to fire a shotgun, sound data for the shotgun is selected.

[0057] (4) Instruct the audio processing unit 53 to play audio data. The sound processing unit 562 instructs the audio processing unit 53 to play back the selected audio data while specifying the determined volume.

[0058] As a result, the sound of the gunfire in Room A (direct sound and reverberation sound in Room A) is reproduced from the speaker 62. The reverberation sound includes early reflection sound and late reverberation sound. The volume of the late reverberation sound from the direction of the wall to which the player character's back is facing is lower than the volume of the late reverberation sound from other directions.

[0059] To summarize the above, this aspect is a game program that causes a computer to function as a game progression unit 561, an audio processing unit 562, and a detection unit 563, wherein the game progression unit 561 moves a character in a virtual space in response to user operation, wherein a sound source that outputs a sound signal exists within the virtual space, the detection unit 563 detects whether or not there is an object that intersects with each of a plurality of virtual straight lines that extend in different directions from a predetermined reference point within the virtual space, and the audio processing unit 562 plays an audio signal in accordance with the sound signal output by the sound source, and wherein, during the playback, the closer the distance between the object detected by the detection unit and the reference point, the lower the volume of late reverberation sound in the direction from the object toward the reference point.

[0060] Effect of this embodiment In this game, for example, if a firearm is fired near a wall in Room A, the volume of the late reverberation from that wall is reduced. This allows for an acoustically realistic presentation. According to this embodiment, it is possible to improve the sense of immersion in the virtual space through sound effects.

[0061] [Other embodiments] The items that make the sound are not limited to firearms.

[0062] The starting point of the raycast does not have to be the position of the virtual camera C. For example, the starting point of the raycast may be the position of the virtual microphone L.

[0063] The voice data does not necessarily have to be prepared in advance, but may be synthesized or generated each time based on some data or information.

[0064] The processing of this program may be performed by a server device to which the user device (game device 5) is connected, or may be shared between the user device and the server device. This is the form assumed when this program is implemented as a game program for an online game.

[0065] 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]

[0066] 5. Gaming devices 55 Storage section 56 Control Unit (Computer) 561 Game Progression Department 562 Acoustic Processing Unit 563 Detection unit C Virtual camera (reference point)

Claims

1. The computer functions as the game progression unit, sound processing unit, and detection unit, the game progression unit receives a user's operation and moves a character in a virtual space; A sound source that outputs a sound signal exists in the virtual space, the detection unit detects whether or not an object exists that intersects each of a plurality of virtual lines that are extended in different directions from a predetermined reference point in the virtual space; The acoustic processing unit includes: Reproducing a sound signal in accordance with the sound signal output by the sound source; In the reproduction, the closer the distance between the object detected by the detection unit and the reference point, the lower the volume of the late reverberation sound in the direction from the object toward the reference point. Game program.

2. The game program of claim 1, The detection unit defines a plurality of points uniformly distributed on a sphere, and defines a plurality of virtual straight lines by connecting these points with the reference point. Game program.

3. In the game program of claim 1 or 2, The sound processing unit reproduces a sound simulating the firing of a firearm as the sound produced by the sound source. Game program.

4. a storage unit that stores the program of claim 1 or claim 2; a control unit that executes the program; A game device comprising:

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